The DeKalb County Election Commission has expressed its pleasure with a vote in the State Senate this week to delay implementation of a bill that would have required the purchase and use of optical can voting machines.
The State House had voted last spring to delay the bill.
“To change voting machines will be extremely costly and is really unnecessary,” said DeKalb County Election Commission Chairperson Walteen Parker. “We applaud the move to delay this bill until the 2012 November election.”
Optical can machines scan or “Read” a voter’s paper ballot and millions of dollars in taxpayer money will be required to equip the state’s 95 counties with the new devices. In addition, there will be increased costs due to the printing of paper ballots and the storage of both the machines and ballots.
“Just four years ago the state required the purchase of new voting machines that record votes electronically, and they are working as advertised. There is no need to go to a new machine that, in essence, takes ys back in time with the use of paper ballots,” she continued.
“We have numerous security steps in place to assure ballot integrity with the current machines and the use of paper ballots will simply increase the opportunity for fraud in the voting process.”
Parker also explained this is not a partisan issue, at least on the local level. She said the county election commission, which consists of two democrats and three republicans voted unanimously to oppose the immediate implementation of the bill. The DeKalb County Commission also voted late last year to ask the state legislature and Governor Bredesen to delay implementation of the bill.
“We want to thank the County Commission, State Senator Mae Beavers, and others who supported delaying this bill,” she added. “Without them, we would be spending an unnecessarily large amount of money in tough economic times. We hope the Governor will sign the delay until 2012 into law.”
Meanwhile, Administrator of Elections Dennis Stanley said this week petitions are now available for local school board candidates and those who wish to run for State Representative or State Senator.
School board seats are considered “non-partisan” and candidates run in the August County General Election. This year, school board seats in five districts are up for election. School board candidates must file proof of graduation from high school or receipt of a G.E.D., evidenced by a
Diploma or other documentation satisfactory to the election commission prior to the qualifying deadline, which is noon, April 1st.
State candidates can run in either the Republican or Democratic Primaries also held in August, and the qualifying deadline is also at noon on April 1st. The same qualifying deadline applies to Independent candidates for a state legislative seat.

A 34 year old Sparta woman, who was involved in a traffic accident with a city garbage truck on Highway 70 east near Sligo bridge almost a year ago, has filed a circuit court lawsuit against the City of Smithville and the two men in the truck, Ronnie Walker and Jerry Rackley.
Allison Long is asking for a jury trial and seeks a judgment against the defendants including compensatory damages in the amount of $500,000, cost and disbursements incurred, pre-judgment interest and post-judgment interest in amounts allowed by law, and such other general relief to which the court deems just and equitable.
The accident occurred on February 27th, 2009. After investigating the mishap on that day, Trooper Dewaine Jennings of the Tennessee Highway Patrol told WJLE that 57 year old Ronnie Walker of Smithville, a city employee, was operating a 1999 freightliner garbage truck going west on Highway 70. Another city employee, 39 year old Jerry Rackley of Smithville, was a passenger in the truck. The two were apparently returning from the landfill where they had dumped a load of garbage. Long was going east on Highway 70 in a 2007 Dodge Durango.
According to Trooper Jennings, Long claims as she was negotiating a curve coming down the hill, she saw the garbage truck in her lane. As she applied her brakes, the Durango slid on the rain slick highway and struck the side of the truck at an angle in the westbound lane. Long’s vehicle came to a final rest in the ditchline facing a rock wall. The truck continued west for a few feet and also went off the road in the ditchline and struck the rock wall.
Walker and Rackley were taken by DeKalb EMS to DeKalb Community Hospital. Long was to have gone to the Cookeville hospital by a private vehicle.
Neither of them were believed to have been seriously injured.
Trooper Jennings says Walker was cited for failure to exercise care.
In the lawsuit, Long claims she was in her proper lane of travel, observing the posted speed limit, and was operating her vehicle in a safe and prudent manner and that Walker or Rackley were operating the truck, belonging to the city, within their scope of employment.
Long says as a result of the negligent and lack of due care of the defendants and their failure to properly supervise and control the truck, it crossed into her lane of traffic and collided head on with her vehicle resulting in damages to her Durango and serious bodily injuries to her.
Long alleges that she was required to seek and obtain medical care and treatment for her injuries, sustained a loss in her earning capacity, incurred expenses, suffered mental and physical pain and a reduction in the enjoyment and quality of life. In addition, Long is suing the defendants for all damages permitted by law for her personal injury and property damage, including but not limited to past and future medical bills, past and future mental and physical pain and suffering, loss of enjoyment of life, mental and emotional distress, past and future loss of earning capacity, lost wages, permanent injury, and all other damages permitted by law.

The DeKalb County Sheriff’s Department has charged a Liberty man with breaking into two homes on Clear Creek Road.
Sheriff Patrick Ray says 28 year old Joseph Daniel Richardson of Church Street, Liberty was arrested Thursday, January 7th on two counts of aggravated burglary and two counts of theft of property under $500. Detectives charged Richardson after an investigation into two break-ins that occurred on Clear Creek Road in Liberty. On New Year’s Day Richardson entered the home without the owners consent. Once inside, he took a container of money and jewelry from the home. Then on Wednesday, January 6th Richardson entered another home without the owners consent. Once inside, he took a Play Station 2, a controller, one Play Station 2 game, and two cell phones. Bond for Richardson was set at $20,000 and his court date is set for February 4th.
29 year old William Timothy Brown of Dry Creek Road, Smithville was arrested Friday, January 8th for filing a false report. Detectives allege that on Wednesday, January 6th Brown staged an armed robbery at his home. Brown placed a call to 911 stating that two men came into his home and that one man had a knife and the other a crowbar. Brown said the men asked if he had a gun. According to Brown the two men rummaged through his home. Brown, who had injuries on his head and on one of his arms, went to the hospital to seek treatment. Meanwhile, on Wednesday, January 6th when detectives sat down with him to do an interview, Brown admitted that he had made up the incident. Brown said he did it because he wanted attention from his family members. Brown added that he staged the scene in his home and ran his head first into the door facing and then again with his arm causing injuries to himself. Bond for Brown was set at $2,500 and will be in court on February 4th. Filing a false report with law enforcement is a felony in Tennessee.
On Sunday, January 10th, deputies were called to break up a fight on Old Bildad Road, Smithville. Upon arrival, they found 23 year old Salomon Diaz in an intoxicated state in the complainant’s yard. Diaz was unsteady on his feet, had an odor of alcohol on his person, and had slurred speech. Diaz was charged with public intoxication and his bond was set at $1,000. He will appear in court on February 17th.
Also on Sunday deputies stopped a vehicle on Village Place Street in Smithville for a traffic violation. Upon entering the vehicle, the officer noticed that a passenger and the driver were trying to hide something. The driver, 30 year old Crystal Fults of Blue Springs Road, Smithville was asked for consent to search. During the search, the officer saw Fults take a non prescription bottle from her purse and place it into the seat of the vehicle. The deputy confiscated the bottle which contained sixty seven Hydrocodone pills. Fults admitted that she did not have a prescription for the drug. Fults was charged with possession of a schedule III controlled substance (Hydrocodone) for resale. Her bond was set at $5,000 and she will appear in court on January 28th.
24 year old Clent Lee Shehane was arrested Saturday, January 9th for failure to appear to serve weekends. He was also charged with a second offense of driving on a suspended license, and possession of drug paraphernalia after he was stopped on Restview Avenue in Smithville. A deputy spotted Shehane and was aware of a state warrant against him for failure to appear. Shehane was under a court sentence to serve weekends in the DeKalb County Jail but he did not show up to serve all of his time as directed by the court. The deputy ran a check of Shehane’s driver’s license and discovered they were suspended for failure to satisfy a citation on December 6th, 2004. During a frisk down search before being placed into the patrol car, officers found a used hypodermic needle and a cut straw containing residue which were in Shehane’s jacket pocket. After Shehane was taken to the jail and placed in a holding cell waiting to be booked, he vandalized the jail’s fire sprinkler system. Shehane was further charged with vandalism. Bond for Shehane was set at $10,500 and he will appear in court on January 28th.
Meanwhile the DeKalb County Sheriff’s Department is reporting a total of 7,326 incident calls from January 1st to December 31st, 2009, which is up by 790 calls from 6,536 during the previous year. That is over 20 calls per day and 666 calls per deputy for the year, according to Sheriff Ray.
He adds that these incident responses are dispatched calls, not self-initiated calls (incidents that officers respond to on routine patrols). Self-initiated calls are not included in these counts:
The following is a break-down of incident call responses in 2009:
Wrecks- 752
4 wheeler calls- 46
911 calls- 204
Abandoned Vehicles- 45
Animal calls- 268
Assaults- 53
Fires- 178
Break-ins- 244
Burglar Alarms- 556
Child Custody Exchanges- 29
Children in roadway- 7
Civil Matters- 33
Debris in roadway- 54
Disturbing the peace- 126
Domestic violence- 390
Drug trafficking- 36
Escorts- 128
Extra Patrols- 27
Fights- 112
Funeral Escorts- 173
Gas drive-offs- 15
Harassments- 45
Indecent exposure- 8
Investigations- 209
Vehicle lockouts- 800
Medical Assists- 295
Missing Persons- 41
Phone harassment- 17
Possible D.U.I.- 153
Problems with neighbors- 36
Prowlers- 69
Public Intoxication- 17
Rape- 1
Reckless Drivers- 314
Recover Property- 33
Robbery- 1
Seizures- 17
Shots fired- 86
Shop lifter- 5
Stolen property- 208
Stolen vehicle- 54
Stranded motorists- 80
Someone threatened- 132
Suspicious persons/vehicles- 485
Traffic Hazards- 100
Trespassing- 21
Unruly juveniles- 30
Unwanted guests- 129
Vandalism- 147
Vehicle fires- 22
Wanted Persons- 46
Welfare checks- 192
Miscellaneous- 57

Two Smithville Police Officers, Matthew W. Holmes and Corporal Travis K. Bryant, have received commendations from city officials.
Holmes’ commendation states that “On behalf of the City of Smithville Police Department, I would like to commend you for your recent actions and diligent efforts in your capacity as a police officer.”
“Recently you have conducted several criminal investigations including: aggravated robbery, rape and felony theft resulting in numerous arrests and the recovery of stolen property.”
“Your determination and efforts in the continued performance of your duties exemplify your outstanding work ethic. Your actions enables the citizens of Smithville and your fellow co-workers to know that the Smithville Police Department is continuously striving for quality service. You have served with distinction. You are a credit to the Smithville Police Department. I appreciate your current performance and for that you are hereby formally recognized and commended with a copy of this commendation becoming a part of your personnel record.”
Bryant’s commendation states that “On behalf of the City of Smithville Police Department, I would like to commend you for your recent actions and diligent efforts in your capacity as Corporal.”
“On December 13th, 2009 you responded to an automobile accident on Bright Hill Road, involving a vehicle that had overturned and landed upside down in a large body of water. With temperatures, nearing freezing and without hesitation, you entered the swift traveling water to render aid to the driver which was trapped inside the overturned vehicle.”
“Your noble action enables the citizens of Smithville and your fellow co-workers to know that the Smithville Police Department is continuously striving for quality service. You have served with distinction and valor. You are a credit to the Smithville Police Department. I appreciate your current performance and for that you are hereby formally recognized and commended with a copy of this commendation becoming a part of your personnel record.”
The commendations were signed by Lieutenant Steven Leffew, Mayor Taft Hendrixson, and Police Commissioner Aaron Meeks.

DeKalb County may get some federal help in replacing Sligo bridge.
A spokesman for U.S. Senator Lamar Alexander said Friday, during a meeting with State Senator Mae Beavers and State Representative Terri Lynn Weaver at their offices in Nashville that efforts will be made to include the Sligo bridge project in the federal highway re-authorization appropriation, which must be passed by Congress and signed by the President. If approved, the bridge would be replaced, totally by federal funds. He says the Senator must first obtain some information from local officials before he can proceed with the request. “What we have coming up is the Highway Re-authorization Appropriation, and what Senator Alexander needs help with is, he needs some forms filled out to help us get in a position where he can submit a request for the $30 plus million dollars that are necessary to pay for the full bridge. The goal is to get this process moving so when the time comes to complete the highway bill, within the next six to twelve months, that Sligo bridge is in a good position to receive those federal funds.”
Since Sligo bridge would be specifically included as a priority project in the bill, funds for it could not be diverted for other purposes. “This process would actually be spelled out in law and signed by the President. The way it works is it would be spelled out in the bill and voted on. It’s a high priority project and would be listed so in the federal law. It’s not that TDOT would not be involved in the actual construction because they would, but they would be required by law to work on it”, according to the Alexander spokesman.
Meanwhile, $1.5 million has already been allocated for repairs to the existing Sligo bridge and for right of way acquisition under an appropriation sought by Senator Alexander last year. “There’s already been $1.5 million appropriated for this project. It’s under bridge repair so part of it will be used for right of way. The other part will be used for the repair of the existing bridge in order to keep it open so school buses won’t have to drive around (take alternate routes). They could still keep the bridge active. That’s really what that first slug of money is for. That was in the FY 2010 Senate Transportation Appropriation.”, according to the Senator’s spokesman.
Representative Weaver says she is grateful for Senator Alexander’s help on this project “Being that it’s a high priority project and that the money will definitely go to this project, that’s very exciting to me because this is a specific request. I appreciate(Senator Alexander’s representative) coming from Washington to our offices to get us up to snuff on where we are on it. I’m just excited that it’s going to happen. We’ve always said it was. I want to again clearly state that I did not vote against the bridge. I’m also a believer that good things come to those people who wait. We have been working on this under the radar. We’ve been cooperating with local officials as well. We invited the mayor to be here this morning. I’m a team person and it takes a team to work on such a big project. I can’t thank Senator Beavers enough and Lamar’s office for coming out and us working on this. We are working together for the good of the people of DeKalb County and to keep this bridge open while the new one is being constructed. Again, I want to emphasis that we are working very hard. This is a high priority project. Washington now sees it as that so it’s all good news.”
State Senator Beavers added ” A list of questions has been presented to us that they (Senator’s office) needs answered. We’re going to have to look to the locals to help us answer some of these questions, so we’ll be getting in touch with them. We’re excited to know that Senator Alexander is working with us and trying to help the people of DeKalb County. We’ll continue to work on this project. We’ll continue to work with all of our officials to get what we need.”
Senator Alexander announced last August that he was seeking funds for Sligo bridge. The news release stated that “Federal funds for Sligo Bridge are included in a federal appropriations bill making it’s way to the United States Senate”
Senator Alexander announced that the Fiscal Year 2010 Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies Appropriations bill, which was approved by the Senate Appropriations Committee, includes significant funding for a number of mass transit, roadway, and airport improvements across Tennessee. The bill must now be considered by the full Senate” (which has now been approved)
In the August news release, Senator Alexander said the bill includes” $1.5 million for DeKalb County for the replacement of the US-70 bridge. Funding will be used to repair the US-70 bridge in DeKalb County. The current bridge is structurally sound, but was built in 1947 and is in serious need of repair. It is the only bridge across Center Hill Lake on the eastern end of DeKalb County and the only way for school buses and traffic to cross from the other side of the lake.”
“This legislation funds important initiatives to improve transportation and economic development in Tennessee,” Alexander said. “As a member of the Appropriations Committee, I will continue working to ensure that Tennessee’s federal tax dollars are used wisely to create jobs, upgrade our state’s roadways and enhance the quality of life in our communities.”
The FY10 Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies Appropriations bill includes funding for the following projects:
· $6 million for the Tennessee Public Transportation Association for statewide mass transportation programs. Funding will be used to purchase and improve mass transit systems across the state of Tennessee – including busing and light rail. Improved mass transit will reduce congestion in Tennessee’s cities as well as help provide hospital transportation for rural Tennesseans.
· $1.5 million for Nashville International Airport for runway reconstruction. Funding will be used to upgrade a runway at Nashville International Airport so it can better accommodate larger freight and passenger aircraft to meet the air transport demands for Nashville, one of the South’s fastest growing cities.
· $200,000 for Cocke County for improvements to Waterville Road. Funding will help repair the Waterville Road in Cocke County which is heavily impacted by tourists visiting the Great Smoky Mountains National Park which is partly within county limits.
· $1 million for the City of Gallatin for improvements to Airport Road. Funding will be used to redirect the airport road to make additional space for an expanded runway to accommodate increasing commercial aircraft traffic.
· $785,000 for the City of Jackson for improvements to East Chester Street. Funding will be used to improve East Chester Street and help spur redevelopment of East Jackson. East Chester Street was devastated by a tornado in May 2003.
· $1.5 million for DeKalb County for the replacement of the US-70 bridge. Funding will be used to repair the US-70 bridge in DeKalb County. The current bridge is structurally sound, but was built in 1947 and is in serious need of repair. It is the only bridge across Center Hill Lake on the eastern end of DeKalb County and the only way for school buses and traffic to cross from the other side of the lake.

An Alexandria woman died Sunday morning when her car struck a DeKalb County garbage truck on Highway 70 near Sligo bridge. Central dispatch received the call at 6:54 a.m.
Dead is 47 year old Lisa A. Hallmon of 123 Avant Circle, Alexandria.
Trooper Mark Jones of the Tennessee Highway Patrol says Hallmon was driving a 1988 Cadillac east on U.S. 70 (going down Sligo hill) when she crossed the center line while negotiating a curve. Hallmon’s car sideswiped a 2007 Peterbilt dump truck (county garbage truck), driven by 56 year old Danny E. Green of 1575 Haley Road, Smithville who was traveling west (going up the hill).
According to Trooper Jones, the truck over road or partially ran over Hallmon’s car and then veered off the right side of the road and crashed through a guardrail, before coming to a stop. Sources say the truck came dangerously close to plunging off the side of the hill.
County Mayor Mike Foster later told WJLE that Green had gone to the landfill to pick up an empty garbage container and was returning to take the container to the Snow Hill convenience site to trade it for a full container. The truck apparently had no other cargo at the time of the accident.
Hallmon’s car went off the right side of the road and into a ditchline
Trooper Jones says Hallmon, who died at the scene, had to be extricated from her vehicle by members of DeKalb County Fire Department’s Extrication Team.
Green was reportedly taken by private vehicle to DeKalb Community Hospital where he was treated for non-life threatening injuries.
The accident was investigated by Trooper Jones, Trooper David Slatton, and Sergeant Kevin Norris of the THP Critical Incident Response Team. Others on the scene were DeKalb EMS and the DeKalb County Sheriff’s Department.
Meanwhile, the Tennessee Highway Patrol investigated another accident on Sunday. This one occurred off Coconut Ridge Road in the Williamson Lane, Hurricane Point subdivision area. Central dispatch received the call at 3:01 p.m.
Trooper Todd Logan says 58 year old Nancy Zamora and her husband 52 year old John Zamora of 270 Rutherford Lane, Smithville were in a 2005 Dodge Dakota, being driven by Mrs. Zamora going up the road on a steep hill, which was also snow and ice covered. The truck began sliding backward and went off the road over the side of the hill, about ten feet down.
Mr. Zamora apparently escaped injury and got out of the truck on his own but Mrs. Zamora, who was hurt, needed assistance.
Because of the condition of the road, emergency personnel had to use four wheel drive vehicles to get to the scene. Mrs. Zamora was brought out and taken to meet an ambulance where she was transported to DeKalb Community Hospital.
In addition to the Tennessee Highway Patrol, members of the Cookeville Highway Station of the DeKalb County Fire Department, the DeKalb County Rescue Squad, the DeKalb County Fire Department’s Extrication and Rescue Team, and the Sheriff’s Department were on site along with DeKalb Tire and Service.