The DeKalb County Sheriff’s Department has arrested a Smithville man for statutory rape.
24 year old Mark Fish, Jr. of Holmes Creek Road is charged with statutory rape. He is under a $50,000 bond and his court date is December 16th.
Sheriff Patrick Ray said that on or about October 12th while at a residence on Blue Springs Road, Fish allegedly unlawfully had sex with a 15 year old female without her consent. Sexual penetration was made by force. The female stated that she was asleep at the time of the incident and when she awoke, she told him to stop, but he did not.
Meanwhile, 28 year old Nathan Joseph Trower of Baxter is charged under an April 16th, 2007 sealed indictment with sale and delivery of a schedule III controlled substance. He is under a $10,000 bond and he will be in court on December 13th. Trower has been out of state in another correctional institute and was only recently arrested.

The Elizabeth Chapel Baptist Church is presenting “The Living Christmas Tree- a Child of Wonder” on Saturday, Sunday, and Wednesday, December 11th, 12th, and 15th at 7:00 p.m. each night at the church gymnasium. Christmas music will be presented prior to the featured program at 6:00 p.m. Admission is FREE!

Pastor Bill Robertson said this program is the church’s Christmas gift to the community. “This is our sixth year. This has become a tradition for us. The presentation lasts about an hour. The music is sung from the Christmas tree. There’ll be about sixty five people singing. The lights on the tree flash during the singing which makes the presentation very appealing. Along with the music, there will be a little bit of drama calling your attention to the Christmas story. This is our Christmas gift to the community. We invite everyone to come. We’ll have seating for about 500 or so people. It’ll be very enjoyable.”

DeKalb County students will be heading back to school Monday after taking three days off for Thanksgiving last week.
Students will soon be out of school again. The winter break will be December 20th through December 31st. Friday, December 17th will be the last day students attend before winter break and that will be an abbreviated school day. Students will return after the holidays on Tuesday, January 4th to begin the third nine week session.
Meanwhile, Jonathan Fontanez, Supervisor of Instruction for grades 7-12, reminds students and parents about the upcoming state assessments. “We have our high school state assessments coming up for the first semester. We want to make sure students are prepared and that parents are ready to help their students get prepared for these state assessments.”
“We have our AYP end of course assessments which are mandated by the state that go toward adequate yearly progress on December 7th, 8th, and 9th in the subjects of algebra I, English II, and biology I. These assessments help us to measure our student’s growth and how well they are mastering material.”
“In addition to those AYP end of courses, we have another set of state mandated end of course assessments which will be on the following week in December, in U.S. History and English IX. Additionally, we have finals coming up as the semester closes out prior to Christmas. Those final exams are scheduled to be on December 15th & 16th with the last day of school before the Christmas break on December 17th.”
“We just want to remind everyone to make the necessary preparations for these assessments. Be sure that your student gets enough rest the day prior to these assessments and has adequate preparation.”
“Our annual writing assessments will be held in February in grades 5, 8, & 11.”
“School has been going very well this year. Our students are working hard and our teachers are doing a diligent job and we are so thankful for the community’s support. You send your students prepared each day and we’re so thankful for that.”
The rest of the school calendar is as follows:
Schools will be closed for Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day on Monday, January 17th and for President’s Day, Monday, February 21st.
Schools will be closed for spring break March 21st-25th and for Good Friday, April 22nd.
Students will not attend on Wednesday, May 25th. That will be an administrative day and all teachers must attend. The last day of school will be Thursday, May 26. That will be an abbreviated school day and report cards will be sent home.
Parent-Teacher Conferences will be held Tuesday, March 15th at DeKalb County High School from 3:00 p.m. until 6:00 p.m.
Parent-Teacher Conferences will also be held from 3:00 p.m. until 6:00 p.m. Thursday, March 17th at DeKalb Middle School, Northside Elementary, Smithville Elementary, and DeKalb West School.
Report cards will be sent home on Thursday, January 6th, and Monday, March 14th.
AYP-EOC/Gateway Testing at DCHS will be Tuesday through Thursday, December 7th-9th and May 3rd-5th at DCHS and a make-up AYP-EOC/Gateway Test will be Friday, December 10th and May 6th.
ACT Test for the 11th grade will be Tuesday, March 8th
Writing Assessment for the 5th, 8th, and 11th grades will be February 1st. Writing Assessment make-up will be February 2nd..
TCAP testing of elementary students will be April 13th-20th
(Stockpile Days) Professional Development/Instructional Days will be held from 8:00 a.m. until 3:00 p.m. on Monday, January 3rd, and Friday, March 18th. Students will not attend on those days.

An enthusiastic crowd gathered downtown Alexandria Sunday afternoon for the annual Christmas parade to help kick off the holiday season.
Hundreds turned out to experience the sights and sounds of this annual event and to have a chance at winning some prizes. The honorary Grand Marshal of the parade was Caleb Brown, the young child who was seriously injured after being struck by a large rock on an outing with his family several weeks ago at Fall Creek Falls State Park. Caleb remains hospitalized so family and friends represented him in the Parade.
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pictureshttp://www.wjle.com/image-gallery/2010-alexandria-christmas-parade
The West Main Baptist Church of Alexandria won first place in the float competition. Jesus Loves You Tabernacle took second place and the Malone’s Chapel Baptist Church received third place.
Ronald and Cathy Clayton were winners of the best vintage automobile category for their 1969 Camaro Z-28. Doyle Slager took second place for his 1960 Chevy Impala and Brad Driver received third place for his 1969 Camaro.
In the tractor category, Chris Hale won with his 1952 John Deere MT. Steven Cook received second place for his 1942 Farmall B and Travis Agee took third place for his 1936 John Deere-A.
The parade featured many other vintage cars and trucks, tractors, church floats, horseback riders, the DCHS band, Alexandria Police Chief Mark Collins, Sheriff Patrick Ray, members of the Alexandria city and county fire departments, among others including Santa and Mrs. Claus. Veterans, who rode in the parade, were transported by a trolley borrowed from the town of Watertown.
Deb McCoy and Denise Barrett, organizers of the parade, wish to thank everyone for their participation and attendance and the sponsors for their support.

A “Singing for Toys “will be held Thursday, December 9th at 7:00 p.m. at the DeKalb West School Gym in Liberty featuring the Kingsmen and Right on Time.
Sean Driver, a member of the group “Right on Time” said your admission is a donation of a small toy per person or a large toy per family.
All toys donated will be given to needy children. All children served will also receive a Bible. A love offering will be accepted for the Kingsmen to further their ministry. All churches are urged to participate in the donation effort and provide a list of children who are in need.
For more information, call Chad at 615-563-2423

Smithville Police arrested a local man for public intoxication and drug offenses on Saturday, November 20th after checking out a disturbance complaint at Food Lion.
47 year old James Alton Barrett of East Main Street will be in court December 2nd on charges of public intoxication, simple possession of a schedule VI controlled substance and possession of drug paraphernalia. His bond is $3,500. Officer Matt Farmer was dispatched to Food Lion in answer to a disturbance call and found Barrett leaning against the counter at the cash register trying to buy beer. Barrett had an odor of an alcoholic beverage on his person and he was unsteady on his feet. During a search incident to arrest, police found rolling papers and a schedule VI drug on his person.
23 year old Gilberto Acuna of Foster Road was arrested on Friday, November 19th for driving on a suspended license. Acuna was operating a motor vehicle that was stopped for a traffic violation. A computer check revealed his license were suspended. Officer James Cornelius made the arrest. Bond for Acuna is $1,500 and his court date is December 9th
Anyone having information on any criminal activity is asked to please contact the Smithville Police Department at 597-8210 or the Tip Line at 464-6046.
Any information received that would help Smithville Police solve any criminal offense would be greatly appreciated. All information is confidential