After 40 years of dedication to the profession she loves, Dixie Crook will be ending her teaching career this year at DeKalb County High School, the same place it all began for her in 1972.
As the longest serving teacher currently on the staff at DCHS, Ms Crook has announced her retirement, effective at the close of the school year. “I’m thinking about sitting back for a little while, relaxing, and taking it easy. I love to read. I hope to maybe get out and do some things I haven’t been able to do. Maybe spend a little more time with family,” she said.
During her four decades at DCHS, Ms. Crook has worked with dozens of teachers, taught hundreds of students, and served under nine principals. “The teachers that I have had the pleasure to work with have just meant so much to me. A lot of faculty and staff have gone through here. Ms Harriet (Cantrell) and I have been friends for a long time and her friendship is among those I treasure the most. Ms (Ina Ruth) Bess and I are a little bit kin, and we always had a big time together.(Ms. Bess retired a few years ago). I appreciate everyone’s help throughout the years. There’s been a lot of principals I’ve learned a lot from including Mr. Ernest Ray. I always liked the way he did things. Kathy (Hendrix) has been a Godsend. I have enjoyed serving under her these last seven years. She has worked hard and I think we have all profited from her hard work,” said Crook.
In reflecting on her life, Ms. Crook talked about how she quit school as a teenager to start a family but later returned to further her education. It was during this time that she began thinking of becoming a teacher. “I quit school when I was a sophomore and had two children. I came back and finished two years of high school. During that time, I was more focused. In the back of my mind, I had always thought I would like to teach. I had Ms. Ann Puckett as a teacher. She encouraged me. That last summer I worked for Congressman Joe L. Evins and he also encouraged me to pursue my dream. So I went to Tennessee Tech and completed my BS degree.. Then I attended MTSU and completed my Masters in Business Education,” said Ms. Crook.
After finishing college, Ms. Crook was hired by the school system and went to work at DCHS in 1972. “Throughout all the years I have taught different subjects but its always been in the business field. When I first started teaching, it was VOE (Vocational Office Education). Then everything changed a bit. Right now the classes that I am teaching are database, e-business, and administrative management. Those are the classes that I am teaching this semester. But everything has always been in business,” she said.
Today, Ms. Crook’s title is Business Technology/Computer Teacher. She is also one of the local school system’s career level III teachers, an accomplishment only few have achieved.
As times have changed and new technologies have developed, Ms. Crook, like many other teachers, have had to adapt. “I started out with a few old electric typewriters. I had three rows in my room and one row had electric typewriters so to try to make it as fair as I could (for all the students), we rotated. The other two rows were manual typewriters. That was all we had at that time,” said Ms. Crook.
“After they built this new (vocational) building, they bought all new IBM selectrics and that was the top of the line typewriters at that time. We progressed from those to an electronic typewriter which had a little bit of memory. And then computers came into the picture,” she said.
Ms. Crook also enjoyed her club work and beamed with delight anytime one of her students excelled achieving special honors or recognition. “When I first began, the club I was affiliated with was the Office Education Association (OEA). I was fortunate enough to have a lot of students over the years that worked really hard. Several years ago I had the first national officer of any of the clubs here at DCHS, Ella Jane Parkerson Williams. Later our club merged with FBLA and she went on to be an FBLA officer as well,” she said.
Whether it was helping organize high school graduations, proms, homecomings, or cheerleading activities, Ms. Crook found everything she did to be a labor of love. ” I did graduation for quite a few years. I did the yearbook. I worked with cheerleaders and that was back in the day when I had both squads. I also helped with the proms and homecomings. We saw many a parade go by. I’ve enjoyed it all,” she said.
As her career draws to a close, Ms. Crook said it has been a privilege to teach and to have perhaps made an impression on the lives of her students. ” I look back and I see all those students that I had over the years. Its been real rewarding when they come up and say, I remember when we did this, or you taught me how to do that, and I appreciate it. That means a lot when students come up and tell you that. I think in teaching that’s one of the most rewarding things is seeing your students succeed. Over the years, there have been quite a few and I have enjoyed every single minute of it,” she said.

Office hours of three DeKalb County Post Offices would be reduced under a new nationwide cost cutting strategy announced by the U.S. Postal Service last week.
Under the proposal, the current daily retail hours of the Alexandria, Liberty, and Dowelltown Post Offices would be reduced from eight hours to six hours. The Smithville Post Office was not among those listed for reduced hours. The new strategy would be implemented over a two-year, multi-phased approach and would not be completed until September 2014.
Hundreds of post offices across the country would be impacted by the strategy designed to keep the nation’s smallest Post Offices open for business, while providing a framework to achieve significant cost savings as part of the plan to return the organization to financial stability.
Unlike the previous efforts to halt mail delivery on Saturday, which requires congressional approval, the Postal Service can reduce hours on its own.
The plan would keep the existing Post Office in place, but with modified retail window hours to match customer use. Access to the retail lobby and to PO Boxes would remain unchanged, and the town’s ZIP Code and community identity would be retained.
“Meeting the needs of postal customers is, and will always be, a top priority. We continue to balance that by better aligning service options with customer demand and reducing the cost to serve,” said Postmaster General and CEO Patrick R. Donahoe. “With that said, we’ve listened to our customers in rural America and we’ve heard them loud and clear – they want to keep their Post Office open. We believe today’s announcement will serve our customers’ needs and allow us to achieve real savings to help the Postal Service return to long-term financial stability.”
Once implementation is completed, the Postal Service estimates savings of a half billion dollars annually.
“The Postal Service is committed to serving America’s communities and providing a responsible and fair approach for our employees and customers,” said Megan Brennan, Postal Service Chief Operating Officer. “The Post Offices in rural America will remain open unless a community has a strong preference for one of the other options. We will not close any of these rural Post Offices without having provided a viable solution.”
The Postal Service will provide an opportunity for the Postal Regulatory Commission (PRC) to review this plan prior to making any changes. The Postal Service intends to file a request for an advisory opinion on the plan with the PRC later this month. Community meetings would then be conducted to review options in greater detail. Communities will be notified by mail of the date, time and location of these meetings.
This new option complements existing alternatives, which include:
Providing mail delivery service to residents and businesses in the affected community by either rural carrier or highway contract route;
Contracting with a local business to create a Village Post Office; and
Offering service from a nearby Post Office.
A voluntary early retirement incentive for the nation’s more than 21,000 non-executive postmasters was also announced.
Survey research conducted by the respected Opinion Research Corporation (ORC) in February, showed 54 percent of rural customers would prefer the new solution to maintain a local Post Office. Forty-six percent prefer one of the previously announced solutions (20% prefer Village Post Office, 15% prefer providing services at a nearby Post Office, 11% prefer expanded rural delivery). This strategy would enable a town to possibly have a Post Office with modified hours, as well as a Village Post Office.
The Postal Service has implemented a voluntary moratorium on all postal facility closings through May 15, 2012. No closings or changes to Post Office operations will occur until after that time.
In addition to maintaining a retail network of more than 31,000 Post Offices, the Postal Service also provides online access to postal products and services through usps.com and more than 70,000 alternate access locations. Nearly 40-percent of postal retail revenue comes from purchases on usps.com and through approved postal providers such as Wal-Mart, Staples, Office Depot, Walgreens, Sam’s Club, Costco, and many others.
The Postal Service receives no tax dollars for operating expenses and relies on the sale of postage, products and services to fund its operations.

DCHS General Metals Instructor Todd Cantrell and members of his class recently completed a design and construction project for the DeKalb County Fire Department’s rescue truck.
Firefighter Steve Repasy assisted the class by designing the storage shelving unit which will store all of the cribbing used for vehicle stabilization. This shelving unit will be mounted in the department’s rescue truck. In all, approximately 30 hours (or a total of 600 man hours) were donated by the class and Firefighter Repasy to complete this project.
Members of the DeKalb County Fire Department wish to express their sincere appreciation to the class, Mr. Cantrell, and to Firefighter Steve Repasy for committing their time, effort, and skill. The department made a $150 donation to the General Metals class to help purchase equipment and materials for their shop.
(Photo provided by DeKalb County Fire Department)

DeKalb County 4-H members recently traveled to Murfreesboro to participate in the Central Region 4-H Livestock Judging Contest. The event featured 34 teams from 23 different Middle Tennessee counties. The livestock judging contest is composed of eight different classes of beef cattle, hogs, sheep, and meat goats. Team members evaluate and place the livestock in each class based on performance and market criteria. They are also required to answer five performance related questions about each class. Even though the 4-H members receive a team score, they must work individually during the contest to complete their analysis of each class. By participating in 4-H judging activities, 4-H members gain life skills such as decision making, teamwork, and communication.
The junior high team is made up of 4-H members in 7th and 8th grades. Caitlin Lawrence, Casey Vickers, Morgan Vickers, and Wyatt Martin placed 12th in the Junior High Division. In addition, Caitlin Lawrence was the 12th highest scoring individual from more than 100 individuals in the Junior High Division.
The Senior High team is made up high school 4-H members. In addition to judging and answering questions on the livestock classes, the senior 4-H members are also required to give oral reasons justifying their placings of the particular classes. Justin Bass, Brooke Reffue, Brandon Barnes, & Courtney Caldwell earned 10th place in the Senior high division.
Picture captions:
TOP PHOTO: Members of the 4-H Junior High Livestock Judging Team are (front row left to right): Morgan Vickers, Casey Vickers, (back row): Caitlin Lawrence and Wyatt Martin.
BOTTOM PHOTO: 4-H Senior High Livestock Judging Team members who recently place 10th at the Region 4-H Livestock Judging Contest are: (front row) Brooke Reffue and Courtney Caldwell. (back row): Brandon Barnes and Justin Bass.

Fifth graders at Northside Elementary School received pins and certificates during the annual DARE graduation ceremony held today (Monday).
The Drug Abuse Resistance Education program was conducted by DARE Instructor and Chief Deputy Don Adamson of the DeKalb County Sheriff’s Department.
Each student prepares an essay during the course and those with the best essays from each class are recognized and awarded. This year’s essay winners at Northside are:
Brooklyn Wilson from Amy Raymond’s class
Nicole Godinez from Amanda Griffith’s class
Hannah Anderson from Carrie Gottlied’s class
Jessica Davidson from Ginger Wenger’s class
Dulce Maciel from Alisha Day’s class
Caleb London from Cheryl Vance’s class
Joni Robinson from Melissa Hale’s class
Madison Parsley from January Agee’s class
Hannah Anderson was the over-all winner and she read her essay during Monday’s program. In addition to the award, prizes, and recognition, Anderson gets to keep “Daren the Lion” the DARE Mascot. Judge Bratten Cook II also presented her a check for $50.
Sheriff Patrick Ray, who spoke during the DARE graduation, told the students that “D.A.R.E. is a cooperative effort by the DeKalb Sheriff’s Department, DeKalb County School System, parents, and the community. “I ask you today students, to take this valuable information and apply it to your lives, now and forever.”
Other officials present for the ceremony were Northside Principal Dr. Gayle Redmon, Assistant Principal Julie Vincent, Director of Schools Mark Willoughby, Assistant District Attorney General Greg Strong, County Mayor Mike Foster, Circuit Court Clerk Katherine Pack, Register of Deeds Jeff McMillen, and Trustee Sean Driver.
Hannah Anderson’s Winning Essay is as follows;
“What DARE Has Taught Me”
“This year DARE has taught me about the choices I make. It taught me to make good choices. DARE taught me how to stay healthy by not smoking. Smoking can cause very bad health problems and it can even cause cancer.”
“Another thing DARE taught me is to not ever take drugs! Some types of drugs can cause breathing problems. Drugs can affect your brain, too. They cause short-term memory loss, not being able to see things far away, and more. Drugs are very addictive. Once you start taking them, they are very hard to get off of. So, never even try drugs because you will get addicted to them.”
“DARE also taught me about the friend I choose. If your friends get into a lot of trouble, if they are bullies, or even take drugs then you don’t need to be friends with them. They could cause you to make bad choices. So pick good friends.”
“I have enjoyed DARE a lot this year, and it has taught me a lot of interesting facts.”
(Top Photo: DARE Instructor and Chief Deputy Don Adamson, Judge Bratten Cook, II, DARE Essay Winner Hannah Anderson, and Sheriff Patrick Ray)
(Bottom Photo: FRONT ROW-Jessica Davidson, Caleb London, Brooklyn Wilson, Joni Robinson, Nicole Godinez, Hannah Anderson, Dulce Maciel, and Madison Parsley; BACK ROW, Chief Deputy Don Adamson, Judge Bratten Cook, II, and Sheriff Patrick Ray)

In his latest report on county crime news, Sheriff Patrick Ray reports that Elizabeth Ann Moyer of Twin Oaks Road, McMinnville is charged with being a fugitive from justice. Her bond is $50,000.
Sheriff Ray said that Moyer is wanted by the Garland County Sheriff’s Department in Hot Springs, Arkansas for fraud. She is to be extradited to Arkansas by Garland County authorities. Moyer was arrested on Wednesday, May 9.
45 year old Tammy Lynn Davis of Quebeck is named in two sealed indictments returned August 1st, 2011 for sale and delivery of a schedule II controlled substance in a school zone; and on January 30, 2012 for sale and delivery of a schedule II drug. She was arrested on Saturday, May 12 and she will be in court on Friday, May 25. Her bond totals $80,000.
62 year old Ismael Solis Gaona of Campbell Road, Smithville is cited for no drivers license and a violation of the financial responsibility law (no insurance). He will be in court on June 7.
Sheriff Ray said that on Wednesday, May 9 Gaona was operating a vehicle on Blue Springs Road without a drivers license. He failed to negotiate a curve and flipped his truck into a corn field, according to the property owner. The amount of the property damage came to $1,250.
44 year old Kimberly Ann Patterson of Bethel Road, Smithville is cited for a second offense of driving on a revoked license. She will be in court on June 6. Sheriff Ray said that on Thursday, May 10, a sheriff’s department drug detective passed Patterson on West Broad Street and then pulled her over on Hayes Street. He checked and confirmed that her license were revoked for failure to file security after an accident.

Fifth graders at DeKalb West School received pins and certificates during the annual DARE graduation ceremony held today (Monday).
The Drug Abuse Resistance Education program was conducted by DARE Instructor and Chief Deputy Don Adamson of the DeKalb County Sheriff’s Department.
Each student prepares an essay during the course and those with the best essays from each class are recognized and awarded. This year’s essay winners at DeKalb West School are Addison Grace Oakley and Thomas Tippin . The fifth grade teachers are Jeana Caplinger and Jane Watson.
Oakley was the over-all winner and she read her essay during Monday’s program. In addition to the award, prizes, and recognition, Oakley gets to keep “Daren the Lion” the DARE Mascot and she received a $50 check from Judge Bratten Cook II.
Sheriff Patrick Ray, who spoke during the DARE graduation, told the students that “D.A.R.E. is a cooperative effort by the DeKalb Sheriff’s Department, DeKalb County School System, parents, and the community. I ask you today students, to take this valuable information and apply it to your lives, now and forever.”
Others on hand for the ceremony were DeKalb West School Principal Danny Parkerson, Assistant Principal Sabrina Farler, Director of Schools Mark Willoughby, General Sessions/Juvenile Court Judge Bratten Cook, II, Assistant District Attorney General Greg Strong, Circuit Court Clerk Katherine Pack, County Mayor Mike Foster, Register of Deeds Jeff McMillen, Trustee Sean Driver, and employees of the Sheriff’s Department.
The following is Oakley’s essay:
“DARE. While I have been in DARE I’ve learned that drugs can really ruin your whole life and that even if it sounds good cause all your friends do it, it’s not. Just think, “why smoke”. Smoking causes breathing problems and no one wants that. It also causes heart problems and no one wants that. It also causes heart disease, lung cancer. Its really not worth it. Scientists have found over 200 poisons in cigarette smoke. You also can harm or kill the person that you love just by letting them breathe your smoke. That’s called second hand smoke. So just remember, if someone offers you a cigarette, say “No”. Its better for everyone.”
“Marijuana is illegal, so if someone has it, tell an adult fast. Its very dangerous. It can also cause breathing problems. Marijuana affects your brain and your body. Some examples are: short-term memory loss, loss of the ability to concentrate, slow coordination, and reflexes.”
“Drinking is not the smart thing to do. If you are with others who are drinking, there is an increased risk of injury, car crashes, and violence. Alcohol can also damage every organ in your body. So any bad drugs are never good to use so try to keep your body healthy because if you have big dreams, like playing NBA or NFL, you might want to have a backup plan. If drugs can kill people, they can easily kill dreams. Chief Don has taught us that just because your friends or your family does, it doesn’t mean it’s the right thing to do. Things I learned at DARE.
D. Define
A. Assess
R.Respond
E. Evaluate.”
(Pictured: left to right- FRONT, Addison Grace Oakley and Thomas Tippin; BEHIND, DARE Instructor and Chief Deputy Don Adamson, Judge Bratten Cook, II, and Sheriff Patrick Ray)

Since she began her career thirty seven years ago, Genrose Davis has been working to help foster a love of reading in students all the way up to the eighth grade at DeKalb West as the school librarian. But with the close of this school year, Davis will be turning in her own library card, deciding the time has come to retire.
Family, friends, students, and co-workers came to bid Davis a fond farewell during a reception in her honor at DeKalb West School on Thursday.
“I have had one job my whole life and this has been it,” said Davis in an interview with WJLE. Davis began her career as an educator at DeKalb West in 1975, one year after the school opened , consolidating the old Alexandria, Liberty, and Dowelltown schools into one facility.
“When I was hired there were four other people in front of me and they got the classrooms,” said Davis. “The chapter job was left open and they wanted a half time librarian. It was about three to four weeks into school. I was hired for that job. I taught reading and I did the library the other half. My official pay was divided between federal programs and the county,” she said. A few years later, Davis became the school’s full time librarian.
Growing up, Davis attended the old Liberty elementary school and then DCHS. She furthered her education at MTSU where she received a BS degree. Davis said while she did not originally intend to become a librarian, former DeKalb West School Principal Woodrow Frazier convinced her that she was right for the job. “I went to school to be a physical education teacher and had an elementary endorsement but Mr. Frazier said I would have one of the best jobs in the school (as librarian). His wife was a life long librarian. She loved the library and he did too so that was my start in the library,” said Davis.
“The first year, they brought somebody in from the state department and showed me how to do the cards for the card catalog and by Christmas, he (Frazier) asked me if I would go back and get the endorsement for the library service. I went back to MTSU and got my endorsement and I’ve been here for 37 years now,” she said
As the school librarian, Davis gets to see all the students at one time or another. ” I have around 450 students. I’ve seen them all. I have them for nine years. Initially I did reading in grades 3, 7, & 8. I had library classes where the kids came once a week. Now we’re on a three day rotation. I have the kids in the school everyday. Most of them come twice a week, but every three days there’s a day 1, day 2, and a day 3 schedule and we just rotate all through the year so that they’re in the library almost two times per week besides the open times,” she said.
Davis points to the introduction of the accelerated reading program as perhaps the most revolutionary change she has seen come along as librarian. Under the AR program, students choose books at their appropriate reading levels and read them at their own pace. The students then take a quiz by which the librarian and teachers can monitor reading performance and vocabulary growth. As a motivator, students can earn points and win prizes for their efforts. ” Mr. Eddie Hobson (former DWS principal) bought the accelerated reading program several years ago. Our county system of computers did not have the server to run that program back then because it was networked in the whole school. Once we got a server that would run that, we were able to do accelerated reader in the classrooms and the library. There is a quiz on almost every book. The kids can read the book and then they can go to the computer and take the quiz. When that came along that revolutionized this library. We have about 9,500 AR quizzes that go from primmer up to 8th, 9th, and 10th grade level books,” said Davis
“I reward the points. When I do my AR prizes we reward two students in each classroom. We do yearly points and cumulative points. I’ve managed the points since they came into kindergarten then from first grade all the way to eighth grade, I keep up with all their points. We have a prize chart we developed. We have prizes for 50 points all the way up to 3,000. When the kids get to a particular level, they have that particular prize,” she said.
Another successful program has been the after school read night program. “I have done extended contract for six years. We open up the library for parents and grandparents and older siblings to come in and read to or with the younger students. If you can get the kindergartners and first graders reading, they will be successful in most everything else in their class work.” said Davis.
Davis said while she is looking forward to retirement, she will miss all the students, but especially the younger kids. “I’m going to miss seeing those kindergartners and first graders faces when they pass that first test. When they can begin to read and do it on their own and go to the computer by themselves and pass a quiz, its really exciting,” she said.
(Pictured above: DeKalb West Principal Danny Parkerson, Director Mark Willoughby, and Assistant Principal Sabrina Farler Present Librarian Genrose Davis a plaque for 37 years of service. Davis is retiring)