The design for a proposed 15,000 square foot addition to DeKalb West School was unveiled Saturday morning during a school board workshop meeting. A $1.8 million FEMA grant application will be filed on behalf of the school system, which if approved would fund most of the project with the rest, about $600,000 to be paid for locally.
The new construction is designed to be built in the front of the existing school.
David Brown of Kaatz, Binkley, Jones & Morris Architects of Mount Juliet updated Director of Schools Mark Willloughby and members of the Board of Education on the project which includes eight “safe rooms”to relieve overcrowding and to shelter students, school staff, and the general public in times of severe weather. County Mayor Mike Foster and several members of the county commission also attended Saturday’s workshop along with other school personnel.
Twenty three million dollars is available to eligible applicants under the FEMA Hazard Mitigation Grant program. During a special called meeting in December, the Board of Education voted to pay KBJM Architects, Inc. a total of $7,500 to prepare a design for the project and to pay Lashlee-Rich, Inc. of Humbolt $7,500 to prepare cost estimates and for the grant writing.
Under this FEMA grant program, the school system could apply for up to three million dollars for this project with the federal government paying 75% of the cost, if approved. The state would pay 12.5% leaving the local share at 12.5%. Any further costs related to construction not covered by the FEMA grant, including furnishing classrooms, would be funded locally. “We are proposing the addition in the front of the school,” said Brown. We have eight classrooms, restrooms, a new secure entrance, an office, clinic, conference room, guidance and teacher work area all in that corridor. A janitors closet would be in the room where the generator will go. That is the addition we are proposing to meet these federal standards,” said Brown.
According to Brown, the proposed new addition would not only provide more classroom space and better shelter in the event of storms, but it would make the school more secure. “Its going to be more secure,” said Brown. “Once the addition is done, when I visit the school, I’ll go into the vestibule. These doors are going to be locked. The only place I can go is into the main office and from there into the rest of the school. Whereas, right now I can walk in and go wherever I want to go,” he said.
“We’re designing this for (to withstand) a 250 mile per hour wind with debris and projectiles going that fast. So all of that construction is going to be beefed up to meet those standards. Obviously constructing a building that way is much more expensive than just your run of the mill construction. That’s why the grant is there. There’s no way anybody could afford to do this just on their own initiative. The grant is crucial to this,” said Brown.
“The construction manager is taking a look at this design and putting together a line item materials and labor budget that will back up how much we’re going to ask for (grant application). We can include all of those construction estimate items that the construction manager is coming up with. In addition we can include architect fees, the geo-technical report, and a lot of the soft costs can be rolled into this grant request as well. It is the most robust inclusive program you are ever going to come across. We’re working on the grant application right now. It is due March 1,” said Brown.
“Those (grant) applications go to the state hazard mitigation officer. (They) will spend about two weeks reviewing the applications prioritizing and ranking. If there is money there, then everything goes through. School projects are kind of a slam dunk. The reason they are is because they are protecting so many people per dollar that is spent. They require us to do a benefit cost analysis to go with this. So I can’t go ask them for a million dollars and I’m only protecting twenty people. Here we’re probably going to be asking for upwards of $1.8 million and protecting the entire school and all the staff,” said Brown.
Once approved for the grant, Brown said the school system has up to three years to spend it.
Although a new larger DWS cafeteria and kitchen does not qualify under the FEMA grant as school officials had hoped, the architects have included in the design an expansion of the existing dining area. “I’m showing about a 30% increase in the cafeteria space. This will increase the core of this campus up to about 600 students,” said Brown.
DeKalb West School, which opened in 1974, was built for 320 students. The current enrollment is 445 plus faculty and staff. To relieve overcrowding, a portable with two classrooms is currently located on the campus. In times of storms, officials say the general public would be welcome to take shelter with students and school staff in the safe rooms, which could accommodate up to one thousand individuals.

The county’s new office/recreational complex is almost finished.
County Mayor Mike Foster said the contractor may wind up work this week. “Within two weeks, we’ll have everything open,” said Foster.
As of Tuesday, February 21, a total of $3,075,000 has been spent on the complex.
“The floors are finished pretty well throughout the building,” he said. “The stage (in the auditorium) is ready to sand. Its got hardwood put on it (floor). We have to do some work on the (handicapped) ramp. Basically everything is done except touch ups,” said Foster.
“The senior citizens center will be ready to move on Wednesday. The equipment is now in the exercise room and the floor is done. The (community) kitchen is done except we don’t have all the equipment in. We may not have all the tables and chairs and that kind of stuff in but there will be some activities. They’re doing the cooking classes already in the kitchen,” said Foster.
“The gymnasium is done except we don’t have the basketball goals in. We (county commission) will talk about what we need to buy for the game room Thursday night (during an all committees meeting) at the UT Extension office in the complex. We’ve had some donations of games and things to go in there. Clubs, banks, and other organizations have donated money to do some stuff for the kids,” he said.
“Its all looking pretty good and we’re all within budget,” said Foster.
UCHRA, which is renting offices from the county, opened in the complex last summer and the four county officials who relocated from the courthouse, moved in last August.
The complex features an auditorium with a seating capacity of about 300; a community kitchen and cafeteria, a game room for kids, an exercise room complete with used and refurbished equipment, a gymnasium for basketball and volleyball, a senior citizens center, and rooms for the Art Revolution, Motlow State Community College, the county extension office, and other meeting rooms.

The Tennessee Association of Utility Districts (TAUD) held the Region Four “Best
Tasting Water Contest” at the Cookeville Golf and Country Club on February 15th. With judges
performing two “taste-offs” to determine the winner Smithville Water and Sewer was awarded Best Tasting Water in Region 4.
TAUD Region Four consists of Clay, Cumberland, DeKalb, Fentress, Jackson, Macon, Overton,
Pickett, Putnam, Roane, Smith, Trousdale, Warren and White counties.
The utilities from Region Four submitting samples of their drinking water for competition were:
Bondecroft Utility District, Byrdstown Water Department, the City of Celina, Crab Orchard Utility District, the City of Crossville, Jamestown Gas and Water, Livingston Utilities, McMinnville Utilities, Red Boiling Springs Water, Smithville Water and Sewer, Warren County Utility District, and West Warren-Viola Utility District.
Cookeville Communications Radio Host Lee Wray, Amanda Mainord with Upper Cumberland
Development Districts and Michael Detwiler with Congressman Diane Black participated as judges for the contest. The drinking water samples were judged on their clarity, bouquet, and taste.
TAUD will conduct the Best Tasting Water in Tennessee Contest in each of the Association’s eleven regions in upcoming months. The winner of each region will participate in a statewide competition at TAUD’s Business of Running A Utility Conference at the Gatlinburg Convention Center in Gatlinburg on August 9th. The statewide winner will then compete in Washington, D.C. for the Best Tasting Water in America.
The Tennessee Association of Utility Districts is the oldest rural water association in the nation and serves as the Tennessee chapter of the National Rural Water Association. TAUD serves as a source of training, technical assistance, and advocacy to over 400 water, wastewater, and natural gas utility members within the state. For more information please visit our website at www.taud.org or contact Beth Hardiman at 615-896-9022.
(Pictured above LEFT TO RIGHT STANDING: Kevin Robinson, Smithville Public Works Director and Todd Bowman, Smithville Water Plant Superintendent. FRONT ROW: Amanda Mainord, Upper Cumberland Development District; Michael Detwiler, Congressman Diane Black’s Office and Lee Wray, Radio Host, Cookeville Communications)

Three people were arrested by the sheriff’s department during a burglary in progress on Holmes Creek Road on Friday, February 17.
38 year old Rodney Hugo Gora of Short Mountain Highway, Smithville; 47 year old Brent Bernard Tolbert of Walling; and 28 year old Sandra Lynn Culwell of Parsley Road, Smithville are all charged with burglary and theft of property over $500. Bond for each is $7,500 and they will be in court on March 8
Sheriff Patrick Ray reports that a deputy responded to a call of a burglary in progress on Friday, February 17 at a residence on Holmes Creek Road. Entry was made through a front door.
Upon arrival, the officer found Gora, Tolbert, and Culwell standing beside of a truck that was loaded with numerous items taken from the house including a birdcage, well pressure tank, refrigerator, jigsaw, mailbox, well pump, assorted wires, sheet metal, aluminum, and buckets of nails and screws. All three were placed under arrest and the stolen items were returned to the owner.
Meanwhile, two people, 24 year old James Edward Gilles and 24 year old Gennia Leigh Wilson both of Old Snow Hill Road, Dowelltown are each charged with animal cruelty. Bond for each is $2,500 and they are to appear in court on February 23.
Sheriff Ray reports that on Friday, February 3 a deputy responded to a residence on Old Snow Hill Road to a complaint of animal cruelty. Upon arrival, the deputy found a starved boxer mixed dog, approximately one year old. He said the animal could hardly stand. It was determined that the dog belonged to both Gilles and Wilson. While the officer was there, Gilles arrived at the residence with food for the dog. The dog was taken to a local veterinarian and as of Monday, February 13 the animal was still there needing medical attention. Both Gilles and Wilson were arrested on February 13.
26 year old Melinda Beth Murphy of East Broad Street, Smithville is charged with two counts of forgery. Her bond is $7,000 and she will be in court on March 1.
Sheriff Ray reports that on Thursday, February 9, Murphy forged a check in the amount of $400. The check was taken to a Smithville bank and cashed. The victim had not signed nor authorized anyone else to sign the check. On the same day, Thursday, February 9, Murphy forged another check, this one in the amount of $612.30. She took that check to an Alexandria bank and cashed it. The victim had not signed nor authorized anyone else to sign it. Murphy was arrested on February 16. Alexandria Police also have charges against her.
More defendants have been picked up by the sheriff’s department in the recent drug investigation. The following have been arrested on sealed indictments returned by the grand jury:
30 year old Brandon Wayne Caldwell (AKA) Worm: Sale and delivery of a schedule II drug in a drug free zone (2 counts) Bond $80,000.
23 year old Brandon Matthew Byford (AKA) Troll of Bell Street Apartments, Smithville: Sale and delivery of a schedule II drug; sale and delivery of a schedule III drug in a drug free zone. Bond $60,000
32 year old Christopher David Hall of Bon Aqua: Sale and delivery of a schedule II drug in a drug free zone. Bond $30,000.
All will appear in criminal court for arraignment on Friday, February 24

More than two hundred voters have taken advantage of early voting in DeKalb County for the March 6 primaries.
Dennis Stanley, Administrator of Elections, said so far things have gone well. “The first four days of early voting have gone extremely well. To date, we have not had anyone come to early voting who did not have a valid photo ID. Thanks to all the publicity given by WJLE and other local media, along with the massive effort made by our state office, we believe a majority of the voters are aware of the new law, and for that we are extremely thankful,” said Stanley
A total of 207 persons have voted early from Wednesday through Saturday, February 15-18 including thirty three on Saturday.
One hundred thirty three have voted in the Democratic Primaries and seventy four have cast ballots in the Republican primary.
Early voting resumes Tuesday, February 21 through Tuesday, February 28. Hours are Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Fridays from 9:00 a.m. until 1:00 p.m.; Thursdays from 2:00 p.m. until 6:00 p.m.; and Saturdays from 9:00 a.m. until noon. All early voting will take place in the basement courtroom of the DeKalb County Courthouse. Closed February 20 for President’s Day.
Remember, DeKalb County residents are required to show a photo ID at the polls.
The election commission office is open Mondays through Fridays from 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. on the first floor of the courthouse, room 104. The phone number is 597-4146.

State Representative Mark Pody has called for a meeting of legislators in the Upper Cumberland to search out the facts concerning allegations against the Upper Cumberland Development District and the “Living the Dream” project.
Reports of lavish spending and possible wrongdoing surfaced this week in a NewsChannel 5 investigation and since then Representative Pody said he has been busy answering calls from concerned constituents. “My phone has been ringing off the hook,” said Pody in a telephone interview with WJLE Friday. “I’ve had many people calling me with concerns about this. I’m getting all the legislators together that represent these fourteen counties and we’re going to be meeting over the next couple of weeks. We’ll be meeting with the (state) comptroller’s office on Tuesday. We will be asking them to fill us in on what is going on from their point of view and any investigations they have going on so we can be brought up to date. We will then be meeting with congressional leaders including Congressman Diane Black’s office. We want to know exactly what is going on. We will then be going to the board members who are actually running this (UCDD) to get their input as well so we have an understanding of what is going on. We’re certainly going to be very prudent with our taxpayer’s money. We’re just not going to let it sit out there like that. Sometimes you just hear from one side and all we’ve heard from right now is just from the TV reports. We’ve also got to hear from the other side and see what is going on. I know we have good competent (UCDD) board members and we’ve got to hear from them. But the perception from the taxpayers is that this is not good. We owe it to the taxpayers to investigate this and see what is going on,” said Representative Pody.
The legislators are not the only ones wanting to know more. State auditors are being brought in to investigate and the UCDD board has hired the Nashville law firm of Walker, Tipps, and Malone, PLC to look into the situation.
UCDD’s executive director Wendy Askins is at the center of the controversy. Askins lives rent free at the Living the Dream facility and questions have been raised as to whether she has misappropriated funds. In the four month investigation by NewsChannel 5, Askins reportedly made out UCDD checks to herself or to cash for questionable reimbursements such as meals, drinks, and gifts. Minutes of a UCDD board meeting were also altered.
Living the Dream is an upscale retirement home for seniors on an eleven acre estate between Baxter and Cookeville in Putnam County. The home is reportedly foreclosure property which was purchased specifically for the purpose of developing a retirement facility for seniors. Almost everything was already in place when the property was bought, including the house and fence. Small apartments were later built behind the main house. Most of the main house is meant to become a common area shared by the residents. Askins was apparently living there to help get the project off the ground since the home only had a few residents renting and not enough money was being generated to hire a manager to stay there all the time. Once complete, the home is intended to serve approximately twenty residents with the rent ranging from $500 to $2,000 per month, based on their income.
DeKalb County Mayor Mike Foster, who is chairman of the UCDD, met with WJLE and the Smithville Review Friday morning. During the interview, Foster said he suspects there has been some “lavish” spending but can’t comment in detail because of the investigation. “I do believe there has been some lavish spending but I’m on the committee that has been appointed to investigate this and until we have more details, I don’t think we need to point the finger at anybody. That’s one of the reasons some of my statements (to Channel 5) look kind of goofy because we were told immediately before doing the (TV) interview that we should not make any negative or even positive comments about anyone in particular or any behavior they might have had until the investigation is over. We’ve got two sets of accountants looking at it. The comptroller is looking at it and the attorneys are looking at it,” said Foster.
Although the Living the Dream project comes under the umbrella of UCDD, Foster said a separate board oversees the operation of it and he knew very little about it. ” Living the Dream is a separate corporation, a 501C3 that was set up to build housing for elderly and disabled people,” said Foster. ” It was set up to be a group home for residents who have to be ambulatory. They couldn’t be in a wheel chair (and live there). Sometime in the last couple of years LTD bought the house that a contractor had built and had lived in while he was building it. He later became disabled and died. The house then became vacant for a while. It was sold at auction and the LTD corporation purchased that existing home which was a pretty good sized, elegant looking house, but in reality is not very big on the ground floor especially. It’s a very moderate sized house. But it had a big white fence around it and it had a barn built back behind it and it looks very luxurious. They were asking $700,000 for it but it brought around $370,000 to $390,000 at public auction. So the LTD corporation bought that house to use as a home similar to like the Fiddlers Manor that we have here in Smithville and some of those kinds of retirement homes. Then they were going to build on living quarters, about twenty rooms, behind it with a connecting atrium that connects them. The main house would be used as a common quarters where all the people who live there would come into that area to eat and do community type functions,” said Foster.
“The board that I’m on (UCDD), we never saw anything about it (Living the Dream) until 2011,” said Foster. ” There was a loan approved by the Cumberland Area Investment Corporation (CAIC). It was just approved by the committee that I am on. Other than that, we didn’t know much about the operation of this other than some transfers and a couple of loans that they had made. We had seen pictures of the house. But there is another board, the LTD corporation which is a 501C3 that sits on that (oversees Living the Dream). The only thing that we as the UCDD board did was approve some of the money that had been approved by another board and just acknowledge it. That’s really all we knew about it. But we (UCDD board) started hearing about these questions(concerning Living the Dream) in December. Channel 5 was there at a meeting we had one day and several of us went out there to see the house (Living the Dream). That was the first time that I had ever seen it. At that time, it (house) was still not complete. Its my understanding that the LTD board had received a transfer of $300,000 of unrestricted money to do the start up and they had borrowed something like $730,000 from a bank in Putnam County. I think they had also borrowed like $225,000 from CAIC to get it all up and going. It was to provide living quarters for about twenty two people. The total was to be about a million and three or four hundred thousand dollars and it would be self supporting. It would refund the debt itself,” said Foster.
According to the NewsChannel 5 report, Askins transferred the first $300,000 from UCDD money to Living the Dream two years ago. Recently, the UCDD board called a special meeting to retroactively approve that $300,000 seed money, saying they could find no documentation in the agency’s official minutes that the board had ever actually voted on it. But, according to the report, Askins’ office had provided a bogus set of minutes (to Channel 5) for February 2010 showing that the Living the Dream money had been approved.
Foster said the revelation of the “bogus” minutes is troubling to him. “He (Channel 5 reporter) asked me before this interview if I had anything that concerned me. I said yes I am concerned about some minutes that appear to have been changed. We talked about specifically what minutes they were. I don’t know who changed them (minutes) but there is a set of minutes that we approved and there is a different set of minutes that have been inserted,” said Foster.
As for allegations that funds may have been spent on wining and dining and possibly at political events, Foster said he has not personally participated in any such UCDD activities. “I was not at any of those things. I have attended some functions at Delmonaco which is a winery, but its like a meeting place. In fact, I’ve been there probably three times with our county commission with the County Technical Advisory Service (CTAS). I guess they (CTAS) rent that and have the CTAS training sessions there. I have been there to that. There’s also been some comments about me saying I had never seen any of the UCDD board members drink a lot. We’re never in that situation. We’re either at a meeting in the UCDD building or at Leslie Town Center or at maybe one of the counties here. I won’t say never, but rarely are we ever in a setting to where there is alcohol,” said Foster.
Channel 5’s investigation further revealed purchases of gifts for UCDD board members by Askins, allegedly at the expense of taxpayers. Foster said he has never received any such gifts.
Foster said he is bothered how that all these revelations did not turn up in the annual UCDD audit which was recently released. According to Foster, the auditor noted no findings but made seven recommendations which have already been adopted by the UCDD board. Among them was a recommendation that “consideration be given for requiring board approval of special projects to be undertaken by the agency. At the present time, the executive director (Askins) has the authority to engage in these projects as long as they comply with the purpose of the development district as defined by Tennessee Code Annotated.”
Foster said he expects that the board will also appoint a chief financial officer to give regular updates to the board in the future. “One of the things we have talked about that I think you will see happen, there will be a CFO appointed or hired. A financial officer that will handle all the financial aspects of this organization and report directly to the board. Right now we (UCDD) board members are there maybe an hour and a half every two to four months. By law, we have to meet four times a year. We’re volunteers. We are a part time board and receive no pay. We serve a legal or technical purpose but we don’t have access to any of these papers (financial documents). We just don’t do it. We don’t have time to. If there are as many gross things wrong as Channel 5 says, why didn’t he (auditor) pick it up and why did he not tell us? If there’s this many obvious things wrong, it should have been picked up and reported. That’s all we have to go by. We can only go by what the audit says because we all have things to do in our home counties,” said Foster.
UCDD serves Cannon, Clay, Cumberland, DeKalb, Fentress, Jackson, Macon, Overton, Pickett, Putnam, Smith, Van Buren, Warren, and White counties.
Foster said UCDD serves the counties in a variety of ways. “The people on the board I am on are primarily concerned with grants, trying to help the elderly, and trying to do things that benefit the individual communities. They apply for Community Development Block Grants. That’s the main thing we’re concerned with. Many of the other programs are under their own separate corporations and boards,” said Foster.
According to the UCDD website, the agency has programs that serve the Older Adult population through the Area Agency on Aging and Disability. UCDD serves children and families with the Relative Caregiver Program and Special Projects Department. It meets infrastructure needs with the Community and Economic Development Team. The Housing Department addresses housing needs for underserved populations. Through the Research Department the agency seeks new and innovative programs to better serve communities. UCDD works to preserve the unique cultural and natural assets of the region through Cultural Resources Management. The Cumberland Area Investment Corporation helps develop small businesses, and it helps local communities plan transportation projects through Rural Planning Organizations.