Two business owners have been granted a permit to sell beer in Alexandria.
The Alexandria Beer Board, made up of the city aldermen, voted 4 to 0 Tuesday night to grant Bobby Kenneth Clayborn’s application for a permit at his convenience store, C & C Market at 212 Brush Creek Road or Highway 53.
Aldermen Eddie Tubbs, Charles Griffith, Derrick Baker, and Tony Tarpley voted to approve the application. Clayborn’s wife Shelia, who is an alderman and member of the beer board, abstained from voting. Another member, Maureen Tubbs, was not present during the vote.
The second application, filed by Robert Simpson, owner of Big Rock Storage on Nashville Highway or Highway 70, was also approved. All five members present voted in favor including Tubbs, Griffith, Baker, Tarpley, and Clayborn.
Prior to the vote, City Attorney Vester Parsley, Jr. explained that “state law requires the city to approve them (applications) if they (applicants)have met the requirements. From what we see, they have technically met the requirements by state law and by the city ordinance.”
Two concerned citizens, Robert Walker and Stein Prichard, raised questions prior to the vote and Prichard had petitions bearing 340 signatures including names of 148 Alexandria city residents who he says are in opposition.
The following is a summary of the discussion:
Robert Walker: “What about the citizens of Alexandria that don’t want beer in this town? We have 148 signatures here.”
City Attorney Parsley: “There’s always going to be someone who doesn’t want beer but if they (applicants) meet these requirements then it’s up to the aldermen. It’s not up to me.”
Walker: “I think if you’re going to go against 148 citizens of the City of Alexandria then I think everyone of you should resign. They didn’t have three readings on that (ordinance). They didn’t post it in the paper or anything.”
Alderman Eddie Tubbs: Yeah, we had three readings and we posted everything in the paper.”
Mayor Ria Baker: You’re representing 149 people. There are more than 149 people in the city of Alexandria. There’s about 700 people in Alexandria.”
Walker: “Why do you want to sell beer in this town? It’s not going to give you much more revenue. You’re going for two people and two people only.”
At this point, Mayor Baker was ready to move the meeting along and to allow Stein Prichard to speak for two minutes, but Walker wanted more time. The following is a summary of the discussion:
Walker: “I have a right to talk”
Parsley: “The mayor can decide whether you’ve used your time up and if she says you have, then you either stop or you’ll be escorted out, one or the other.”
Walker: “That’s not right. I’m a citizen of this town.”
Parsley: “I understand you are and she has given you a right to talk but you don’t have an exclusive right to just talk all night. We’re not going to be here all night. If she says she’s going to end your part of it she can go to the next one and go as far as she wants to.”
At this point in the meeting, Mayor Baker gave Stein Prichard an opportunity to speak:
Prichard: “I just want to ask the board if they think that everything that has been done to bring beer into the city, if it’s completely legal and if everything has been done according to the law. Everything that brought beer into the city, if it was done right?”
Alderman Charles Griffith: “If we didn’t, we wouldn’t do this Stein.
Mayor Baker: “What we have done, we have done right.”
Prichard: “Do you feel like you are representing the people of Alexandria as aldermen and the beer board? You haven’t asked the people.”
Griffith: “I think we’re doing what’s within the law. It’s in our charter now.”
Prichard: “Are you representing the people? You haven’t asked the people. Are you representing them as aldermen of the town of Alexandria?”
Alderman Tony Tarpley: “Stein, I’ve asked several people and I’ve had some yes’s and some no’s. A lot of them feel like we are losing revenue to towns that are close to us. If people are going to buy beer, they’re going to go and get their beer. It would probably actually keep people from being out here drinking and driving, if they’re going to Watertown or Gordonsville or wherever to buy it.”
Prichard: “I just want to know if you feel like you’re representing the people because you didn’t have a vote, you didn’t ask them and this is a major thing that you are doing. You should really as a vote, you should ask the people.”
Griffith: “There’s so many things we have to do. We just can’t ask the people on everything.”
Prichard: “But this is a major thing. You had to change several things to make this come about and you still didn’t ask the people. It doesn’t seem that you’re representing the people at all when you don’t ask them.”
Griffith: “Like Tony said, we’ve asked some people and it varies.”
Alderman Eddie Tubbs: “When they brought liquor in at Gordonsville, did you go over there and voice your opinion on it?
Prichard: “I don’t have anything to do with Gordonsville.”
Tubbs: “You live in Smith County.”
Prichard: But I work here. I’m here all the time and I go to church here. I don’t have any ties to Gordonsville.”

Sales tax revenues in DeKalb County were down in September and October compared to those same months in 2007.
County Mayor Mike Foster says if that trend continues, it will have an affect on the county budget.
During Monday night’s county commission meeting, Foster asked that the local legislative body take action asking all county department heads to come before the commission before making any major purchases. The commission approved Foster’s request.
Foster gave a break down on the gross receipts of sales taxes for the actual months of June through October.
June 2007 (Reported in August)- $300,920
June 2008 (Reported in August)- $308, 904
July 2007 (Reported in September) $220, 863
July 2008 (Reported in September) $302, 757
August 2007 (Reported in October) $308, 593
August 2008 (Reported in October) $313, 094
September 2007 (Reported in November) $271, 257
September 2008 (Reported in November) $262, 934
October 2007 (Reported in December) $279, 250
October 2008 (Reported in December) $252, 463
“That’s about a 10% decline for October and 8% the month before” said Foster. ” We need to ask all the departments to really scrutinize their purchases and anything above $5,000 needs to come before the full commission for them to look at it before we go through the bidding process. We need to be careful not to assume that the money is coming in at the rate we projected, when we know it started to decline in September. What we are concerned about is how much did November and December decline?”
If the Congress passes an economic stimulus package, the DeKalb County Commission would like to use any available money locally for water line extension and improvements in portions of the county.
Monday night, County Mayor Foster asked the commission to authorize an application for Community Development Grant through the Upper Cumberland Development District, if funding becomes available. “Depending on if and when the stimulus happens, we want to be ready in case there is some money that comes out early for CDBG grants.”
Foster says grant funds would benefit several local families with improved water services. “This is a request for water line improvements from Liberty to Dismal Road, from Henley Hollow to Tramel Branch to Highway 70 and across Tramel Branch to Lower Helton. It’s a total of 6.3 miles and would serve 37 houses.”
“Another one is Dry Creek Road east from Dry Creek Baptist Church 1.2 miles on up to the old metal bridge at the upper end of Dry Creek. It’s 1.2 miles and would serve seven houses.”
“Other projects include Oakley Road which goes north to northeast from Fuller’s Chapel. It’s 2 miles and there’s eight houses; Long Branch off of Highway 96 down near Center Hill Marina. It’s 3 miles and would serve 21 houses; Turner Road from Old Blue Springs Road near Shiney Rock store over to Jacob’s Pillar Road. It’s 1.1 miles and there’s eight houses; Givens Hollow is 1.5 miles with 16 houses; and Cook Hollow is 6 houses and .5 miles”
The commission voted to seek the grant funding.
And on a separate issue, the commission Monday night adopted a resolution seeking loan/grant funds to purchase a new ambulance and related equipment. “We’re applying for a grant to buy an ambulance and ambulance equipment” said Foster. ” If it is granted, we would be given a $17,000 grant. We would also be loaned $83,000 to finish out the purchase of that equipment at a rate of 4.5% and we would match the grant of $17,000 with $14,000 in local money.”
In other business, the commission voted to request the Tennessee Highway Patrol to conduct a study and recommend a safe speed limit for Holiday Haven Road and the Old Sparta Highway as requested by local residents there.
The commission also voted to ask TDOT for authorization to have installed caution and stop lights at the intersection at Highway 70 and Highway 83 near Kilgore’s Restaurant. County Mayor Foster says this intersection is dangerous and fourteen wrecks have occurred there in recent months. The request is for stop lights to be installed on Highway 83 and caution lights on Highway 70.
In addition, the commission is seeking authorization from TDOT for the installation of street lights to better illuminate the intersections of Highway 70 and Dry Creek Road and at Highway 70 and Hurricane Ridge Road.
The DeKalb County Fire Department has re-elected Donny Green as Fire Chief and Roy Merriman as Assistant Chief for the year. The county commission voted to approve the appointments.
The commission adopted a resolution proclaiming January “Radon Action Month” to help educate persons about the dangers of radon exposure and encourage actions to identify and to address radon problems in the home.
Radon is a naturally occurring gas that can seep into homes through cracks and openings in their foundations. It cannot be seen, tasted or smelled, but in concentrated levels, radon can pose a threat to human health. The EPA estimates that approximately 70 percent of Tennessee’s population lives in high risk or moderate risk radon areas. According to the EPA, radon is the number one cause of lung cancer among non-smokers and is the second leading cause of lung cancer in the United States.
The best time to test is during consistently cold weather, usually from October to March. This is the time of year when doors and windows are shut, so test results are more representative of in-home exposure. Radon problems can be fixed by qualified contractors for a cost comparable to that of many common household repairs, such as painting or installing a new water heater.
In Tennessee, radon test kits can be purchased at most local hardware and home improvement stores.

A 70 year old man pleaded guilty to the aggravated sexual battery of a child Monday in DeKalb County Criminal Court.
Homer L. Nunley, who was originally charged with rape of a child and aggravated sexual battery, entered the plea to the one charge under a negotiated settlement and received a 12 year sentence to serve. The range of punishment for this offense is 8 to 12 years.
Judge David Patterson presided.
Nunley must comply with all sex offender requirements and have no contact with the victim.
He was given jail credit from August 6th, 2008 to January 26th, 2009
Sheriff Patrick Ray says Nunley was arrested on a sealed indictment returned during the August term of the Grand Jury for rape of a child and aggravated sexual battery. Nunley was accused of raping a child and the aggravated sexual battery of a child under 11 years of age on July 6th, 2008. Sheriff Ray says Nunley was convicted in Florida on April 9th, 1991 on a charge of sexual battery of a child by an authority figure. Nunley is currently registered here in DeKalb County on the TBI’s sexual offender registry.
Meanwhile, in other cases Monday, 47 year old Anna Darlene Cahill pleaded guilty to forgery and received a three year sentence, all suspended to DOC probation. She must make restitution of $10,000 and perform 100 hours of community service work.
32 year old Carla Chapman pleaded guilty to attempted sale of a schedule II controlled substance. She received a two year sentence, all suspended to DOC probation. The sentence is to run concurrently with a White County case against her. Chapman must make restitution of $35 and perform 50 hours of community service work. She must also undergo an alcohol and drug assessment and follow the recommendations.
33 year old Cyndi Heinz pleaded guilty by information to four counts of prescription fraud and two counts of worthless check. She effectively received a three year sentence, all suspended including two years in the prescription fraud cases combined and 11 months and 29 days in the worthless check cases combined. The prescription fraud sentence is to run consecutively with the worthless check sentence and consecutively with a Wilson County case against her. Heinz must also make restitution on all checks and make a contribution of $150 to the economic crime fund.

Sheriff Patrick Ray is asking local residents to beware of scams being reported in the county.
According to Sheriff Ray “The first one is where an automated service calls the victim and tells them their credit or debit card has had numerous unauthorized transactions on it and then the service asks the victim to punch in their card numbers. This has happened to at least two DeKalb County citizens. Neither of the two citizens entered their card numbers.”
In another scam, Sheriff Ray says a senior citizen received calls on two different days and the scammer called the victim by name.
“The scammer called the first day from a restricted phone number and told the victim that there was a survey being conducted here. The scammer asked personal questions of the victim and then asked for their social security number and their credit or debit card numbers. The victim refused to give out the numbers to the caller.”
“On the second day, another scammer called the same victim and advised that there was a grant that had been applied for by the city where the victim lives and asked for personal information such as the victim’s monthly bills, how much money the victim draws each month, and the victim’s social security number and credit or debit card numbers.”
In each case, Sheriff Ray says all of the victims did the right thing. “They hung up and reported the scams to law enforcement. Luckily we have not had any victims to report where they have given personal bank account numbers or social security numbers to the scammers. You should never give personal information out over the phone. If you think you have been a victim of a scam, you should contact law enforcement immediately.”

On behalf of DeKalb County Citizens, Sheriff Patrick Ray, on Thursday, presented donated cell phones, collected from citizens from the County, to DeKalb Court Advocate Kellie Nash from the Cookeville Genesis House.
Nash says “I want to thank the Citizens of DeKalb County for their cell phone donations. We take the donated phones, refurbish them, and give them to our clients as a way to contact Law Enforcement in case of an emergency. The cell phones only will call 911.”
Nash said that every 14 seconds in our country, a woman is battered by her intimate partner and every 5 years, more woman are killed by domestic violence than Americans killed in the Vietnam War.
Sheriff Ray echoes his concern for domestic violence. “Twenty percent of all murders are domestic violence related and seventy six percent of rapes and sexual assaults are committed by husbands, ex-husbands, boyfriends, family members or acquaintances. By this cooperative effort between the DeKalb Sheriff’s Department, the Citizens of DeKalb County, and the Genesis House of Cookeville, this will allow victims to obtain cell phones that are equipped to only call 911 dispatch if there is an emergency. The donated phones we have collected will be traded to phones of this type. If you have any unused cell phones and want to donate them to this cause, you may drop the used cell phones off at the DeKalb County Jail. The only item that is needed is the cell phones, no power cords are required.”
Sheriff Ray advises anyone who is a victim of Domestic Violence to contact him at the Sheriff’s Office at 597-4935 or call the 24 hour Genesis House Crisis Line at 1-800-707-5197 or 931-526-5197.

State Senator Mae Beavers and State Representative Terri Lynn Weaver Saturday night presented County Fire Chief Donny Green with a state proclamation honoring him for his meritorious service and to congratulate him upon receiving the President’s Volunteer Service Award.
Senator Beavers and Representative Weaver each read portions of the proclamation during the Fire Department’s annual awards banquet held at the Smithville Church of God annex.
The proclamation reads as follows:
“Whereas, it is fitting that the members of this General Assembly should salute those citizens who, through their extraordinary efforts, have distinguished themselves as community leaders and public servants of whom we can all be proud; and
Whereas, Donny Green of DeKalb County is one such estimable person who evinces the greatest integrity and probity in all his chosen endeavors and
Whereas, routinely risking his personal well-being to ensure the safety of his friends and neighbors, Mr. Green has performed his duties as a Volunteer Firefighter, Volunteer Medical First Responder, Volunteer Fire Captain, and Volunteer Fire Chief of the DeKalb County Volunteer Fire Department with the utmost skill, dedication, and professionalism; and
Whereas, in recognition of his outstanding volunteer service to his community, Donny Green was awarded the President’s Volunteer Service Award in Washington, D.C. on October 22, 2008; and
Whereas, in his 2002 State of the Union address, President George W. Bush issued a challenge to all Americans to make time to help their neighbors, communities, and Nation through volunteer service, calling on each person to dedicate at least two years or 4,000 hours, toward service to others over the course of their lives; and
Whereas, the President’s Council on Service and Civic Participation created the President’s Volunteer Service Award program as a way to thank and honor Americans who, by their demonstrated commitment and example, inspire others to engage in volunteer service; and
Whereas, this prestigious award was presented to Mr. Green by Secretary of Agriculture Ed Schafer in recognition of his dedication to volunteer service; and
Whereas, Donny Green has evinced an abiding spirit of dedication to his community, serving over 10,500 volunteer hours since 1986; and
Whereas, Mr. Green has been a tireless champion of the DeKalb County Volunteer Fire Department, obtaining grant money for the department, a site for their headquarters, and other recruits to help serve the needs of their community; and
Whereas, Donny Green and his wife, Misty, attended the awards ceremony in Washington, D.C., where he was presented with an official President’s Volunteer Service Award pin, a personalized certificate of achievement, and a framed note of congratulations from President George W. Bush; and
Whereas, Mr. Green is wholly committed to the noble precepts of public service that have earned Tennessee recognition as the “Volunteer State”; and
Whereas, the members of this General Assembly find it appropriate to acknowledge and applaud Donny Green for his dedication to the State of Tennessee and it’s citizens; now, therefore,
I, Ron Ramsey, Speaker of the Senate of the One Hundred Sixth General Assembly of the State of Tennessee, at the request of and in conjunction with Senator Mae Beavers and Representative Terri Lynn Weaver, do hereby proclaim that we honor and commend Donny Green for his meritorious service to the State of Tennessee, congratulate him upon his receipt of the President’s Volunteer Service Award, and extend to him our best wishes for every future success.
Proclaimed in Nashville, Tennessee on this the 14th day of January, 2009.
Signed by Lieutenant Governor Ron Ramsey, State Senator Mae Beavers, and State Representative Terri Lynn Weaver.”

C.J. Tramel of the Midway Station was named “County Firefighter of the Year” Saturday night during the department’s annual awards banquet held at the Smithville Church of God annex.
County Fire Chief Donny Green, who presided over the ceremony, said Tramel met all the department’s criteria in earning this award. “That award is based on three elements. One of the elements is firefighter training attendance. The second part is fire call response. We look at the number of fire calls that they actually responded to in correlation to the number of calls we had that year. The third element is community service. Anything we do with outside groups, schools, senior citizens, or projects we’re working on, all those are evaluated as community service and it’s one third of the score in meeting the criteria. The scores are then totaled and the person with the highest score gets the Firefighter of the Year award. The same three elements are also used by the department in honoring the Officer of the Year.”
Lieutenant Bradley Mullinax received the “Officer of the Year” award. Chief Green says Mullinax is also the department’s Fire Prevention and Safety Officer. ” One of the big things that Bradley has really worked hard at and spent a lot of time on, in addition to his fire calls and training attendance, is the fire prevention program that he has actively spearheaded and directed here in the county, going to the schools and senior citizens groups. He has taught some CRP classes to some of the community groups. He’s had a lot of community involvement. When we have community involvement, it makes the fire department look good. It’s a good public relations tool, even though it might not be directly related to fire calls. When we have a representative who is going out and interacting with the community, it’s makes for good public relations and Bradley has done that.”
The “Rookie” award went to Logan Maynard of the Cookeville Highway Station. Chief Green says this award is totally based on hours of training. “We look at their monthly training drills and any outside training they do through the fire academy or any of the Upper Cumberland or Smoky Mountain weekend training courses. The award is based on the cumulative total of training hours. It’s straightforward. Whoever gets the most certified training hours, gets the Rookie of the Year award because we feel like the first year of a firefighter’s time in the department is the most critical in getting him or her in touch with the safety measures and everything that goes with firefighting and that’s why emphasis is placed on training for Rookie of the Year.”
Captain Jeff Williams was presented the “Git-R-Done” award. Chief Green says this award is based on a cumulative total of work session hours. ” As we have work sessions, we send out notices to all of our firefighters that we’re having a work session and we try to recognize the person who participates in our work sessions, whether it be working on a station, working on a truck, or putting equipment on a truck. One of the big things this last year was working on our main station renovation. We spent a lot of hours over there doing that. Again, the Git-R-Done award is based solely on work session hours. It doesn’t take into consideration training or fire response. It’s totally work session or additional effort type hours.”
Lieutenant and department Chaplain Anthony Boyd received a ten year service pin and Dick Kinsey of the Short Mountain Highway Station, who was absent, was recognized for five years of service and he will receive a pin for his length of service.
Meanwhile, Dan Hancock, formerly of the Midway Station, Tim Pedigo of the Blue Springs Station, and Chris Tramel of the Liberty Station received “Honorary Lifetime Membership Awards”.
Chief Green says these three men are very deserving of this honor. ” Dan Hancock was one of the original charter members of the DeKalb County Fire Department back when it started in 1975. He was a member for more than twenty years and even though he is no longer an active firefighter, he still supports the fire department.”
“Tim Pedigo was one of the key players in our main station renovation project. He is a contractor and construction worker and we used his skills. He contributed countless hours. He would get off from work in the afternoon and come out there and work until nine or ten o’clock, three and four nights a week, and all day on Saturday using his equipment, his tools, and his time. He was one of the key players in getting the main station building done and we felt like that was certainly a contribution that was extremely significant and we wanted to recognize Tim for his work on our building project.”
“When he first joined, Chris Tramel actually was the firefighter who designed our fire department patch that we still use today. Chris has a lot of graphic skills. In addition to the patch design, he started our first website. He designed it and kept it updated. We have another guy who is taking care of that now but Chris still offers technical support and helps us with anything having to do with our computers and that sort of thing and we wanted to recognize his contributions. He’s done all this in addition to being on the fire department. The mark that he has left on the fire department with the website and the patch is certainly something that’s going to be carried on for many years.”