The date and location of the DeKalb County High School/Upperman Football game has been changed due to poor field conditions at DCHS.
Tiger Coach Steve Trapp says the game, which was set for Friday at 7:00 p.m. in Smithville, will be played on Saturday at 7:00 p.m. at Tennessee Tech in Cookeville. “The reason why we’re having to move the game to Tech is because our field conditions are not very good right now. It’s been very wet this latter half of the season and with the Middle School games, Junior Pro games, and Soccer games that have been played on it, our field is just in no condition for us to play on it Friday. It’s somewhat of a safety issue. There’s a lot of mud with all the rain we’ve had this week. It’s (field) not had a chance to dry out whatsoever. We’re going to try to give it (field) a chance to recover. We’ll have to play Saturday because Cookeville High School is going to be playing their high school game there (Tech) Friday night. Everything will work just as if we were playing here at Vanhoosier Stadium. We still want to invite everybody to make the short drive over to Tennessee Tech and help create a good atmosphere for us. It’ll be a home game for us, just in a different setting.”
WJLE’s coverage begins with Tiger Talk at 6:30 p.m. followed by the game at 7:00 p.m.

For the second year in a row, DeKalb County High School’s Payne Denman, a senior, has claimed the TSSAA Class A-AA State Golf Tournament Championship.
Denman shot a 70 on Wednesday at Old Fort Golf Course in Murfreesboro. Denman’s score, combined with the 70 he posted on Tuesday, gave him a two-day score of 140 for the tournament.
Meanwhile, DeKalb County’s Austin Garrett tied for 6th in the state tournament with a score of 74 on Wednesday and 77 Tuesday for a two-day score of 151.
DeKalb County’s Grant James shot an 85 on Wednesday and a 78 on Tuesday for a score of 163 for the two days which placed him tied for 26th in the state tournament.
DCHS Golf Coach Chris Vance says he is very proud of all three players. “Payne, Grant, and Austin all had a tremendous state tournament experience. Everybody played exceptionally well. I couldn’t be any prouder of them. They represented their school and the county extremely well. I just can’t say enough about how much these boys have changed our program and how much they have meant to it over the past four years. Obviously they’re going to be missed next year.”

The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation along with the Wilson County’s Sheriff’s Office have arrested three men for the shooting death of a Wilson County man after they were indicted by a Wilson County Grand Jury.
The three suspects have been charged with Felony First Degree Murder and Especially Aggravated Robbery. Derrick Blair (top picture), 20, of Watertown, TN, Tommy Adams (middle photo), 24, of Watertown, TN and Chris Estes (bottom picture), 24, of Auburntown, TN have all booked into the Wilson County Jail.
The victim 38-year-old Darrell Sloan, 714 Washington Drive, Lebanon, TN was found shot to death on October 4, 2009 at a friend’s residence located at 155 Knight Road, Watertown, TN. The suspects and victim were acquaintances and had attended a party at the residence

Tennessee officials announced today that DeKalb County has been awarded a highway safety grants in the amounts of $5,000 for the DeKalb County Sheriff’s Department and the Alexandria Police Department to support high visibility law enforcement campaigns.
The Smithville Police Department has also been awarded a highway safety grant in the amount of
$20,887 to support DUI enforcement efforts.
The Governor’s Highway Safety Office (GHSO) mission is to save lives and reduce injuries on Tennessee roadways through leadership, innovation, coordination, and program support in partnership with other public and private organizations. The grant awarded will be used to promote this mission.
“These highway safety grants reflect a continued commitment to work with local and state agencies to make our roadways even safer than they are today,” said Bredesen. “The funds made available through these grants will support the efforts of many local and state highway safety partners to reduce the number of people killed and injured in traffic crashes each year.”
Grant awards are issued to agencies that successfully applied for funding based on problem and statistical need. The GHSO notified agencies across the state that applications were being accepted for highway safety grants. Applications were reviewed and scored by the GHSO and external highway safety advocates. The agencies that met the criteria for funding received awards.
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I am proud that we are able to help fund important programs at the state and local level that help reduce the number of traffic crashes on Tennessee roadways,” stated Commissioner Gerald Nicely, Tennessee Department of Transportation. “These grants will make a difference in the effectiveness of our highway safety partners.”
There are several elements that contribute to a sound and safe roadway system. Some of those aspects are an accurate traffic safety data collection and analysis system; well-trained and equipped law enforcement personnel; and effective emergency medical and trauma systems. A major part of roadway safety is educating motorists about laws and good driving behaviors.
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Grants awarded by the GHSO are provided in areas of need,” reported GHSO Director Kendell Poole. “Statistics show our problem areas and we strive to put the funding where it will be most effective. We are dedicated to saving lives across Tennessee and pledge to work with grantees statewide to accomplish our mission.”
Senator Mae Beavers and Representative Terri Lynn Weaver worked to secure these funds for DeKalb County.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration provides the funding for GHSO grants.

It was a trip he had looked forward to for a long time. But unfortunately, World War II Veteran Donald Sheets was unable to make his Honor Flight to Washington, D.C. to visit the World War II Memorial. When it came time for Donald to make his trip, he became ill. He ended up requiring hospitalization and became a patient at DeKalb Community Hospital.
As one might expect, Donald was very disappointed at not being able to travel to Washington, D.C with many of his fellow soldiers. Edward and Edsel Frazier were two other local Smithville Veterans who did get to make this journey.
When Dr J.C. Wall, a Family Practice Physician here in Smithville, heard about Donald’s story from the nurses at the hospital, he knew that he wanted to find a way to honor this hero. He had the dietary department at DeKalb Community Hospital bake a very special cake that was presented to Donald Sheets in his hospital bed.

In the rain and drizzle, the DeKalb County Fighting Tiger Band was on their practice field early Saturday morning, preparing for their contest at Goodpasture High School in Madison, Tennessee. The students were focused and ready to do whatever needed to be done to guarantee a great performance!
If you’ve been keeping up with the band over the years, you know they have done very well at their contests. However, one thing has eluded them. In the past five years, they have been unable to make finals in marching contests where preliminary and final competitions were judged. Year after year, the band would come very close, and in some cases, they would miss the finals competition by only a fraction of a point.
When the band entered Goodpasture’s field for preliminary competition around noon, huge sections of the field were nothing but mud. The field had been rain soaked the night before and was in very poor condition. As the band marched to their position to start the show, Band Director, Jonathan Wright, outwardly warned the students of the condition of the ground. “Be careful, this field is in rough shape,” he said. “We’re the first band of the day to perform, so the condition of the field is as good as it’s going to be all day long,” he continued. “It’ll only get worse from here.”
After the preliminary performance, the students returned to the buses to clean the mud off their shoes and uniforms. Mr. Wright gave them a quick critique of the show and said, “We have given our best and that is all we can do. It’s in the judge’s hands now.” The students put on dry clothes and returned to the stands to watch some of the other bands in the contest.
The preliminary part of the Goodpasture Cougar Marching Invitational was broken into classes. DCHS was competing in Class A, the smallest class. All bands are comparable in size when divided this way. A band would have to do well in “prelims” competition against all other bands similar in size to continue on to finals competition. However, in finals, all bands compete against each other, regardless of size.
After all of the bands had performed, the students of the DeKalb County Fighting Tiger Band heard news that they hadn’t heard since The Division II State Contest in 2004. The DCHS band would be among the top eight bands in the finals competition on the very same field they had placed five years ago. “Making finals is a very big deal for these guys,” Mr. Wright said. “The last of the 2004 students graduated last year, so none of these students have ever made finals in a competition. This is a very big accomplishment.”
The Goodpasture Band and Boosters decided that the condition of their field was much better on the visitor’s side, so while the finals bands were preparing to perform a second time, they asked the audience to move to the other side of the field. A few minor adjustments of how to get the band’s equipment on and off the field had to be made. The DCHS Pit Crew, a dedicated bunch of Band Supporters who help get the sideline instruments on and off the field, really put their time and backs into this contest. Rather than the luxury of using the trailer and John Deere tractor to move equipment, they had to move the huge pieces one at a time. The condition of the ground simply would not allow the tractor on the field without damaging it further.
The results of the preliminary competition and finals competition were announced later that evening. The section leaders of all competing bands gathered on the field to hear their placement.
In prelims, Field Commander, Hunter Tramel won 1st place in Class A. The DCHS Band placed 3rd in Class A behind Kenwood and Houston County High Schools.
In finals competition, The DCHS Fighting Tiger Band fought their way to 6th place against bands that were much larger in size. Mr. Wright said, “We made some big improvements from prelims to finals and the results showed it. We beat one of the bands in a bigger class, plus we beat a band that had beaten us in prelims. This has been a very successful day for us.”
Despite fall break, the band now makes preparations for their next couple of contest performances. The 14th Annual Highland Rim Marching Contest will be held on October 24th at Westmorland High School, and The Division II State Competition will be held at Independence High School on November 7th, which will also be a prelims/finals competition.
In addition to the contest performances, the DeKalb County Fighting Tiger Band also plans to perform at the DCHS Football games against Upperman High School on October 16th, and Livingston Academy on October 30th. During the October 30th game, there just may be a Halloween surprise, so you might want to make plans to attend.
To find out more about the Band or how to become a Supporter, log onto www.DekalbBand.com or check them out on FaceBook.