The home of Beecher Taylor at 280 the Loop Circle in the Midway Community was heavily damaged by fire Saturday.
Central dispatch was notified at 12:27 p.m.
Assistant County Fire Chief Jeff Williams told WJLE that Taylor’s wife was in the kitchen when she heard a pop. She went to investigate and found a fire in the utility room. She tried to extinguish the blaze herself without success. Mrs. Taylor then called 911 and got out of the house.
Members of the Short Mountain Highway, tanker truck, and Midway stations of the county volunteer fire department responded along with manpower from the Blue Springs and Cookeville Highway stations. DeKalb EMS and officers of the Sheriff’s Department were also on the scene.
Assistant Chief Williams said the home received extensive fire damage in the utility room, hallway, a back bedroom and to the roof. Heat, smoke, and water damage spread throughout the rest of the home. No one was injured. The cause of the fire is undetermined.

A great New Year’s Resolution for the ladies of DeKalb County is to be a part of the Smithville Family and Community Education Club which meets the second Thursday of each month at the UT Extension section of the County Complex. Refreshments and fellowship begin at 9:30 a.m. and the meeting begins at 10:00 a.m. The program include speakers that contribute their time to the community through their arts and talents, work expertise, or special interests.
In the year 2012, the FCE club donated time or money for the Lighthouse Children’s Camp, Children’s advocacy Center, Genesis House, Habitat for Humanity, Relay for Life, the Prison ministries, and the Joe Black Project. Monies for the various projects come from the annual yard sale. The club has developed “Hands-On” books for children with learning disabilities and has done a couple of projects with the Headstart Program.
The club usually takes day trips throughout the year besides the monthly meeting date. The Nashville Lawn and Garden Show and a train ride were enjoyed in 2012. The FCE Club was originally the Home Demonstration Club and the interest in arts and crafts are still a part of the yearly agenda.
One goal for the new year is to compile a cookbook of favorite foods in DeKalb County. Each month the refreshments will consist of samples of a cookbook section; appetizers having been selected for the January meeting. Each entry is expected to be a delight.
The guest speaker for the ucpoming meeting will be Kathy Hendrixson from Justin Potter Library. She began working part-time at the library in 2000 and is now Head Librarian. The library is continually using developing computer technology and offers a variety of services for the community. The January program will be both educational and enjoyable.

The DeKalb County Board of Education met in special session Thursday night to approve an architect contract with Kaatz, Binkley, Jones & Morris Architects of Mount Juliet for the DeKalb West School building project.
Under terms of the contract, the architect is to receive a fixed fee of $102,142 including a $12,767 local match for work associated with the Community Safe Room portion of the project, as itemized in the (FEMA) Hazard Mitigation Grant Application. For the remainder of the building project, the architect is to receive 5% of construction cost associated with the work unrelated to the Community Safe Room portion of the project plus 5% of any unaccepted alternates.
Plans, once completed, must be approved by all appropriate authorities including the State Fire Marshal, before the project can be let for bids.
The school system recently received final approval for a FEMA grant to fund the classroom addition including eight tornado “safe rooms”.
In November, David Brown of Kaatz, Binkley, Jones & Morris Architects updated the school board on the project “At long last, we got our final approval letters from the state and FEMA and the last of the hoops to jump through were approved for our grant at DeKalb West,” said Brown.
“The next thing that will happen is you’ll get a contract from the state that documents the 12 1/2% that they are going to put toward this (project) because if you’ll remember out of the total grant, FEMA is going to take care of 75% and then the state of Tennessee is going to kick in another 12 1/2% which only leaves 12 ½%. That is what we’ve been waiting for. Its about eight weeks later than I thought it would be. We submitted (grant application) in March. We had heard from the state that everything looked good and that they were passing you on to Atlanta (FEMA office). Its what we’ve been waiting for and we can now move ahead with the project,” said Brown.
The Tennessee Emergency Management Agency had earlier approved grant funds of more than $1.5 million for the safe room project at DeKalb West School, pending final approval by FEMA in Atlanta. The spending plan calls for $600,000 in local funding to meet a 12.5% FEMA grant match for building eight tornado “safe rooms” at DeKalb West School. The proposed addition would be constructed in the front of the school, including eight classrooms, restrooms, a new secure entrance, an office, clinic, conference room, guidance and teacher work area.
The county commission, last July, approved funding for the plan in the form of a $3.4 million note to cover the $600,000 grant match for the safe room project along with an $850,000 cafeteria and kitchen renovation project at DeKalb West School as well as roofing projects at DeKalb Middle School, DeKalb West School, and Smithville Elementary School.

Morris Multimedia, the owner of the Smithville Review has announced that it has acquired the DeKalb County Times.
According to the Smithville Review, “The merger with the Review, which began printing in 1892 under the ownership of brothers Frank and P.S. Wallace, will bring both local papers together in an effort to report the news in DeKalb County with an increased determination and the integrity readers have come to expect from both publications over the years.”
“We have long respected the work the Times has done, and we look forward to continuing the tradition of community journalism in DeKalb County. Weekly community newspapers provide an invaluable service and we feel that combining the efforts of the two newspapers will enable us to provide better content for the community,” said Charles Hill Morris, Jr. regional manager for Morris Multimedia, according to the Smithville Review.
“The entire staff of the DeKalb County Times thanks its readers and advertisers. We wish the Review much success as it serves the community,” said Dennis Richardson, the publisher of the Times, according to the Review.

A kitchen fire Thursday caused significant damage to the home of Jeff and Amanda Carter at 2480 Students Home Road.
Central dispatch received the call at 12:07 p.m.
County Fire Chief Donny Green told WJLE that the fire started while the Carter’s were away. When Mr. Carter returned home he saw smoke coming from the vents on the house and called for help.
Members of the Keltonburg, Blue Springs, and Main Stations responded along with manpower from the Short Mountain Highway station of the county fire department.
Firefighters entered the home and found that the blaze had started on a kitchen cabinet. The cause is undetermined. The small blaze was confined to the kitchen although the living room received some water damage. Smoke spread throughout other areas of the home. No one was injured.
Officers of the Sheriff’s Department and DeKalb EMS were also on the scene.
Meanwhile, the Smithville Volunteer Fire Department responded to a small fire at the laundrymat on West Broad Street Thursday at 11:06 a.m.
Fire Chief Charlie Parker told WJLE that clothes in a dryer caught fire. The blaze also caused some damage to the wall behind the dryer. The fire was quickly snuffed out and no one was injured.

The Smithville Police Department is proud to announce the success of the 2012 Christmas For Kids and coat drive.
“We would like to extend a special thanks to the following businesses, churches and individuals for donating time, food and items to help us to make this Christmas Party a success,” said Beth Adcock, Records Clerk for the police department.
Donations were made by the following:
Second Harvest Food Bank
DeKalb Market
The White Possum Grille
Food Lion
Save A Lot
Bumpers
Dollar General Store
Subway
Kilgores
Wal-Mart
Ellisamerica
Brother Kelly of Assembly Of God
Brother Houk and members of Smithville First Free Will Baptist Church
Vivian Johnson
“We would also like to thank the many volunteers that donated their time and services and to the citizens of DeKalb county for the donations of coats and toys,” said Adcock.
“We were able to provide coats for all the children but due to the overwhelming response from the public, coats are still available to anyone in need until January 15,” she added.
For more information please contact Beth Adcock at 597-8210 ext 1.