The DeKalb County School System has announced that three educators, Joyce Alexander, Lisa Cripps, and Harriett Cantrell have been selected “Teachers of the Year” locally and will compete for regional honors in the Tennessee Teacher of the Year Program.
These teachers were chosen from a group of local educators in three categories (levels of teaching) Pre- Kindergarten to Fourth Grade- Alexander; Fifth to Eighth Grade- Cripps; and Ninth through Twelfth Grade- Cantrell.
The Tennessee Teacher of the Year Program is designed to promote recognition, respect and appreciation for teachers; to stimulate interest in teaching as a career; and to encourage public involvement in education.
This program is sponsored annually by the Tennessee Department of Education and the Niswonger Foundation.
The Tennessee Teacher of the Year represents Tennessee at the National Teacher of the Year competition, which is sponsored by the Council of Chief State School Officers and Scholastic, Inc.
Teachers of the Year are selected competitively through five cycles: Building, System, Field Service Center Region, Grand Division and State; and from three categories (levels of teaching); Grades Pre K-4, 5-8, 9-12.
Teachers selected at each cycle receive local recognition and awards underwritten by local sources. State recognition/awards include a banquet honoring the nine State Teacher of the Year finalists and certificates of appreciation from the Governor. In addition, the State Finalists and the State Teacher of the Year receive cash awards from the Niswonger Foundation.
The initial group of teachers included Janet Woodward, Janet Trapp, Lisa Mabe, and Joyce Alexander in the Pre K to 4th grade category; Susan Robinson, Amanda Griffith, Janet England, and Lisa Cripps in the 5th to 8th grade division; and Mary Anne Carpenter, Charlotte Wruble, and Harriett Cantrell in the 9th-12th grade teaching category.

The DeKalb County Sheriff’s Department has charged two men in separate theft investigations since Friday. Meanwhile, 18 year old Lillian Elezabeth Sosa, an illegal immigrant, has been picked up by the Department of Immigration and may soon be deported to Mexico.
Sheriff Patrick Ray says the detectives charged 29 year old Richard Mooney of Armstrong Road, Watertown on Friday with a theft which occurred at a residence on Poplar Road in DeKalb County on October 4th, 2007.
Mooney is charged with burglary and theft of property over $1,000. Sheriff Ray says Mooney allegedly took a 1965 Dodge 1 ton flatbed truck, and various pieces of metal and tin from the residence. Mooney’s bond was set at $30,000 and his court date is March 20th.
Meanwhile on Saturday, DeKalb Sheriff’s Department detectives charged 26 year old William Travis Malone of Curtis Avenue, Alexandria with burglary and theft of property over $10,000.
Sheriff Ray says on February 21st, Malone allegedly took 8 rings, 2 watches, and a necklace valued at over $15,000 and $80.00 in change from a vehicle on Curtis Avenue in Alexandria. Detectives were able to recover some of the stolen rings which Malone had sold to a business in Smithville. Malone allegedly admitted to county detectives his involvement in the theft. Malone’s bond was set at $75,000 and his court date is March 20th.
Sheriff Ray says Lillian Elezabeth Sosa was picked up by the Department of Immigration at the DeKalb County Jail Monday. The DeKalb County Sheriff’s Department was contacted by the Department of Immigration last week in regards to Sosa’s deportation. Sosa has been taken to Nashville to the Davidson County Jail and she will be held, pending arrangements to transport her back to Mexico. Sheriff Ray says “We have been informed by the Department of Immigration that every attempt will be made to deport any illegal alien, who has been charged with any felony criminal offense or has any prior record of deportation from the U.S.”
Sosa pleaded guilty last week to abuse of a corpse in DeKalb County Criminal Court and received a two year sentence, all suspended to time served. She was given credit for the 130 days she has been in custody from October 26th, 2007 to March 4th, 2008. She was to be released on Department of Corrections probation Monday, March 10th.

DeKalb County’s unemployment rate for January was 5.2%, up from 5% in December and 4.9% in January, 2007.
DeKalb County’s Labor Force in January was 10,330. A total of 9,790 were employed and 540 were unemployed.
Meanwhile, Tennessee’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate for January 2008 was released last week at 4.9 percent, 0.1 percent lower than the revised December 2007 rate of 5.0 percent. The United States unemployment rate for the month of January was also 4.9 percent.
County non-seasonally adjusted unemployment rates for January 2008, show that 89 counties increased. The rate decreased in four counties and remained the same in two counties. County unemployment rates are not be seasonally adjusted and therefore reflect seasonal expansions and layoffs that occur during the year. The state and U.S. unemployment rates are seasonally adjusted to eliminate normal seasonal fluctuations and to indicate a more accurate measurement of actual economic change.
Williamson County registered the state’s lowest county unemployment rate at 3.5 percent, the same as the December 2007 rate. Pickett County had the state’s highest at 10.7 percent, up from 9.5 in December, followed by Perry County at 10.2 percent, up from 9.0 in December.
Knox County had the state’s lowest major metropolitan rate at 3.8 percent, up from 3.7 in December. Davidson County was 4.2 percent, up from 4.1 in December. Hamilton County was at 4.6 percent, up from 4.3 in December, and Shelby County was 5.6 percent, up from the December rate of 5.4.

Andrew Chaffin Cooper, a fourth grader at Northside Elementary School, won the Tennessean Regional Spelling Bee Friday at the Massey Performing Arts Center at Belmont University in Nashville.
Cooper correctly spelled the word “kielbasa” to claim the championship.
He is the son of Dr. Steven and Martha Cooper of Smithville.
Both Cooper and Ashli Chew represented DeKalb County in the Regional Spelling Bee. Students from thirty nine other counties also participated.
Chew, another fourth grader at Northside Elementary, was winner of the 5th Annual DeKalb County Spelling Bee held last month at the high school. Cooper was the runner-up.
Chew is the daughter of Lori and Kelvin Page of Smithville and George and Janna Chew of Murfreesboro.
As the winner of the Regional Spelling Bee, Cooper received a one hundred dollar savings bond, a Webster’s Third New International Dictionary, and a first place trophy. Andrew will compete in the Scripps Howard National Spelling Bee in Washington D.C. May 25th through May 31st with all expenses paid by the Tennessean Newspaper.

Tennessee Attorney General Bob Cooper, acting on behalf of the Division of Consumer Affairs, has filed a civil law enforcement action against Elmer Virula for allegedly providing legal services without a license to members of the Hispanic immigrant community in Smithville and Davidson County.
The Attorney General has filed suit against Elmer Virula, TPS Tax Professional Services, Inc., and Office Professional Services, Inc. in Davidson County Circuit Court. The defendants are charged with the unauthorized practice of law for allegedly providing services from their
offices located on South Mountain Street in Smithville, Billingsgate Road in Antioch, and Nolensville Pike and Thompson Lane in Nashville. The State’s lawsuit alleges the defendants falsely told consumers that Elmer Virula is an attorney and certified public accountant in the State of Tennessee.
The complaint also alleges the defendants misled consumers, claiming they could provide legal services such as immigration document preparation, marriage licenses and other government certificates, which were falsified.
State officials said if you paid Elmer Virula, TPS Tax Professional Services, Inc., or Office Professional Services, Inc. for services, please contact the Tennessee Attorney General’s Office at (615) 741-1671 or toll free within Tennessee at 1-877-275-7396. The State is still trying to
determine how many consumers may have paid Virula and the related businesses
for services he allegedly did not provide.

The Senate Judiciary Committee has approved legislation, sponsored by Senator Mae Beavers (R-Mt. Juliet) that would allow law enforcement officers to immediately confiscate the licenses of drunk drivers upon arrest. Called Automatic License Revocation, or ALR, this program would be the administrative process by which the Department of Safety suspends the driver licenses of individuals who are arrested for the offense of driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs.
“The number of victims at the hands of drunk drivers in Tennessee is unacceptable,” said Beavers. “One problem is that about one-third of all drivers arrested for DUI each year are repeat DUI offenders. The National Transportation Safety Board research shows ALR is a major factor proven to reduce DUI offenses among convicted drunk drivers, therefore reducing recidivism and many unnecessary alcohol-related car crashes. This bill will go a long way to help reduce the number of drunk drivers on our roads.”
Specifically, an individual could be suspended under the bill for a blood alcohol concentration (BAC) greater than allowed by law, which is .08 for drivers 21 years of age or older; .02 percent for those under the age of 21; and .04 percent for a person operating a commercial vehicle. The bill would also apply to those who refuse to take the BAC test. In addition, the legislation would allow for an issuance of an interim permit, valid for up to 90 days after the date of issuance or until the Department or Safety revokes a driver’s driving privileges, whichever comes first.
“A state that does not have a law that requires on-the-spot license suspension of a drunk driver’s license is simply not doing all that it can to combat the tragedies drunk driving,” Beavers added. “It deters drunk driving by addressing dangerous behavior outside trial delays and plea bargains that can often plague criminal DUI prosecutions.”
In 2006, there were 1,287 fatalities on Tennessee roads with 509 due to alcohol-related crashes. Motor vehicle crashes are the leading cause of death among persons between the ages of 3 and 33, with 50 percent of those being alcohol-related.
The bill passed the Senate Judiciary Committee on a 9-0 vote. The bill must be heard and passed by the Senate Finance, Ways and Means Committee before heading to the Senate Floor for a vote.

Unless there is a further appeal, it appears a jail sentence imposed against Gary Carter will have to be reduced from 9 months to no more than 7.2 months based on an opinion by the Tennessee Court of Criminal Appeals, Middle Division.
Criminal Court Judge Leon Burns, Jr., in September 2006, sentenced Carter to two years to be served in split confinement with nine months incarceration followed by four years probation, after Carter entered a guilty plea to one count of statutory rape, involving a female, who was seventeen years old and only a few months shy of turning eighteen when the incident allegedly occurred.
Carter has remained free on bond since filing the appeal over a year ago. His name is also listed on the Tennessee Sexual Offender Registry.
In the appeal, the attorney for Carter, Hilton Conger, asked that Carter be granted probation, and not be made to serve nine months in jail.
In a February decision, the Tennessee Court of Criminal Appeals ruled that “the judgement of the trial court is affirmed as to the denial of judicial diversion and full probation.” However, the court further ruled that “the trial court erred in the imposition of nine months of incarceration.”
According to the court, “The period of time ordered to be served in split confinement cannot exceed the defendant’s release eligibility date. The release eligibility date for a Range I standard offender receiving a two year sentence is 7.2 months less certain sentence credits. The record clearly establishes that the defendant was sentenced to nine months, this sentence breached state law and the defendant’s liberty would be restrained longer than permitted by law, the issue was not waived, and consideration of the error is necessary to do substantial justice. Accordingly, we reverse the judgment to the extent that the defendant was ordered to serve nine months of incarceration and remand this matter to the trial court to enter an amended judgment setting the defendant’s split confinement sentence at 7.2 months. All other portions of the judgment are affirmed.”
Conger, in his written argument filed with the higher court, said the trial court erred in denying Carter probation, especially since Carter had no previous criminal record. Conger wrote, ” Despite the overwhelming evidence in the record that the appellant (Carter) was a favorable candidate for alternative sentencing, the trial court ambiguously ignored the presumption and failed to articulate in the record its reason or reasons for doing so.”
Conger also claimed that the trial court “abused its discretion when it summarily denied the appellant’s application for Judicial Diversion without specific consideration, on the record, of the relevant factors required under Tennessee Law. Even if sufficient evidence exists to support the denial of Judicial Diversion, the trial court must state its reasons for its denial of Judicial Diversion. It is clear from the record that the trial court failed to weigh all of the factors necessary prior to making its determination that the appellant’s application for Judicial Diversion would be denied.”
According to Conger, “requiring the appellant to serve nine months would require a complete disregard for the laws and statutes of the State of Tennessee and would cause the appellant and his family to suffer without his income to support them. The appellant has learned a humiliating, humbling and frightening lesson in life which has taken it’s toll on him emotionally and physically. The comments of the Assistant District Attorney and of the trial court, on the record, support the appellant’s contention that he will return to the exemplary life that he enjoyed prior to the date in question. The chances that the appellant will engage in future criminal conduct are extremely remote. Additionally, the appellant has expressed sincere remorse for his actions, and has taken full responsibility.”