To help sell the public on the need for a ladder truck, the Smithville Volunteer Fire Department has called for a meeting with the public to discuss the issue.
Fire Chief Charlie Parker made the request during Monday night’s city council meeting. Parker said the city needs a ladder truck, still some people have misconceptions about the proposal.
The aldermen have set the meeting for Tuesday, March 13 at 7:00 p.m. at city hall. Anyone both for or against the city purchasing a ladder truck or those with questions or concerns are urged to attend.
Last year, the city applied for a FEMA grant to help fund the purchase of a ladder truck, but the grant was not approved. Members of the fire department would like the city to include funding for the truck, possibly in the new city budget this summer.

The City of Smithville is establishing oversite regulations for any future development of residential dwellings within the downtown business district (B-3 Commercial Zone)
The aldermen Monday night adopted on first reading an ordinance that provides for the construction or renovation of downtown buildings into residential dwellings or for mixed residential/commercial uses
Under the proposal, downtown property owners would have to apply for a building permit and seek approval for their project by the city board of zoning appeals.
The proposed ordinance amendment provides that “After public notice and hearing, subject to appropriate safeguards and conditions, the Smithville Board of Zoning Appeals (BZA) may permit construction of a new building or rehabilitation of an existing building in the Central Business District for Residential or Mixed Commercial-Residential Use. Prior to the review by the Board of Zoning Appeals, an applicant seeking to rehabilitate/convert a commercial building into a residential use shall first obtain an approved application for a building permit. In reviewing applications for such uses or conversions of buildings, the Board of Zoning Appeals will consider the overall effect of the proposal to the area and surrounding properties so that there will not be a detrimental effect to the stability and viability of the Central Business District. In making this determination, this board must evaluate the availability of utilities, number of units proposed, city’s capacity to respond effectively to emergencies, and availability of off-street parking.”
Second and final reading action on the ordinance will follow a public hearing at the next meeting on March 19 at 7:00 p.m. at city hall.

Tennessee Department of Transportation contract crews will close the Hurricane Bridge on State Route 56 over the Caney Fork River in DeKalb County to all traffic on Wednesday, March 7 beginning at 8:00 p.m. and ending at 6:00 a.m. CST on Thursday, March 8. The closure is necessary to allow the contractor to pour a portion of the new concrete deck. The work is part of a $26.9 million rehabilitation project which is scheduled to be complete in October 2013.
The work is weather dependent. If the contractor is unable to perform the work on Wednesday evening, it will be rescheduled to take place on the evening of Thursday, March 8 during the same time period.
Message boards will be in place to notify drivers of the closure. While the bridge is closed, all traffic will be redirected to the currently posted truck detour that utilizes I-40 at Exit 254 to SR-53. The bridge will be reopened to normal one-lane signal-controlled traffic by 6:00 a.m. the following morning. The current weight postings of 10 tons for two-axle vehicles and 18 tons for vehicles with three or more axles will continue to remain in effect and will be strictly enforced.
For travel and TDOT construction information visit the TDOT SmartWay web site at www.tn.gov/tdot/tdotsmartway or call 511 from any land-line or cellular phone. You can also receive traffic alerts via TDOT’s multiple Twitter feeds, including statewide traffic tweets @TN511 or Chattanooga area alerts @Chattanooga511. Smart phone users can use the TDOT SmartWay Mobile website at http://m.tdot.tn.gov/SmartWay/ to access TDOT’s SmartWay cameras and information on construction related lane closures and incidents on interstates and state routes.
As always, drivers are reminded to use all motorist information tools wisely and Know Before You Go! by checking travel conditions before leaving for their destination. Drivers should never tweet, text or talk on a cell phone while behind the wheel.

Political newcomer Scott E. Cantrell has unseated incumbent DeKalb County Property Assessor Timothy “Fud” Banks, and claimed the Democratic nomination for the office during Tuesday’s county Democratic Primary.
Cantrell earned 763 votes to win the nomination over Banks, the four-term incumbent, who totaled 392 votes. Challenger Jonathan Bryan Keith came in a distant third in the Property Assessor race, with a total of 90 votes.
Cantrell won 12 of DeKalb County’s 16 precincts and also held the edge in Early and Absentee votes, Banks carried two precincts, while Banks and Keith tied in one precinct. No votes were cast for either candidate for assessor at Edgar Evins State Park. By earning the Democratic nomination for Property Assessor, Cantrell will meet Republican nominee Mason Carter in the August General Election.
Banks will remain in office through August 31.
Cantrell carried the following precincts: Alexandria, Temperance Hall, Liberty, Dowelltown, Snow Hill, Middle School, Courthouse, County Complex, Belk, Keltonburg, Blue Springs, and Church of Christ Annex. Cantrell also had a majority of the absentee/early voting.
Banks carried Cherry Hill and Johnson’s Chapel. Banks and Keith tied with one vote each at Rock Castle.
“I’d like to thank God for life itself and for my family and friends who have helped me so much during this campaign,” said Cantrell. “I’d like to thank the people that I don’t even know about that has been a voice for me. Helping me out during this time. I’d like to thank you who voted for me to be your democratic candidate for property assessor in the upcoming general election on August 2. I thank you DeKalb County very much for this opportunity in my life,” said Cantrell.
Banks thanked the people of DeKalb County for the privilege of serving them for sixteen years. “I want to thank the people who came out and voted for me,” said Banks. “I want to thank my family that’s had faith in me and worked with me. I want to thank the voters for coming out and voting for me. I want to thank them for letting me be their property assessor for four terms. I have worked hard and tried to do a good job. I appreciate your vote,” said Banks.
Keith also thanked his supporters. “I’d like to thank everybody for going out and supporting me in this. I appreciate everything that everybody did. Thank you,” said Keith.
Meanwhile, Carl Lee Webb defeated Richard Bullard in the only contested Constable race in the county, which was held in the Sixth District. Webb tallied 128 total votes in the three precincts as well as Early Voting and Absentee ballots, while Bullard had 45 total votes. Webb carried all three precincts – Belk, Blue Springs and Keltonburg – as well as Early Voting and the Absentee ballots.
In the Republican Presidential Primary, Rick Santorum carried seven DeKalb County precincts along with Early Voting and Absentees and led the GOP ticket with 487 votes, followed closely by Newt Gingrich with 407 votes. Gingrich carried five precincts, while he and Santorum tied for the most votes in one county precinct. Mitt Romney carried the remaining three precincts and placed third in the Republican Primary with 316 votes, while Ron Paul was a distant fourth with 107 votes.
Incumbent Democratic Presidential candidate Barack Obama earned 579 complimentary votes in DeKalb County.
In the remaining uncontested County Constable races, Wayne Vanderpool received 149 complimentary votes in the Third District, Paul Cantrell received 133 complimentary votes in the Fourth District, Mark Milam received 127 complimentary votes in the Fifth District, while Johnny King received 112 complimentary votes in the Seventh District. All four candidates – along with Carl Lee Webb in the Sixth District – will be unopposed in the August General Election.
According to figures released by the DeKalb County Election Commission Office, a total of 2,598 voters cast ballots in Tuesday’s election. A total of 1,879 voters turned out on Election Day, while 719 DeKalb County voters cast ballots during Early Voting or by absentee ballot.
(Pictured below: Constable nominees Carl Lee Webb, Mark Milam, Wayne Vanderpool, and Johnny King. Not pictured- Paul Cantrell)
CLICK THE FOLLOWING LINK TO VIEW RESULTS FROM EACH COUNTY PRECINCThttp://www.wjle.com/node/11684

DeKalb County voters today (Tuesday) will choose the Democratic nominees for Assessor of Property and Constable and pick their preferences in the Tennessee Presidential Primaries.
The candidates for Assessor are Incumbent Timothy (Fud) Banks and challengers Scott Cantrell and Bryan Keith. The winner in today’s primary will face Republican nominee Mason Carter in the August 2 DeKalb County General Election.
Constable nominees will be selected in the third, fourth, fifth, sixth, and seventh districts. The only contested race is in the sixth district between Richard Bullard and Carl Lee Webb. There are no constable candidates in the first and second districts. Constable nominees will run unopposed in the August General Election.
Polls at all sixteen precincts in the county will be open today from 8:00 a.m. until 7:00 p.m. WJLE will have LIVE election return coverage beginning at 7:00 p.m. on AM 1480/FM 101.7 and LIVE streaming at www.wjle.com. You may also view the precinct results by clicking on the following link http://www.wjle.com/node/11684
Voters are required to produce a government issued photo I.D. before they will be allowed to vote on the voting machine. If no photo identification is provided, the voter will vote a provisional ballot and the voter will have two business days to return to the election commission office and show a valid photo I.D. or the ballot will be rejected.
The voter can sign an oath stating he/she is indigent or an oath stating a religious objection to being photographed. After signing the oath, the voter will vote on the machines.
A valid photo I.D. includes a Tennessee driver’s license, U.S. passport, Department of Safety photo I.D. card, state or federal employee photo identification card, a photo I.D. card issued by the federal government or other state and a U.S. military photo I.D.
Remember, as a voter you must declare which primary you intend to vote. For example, if you declare your intention to vote in the Republican Presidential Preference Primary, you cannot vote in either the Democratic Presidential Preference Primary or the DeKalb County Democratic Primary (for Assessor of Property and Constable). Likewise, if you choose to vote in the Democratic Presidential Preference Primary and the DeKalb County Democratic Primary (for Assessor of Property and Constable), you cannot vote in the Republican Presidential Preference Primary
If you choose to vote in the Republican Presidential Preference Primary you may vote for one of the following candidates:
Michele Bachman
Newt Gingrich
Jon Huntsman
Gary Johnson
Ron Paul
Rick Perry
Charles “Buddy” Roemer
Mitt Romney
Rick Santorum
Uncommitted
The Republican ballot also lists the names of Delegates At Large for Presidential candidates Newt Gingrich, Jon Huntsman, Ron Paul, Rick Perry, and Mitt Romney (Committed and Uncommitted) as well as Delegates in the 6th Congressional District for Gingrich, Paul, Perry, and Romney (Committed and Uncommitted).
If you choose to vote in the Democratic Presidential Preference Primary, the only name listed is Barack Obama and Uncommitted.
The DeKalb County Democratic Primary ballot features the Assessor of Property race. The candidates are listed as follows:
Timothy “Fud” Banks
Scott E. Cantrell
Bryan Keith
Constable candidates are on the ballot in the following districts:
3rd District:
Wayne Vanderpool
4th District:
Paul Cantrell
5th District:
Mark Milam
6th District:
Richard Bullard
Carl Lee Webb
7th District
Johnny King

The Smithville Aldermen Monday night gave their blessing for the fire department to apply for a FEMA Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response (SAFER) Grant, which if approved, would fund the hiring of firefighters for up to two years at no costs to the city.
Fire Chief Charlie Parker, in asking for approval to make application, told the mayor and aldermen that the city would be under no obligation to keep funding the positions locally after the grant funds are exhausted. “The grant is a two year total grant and it would be for hiring full time personnel. It would go up to a max of $230,000 for salary supplements for that two years. That’s the maximum amount. That doesn’t mean that we will get the full amount but it could be some in part up to that for personnel. If we do get it, it will still need to be accepted by the board” said Chief Parker.
According to the FEMA website, the priorities for funding under this program are as follows:
First priority: Rehiring laid-off firefighters
Second priority: Retention of firefighters who face imminent layoff and/or filling positions vacated through attrition but not filled due to economic circumstances
Third priority: Hiring new firefighters
Chief Parker said the city should know by September if the grant is funded.

A Smithville woman was caught trying to smuggle drugs and tobacco into the DeKalb County Jail on Sunday.
22 year old Porsche Lynn Cantrell of Peyton Lane, Smithville is charged with introduction of drugs into a penal institution and criminal trespassing. Her bond totals $7,500 and she will be in court March 15.
Sheriff Patrick Ray reports that on Sunday, March 4 Cantrell was observed on jail video surveillance climbing the fence which surrounds the rear of the jail. She had tried to throw a package over the fence into the recreation yard but the package lodged in the top of the fence. Cantrell then climbed the fence in order to retrieve the package. After spotting her on video surveillance, correctional officers ran outside and recovered the package, which contained a half ounce of marijuana, tobacco cigarettes and lighters. Cantrell was placed under arrest.
41 year old Donald Earl Foster of Page Drive, Smithville was issued citations last week for violation of the light law, two counts of simple possession of a schedule II controlled substance (methamphetmine) and (oxycodone) and simple possession of a schedule III controlled substance (hydrocodone). He will be in court on April 12.
Sheriff Ray said that Foster, who was operating a motor vehicle on the Sparta Highway last Monday night, February 27, was stopped by a deputy for having a tail light out. Upon searching his person, the officer found on Foster a small metal container which held five hydrocodone pills, an oxycodone pill, and a plastic bag of a white powdery substance believed to be methamphetamine.
24 year old Phillip Andrew Martin of Foster Road is charged with domestic assault. His bond is $2,500 and he will be in court on March 1. Sheriff Ray said that on Monday, February 27, Martin allegedly entered the residence of a family member on Eagle Creek Road and assaulted the victim, hitting him several times with his fists.
34 year old Howard Eugene Brown of Gentry Avenue, Smithville is charged with burglary, theft of property over $1,000, and filing a false report. His bond totals $11,500 and he will be in court on March 8.
Sheriff Ray reports that on December 5, 2011 Brown allegedly entered a barn on New Home Road, Dowelltown and took a 2003 Honda Rancher 4 wheeler. On Monday February 27 sheriff’s department detectives went to Brown’s residence on Gentry Avenue to investigate the theft. But Brown, posing as someone else, told the detectives that his name was Michael Roy West. He later admitted that his name is actually Howard Eugene Brown.
45 year old Melisa Gean Petty of Banks Pisgah Road was recently picked up on a sealed indictment charging her with sale and delivery of a schedule II drug (dilaudid) in a drug free zone and two counts of sale and delivery of a schedule II drug (dilaudid). Her bond is $100,000 and she will be in court on March 19.
43 year old Raymond Earl Tague of Short Mountain Highway, Smithville is charged with public intoxication. His bond is $1,500 and he will be in court March 8. Sheriff Ray reports that on Saturday, March 3 an officer was dispatched to Highway 146 to check out a person walking in the roadway. Upon arrival, the deputy found Tague walking on the road. He had a strong odor of an alcoholic beverage on his person and he was very unsteady on his feet. For safety reasons, Tague was transported to the sheriff’s department and arrested for public intoxication.
25 year old Donnie Ray Gillman of Floyd Drive, Smithville is charged with aggravated assault. His bond is $10,000 and he will be in court on March 15. According to Sheriff Ray, Gillman and another family member became involved in a confrontation at Gillman’s home on Sunday, March 4. During the incident, Gillman allegedly fired an SKS rifle in the direction of the victim. Gillman admitted to firing the weapon. No one was injured.

As schools were closed Thursday, repairs were being made to campus buildings in order to get them ready for classes on Friday.
Director of Schools Mark Willoughby said high winds from Wednesday afternoon’s severe weather caused some damage to DeKalb Middle School and the Vocational School at DCHS while snapping an electric line, providing a primary power source to DCHS. “When daylight came (Thursday) we found some more damage. Up on top of the middle school, as you drive by you could see that it had blown off the siding next to the roof, probably 25 to 30 feet in two different spots. On top of the roof of the middle school, metal which evidently came from some other place cut six or seven places in the roof where it had blown metal around. We’ve had a company up there, Porter Roofing fixing those cuts. They think they have all those particular spots fixed as to damage to the roof, temporarily fixed anyway. There are some blowers inside drying out the building from the leaks. The maintenance department and custodians worked Wednesday night and Thursday drying things out to make sure the water coming into the building didn’t get out of control. We had some pretty good leaks in the middle school,” said Willoughby.
“It (winds) blew one of the windows in at the vocational school,” according to Willoughby. “The force of the wind blew in one of the large windows. It did not break the window. It did not shatter. We were able to put that back in. There is no structural damage. We had some people to look. So that window was secured back in and braced. There was some siding that blew off the vocational building. We had two or three twenty five foot strips of rubber that came off the side of the roof of the vocational school,” he said
“The football field scoreboard is twisted. The baseball scoreboard is down. We’ve got a fence down where a large tree has fallen on it. All in all we were very fortunate that we did not get any more damage than what did happen,” said Willoughby
Director Willoughby said except for some concerns about electricity to the building, the high school did not receive any significant storm damage. “There was no structural damage at the high school. We had one little place where it looked like it had blown the siding off the back of the high school but upon examining it further, we don’t believe that was from the storm. It was just a little bit loose up there at the top of the building where the roof and the siding met. We had to have the electric company come in Thursday morning. If we had to, we could have had school Thursday with the exception of dealing with the electricity. We were not sure of all the areas of the school where electricity was available everywhere in the school Wednesday night but we got there Thursday morning and had to do some additional work. There were more reasons than just the roof why we did not go to school Thursday,” said Willoughby.
Storm winds also blew down a traffic caution light on West Broad Street near the schools.
Schools reopened Friday morning but closed again at noon due to the threat of more severe weather.

Tennessee Downtown Programs Steering Committee Members Wade Smith, Suzanne Williams, Steve White, Alan Webb and Mark Ashburn (not pictured) were guests of the Smithville Rotary Club last Tuesday and presented the two plans for an open-air pavilion to be constructed at Evins Park in the near future.
These citizens are our local committee that is planning for improvements to downtown Smithville under the umbrella of the “Tennessee Downtowns Program,” a statewide initiative to revitalize downtowns and increase tourism in Tennessee.
The Smithville Rotary Club became the first organization in DeKalb County to pledge $1000 toward completion of the pavilion.