DeKalb County’s Sonni Fullilove has been named the boy’s Defensive Player of the Year in District 8 AA while Tiger Coach Lynus Martin is the Boy’s District Coach of the Year.
The All-District selections were announced Friday.
Livingston Academy’s Mason Ramsey is the District’s Most Valuable Player for boys while Cannon County’s Abby Sissom took the MVP honor for girls.
For the boys, Colton Blevins of York Institute was named Freshman of the Year and Wade Eldridge of Livingston Academy is the Most Improved Player in the district.
Jordan Hollis of Cannon County is the girl’s Defensive Player of the Year in the district. Ola Obie of Central Magnet was named the district’s Most Improved Player. Casey Gregory of Smith County is the Freshman of the Year and Micheal Dodgen of Cannon County received the Girl’s Coach of the Year honor.
In addition to taking the Defensive Player of the Year award, Sonni Fullilove of DeKalb County was also named to the All-District’s 1st Team along with Braxton Atnip. Stephen Howell was named to the 2nd Team. Ethan Roller made the 3rd Team and Lucas Phillips and Will Molander received Honorable Mention.
Loren Cripps of the Lady Tigers made the All-District 3rd Team. Ashli Chew and Morgan Pedigo were selected to the All Freshman Team and Chelsea Lewis received Honorable Mention.
The following are the All-District selections for both boys and girls in District 8AA
GIRLS
MVP- Abby Sissom, Cannon County
Defensive Player of the Year – Jordan Hollis, Cannon County
Most Improved Player – Ola Obie, Central Magnet
Freshman of the Year – Casey Gregory, Smith County
Coach of the Year – Micheal Dodgen, Cannon County
1st Team
Callie Hackett, Smith County
Ola Obie, Central Magnet
Claudia Smith, Central Magnet
Ashley Wright, York Institute
Abby Jakes, Cannon County
2nd Team
Marley Sells, Livingston Academy
Claudia Hull, Upperman
Sydney Staggs, Livingston Academy
Casey Gregory, Smith County
Kailey Winningham, Livingston Academy
3rd Team
Ashley Brewer, Central Magnet
Kat Carter, Upperman
Jordan Hollis, Cannon County
Raven Wright, Smith County
Loren Cripps, DeKalb County
All Defensive Team
Jordan Hollis, Cannon County
Ashley Wright, York Institute
Raven Wright, Smith County
Rachel Reeder, Livingston Academy
Taylor Meadows, Livingston Academy
Callie Hackett, Smith County
Claudia Hull, Upperman
All Freshman Team
Casey Gregory, Smith County
Jacquelin Carpenter, Smith County
Kelly Davis, Cannon County
Kylea Carver, Central Magnet
Ashli Chew, DeKalb County
Morgan Pedigo, DeKalb County
Skylar Looper, Livingston Academy
Kellie Lamb, Livingston Academy
Sarah Eldridge. Upperman
Honorable Mention
Madison Walkup, Cannon County
Rebecca Faulkner, Cannon County
Chelsea Lewis, DeKalb County
Taylor Meadows, Livingston Academy
Rachel Reeder, Livingston Academy
Allison Conder, Smith County
Katelyn Butler, York Institute
Mallory Hull, York Institute
Hannah Burke, York Institute
Haley Attkinson, York Institute
BOYS
MVP – Mason Ramsey, Livingston Academy
Defensive Player of the Year – Sonni Fullilove, DeKalb County
Most Improved Player -Wade Eldridge, Livingston Academy
Freshman of the Year – Colton Blevins, York Institute
Coach of the Year – Lynus Martin, DeKalb County
1st Team
Braxton Atnip, DeKalb County
Sonni Fullilove, DeKalb County
Brock McCoin, Livingston Academy
Jordan Craighead, Smith County
Joe Jones, Upperman
2nd Team
Cory Henley, Cannon County
Tyler McWilliams, Upperman
Stephen Howell, DeKalb County
Wade Eldridge, Livingston Academy
Jared Case, Upperman
3rd Team
Corbin Patton, York Institute
Kevin Craighead, Smith County
Cody Devillanueva, Upperman
Ethan Roller, DeKalb County
John McBride, York Institute
Honorable Mention
Lucas Phillps, DeKalb County
Will Molander, DeKalb County
Wyatt Slagle, Upperman
Dalton Dronebarger, Upperman
Dylan Hedgecloth, Upperman
Jacob Day, York Institute
Byron Matthews, York Institute
Jamal Carter, Smith County
Sam Holliman, Smith County
Beau Carr, Smith County
Creed Hayes, Livingston Academy
Bennett Fouts, Central Magnet
Coyle Gregory, Central Magnet
Camron Huff, Smith County
Bubba Jolley, Livingston Academy
Tanner Larson, Cannon County
Jarrett Melton, Cannon County
All Defensive Team
Creed Hayes, Livingston Academy
Brock McCoin, Livingston Academy
Jared Cox, Upperman
Kevin Craighead, Smith County
Tanner Larson, Cannon County
All Freshman Team
Colton Blevins, York Institute
Camron Huff, Smith County
Ben Guffey, Upperman
Dylan Linder, Livingston Academy
Peter Hollars, Livingston Academy

Kelsey Jones and Corey Morris, both of McMinnville, were named queen and king during recent homecoming activities at Motlow College, according to Sheri Mason, assistant director of student services and Student Government Association sponsor.
Jones and Morris were nominated for the honors by members of the Phi Theta Kappa honor society at Motlow’s McMinnville Center. Jones is studying criminal justice at the college and will graduate in May. Morris, who also will be among the May graduates, is a political science major.
Other nominees for queen and king were Courtney Michaels of Hazel Green, Ala.; Andrew Mustin of Fayetteville; Jaya Harwell of Smithville; Tyler Glenn of Morrison; Catherine Chappell of Tullahoma; Ange’lica Looney of Smyrna; and Presley Owen of Tullahoma. Homecoming was held on Motlow’s Moore County campus and was sponsored by the SGA, which hosted a photo booth and distributed free pompoms and megaphones to attendees

The Infinity Athletics All Star team, the Stunners, brought home 2nd Place at the Jamfest Cheerleading competition at Nashville Municipal Auditorium on Saturday, February 2nd.
Pictured are:
Malia Stanley, Kaitlyn Fish, Kailey Herron, Alley Sykes, Shaunta Koegler, Chloe Sykes, Katherine Malone, Rachel Rhody, and Leah Davis.
Coached by Avarie Maynard and Jennifer Sykes

U.S. Senator Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.), in a meeting recently with Maj. Gen. Michael Walsh of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in the Capitol hosted by U.S. Rep. Ed Whitfield (R-Ky.), said that he will explore writing legislation to change the law in order to stop the Corps’ current plan to restrict access to dam tailwaters along the Cumberland River. Alexander urged Maj. Gen. Walsh to consider alternatives that would keep people safe when dams are spilling while allowing full access to the tailwaters when the dams are not spilling.
Of the meeting, Alexander said, “The tailwaters are only dangerous when the water is spilling through the dam, and when it’s not, tailwaters provide some of the best fishing areas in the U.S., attracting thousands of fishermen and creating hundreds of jobs in Tennessee and Kentucky. For example, water spills through the Center Hill dam about 14 percent of the time. The most logical solution would be to make the area safe when the danger exists: To close the tailwaters to fishing 100 percent of the time would be like keeping the gate down at the railroad crossing 100 percent of the time – the track is not dangerous when the train is not coming, and the tailwaters are not dangerous when the water is not spilling through the dam.”
Alexander sent a letter to Assistant Secretary of the Army for Civil Works Jo-Ellen Darcy, voicing his “strong opposition” to the Corps plan that would divert $2.6 million in federal money toward barriers restricting access to the tailwaters. In the letter, Alexander highlighted the importance of the fishing areas, both recreationally and economically: “The Cumberland River system is enjoyed by Tennesseans and visitors from around the world, and the open access of the Cumberland River system is critical to our recreational fishermen and is an important part of Tennessee’s economy.”
Alexander is the senior Republican on the Senate Appropriations Committee’s Subcommittee on Energy and Water Development, which has jurisdiction over the Army Corps of Engineers.
The full text of the letter is below:
I am writing to express my strong opposition to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ decision to restrict access to fishing areas in tailwaters below dams on the Cumberland River system.
On December 6th, I met with Lt. Colonel James DeLapp, Commander of the Nashville District of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, to discuss the proposed restrictions. While I understand the importance of improving boater safety, the Corps is planning to divert previously appropriated federal funding to implement the proposed restrictions. I received a list of projects in the Nashville District that will be affected by the Corps’ decision, and I am very concerned about some of the proposed actions which include delaying maintenance activities and reducing services at recreation areas.
I also want to make you aware that the Corps’ actions will have a significant impact on fisheries in Tennessee and Kentucky, and the Corps’ proposed restrictions are opposed by both state wildlife agencies. The Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency and the Tennessee Wildlife Federation believe that further restricting access to tailwater areas is unnecessary, and I agree with them. You should consider reasonable alternatives to improve public safety, not unilaterally prohibit access to some of the highest quality fishing areas in my state. Changes should only be considered after a thorough review of all public comments and suggestions, which will not happen if the Corps proceeds according to their proposed timeline. I am concerned that the proper environmental assessment has not occurred, and I am evaluating legislative options to prevent the Corps from going forward.
I would like to talk with you directly about the Corps’ decision before the Corps takes any further action. The Cumberland River system is enjoyed by Tennesseans and visitors from around the world, and the open access of the Cumberland River system is critical to our recreational fishermen and is an important part of Tennessee’s economy.
Thank you for your consideration, and I look forward to meeting with you.
Sincerely,
Lamar Alexander
United States Senator

With a local principal calling for more School Resource Officers, the school board has scheduled a workshop for Monday, February 25 at 6:00 p.m. to discuss options for strengthening school security, including the possibility of asking the state legislature and county commission to help fund more SRO officers.
DeKalb County currently has one School Resource Officer at DCHS. The four other schools do not have an SRO.

During Thursday night’s school board meeting held at DeKalb West School, Dr. Gayle Redmon, Principal at Northside Elementary School said its time for the school board to act. “While I am aware that the funding for School Resource Officers is not an item that comes out of the school budget, I would like to make an appeal to the School Board to request from our County Commissioners, a School Resource Officer in each of our schools in DeKalb County,” she said.
(VIEW THE ENTIRE SCHOOL BOARD MEETING THURSDAY NIGHT BY PLAYING BOTH VIDEOS BELOW-PARTS 1 & 2)
M2U00996 from dwayne page on Vimeo.
Referring to an incident in Warren County Thursday, Dr. Redmon said “today (Thursday), we had a report of a threat made by a student in another county (Warren County) and our school (NES) was fortunate enough to have an officer assigned to our school for most of the day as we maintained a high alert status. The presence of this officer made everyone at Northside feel safer and more secure,” she said.

“While it saddens me that we must make this request, I believe it is imperative that we think in terms of being proactive rather than reactive,” said Dr. Redmon.
“Research does indicate that a School Resource Officer would be instrumental in protecting students and staff in the event that we were to ever to have an intruder in our school who intended to do harm to students or an adult. I am aware of only one incident in which an SRO officer was killed in a school shooting. Most of the attacks in schools occur where there is not an SRO present. In instances where there has been an SRO present during a violent attack at school, the officer has been able to signficantly limit the harm to innocent people,” she said
“In Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, for example in 2011, a student entered a school with two pipe bombs in his backpack. He then shot and wounded the School Resource Officer. But the officer was able to stop that student before he could do any further harm,” said Dr. Redmon.
“In our own state of Tennessee, in Sullivan County a 62 year old man came in and confronted a principal. He put a gun in the principal’s face. The School Resource Officer intervened and was able to calm the man down at least until more officers could arrive, at which time that man did draw the gun on the SRO and he was shot by those officers,” she said.
“Examples like that could go on and on.”
“The one thing that really sticks out in my mind at all the school safety and security meetings I have attended in our own county or at Tennessee Tech and other places is that each of the schools reported having one thing in common and that was that they never thought that a shooting would occur at their school,” she said.
“I believe an SRO is needed at every school. I believe they would be able to protect our schools. I think they could coordinate the response better for other police resources and maybe help us to address crime and disorder problems as they occur and further help prevent such crimes,” according to Dr. Redmon.
“I believe an SRO would be able to take action immediately against unauthorized persons on our school property. In addition, I think they would be a deterrent to bullying in our schools,” she said..
“I believe the presence of SRO’s in our schools would be invaluable an immeasurable if they were able to save even one life,” concluded Dr. Redmon.
“I concur with Mrs. Redmon,” said Danny Parkerson, Principal at DeKalb West School. “Schools have changed. Our society has changed. An SRO Officer in the schools just has a calming affect if nothing else. I’ve been to ball games and had SRO Officers attend our ball games and it makes an unruly fan, ruly,” said Parkerson.
First District member John David Foutch said the school board has been discussing ways to improve school security for several weeks. “The day after Sandy Hook, we started working on this,” said Foutch. ” We’ve talked to local law enforcement departments. In our own county, we’ve gone a long way. We’ve got people interested in taking those jobs (SROs). What we are lacking mainly is funding. If you will talk to your county commissioners, we’ll talk to our legislators. To get this funded and off the ground, we need people at home standing behind us. This is something we’re trying to make happen but we can’t make it happen on our own. We need everybody’s help,” said Foutch.
“In the workshop prior to this meeting, we were already discussing some of these issues,” said Board Chairman Johnny Lattimore. ” I think Mr. (Mark) Willoughby is going to be checking into the costs and we will be making recommendations. Some of our board members will be attending the “Day on the Hill” (State Legislature) in just a few days and they will be talking to some of our legislators about such things as being able to help fund some of those (SROs) and a lot of other things we need to do to upgrade our security systems at the schools,” said Lattimore.
Fourth District member Billy Miller proposed having a workshop on school security, but to open it up to the community so that more people, including local law enforcement officers and business persons could offer up ideas. “I do think it is a community responsibility for us to look at this,” said Miller. ” I would make a proposal that we have a workshop to come up with solutions. It needs to be an open workshop to include the Sheriff’s Department, the Police Department, First Responders, local businessmen, and the community. If we come together as a community I think we can get way ahead on this problem. If we have the community involved in this, maybe we can come up with a solution and maybe be able to put more SRO’s into the school system. It’s not going to solve all our problems but it’s a start in the right direction. I would like to see this board step up for the community and have the community involved,” said Miller.
Chris Allen, a concerned parent and owner of two local businesses addressed the school board offering an idea on how to pay for more SRO’s. ” I’ve thought about the funding for the SRO’s. If every working citizen in DeKalb County who works in the county would commit to having one penny an hour deducted off of their pay, that would fund an SRO Officer for each school in the county. I don’t know how difficult that would be to do but it wouldn’t have to come out of anybody’s budget. I don’t know how it could be implemented or even if it could be a private thing instead of through the state or the county,” said Allen.
Board Chairman Lattimore said the school system could not implement such a plan and that Allen would have to contact the county commission or state legislature about his proposal. “That would be something that would have to be taken up by the county commission or the state legislature,” said Lattimore. “How ever the SRO’s are funded, the taxpayers will have to pay for that. Right now all of our county taxes are through property taxes so if the county commission pays for it (more SRO’s) then that’s probably how they would do it is add to the county property taxes. I recommend that you talk to your county commissioners and maybe you can send in an email to your state representatives too and let them know about your idea. They are the ones who actually tax us so that’s where that would have to come from,” said Lattimore.

Unless Congress intervenes, the United States Postal Service plans to stop delivering and collecting letters and other first-class mail on Saturdays beginning August 5, although packages will continue to be delivered.
The Postal Service expects to generate cost savings of approximately $2 billion annually, once the plan is fully implemented.
David Walton, spokesman for the Tennessee District of the United States Postal Service, in a telephone interview with WJLE Thursday, said once implemented, mail delivery to street addresses will occur Monday through Friday. Packages will continue to be delivered six days per week. Mail addressed to PO Boxes will continue to be delivered on Saturdays. Post Offices currently open on Saturdays will remain open on Saturdays so that customers can drop off mail or packages, buy postage stamps or access their post office boxes. “What this means is, customers who are getting mail now to their homes delivered six days a week Monday through Saturday, that is going to change,” said Walton. ” They will now get their mail delivered Monday through Friday. What we’re doing is taking away the letter mail. We’re not going to be delivering letter mail anymore six days a week. Now we are going to keep delivering packages. I know medicines are usually sent by priority mail. They are considered packages. We know that is a big concern to customers. So nothing will change as far as medications. They will still be delivered six days a week. If you’ve got a P.O Box, there won’t be any changes for you. You will still get your mail six days a week. For post offices, there is going to be no changes to those as well. If you’ve got a post office that you use that is open on Saturdays, it will still be open on Saturdays,” said Walton
“The Postal Service is advancing an important new approach to delivery that reflects the strong growth of our package business and responds to the financial realities resulting from America’s changing mailing habits,” said Patrick R. Donahoe, Postmaster General and CEO in a prepared news release. “We developed this approach by working with our customers to understand their delivery needs and by identifying creative ways to generate significant cost savings.”
Over the past several years, the Postal Service has advocated shifting to a five-day delivery schedule for mail and packages. However, recent strong growth in package delivery (14 percent volume increase since 2010) and projections of continued strong package growth throughout the coming decade led to the revised approach to maintain package delivery six days per week.
“Our customers see strong value in the national delivery platform we provide and maintaining a six-day delivery schedule for packages is an important part of that platform,” said Donahoe. “As consumers increasingly use and rely on delivery services — especially due to the rise of e-commerce — we can play an increasingly vital role as a delivery provider of choice, and as a driver of growth opportunities for America’s businesses.”

Although there have been no reports of threats against anyone in the DeKalb County School System, Director of Schools Mark Willoughby said extra precautions have been taken today because of what is being reported in Warren County.
According to Nashville media reports, Warren County Director of Schools Bobby Cox said they were alerted about a Facebook post Wednesday evening regarding someone who said he had access to his father’s guns and was planning something at Warren County High in McMinnville. Cox said the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation is working to identify who posted the message. He said there will be extra patrols at all 11 schools in the district and there will be limited access to the buildings.
Again, no such threats have been made in DeKalb County today, still Director of Schools Mark Willoughby said the incident in neighboring Warren County has heightened awareness here. “We’re taking extra precautions today just because of some of the threats we have heard at some neighboring school systems. We haven’t received any direct threats in DeKalb County as far as I know but our schools are probably a little bit more secure today. You may see the sheriff’s department and city police department on the schools around the property a little more today. But this is just stemming from the threats in a neighboring county. I understand some things in the neighboring county have come over Facebook which has caused them concern. But we have not received any direct threats to any of our schools in DeKalb County but we are taking extra precautions. Safety is our number one priority,”said Willoughby.

The DeKalb County Complex is hosting a FREE MOVIE NIGHT tonight (Thursday, February 7).
ParaNorman, a 2012 American 3D stop-motion animated comedy horror film, will be featured starting at 6:00 p.m. at the county complex auditorium. No admission charge for either children or adults. Concessions will be available for purchase.
County Mayor Mike Foster said movies and other special events will be scheduled on a regular basis at the county complex to attract more people. “We’ve been trying to think of things to involve more kids so the staff there have decided they are going to show a movie called “ParaNorman” which is an animated movie. It lasts about an hour and a half. Its rated PG and was picked as one of the top movies of the year. People who have seen it say it’s a cute little film. We’re just trying to establish some things on Thursday night. We’re probably going to try to do a movie night at least once a month. We hope to have an open mic night, a band, and karaoke. We want to try to have something each Thursday night,” said Foster.
The movie ParaNorman is about the little town of Blithe Hollow where a boy named Norman Babcock can speak to the dead, but no one besides his eccentric new friend, Neil, believes his ability is real. One day, Norman’s estranged eccentric uncle tells him of an important annual ritual he must take up to protect the town from a curse cast by a witch it condemned centuries ago. Eventually, Norman decides to cooperate, but things don’t go according to plan. Now, a magic storm of the witch threatens Blithe Hollow as the accursed dead rise. Together with unexpected new companions, Norman struggles to save his town, only to discover the horrific truth of the curse. With that insight, Norman must resolve the crisis for good as only he can.