A fire destroyed two houseboats and damaged another Sunday night at Center Hill Marina at Cove Hollow on Center Hill Lake. The marina itself was not damaged.
Central dispatch received the call at 7:29 p.m.
The fire apparently started on one of the houseboats which was docked at the “B” pier of the marina. The owner of the boat, who had been on board, left a pan of grease heating up on the stove while he went fishing off the pier. When the man returned to the boat, he found it mostly engulfed in flames. The fire also spread to boats on either side of the burning houseboat, destroying one and causing minor damage to the other. A dog on one of the boats also perished in the blaze.
The marina’s maintenance manager cut loose other boats in danger that were tied to the dock along the pier and he made sure persons on board those boats were alerted so they could safely evacuate.
Among those responding to the fire were members of the DeKalb County Fire Department’s Main station and the Liberty and Temperance Hall Stations. The department used it’s fire boat to gain better access. Officers of the TWRA were also on the scene along with the DeKalb County Sheriff’s Department and DeKalb EMS.
One of the firefighters became overheated while fighting the fire requiring treatment on site. The marina’s maintenance manager also suffered a minor shoulder injury.

A total of 170 students at DeKalb County High School will receive their diplomas during graduation exercises Friday, May 21st at 7:00 p.m. on the high school football field.
The program will feature remarks by the Valedictorian, Hunter Tramel, the Class President, Amanda Ours and Guest speaker Michael Burt, a championship coach, motivational speaker, leadership expert, author, and culture builder.
The prestigious White Rose and Citizenship Awards will also be presented to three outstanding members of the class. Diplomas will be presented to each graduate by Director of Schools Mark Willoughby. The DCHS Chorus is also expected to perform.
The honor students will be recognized including the 2010 Valedictorian Hunter Tramel and the Salutatorian Wesley Blair.
Students among the top twenty five senior academic ranking from numbers one to twenty five are as follows: Hunter Tramel, Wesley Blair, Grant James, Caleb Spencer, Meagan Sullivan, Hunter Poteete, Seth Willoughby, Amanda Ours, Reddy Munagala, Cynthia Woodward, Tyler Harbaugh, Tiffany Young, Haley Snyder, Erica Neely, Jared Adams, Dakota Dexter, Payne Denman, Nicholas Goff, Caroline Carter, Kendra Foutch, Kyle Hogue, Jessica Fox, Lindsey Harden, Austin Garrett, and Gabrielle Byford.
Students earning “Highest Distinction” with a grade point average of 3.8 to 4.0 include
Hunter Tramel-Valedictorian 4.0, Wesley Blair- Salutatorian 4.0, Grant James 4.0, Erica Neely 4.0, Hunter Poteete 4.0, Caleb Spencer 4.0, Meagan Sullivan 4.0, Seth Willoughby 4.0, Cynthia Woodward 4.0, Jared Adams, Caroline Carter, Payne Denman, Dakota Dexter, Kendra Foutch, Jessica Fox, Austin Garrett, Nicholas Goff, Tyler Harbaugh, Kyle Hogue, Reddy Munagala, Amanda Ours, Haley Snyder, and Tiffany Young
Students earning “High Distinction” with a grade point average of 3.6 to 3.79 include Gabrielle Byford, Axyl Chalfant, Tyler Dunaway, Kayla Ellis, Sabrina Griffin, Lindsey Harden, Katie Nixon, and Katelyn Stutts.
Those earning “Distinction” with a grade point average of 3.2 to 3.59 include Paulina Alfaro, Matthew Antoniak, Reeves Beller, Elicia Cantrell, Samantha Coe, Rachel Cunningham, Brandon Dyer, Abram Edwards, Whitney Gann, Jaylen Garrett, Jessica Goldstein, April Hale, Ethan Hale, Stephanie Hobbs, Conner Jones, Sasha Knowles, Abigail Laprad, Layne Mathis, Tyler McCloud, Brad Michaels, Travis Neal, Zachary Odom, Morgan Page, Micah Prichard, Kristian Puckett, Myra Tramel, and Joseph Vickers.
Members of the DCHS Class of 2010 are as follows:
Jared Adams, Angela Alfaro, Paulina Alfaro, Schuylar Allen, Taylor Allen, Matthew Antoniak, Nathan Armour, Brandon Atnip, and Corey Atnip,
Autumn Banks, Reeves Beller, Lance Bennett, Wesley Blair, Hillary Bowman, Michael Briley, Brittany Brown, Natasha Burrage, Gabrielle Byford,
Jade Cade, Ashly Caldwell, Elicia Cantrell, Macey Cantrell, Caroline Carter, Axyl Chalfant, Mindy Chrisman, Holly Cikalo, Dakota Clark, Samantha Coe, Britany Collier, Matthew Collier, John D. Crutcher, Jordan Crutcher, Rachel Cunningham, Jodi Curtis,
Kandi Davenport, Michael Davenport, Ethan Davis, Payne Denman, Dakota Dexter, Ryan Dodd, Tyler Dunaway, Brandon Dyer,
Abram Edwards, Kayla Ellis,
Allen Faux, Kendra Foutch, Jessica Fox, Cody Fults,
Whitney Gann, Austin Garrett, Jaylen Garrett, Juan Godinez, Nicholas Goff, Jessica Goldstein, Sabrina Griffin,
Brandon Haas, Megan Hackett, Travis Hagan, April Hale, Ethan Hale, Tavisha Hall, Tyler William Harbaugh, Lindsey JoAnn Harden, Kirsten Nichole Hardison, Rebecca Lee Haynes, Ashley Breanna Hendrixson, Mizael Hernandez, Michael Austen Highers, Aaron E. Hines, Stephanie Hobbs, Daryl Lindsay Hobby, Kyle Patrick Hogue, Christopher Garrett Hoke, Chelsea Lee Holden, Kayla Dawn Hubbard,
Grant James, Bethany Nichol Johnson, Cody A. Johnson, Travon Aki Johnson, Conner Jones,
Colby Mason Kelnhofer, Tyler Kemp, Sasha Suzanne Knowles, Daniel Kosirog,
Kimberly Ann Lanier, Abigail Laprad, Heather Nicole Lee, John W. Licht, Chelsye Janae Linder,
Ryan Macy, Mark Mason, Jessica Lauren Matthews, Layne Thomas Mathis, Talisha Mathis, Ethan Matthews, Tyler McCloud, Shaun McGinnis, Heather Melton, Brad Michaels, Lyndsey Miller, Joseph Miller, Ross Moore, Kane Morgan, Frank Morris, Veronica Mullins, Tejaswi Munagala,
Jesus Narvaez, Kayla Neal, Travis Neal, Zachary Neal, Erica Neely, Katie Nixon, Jenna Norris,
William Odom, Zachary Odom, Lizabeth Oliva, Andrea Ottinger, Amanda Ours, Ashley Owen,
Brian Pack, Morgan Page, Piyush Patel, Carlos Perez, Jonathan Plattenburg, Hunter Poteete, Sarah Price, Micah Prichard, Brandon Puckett, Kristian Puckett, Salvador Puentes, Brandon Pyles,
Raul Ramirez, Chandler Robinson, Casey Rowland,
Joi Satterfield, Anthony Schellingburger, Tiffani Scott, Jason Singleton, Eddie Lee Smith, Haley Snyder, Hilda Soto, Caleb Spencer, Kristina Stephens, Britta Strayn, John Strayn, Andrea Stringer, Katelyn Stutts, Meagan Sullivan, Dustin Summers, Jesse Sutton,
Corey Tate, Nicole Taylor, Vanessa Taylor, Kyle Thomas, Nathaniel Tippens, Jaime Torres, Hunter Tramel, Myra Tramel, Joshua Tyree,
Justin Vandergriff, Katelyn Vanwinkle, Joseph Vickers,
Ashley Waggoner, Jessica Walden, Daniel Watts, Tyler Weatherby, Tiffany Wheeler, Seth Willoughby, Cynthia Woodward,
Tiffany Young

The Smithville Police Department has issued it’s weekly update on recent arrests.
33 year old Tracie Lyndal Godsey of 194 E H Haas Road was arrested on Friday, May 7th for violation of probation. Corporal Travis Bryant was called to the probation office where he was informed that Godsey had an active warrant on her. According to the warrant, Ms. Godsey was convicted of simple possession of a schedule IV controlled substance in DeKalb County General Sessions court. Godsey was given a suspended sentence and placed on probation for a term of 11 months and 29 days. She allegedly violated the conditions of the probation and a warrant was issued for her arrest. After obtaining verification with a hard copy of the warrant through central dispatch, Godsey was placed under arrest without incident. She is being held without bond.
52 year old William Boyd Seals Jr of 236 Spring Valley Road, McMinnville was arrested on Sunday, May 9th for a second offense of driving under the influence. K-9 Officer Bradley Tatrow responded to an accident on West Broad Street and made contact with Seals who was standing with Sergeant Randy King in front of King’s patrol car. Seals appeared to be intoxicated and he had a strong odor of a fermented beverage about his person. Seals was also unsteady on his feet and he had trouble standing without aide. Seals submitted to field sobriety tasks and performed poorly. A bottle of Vodka was recovered from the passenger side floor board of his vehicle. Seals was cited for violation of the open container law. Bond for Seals is $2,000 and his court date is May 20th.
39 year old Andrea Charese Johnson of 107 Shady Lane, Alexandria was arrested Monday, May 10th for leaving the scene of an accident. K-9 Officer Bradley Tatrow received a call concerning a hit and run accident. Upon arrival, he made contact with Joshua Lesley Johnson who said that a silver four door car crossed into his lane of travel, struck the front driver side of his vehicle, ran it into the grass just off the roadway, and fled the scene. While Officer Tatrow was speaking with Mr. Johnson, a vehicle pulled up and he was advised that it was the same automobile that had left the scene. The driver of the vehicle, Andrea Johnson said that she was texting and when she looked up she was in the south bound lane and could not avoid hitting the other vehicle. Ms. Johnson added that she panicked because she had never been in an accident and that’s why she fled the scene. Ms. Johnson was arrested for leaving scene of accident and cited for texting while driving and failure to maintain lane of travel. Her bond is $1,000 and she will be in court on May 20th.
32 year old Jackie Darrell Ervin of 310 Webb Lane was arrested on Wednesday, May 12th and charged with two counts of violation of probation in Wilson and White counties. Detective Jerry Hutchins made the arrest.
29 year old Christie Dawn Barlow of 4724 Jefferson Road was arrested on Wednesday, May 12th for simple assault and public intoxication. Corporal Travis Bryant was called to 318 West Broad Street to check out an altercation between several people. Upon arrival he spoke with the parties involved and determined that Barlow was the aggressor. She was belligerent, would not let anyone talk, had slurred speech and was unsteady on her feet. Barlow was placed under arrest. Her bond is $2,500 and she will be in court on May 27th.
43 year old Marty Brent Tallent of 465 West Broad Street was arrested on Thursday, May 13th for DUI. K-9 Officer Bradley Tatrow saw Tallent operating a motorcycle and stopped him for not wearing a helmet. He had an odor of an alcoholic beverage on his person, slurred speech, and he admitted to drinking beer. Tallent submitted to field sobriety tasks and performed poorly. When asked to submit to a blood test,. Tallent refused. He was arrested for DUI and cited for violation of the implied consent law. Bond for Tallent is $1,000 and his court date is June 17th.
26 year old Michael B Gingerich of 180 Turner Street, Liberty was arrested on Thursday, May 13th for driving on a suspended license. Officer Scott Davis stopped Gingerich for speeding on Allen Ferry Road and a check of records revealed that his drivers license were suspended for failure to satisfy a citation in DeKalb County on November 28th, 2008. Bond for Gingerich is $1,000 and his court date is June 9th.
Any information received that will help Smithville Police solve any criminal offense will be greatly appreciated. All information is confidential
Meanwhile, the Smithville Police Department has recently received reports of a scam concerning the Census Bureau. Chief Randy Caplinger would like to remind citizens that employees with the Census Bureau will not ask for personal information, such as; social security number, bank account number, etc… If anyone asks for this information, do not give it to them and contact your local law enforcement agencies.

Almost $548,000 in scholarships were awarded to members of the Class of 2010 at DeKalb County High School during Friday’s annual Senior Awards Day program.
Representatives of colleges, universities, the U.S. Army, Navy, and Marines, businesses, civic groups, and other organizations made the presentations.
Payne Denman received one of the largest scholarship awards of the day, an $85,000 Athletic Scholarship to play golf at the University of Florida. State Representative Terri Lynn Weaver also presented Denman a proclamation adopted by the Tennessee House of Representatives last December honoring Denman for his achievements as a student athlete.

Other scholarship awards are as follows:
MTSU Scholarships:
$8,000 Provost- Jared Adams
$8,000 Provost- Kyle Hogue
$8,000 Provost- Dakota Dexter
$12,000 Academic Service- Lindsey Harden
University of Florida:
$85,000 Athletic Scholarship-Payne Denman
Cumberland University:
$6,000 Golf Scholarship- Austin Garrett
$5,750 Academic Scholarship- Austin Garrett
Tusculum College:
$32,000 Scholarship- Abram Edwards
Tennessee Tech University Scholarships:
$1,000 Ezra H. Carwile- Axyl Chalfant
$10,000 Golden Eagle Excellence- Caleb Spencer
$10,000 Golden Eagle Excellence- Hunter Tramel
$10,000 Golden Eagle Excellence- Tyler Harbaugh
$12,000 Academic Service-Wesley Blair
$12,000 Academic Service- Tiffany Young
$3,000 Grand Prize Science Fair- Tiffany Young
$1,500 Reserved Grand Prize Science Fair- Tiffany Young
$1,500 Reserved Grand Prize Science Fair- Tiffany Young
$500 W. Doyle & Melford Stone Smith Scholarship- Tyler Harbaugh
$1,000 Internship- Sabrina Griffin

Freed-Hardemen Scholarships:
$24,000 Athletic- Cynthia Woodward
$21,600 Academic- Cynthia Woodward
$32,000 Athletic- Jodi Curtis
$4,000 Academic- Jodi Curtis
Roane State Scholarships:
$5,800 Athletic- Jaylen Garrett
$5,800 Athletic- Morgan Page
Centre College Scholarships:
$18,900 Merit Award- Hunter Poteete
$5,000 Alumni Endowment Award- Hunter Poteete
University of Tennessee, Knoxville Scholarship:
$16,200 Pledge Scholarship- Zach Odom
St. Mary’s College Scholarship:
$60,000 Dean’s Scholarship for Academic Achievement- Hayley Snyder
Carson-Newman Scholarship:
$8,500 Award- Meagan Sullivan
Fite First Choice Award Scholarship- $3,000- Meagan Sullivan
Lettie Pate Whitehead- $1,000- Meagan Sullivan
Vocal Music Talent Scholarship- $3,500- Meagan Sullivan
Band Talent Scholarship- $1,000- Meagan Sullivan
U.S. Marine Corps Awards:
Enlistment Recognition- Frank Morris
Distinguished Student Athlete Award- Hunter Poteete
Distinguished Student Athlete Award- Morgan Page
Semper Fidelis Musical Excellence Award- Hunter Tramel
Scholastic Excellence Award- Tiffany Young
U.S. Army Awards:
Enlistment Recognition- John Strayn
Distinguished Student Athlete Recognition Award- Cynthia Woodward
Distinguished Student Athlete Recognition Award- Payne Denman
U.S. Navy Awards (totaling more than $90,000 combined)
Jessica Fox
Daniel Kosirog
Katelyn Vanwinkle
Tennessee Gas Association Scholarship
$1,000- April Hale
DeKalb Soil Conservation District Scholarship:
$500- Lindsey Harden
Kyle & Kenny Robinson Memorial Scholarship:
$1,000- Amanda Ours
$1,000- Kendra Foutch
Class of 1969 Scholarship:
$250- Caroline Carter
Agee Oil Scholarship:
$1,500- Payne Denman
DeKalb Fire Fighters Scholarship:
$500- Gabby Byford
Jolly Angels Scholarship:
$1,000- Tiffany Young
$1,000- Joe Vickers
$1,000- Hayley Snyder
$1,000- Ashley Owen
$1,000- Kayla Hubbard
Clay Edwards Memorial Tiger Pride Scholarship:
$500- Abram Edwards
DeKalb Republican Women Scholarship:
$500 Abram Edwards
Liberty State Bank Scholarships-
$1,000-Ethan Hale
$1,000- Grant James
Jeff Garrett Memorial Scholarship:
$500- Austin Garrett
Smithville Business & Professional Women’s Club Scholarships:
$500- Abby Laprad
$500- Tiffany Young
Love-Cantrell Funeral Home Scholarships:
$500-Cynthia Woodward
$500-Hunter Tramel
Alan Hooper Memorial Scholarship:
$500- Micah Prichard
AmVets Scholarship
$250- Austin Garrett
AmVets Auxiliary Scholarship:
$250-Ethan Hale
CIC Foundation Scholarship:
$10,000- Grant James
First Bank Scholarship:
$500- Hunter Poteete
Smithville Rotary Club Awards:
$750-Nick Goff
$750-Amanda Ours
$750- Joe Vickers
$100 Math Award- Tiffany Young
$100 Vocational Award- Joe Vickers
DeKalb PTO Scholarship:
$250- Seth Willoughby
Scottish Rite Scholarship:
$1,000- Ashley Owen
DeKalb Community Hospital Scholarship:
$500- Sabrina Griffin
Class of 1966 Scholarship:
$500- Abigail Laprad
DeKalb Farmers Coop Scholarship:
$500- Myra Tramel
Lucille Stewart Memorial Scholarship:
$2,000- Brandon Haas
$2,000-Meagan Sullivan
Elzie & Nell McBride Memorial Scholarships:
$500-Nick Goff
Leadership DeKalb Award:
$750- Abby Laprad
FCCLA Award:
$200- Katie Nixon
DCHS Student Council Award:
$250- Jared Adams
Comcast Leaders and Achievers Scholarship:
$1,000- Nick Goff
Eddie Crips Memorial Scholarship
$1,000- Abram Edwards
DeKalb Retired Teachers Scholarship:
$750- Heather Lee
$750- Macey Cantrell
Smithville Women’s Club Scholarship:
$500-Katie Nixon
$500-Erica Neely
Hunter Davis Memorial Scholarship:
$500- Joe Vickers
Central High School Alumni Association Scholarship:
$3,000- Lindsey Harden
DeKalb Democratic Party Scholarship;
$500- Schuylar Allen
$500- Kristian Puckett
$500-Tiffany Young
Georgia Career Institute Scholarship:
$1,000- Brittany Collier
Nashville Auto Diesel College Scholarship:
$1,000- Brandon Dyer
DeKalb Funeral Chapel Scholarships:
$500- Sabrina Griffin
$500- Elicia Cantrell
$500- Macey Cantrell
$500- Gabby Byford

The DeKalb County Board of Education Thursday night adopted the tentative school budget for the 2010-11 fiscal year. The vote was 4 in favor, 2 opposed, and one passed.
The proposed $18 million budget will now be presented to the county’s budget committee for it’s approval and then it will go to the county commission for final approval later this summer.
The tentative budget includes pay raises for school personnel including a $400 increase per certified position and a 25 cent per hour increase for all support staff positions along with the step increases per salary scales and adjustments for degree advancement per salary scales.

Director of Schools Mark Willoughby says the budget is tight and he is hopeful the school system can make it through the year without having to ask for more from the county commission. “This budget is again a budget that is extremely close. I’m glad to see fuel prices are going down. We do have a $400 raise in there for our teachers and a 25 cent per hour raise for our support staff. Our teachers and support staff are very deserving of that (pay raise). Not only do they work hard, but they have been very productive and they have produced a lot of the results we were after. They accomplish a lot. This is a bare bones budget. It requests for us to use our BEP reserves. In the last several years we have used the BEP reserves to balance the budget but at the end of the year we have not had to actually use those reserves. We’ve been able to put those back and not use them. But I want to say for the record that this may be the year that we end up having to use the BEP reserves in order to pay our bills. We’ve had a lot of things go up, such as the amount that we’re required to put into the Tennessee Consolidated Retirement Plan. I know the teacher’s part (amount school system must contribute) is like $239,000. Support staff (amount school system must contribute) is less than $50,000. Should there be unforeseen things come up during the year, I just want to tell you that we may have to go back and ask for more money and definitely we may have to use our BEP reserves this year. We definitely don’t want to go back and ask for more money, but I just want to let you know that there is a good possibility that this next school year may be the year that we use our BEP reserves.”
Fifth district member W.J. (Dub) Evins, III voted against the budget, suggesting that the county is putting the board of education in a difficult position of having to balance the school budget on state BEP reserves, a position the school board may not have been in had the county commission not cut the school system’s property tax rate a couple of years ago, after the sales tax referendum passed. “Mr. Willoughby, I don’t have a problem with the expense structure in this budget. I think some things we can’t avoid. I’m glad we’re able to put something in for the teachers. However, I do have a problem with the funding mechanism. We can’t continue to depend on sales tax revenues and our reserves, because reserves can’t be replenished. When the general public was put to the test and there was a referendum to increase the (local option) sales tax, the approach at that time was that the sales tax was for the schools. As things progressed along, the understanding and agreement was that if you (public) vote the sales tax revenues, the sales tax increase, we (county mayor and commission) will take 19 ½ cents away from property taxes. As it turns out, we (schools) did get the sales tax revenue. We did get the referendum passed. And of that 19 ½ cents they (county commission) took 16 ½ cents of that from us (schools). I’m very concerned about that. We got money in the left hand (increase in sales revenue) and got it taken away from us in the right hand (decrease in property tax revenue). Fortunately, right now the sales tax revenues are okay but that’s very volatile. It was not so many years ago that about 65 or 70% of the property taxes in this county went for schools. Now that’s down in the 30 percentile. We’re depending upon a very volatile income (sales tax revenue to fund schools) and I have some great concerns about that. I have no problem with the expenditures but I do have a problem with the funding mechanism.”
Sixth district member Bruce Parsley also voted against the budget, saying after the meeting that he thought that the pay raise for personnel should be more. Parsley added that he also had concerns about using BEP reserves to balance the budget.
Second district member Charles Robinson, who is also chairman of the school board, passed during the roll call on the budget. The chairman is not required to cast a vote on any issue.
In addition to the pay raises, the proposed budget also includes one new special education resource teacher for DeKalb County High School to help meet the new diploma requirements. One of the current school nurse positions and two special education assistants, under this budget, would be funded from general purpose schools, rather than federal as they have been in the past. One part-time special education vision teacher position would become full time under this budget. And the transportation manager would become a full time position
Perhaps, the category making the single largest impact on the budget is in the state mandated increase in the school system’s contribution to the Tennessee Consolidated Retirement, going from 6.42% to 9.05% for teachers and from 5.18% to 6.28% for support staff. That totals well over $239,000.
The bottom line on total school expenditures for next year comes to $18,029,136, exceeding total revenues by $770,476. In order to balance the budget, the school board is expected to propose appropriating $712,000 of the local school system’s share of state Basic Education Program (BEP) reserves as one-time expenditures and $58,476 of Technology Reserves. The school board does not plan to seek an increase in the local property tax rate for schools, but is expected to ask the county for an increase in local revenue of $33,744 over last year’s budget to round out this proposed spending plan.
In other business, the board adopted a new policy for DeKalb County High School that would change the academic standards in determining the top ranked students as well as the Valedictorian and Salutatorian of each graduating class, beginning with the Class of 2014.
Starting with incoming freshmen who will be graduating in 2014, students would have to complete the more challenging honors and advanced placement (AP) courses in order to be eligible for Valedictorian and Salutatorian and their ACT scores and attendance would also be factors.
A committee, made up of local educators, has been studying the issue and recommended this new policy to the board of education.
David Gash, assistant principal at DCHS and chairman of the committee, says one of the purposes of the proposed new policy is to increase enrollment in the honors and advanced placement courses. “Research has shown that students who are exposed to more rigorous course work in high school are better prepared for college. We feel that by raising the expectations for our students, we are better preparing them for the future.”
(Click here to read more about the story http://www.wjle.com/node/10558)
Third district member Kenny Rhody thanked DCHS student Meagan Sullivan for serving as the first student representative on the school board, a non voting position. He presented her a plaque on behalf of the board.

Director of Schools Mark Willoughby has signed contracts with the Professional Personnel for the 2010-2011 school year.
Willoughby presented a list of the employees to the Board of Education Thursday night.
Certified personnel at each school are as follows:
DeKalb County High School-
Charlotte Agee, Jeanette Allen, Angie Anderson, Danny Bond, Amanda Brown, Kevin Burchfield, Boyd Cantrell, Harriett Cantrell, Jeanine Cantrell, Todd Cantrell, Mary Anne Carpenter, Joe Pat Cope, Patrick Cripps, Dixie Crook, Jared Daniels, Deborah DePriest, Donna Emmons, Marshall Ferrell, Tina Fletcher, Michelle Fontanez, Amanda Fuller, David Gash, Marie Hill, Susan Hinton, Sonja House, John Isabell, William Jennings, Natasha Judkins, Dylan Kleparek, Brad Leach, Lynus Martin, Lori Barnes Myrick, Rolando Navarro, Jenny Norris, Scott Odom, Rebecca Oliver, Shelly Painter, Lori Page, Walteen Parker, Linda Parris, John Pryor, Rebecca Purdue, Joey Reeder, Leslie Rice, Melissa Ruch, Frederick Sanders, Daniel Sebers, Peggy Semmes, Amy Tobitt, Steve Trapp, Chris Vance, Michael Whitefield, Carol Williams, Brittany Willoughby, Jonathon Wright, Melvin Young, and Kathy Hendrix.
Northside Elementary School-
Joyce Alexander, Rebecca Baugh, Lisa Bell, Marla Beshearse, Kelly Birmingham, Kathy Bryant, Linda Bush, Wendy Colvert, Trent Colwell, Michael Crockett, Amanda Dakas, Alisha Day, Holly Espinosa, Jerry Foster, Ashley Garrett, Carrie Gottlied, Amy Green, Amanda Griffith, Jennifer Griffith, Cynthia Hale, Jessica Hale, Patty Hale, Karen Jacobs, Shelly Jennings, Sabrina Kirksey, Kristy Lasser, Lisa Mabe, Jama Martin, Amanda Mathis, Libby McCormick, Pamela Miller, Elizabeth Nolt, Louise Owen, Amy Raymond, Judy Redmon, Bethany Rigsby, Melissa Roysdon, Tammy Sims, Carol Tripp, Cheryl Vance, Julie Vincent, Betsye Walker, Ginger Wenger, Sandy Willingham, and Gayle Redmon.
DeKalb West School-
Doris Cantrell, Jeanna Caplinger, William Conger, Kim Crook, Martha Damron, Genrose Davis, Tonya Ellis, Janet England, Denise Graham, Megan Hardin, Lesa Hayes, Lindsay Holmes, Ricky Hendrix, Regina Kent, Michael Littrell, Shelia McMillen, Melanie Molander, Amanda Mullinax, Tammy Payne, Debra Poteete, Cynthia Preston, Lori Pryor, Cynthia Pulley, Joyce Robertson, Susan Robinson, Audrey Russell, Lori Sexton, Jane Watson, Susan West, Vicki Wilson, Amy Young, and Danny Parkerson.
Smithville Elementary School-
Tanya Akinson, Ana Bain, Renee Beaty, Kelly Birmingham, Kim Brown, Beth Cantrell, Laura Carter, Layra Crook, Trena Curtis, Tonya Dickens, Sue Driver, Vicky Duke, Kelli Foster, Misty Franklin, Tina Gash, Amanda Hardiek, Vicky Hawker, Bradley Hendrix, Holly Hendrix, Mary Henny, Anna Johnson, Karen Knowles, Carrie Lee, Adrienne McCormick, LeVaughnda Midgett, Margaret Nichols, Christina Ontiveros, Beth Pafford, Susan Palmer, Jane Parsley, Kristy Parsley, Jennifer Peek, Mary Pugh, Jane Ramsey, Amanda Rhoady, Carol Sampley, Pam Sanders, Carol Tallent, Jan Thomas, Janet Trapp, Carol-Ann Tripp, Fay Turner, Sherian Waggoner, Tiffany Wheatley, Janet Woodward, Christie Young, Crystal Young and Dr. Billy Tanner.
DeKalb Middle School-
Joey Agee, Josh Agee, Jan Alexander, Suzette Barnes, Lori Cloyd, Lisa Craig, Lisa Cripps, Courtney Davis, Tena Davidson, Nancy Dillon, Jenny Elrod, Sabrina Farler, Amy Fletcher, Lori Hendrix, Tom Hill, Bryan Jones, Michelle Jones, Summer Kinnard, Gail Kirksey, Martha Kirksey, Taleen Lambert, Michael Lewis, Michael Littrell, Debra Moore, Rebecca Oliver, Joy Parker, Karen Pelham, Anita Puckett, Joyce Robertson, Candice Scrabro, Lori Sexton, Penny Smitty, Tonya Sullivan, Kitty Thomas, Tad Webb, Jennifer West, and Randy Jennings.
Central Office Staff-
Gina Arnold, Katherine Ballard, Michelle Burklow, Clay Farler, Dr. Danielle Collins, Jon Fontanez, Dee Anna Reynolds, and Mary Nell Summers
County Wide-
Amy Fox, Lorie Isabell, Judy Malone, and Lori Rogers.
In other business, the board granted tenure to the following teachers, as recommended by Director Willoughby. He says these teachers have completed the statutory apprentice period of three years as required for tenure: Renee Beaty, Marla Beshearse, Michael Crocket, Jared Daniels, Jenny Elrod, Jon Fontanez, Michelle Fontanez, Amy Fox, Jessica Hale, William Jennings, Jenny Norris, Shelly Painter, Deb Poteete, Rebecca Purdue, Dee Anna Reynolds, Carol Sampley, Pamela Sanders, Daniel Seber, Penny Smitty, and Cheryl Vance.
The board of education adopted a Resolution of Appreciation honoring teachers.
“WHEREAS, teachers prepare tomorrow’s citizens and leaders by teaching them reading, writing, arithmetic and many other skills that help them to learn and grow into productive, happy contributors to society; and
WHEREAS, we depend upon teachers, through example, to demonstrate qualities that are necessary for success and to serve as role models, encouragers and developers of the students in our schools; and
WHEREAS, teachers keep American democracy alive by laying the foundation for good citizenship, and their hard work and efforts are directly responsible for creating the leaders of tomorrow; and
WHEREAS, teachers spend countless hours above and beyond the school day designing teaching strategies and materials, grading papers and other projects, reading and studying about issues in education, consulting with parents, administrators and other teachers and sponsoring or attending school related events: and
WHEREAS, teachers open children’s minds to the magic of ideas, knowledge and dreams and inspire a love of learning and truth and seek to discover and build upon each child’s interests and strengths; and
WHEREAS, the Board believes that the appreciation of all school district staff should be ongoing and not limited to one day per year, but recognizes the value of annually focusing public attention on the efforts of educational personnel.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Board, in recognition of the numerous contributions which teachers in our school district make every day, hereby expresses to our teachers its deep appreciation and sets apart the month of May as “Teacher Appreciation Month” in all DeKalb County schools;
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Board urges the community to demonstrate appreciation for the public school teachers and their contributions in enriching the lives of our children and helping to build a brighter future for them.

Director of Schools Mark Willoughby announced Thursday night during the board of education meeting that he has employed the support staff for the 2010-2011 school year.
Those employed at DeKalb County High School are:
Rena Adcock- Cook, Wanda Bradford- part time Cook, Amee Cantrell- Social Worker, Kathy Chapman-Cook, Kenderly Cripps- Guidance/Records Clerk, Annette Davis- Educational Assistant, Debbie Eaton- Educational Assistant, Regina Estes- Secretary, Beverly Ferrell- Educational Assistant, Dena Haugh- Educational Assistant, Melissa Hicks- Cook, Deborah Knowles- Educational Assistant Job Coach, Helen LaFever-Cook, Rita Leichtfuss- Educational Assistant, Deborah Magness- Bookkeeper, Rhonda Merriman-Educational Assistant, Lisa Peterson-Educational Assistant Job Coach, JoAnn Pittman-Custodian, Brian Reed- Educational Assistant, Denise Rutland- Custodian, Ray Robinson- Custodian, Vicky Sandlin- Cook, Norman Underhill- Educational Assistant, Tiffany VanWinkle- Educational Assistant, Sharon Washer-Cook, Suzanne Williams-Educational Assistant, Jamie Wright- Guidance Clerk, and Debbie Young-Cafeteria Manager.
DeKalb Middle School:
Heather Blankenship- Educational Assistant, Helen Cantrell-Cook, Charles Cantrell- Custodian, Sheryn Curtis- Cook, Fay Gilreath- School Bookkeeper, Connie Haggard- Cook, Barbara Hibdon- Cook, Rita Johnson-Cook, Samantha Lester- School Secretary, Reba Malone- Custodian, Paulette McDonald- Educational Assistant, Lisa Norton- Educational Assistant, Eldon Vanatta- Cafeteria Manager, Nancy Young- Educational Assistant
Smithville Elementary School:
Brent Arnold-Educational Assistant, Jimmy Barnes- Custodian, Clay Bumbalough- Custodian, Pauline Braswell- Educational Assistant, Brenda Beth Cantrell- Educational Assistant, Darlene Evans-Educational Assistant, Mary Foutch- Cook, Jennifer Gay- Educational Assistant, Betty Griffith- Educational Assistant, Jean Hayes- Cafeteria Manager, Vicki Jefferies- Educational Assistant, Melinda Lattimore- Educational Assistant, Brittany Lockard- Educational Assistant, Sara Lomas-Custodian, Pat Milam- Part Time Cafeteria Monitor/Substitute Custodian, Tera Mooneyham-Educational Assistant, Diana Moon- Educational Assistant, Ronda Northcutt- Educational Assistant, Freeda Phillips- Cook, Rhonda Pelham- Secretary/Receptionist, Amelia Phillips- Cook, Lori Poss- School Bookkeeper, Brenda Rigney- Educational Assistant, Teresa Spencer- Educational Assistant, Beverly Starnes- Cook, Wayne Taylor- Custodian, Tammy Tyler- Cook, Annie Walker- Educational Assistant, and Celia Whaley- Educational Assistant,
Northside Elementary:
Emma Jean Bandy- Cook, Suzanne Bradford- Educational Assistant, Betty Cooper-Cook, Jennifer Cowan- Educational Assistant, Gail Crips- Secretary, Evril Cubbins- Educational Assistant, Regina Daw- Cafeteria Manager, Rebecca Ervin- Cook, Starr Ferrell-Educational Assistant, Terrie Ford- Educational Assistant, Crystal Gordon- Educational Assistant, Kenneth Gordon- ESL Assistant (English as Second Language), Phyllis Hallum- Educational Assistant, Sherry Judkins- Custodian, Thelma Martin- Educational Assistant, Denise Merriman-Cook, Angie Moore-Educational Assistant, Rebecca Moss- Educational Assistant, Lynn Pichey-Custodian, Jo Dean Redmon- Lunch Monitor, Linda Sorrell- Educational Assistant, Diane Trapp- School Bookkeeper, Kim Violet- Custodian, and Elizabeth White- Cook
DeKalb West School:
Holly Bain-Educational Assistant, Donna Driver- Cook, Dorothy Duggin-Custodian, Tina Edwards- Educational Assistant, Ruth Frazier- Custodian, Pauline Frazier- Custodian, Stephanie Fuson- Educational Assistant, Shelly Gibson- Educational Assistant, Lisa Hale- Secretary, Donna Hale- School Bookkeeper, Nancy Mulloy- Cook, Faye Nixon-Cook, Tina Paschal- Educational Assistant, Elizabeth Redmon-Educational Assistant, Tonya Roberts- Educational Assistant, Kristi Sullivan- Educational Assistant, Linda Vickers- Cook and Georgia Young-Cafeteria Manager.
County Wide Positions:
Chandra Adcock- School Nurse, Jenean Bain- Bus Assistant, Sandra Billings- Substitute Bus Assistant, James Carroll- Substitute Custodian, Cindy Childers- Coordinated School Health Assistant, Billy Curtis- Special Needs Driver (car) Bettye June Dodd- Bus Assistant, Christie Driver- School Nurse, Kelly Driver- Part-Time Physical Therapist, Elise Flannery- Substitute Cafeteria Worker, Sharon Farler- Substitute School Nurse, Greg Frasier- Computer Technician, LeAnne Frasier- Library Assistant (half time at Smithville Elementary School and Half Time at Northside Elementary School), Mary Gay- Substitute Cafeteria Worker, Melissa Fuson- Substitute School Nurse, Billy Golden- Maintenance Worker, Rebecca Hawkins- Substitute Bus Assistant,, Darnette Hibdon- Substitute Cafeteria Worker, Terry Hicks- Maintenance Worker, Earl Jared- Maintenance Supervisor, Freda Johnson- Bus Assistant, Eddy Roy Judkins- Maintenance Worker, Michael Lambert- Substitute Custodian, Penelope Mason- 21st Century CCLU Site Coordinator, Teresa Miller- Payroll/Bookkeeper Central Office, Brad Mullinax- Technology Director, Tamara Murphy- Substitute Nurse, Greg Muskopf- Special Needs Substitute Driver (car), Jean Neal-Bus Assistant, Shirley Ours- Special Education Secretary, April Odom- Attendance Clerk, Angela Patrick- Substitute Cafeteria Worker, Cathy Patterson- Substitute Cafeteria Worker, Melissa Pirtle- Food Service Bookkeeper, Jo Dean Redmon- Part Time Custodian- Brian Reed- Alternative School Assistant, Joyce Robinson- Payroll/Bookkeeper Central Office, Teresa Sullivan- Educational Assistant at DeKalb Middle School and DeKalb West School, Glynn Taylor- Bus Assistant, Janice Tanner- Substitute School Nurse, Kimberly Turner- School Nurse, Pam Turner- Substitute School Nurse, Barbara Vanatta- Substitute Cafeteria Worker, Jamie Vickers- Secretary/Bookkeeper Central Office, Judy Wiggins- Substitute Bus Assistant, Linda Williams- Substitute Cafeteria Worker, Joannie Williams- School Nurse, Jeanette Young- Substitute Cafeteria Worker, Rita Young-Attendance Clerk at Northside Elementary and Smithville Elementary School, and Tara Young- Substitute Cafeteria Worker.
Transportation:
Peggy Pursell- Transportation Supervisor, Orlando Guzman- Mechanic, and Rick Holcomb- Mechanic.
The following are bus drivers:
Harold Ashford, Karen Adkins, Neil Brown, Dwayne Cantrell, Dinah Cripps, Elaine Davis, Debbie Eaton, Marshall Ferrell, Starr Ferrell, Linda Fowler, Bill Fowler, Lynn Griffith, Judith Hale, Darnette Hibdon, Melissa Hicks, Michael Kingsbury, Kimberly Lawson, Angela Lawson, Bobby Martin, Ronald Merriman, Jimmy Mullican, Linda Gail Pack, Walter Phillips, Faye Pollard, Jimmy Poss, Tony Poss, Peggy Pursell, J.T. Pursell, Melvin Riley, Bobby Taylor, B.J. Thomason,and Mark Violet.
Substitute bus drivers are: Danny Bond, Julie Fitts, Tina Fletcher, Daniel Lawson, Dwight Knowles, Eric Snow, and Suzanne Williams.
Three educators are retiring, including Kathy Lawrence and Pat Allen, teachers at DeKalb West School and Betty Hickey, teacher at Smithville Elementary School.
Jan Alexander, a teacher at DeKalb Middle School was granted a leave of absence as requested. Starr Ferrell, educational assistant/bus driver, was also granted a leave of absence as requested.