A DeKalb County woman and her boyfriend were charged Saturday with child abuse and neglect after her four year old child was found with bruises during a hospital visit.
24 year old Lois Nicole Cobble and 31 year old Carlos Lynn Godsey of Cleveland Way, Smithville are each under a $10,000 bond and they will be in General Sessions Court on January 13th
Sheriff Patrick Ray said that Cobble had taken the child to River Park Hospital in McMinnville on Saturday, January 1st for another medical reason when hospital staff apparently noticed bruises on the child’s legs, back, butt, and head. The child also smelled strongly of urine.
Warren County authorities and members of the Department of Children Services were called initially. A further investigation by the DeKalb County Sheriff’s Department revealed that the child had been whipped excessively with a belt and switch.
Meanwhile in another case, 19 year old Ray Darnell Underwood of Toad Road, Dowelltown is charged with initiation of a process to manufacture methamphetamine.
Sheriff Ray said that on Wednesday, December 29th, deputies checked out a tip about meth possibly being manufactured at a residence on Toad Road. The officers received consent to search Underwood’s residence. Underwood accompanied the deputies to a back bedroom where they found a two liter bottle of components along with forty three other items used to manufacture meth.
Underwood will be in court on January 6th. He is under a $50,000 bond.
51 year old Kenny B. Stults of Pine Creek Drive, Smithville was charged on Thursday, December 30th with theft over $1,000.
According to Sheriff Ray, on December 2nd Stults allegedly took from a location on Cookeville Highway, a backhoe bucket, a hydraulic cylinder, and two- 48 inch forklift forks all valued at over $1,000 without the owner’s consent.
Stults is under a $10,000 bond and he will be in court on February 10th.
40 year old Randy Allen Caldwell of Young Ridge Road, Sparta is charged with driving on a suspended license. Bond is $1,500 and he will be in court on January 5th. Sheriff Ray said that on December 28th, Caldwell was operating a motor vehicle on Riley Avenue when an officer spotted him. Having prior knowledge that Caldwell’s license were suspended, the deputy stopped him. A computer check of the license tag revealed that the vehicle was stolen out of Knoxville. Caldwell’s license were suspended on April 21st, 2008 in Smith County for failure to satisfy a citation. The sheriff’s department is still investigating the case of the stolen vehicle.
31 year old Christopher David Hall of Anthony Avenue, Smithville was issued a citation for possession of drug paraphernalia. His court date is January 20th. According to Sheriff Ray, on December 28th a deputy was conducting an investigation at a residence on Anthony Avenue and during a search, the officer found in Hall’s bedroom several needles, straws, and spoons with residue believed to have been used for drug paraphernalia.
31 year old Christopher Pearson Myers of Hayes Lane Road, Lancaster is charged with a first offense of driving under the influence. He was also issued a citation for violation of the implied consent law for failing to submit to a blood test. Myers is under a $1,000 bond and his court date is January 20th. Sheriff Ray said that on December 28th an officer stopped to assist a motorist, Myers, on Vaughn Lane. The vehicle was partially in the road. The deputy asked Myers to push the automobile off the road. Myers got in the vehicle and drove it about a quarter of a mile. The officer reported that Myers was unsteady on his feet. He was very jittery and unbalanced. Myers performed poorly on all field sobriety tasks.
35 year old Jeffery Spencer Stacey of Keltonburg Road was issued a citation for driving on a suspended license and violation of the light law. His court date is set for January 6th. On December 29th, Stacey was stopped for having a headlight out on his vehicle. A computer check revealed that his drivers license were suspended for failure to satisfy a citation.
19 year old Ashley Marie Singleton of Eagle Creek Road, Smithville was issued a citation on December 29th for violation of the light law and violation of the registration law. Her court date is set for January 12th. Singleton allegedly tried to avoid being pulled over by the officer twice but he stopped her after she turned onto Dogwood Circle. Her vehicle had no working tail lights.
21 year old Jamie Renee Jones of East Cox Avenue, Gainesboro is charged with driving under the influence. Her bond is $1,500 and her court date is January 20th. On December 29th, Jones was operating a vehicle on Highway 56 when she was pulled over. A witness told the arresting officer that Jones had trouble keeping the automobile in her travel lane. Jones also had a two year old child in the vehicle with her. The officer reported that Jones had pin pointed pupils and slurred speech and she performed poorly on all field sobriety tasks. She did submit to a blood test.
28 year old Matthew Allen Baker of Pine Orchard Road, Smithville was issued a citation for driving on a revoked license and violation of the registration law. His court date is January 6th. On December 30th, Baker was stopped on Highway 70 west for improper registration and driving on a revoked license. The officer had prior knowledge that Baker’s license were revoked. A computer check confirmed that Baker’s license were revoked and that the tags did not belong on this vehicle.
28 year old Christopher Sam White is charged with possession of drug paraphernalia and simple possession. His bond is $3,000 and he will be in court on January 6th. White is being held without bond for a violation of a drug court order. On December 30th, White was a passenger of a vehicle stopped at Hardees parking lot in Smithville for a traffic violation. After doing a background computer check on White, the officer learned that he was in violation of a drug court order. White gave the officer consent to search. A plastic bag containing methamphetamine was found in the door panel of the vehicle where White was sitting. According to the deputy, White admitted that the bag belonged to him.
20 year old Jon Archer Smith of Highway 70 east, Smithville is charged with violation of an order of protection. His bond is $1,000 and he will be in court on January 13th. Smith was arrested on December 30th at the Lake Motel on Highway 70 east where he was in a room with a female, who has an order of protection against him.
26 year old Wallace Marlon Rackley of North Congress Boulevard is charged with domestic assault and resisting arrest. His bond is $7,500 bond and he will be in court on January 13th. On January 1st Rackley allegedly assaulted his girlfriend at a residence on Page Drive, leaving bruises on both of her arms and her neck where he had allegedly choked her. While deputies were at the residence to serve the warrant, Rackley allegedly refused to comply and he had to be taken down by the officers in order to handcuff him. After placing the cuffs on him, Rackley allegedly then tried to kick out the window in the back of the patrol car. He also refused to comply with officers after arriving at the jail and he had to be put down again.
34 year old Antonio Campos Lopez of Fall Creek Road, Smithville is charged with public intoxication. His bond is $1,000 and he will be in court on January 13th. On January 1st, the sheriff’s department received a call of a person who had passed out behind the wheel of an automobile at a business on Highway 70 west. After arriving on the scene, the officer did a welfare check on the man in the vehicle, Lopez. He had a strong odor of an alcoholic beverage on his person and he was unsteady on his feet.

The DeKalb County Board of Education will conduct an annual performance evaluation of the Director of Schools and a School Board self evaluation on Thursday night, January 6th at the Board of Education Building.
Director Mark Willoughby’s current contract with the board is scheduled to expire June 30th, 2011. His
original contract with the board took effect July 1st, 2006. The board must notify Willoughby by March 31st if it intends to extend or renew his employment contract.
The same basic instruments for making the evaluations will be used as in the past. A workshop evaluating the director will begin at 6:00 p.m. followed at 7:00 p.m. by a special called session to conduct the school board self-evaluation.
At the workshop, the school board members will evaluate Director Willoughby on his relationship with the board, community relationships, staff and personnel relationships, educational leadership, business and finance, and strategic planning skills. Board members are to make a check mark on the four page evaluation form in each of 52 areas, if they believe expectations have been met. Spaces are also provided on the form for board members to write comments.
Willoughby’s contract states that the evaluation of the Director shall occur no later than January 31 each calendar year during the term of the contract. The board will review the Director’s performance, progress toward established goals, and the working relationship between the two parties.
In the self evaluation, each board member must rate the board’s performance on a scale from one to six in team building, decision making, governance, school improvement, community, planning, communications, motivation, influence, and policy. A score of “one” is the lowest and a score of “6” is the highest. They must rate themselves on how much is being done now in each of 46 areas and how important those issues are to them.
Board Chairman Charles Robinson has also called for a board workshop on Saturday, February 12th at 8:00 a.m. to set future goals. “In taking into consideration how we evaluate ourselves and our director and what we want to achieve for the next school year in trying to remain a board of distinction, we will have workshop to address our strengths and weaknesses and how we can improve.”

With schools set to re-open on Tuesday, January 4th in DeKalb County, the Tennessee Highway Patrol (THP) reminds motorists of the importance of school bus safety awareness and education.
“Riding the school bus is one of the safest modes of transportation; it’s when children get on or off the bus that causes concern,” said Department of Safety Commissioner Dave Mitchell. “That is why it is critical for parents, teachers, and school administrators to stress the importance of crossing in view of the school bus driver, and to instruct children on other safety tips that will keep them out of harm’s way.”
Each day, some 480,000 school buses transport more than 26 million children to and from school and school related activities, according to the U.S. Department of Transportation. An average of 19 school-age children die in school transportation-related traffic crashes each year – five occupants of school buses and 14 pedestrians. Most of those killed are children five to seven years old.
The “danger zone” for a school bus is the area 10 feet around the vehicle; the two most dangerous places are the front and the right rear tire area of the bus. Children must take care when boarding or leaving the school bus by following these simple rules:
·Always remain in direct eyesight of the bus driver;
·Be alert to traffic. Check both ways before stepping off the bus;
·Make eye contact with the bus driver, and wait for the bus driver’s signal before crossing the street;
·Walk in front of the bus; never walk behind the bus to cross the street;
·Never go under the bus to retrieve something you’ve dropped;
·Get to the bus stop in plenty of time.
“Educating children on school bus safety is a top priority, but we also want to remind drivers to slow down in school zones and obey the stop arm,” said THP Colonel Tracy Trott. “Our troopers work diligently to enforce traffic laws in the school zone, and will penalize those who blatantly disregard laws designed to protect children.”
In Tennessee and in every state, drivers must stop when the stop arm is extended and red lights are flashing.
Between August 1, 2010, and September 30, 2010, State Troopers wrote 343 citations to drivers as part of THP’s Back to School Enforcement Campaign. A total of 126 of those drivers were ticketed for speeding in a school zone. In 2009, Troopers issued 5,445 citations in school zones across the state. Of those citations, 973 were speeding violations, while one citation was handed out for passing a stopped school bus.
All school bus drivers in Tennessee must attend an annual training course in order to receive and maintain the school bus endorsement on their Driver License. During the 2009-10 academic year, more than 12,000 school bus drivers received training from the THP Pupil Transportation Unit. Additionally, THP also inspected 10,595 buses to ensure they were in compliance with the established safety requirements.

DeKalb County students will be heading back to school Tuesday after taking over two weeks off for the winter break.
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 May 3rd-5th at DCHS and a make-up AYP-EOC/Gateway Test will be 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.