Director of Schools Mark Willoughby has been offered a new three year contract by the Board of Education. He is expected to sign it.
The school board met in special session Friday night and voted 4-3 to enter into a new agreement with Willoughby, which will be from July 1, 2014 through June 30, 2017. Board members John David Foutch, Charles Robinson, Kenny Rhody, and Chairman Johnny Lattimore voted in favor. Members Billy Miller, Doug Stephens, and W.J. (Dub) Evins, III voted against it, preferring a one year contract instead.
The agreement establishes Willoughby’s base salary to be $97,675 per year plus benefits and any additional increases in pay he may be due if state and or local governments should grant future raises.
Other terms are essentially the same as the old contract except for a few changes. The new deal broadens the provision for which the director may be terminated for cause. It drops a section under which the director would have had to repay the school board for the costs of conducting a search for a new director up to $10,000, if he should resign within the first year of his contract. And it waives the authority of the board to be able to transfer the director to another position in the school system, if the board should want to replace him as director.
“I think it needs to be a one year contract,” said Board member Miller. “We have five members on this board that may not be here next year that are up for re-election. If he is doing a fine job, he doesn’t have to worry about a job,” he said.
Before the three year contract was adopted, Miller made a motion to offer Willoughby a one year deal. Board member Stephens seconded the motion but it failed on a 4-3 vote. Evins was the only other member to vote with them.
“The reason I am voting “yes” (for a one year contract) is because I was elected by the people and they know I am very conservative in my actions. I have nothing against Mr. Willoughby and I think he could spend ten years here doing the job that he is doing right now. But my vote is “yes”, said Stephens.
“My vote is “no” (for a one year contract),” said Board member Foutch. “I am not going to be sitting in this seat another year. (Foutch is not running for re-election) I feel like the person that sits in this seat needs some time to understand the functions of this board, to get their feet on the ground and to see what is going on. A year (director) contract won’t give that person (new board member) the depth (understanding) that they need. For that reason I have to vote “no”, he said.
Second district member Robinson voted “no” on a one year contract saying he thought Willoughby has earned another three years. “When you look at the state report card, you can see that we are progressively moving forward at a good pace but maybe not as fast as we probably need to. But our overall school system is going in the right direction under the guidance of Mr. Willoughby,” he said.
Third district member Rhody then made a motion for the three year contract. Foutch seconded the motion and Board members Robinson and Lattimore joined them in voting its approval. The other three members voted against it.
Miller was concerned that some members of the board were voting on the contract when they may not have completely read it. Although a majority of the board members participated in recent workshops in coming to terms with Willloughby on a new contract, the final draft was not presented to the board until the meeting Friday night. Director Willoughby said he had not made any changes in the proposal but he had sent it to Chuck Cagle for review. Cagle is an attorney for the School Boards Association who usually represents the local school system in legal matters.
Shortly after the meeting was gaveled to order, Chairman Lattimore called for a ten minute recess to give the board more time to look over the new contract. Miller found that at least one provision was left out of the final draft that he had requested be put in during previous workshops.
Specifically, Miller wanted to add a clause that would require Willoughby to repay the school system for the cost of conducting a new search for a director, if he should resign at any time during his employment contract. Under the existing agreement, Willoughby was responsible for this cost only if he were to leave during the first year of his contract.
Director Willoughby said Cagle told him that this provision was not legally enforceable and should not be included in the new agreement.
Miller also wanted a clause carried over from the existing contract that would give the board the authority to transfer the director to another position within the school system, if the members should ever want to replace him as director. If he should refuse to be transferred, the director’s contract could be terminated. The new contract waives the board’s authority to transfer the director.
Willoughby said Cagle also recommended making this change. He said a transfer provision is not needed since the Board has the right in the contract to terminate the Director at any time for cause.
Miller moved that both the “repayment” and “transfer” provisions be added back to the new contract saying he felt it was the board’s fiduciary responsibility to protect its own interests and those of the taxpayers and not just provide the best deal for Mr. Willoughby. Miller’s motion died on a 4-3 vote.

The City of Smithville has been ordered by the Chancery Court to immediately reduce its water rate to the DeKalb Utility District from $5.00 to $2.67 per thousand gallons, which a water study last year found to be the city’s actual cost to produce water.
(CLICK PDF TO READ DUD MOTION FOR TEMPORARY INJUNCTION)
Motion for Temporary Injunction re City filed 2 21 14.pdf (3.11 MB)
(CLICK PDF TO READ CITY’S RESPONSE TO DUD MOTION FOR TEMPORARY INJUNCTION)
Response.pdf (1.2 MB)
Following a two hour hearing Friday in Cookeville, Chancellor Ronald Thurman granted a DUD motion for a temporary injunction barring the city from continuing to impose its $5.00 rate until the city gives proper notice to DUD and justification for raising the rate above $2.67 per thousand gallons. The ruling was only on the motion for a temporary injunction. The lawsuit brought against the city by the DUD is yet to be litigated. The city has agreed not to disconnect water service to the DUD while it is pending.
As part of the ruling, the Chancellor required the DUD to post an injunction bond (as required per Rule 65.05 of the Tennessee Rules of Civil Procedure) of $75,000 to be held by the Court pending the final outcome of this case as security for any damages that might result. This action indemnifies the city against loss in case it is later decided that the injunction should not have been granted.
As a result of Friday’s ruling, DUD will immediately reduce rates charged to its customers who receive water that the District purchases from the City of Smithville. As an example, the minimum bill will be reduced from $28.93 for 2,000 gallons purchased to the rate of $22.15. The average District customer purchases 6,000 gallons per month and that rate will go down from $76.88 to the sum of $56.54, a decrease of $20.34.
During Friday’s hearing, the Court found that the city violated Section 18-502 of the Smithville City Code, which requires the City of Smithville to give the DeKalb Utility District 30 days’ notice in advance of a rate change. The City of Smithville gave the DUD only 16 days’ actual notice in advance of the rate change, effective January 1st. The Chancellor also found that the city had not given proper justification for arriving at the $5.00 rate.
The primary reason given by the city for raising the DUD rate from $2.05 to $5.00 per thousand gallons was that this is the rate city customers are paying for water.
Chancellor Thurman further agreed with DUD’s argument that the higher rate has caused irreparable harm to the DUD and its customers. As evidence, attorneys for DUD said sixteen DUD customers have already canceled service and they cited one customer’s claim that she must now make adjustments in her family budget to pay the higher water bills. Attorneys also claim that DUD’s reputation with many of it’s customers has been damaged, due to the higher water rate imposed by the city.
Attorneys for the city said the Chancery Court does not have the authority to change the water rate. “It is not within the province of this court to set water rates, even temporarily, for the sale of water by the city to the DUD. This court should refrain from vacating a decision of the city board and substituting its judgment for the broad discretionary authority afforded by the City Board of Mayor and Aldermen. Moreover, even if this Court had the authority to set a temporary water rate as requested, DUD has not met its burden of proof on the required elements for a temporary injunction” wrote the attorneys in their response to the DUD’s motion for a temporary injunction against the city.
“The Plaintiff (DUD) seems to be assuming that this court has the legal authority to play the oversight role over the city which the Utility Management Review Board exercises over Utility Boards and that this court will engage in an extensive fact-finding process to determine what the “reasonable” rate should be, but there is no legal basis for the court to do this. Instead, the court’s proper role is limited to a review of whether the city’s action on December 12, 2013 (setting the $5.00 per thousand gallon rate) was illegal, arbitrary, or capricious, and the Plaintiff (DUD) has alleged no fact indicating that high standard has been met,” the city attorneys wrote.
They also argued that despite the ordinance requiring a 30 day notification, the DUD was fully aware that the city had intended to change the water rate, effective January 1st because that is the date when the DUD’s ten year water purchase agreement was set to expire. On November 13, the city sent DUD proposals for a new contract and served notice that if the options were rejected, the city would begin charging the DUD the same rate as outside city customers, effective January 1st. The DUD subsequently rejected the city’s offers primarily because they required minimum purchase amounts of water.
The city’s lawyers further claim that the $2.67 rate determined by Warren and Associates to be the city’s cost of producing water was based on the assumption that the city would continue selling roughly the same amount of water that it is currently selling to DUD as its major customer so that the city could recover its capital costs of upgrading the water treatment plant by approximately $3 million dollars over 20 years. “In light of the fact that two-thirds of the city’s water business will “dry up” when DUD builds its own facility within two years, the $2.67 per thousand gallon figure set forth in the Warren study becomes inapplicable. DUD has publicly indicated that it wants to continue to have access to the city’s water supply and water treatment facilities without an obligation to pay its fair share of the city’s capital costs to maintain and improve those facilities. The DUD effectively wants a rate based on capital costs spread over 20 years without committing to purchase its water from the city over those 20 years,” wrote attorneys for the city in their response.
“The DUD’s failure either to negotiate a contract renewal with the city or to obtain an alternate source of supply in advance of the expiration of the contract, with the predictable result that the city began charging the same rate it charges other customers in the area, reflects nothing more than poor business planning on the part of the DUD. Thus, any damages to DUD are self-inflicted and in no way constitute an “irreparable injury” sufficient to justify a temporary injunction,” concluded attorneys for the city.
Attorneys for DUD contend the city’s rate of $5.00 per thousand gallons to the DUD represents a 144% increase and is unreasonable and in conflict with a provision of state law which requires that “Municipal utility systems shall charge rates that reflect the actual cost of providing the services rendered and shall not operate for gain or profit or as a source of revenue to a governmental entity”.
The city’s Warren Study last year determined the city’s actual cost of producing water to be $2.67 per thousand gallons. However during the UMRB hearing last April, Jerry Warren of Warren and Associates testified that because there is no transportation costs for providing water to the DUD, the rate could be reduced by as much as 42 cents to $2.25 per thousand gallons.
In their motion for a temporary injunction, DUD attorneys wrote “Based upon the contractual rate of $2.05 per thousand gallons, the DUD paid approximately $632,880 for the water purchased from the city in 2013. By way of comparison, if the DUD purchases the same amount of water from the city in 2014 as it did in 2013, at the rate of $5.00 per thousand, the cost will soar to $1,543,610, an increase of $910,000”.
Even at the $2.05 per thousand rate, DUD attorneys claim the city made money off the DUD. Cash reserves were used to pay for the renovation of the Smithville water treatment plant a few years ago and the city water and sewer fund still has zero debt with cash reserves of almost three million dollars and liabilities of less than $234,000.
After the city raised the rate to $5.00 per thousand gallons on January 1st, DUD gave notice to its customers that a rate increase would be necessary for them to help absorb the cost, since state law prohibits a water utility from operating at a loss.
DUD attorneys contend that the city has engaged in a money grab in that they know their largest water customer will be going away after the DUD water plant is in operation and they want to get as much revenue from DUD while they can in order to keep from having to raise water rates to their own customers.
They claim the actions of the city have been arbitrary and capricious and that the Chancery Court does have the authority to intervene in order to stop it.
DUD was represented Friday by attorneys Dewey Branstetter, Jr. of Nashville and Keith Blair. The City’s attorneys were Kristin E. Berexa of Nashville and Vester Parsley.

A ten year old child, who went missing from his home in Alexandria Thursday night, was found unharmed some four hours later around midnight.
Alexandria Police Chief Mark Collins told WJLE that the boy, who lives with his mother and three siblings on Avant Circle, left home around eight p.m.. He was found by Chief Collins and Alexandria Police Sergeant Chris Russell around 11:57 p.m. hiding behind a central heat and air unit at a building on Edgewood Street about a quarter of a mile from his residence. The boy was wrapped in a comforter that he had brought from home. The child was also wearing a jacket and a back pack.
Because of the extremely cold weather, officials knew it was imperative to locate the boy as soon as possible once he was reported missing by his mother.
A search began involving members of the Alexandria Police and Fire Departments, DeKalb County Sheriff’s Department, Smithville-DeKalb County Rescue Squad, DeKalb EMS, and a four member team of the Tennessee Highway Patrol Special Operations who brought in tracking dogs. Officials had also called for a THP helicopter to fly over with its fleer system heat sensing device but the child was found before it arrived.
Although he appeared to be okay, the boy was taken by DeKalb EMS to DeKalb Community Hospital to be checked out.
This is the second time within a week that the boy has run away from home. According to Chief Collins, the child ran away last Saturday night but was found a couple of hours later at an abandoned structure on Industrial Road.
Chief Collins wishes to thank everyone who joined in the effort to find the child Thursday night.

Vowing to continue working to make Tennessee a better place to live, work and raise a family, Governor Bill Haslam addressed a gathering at the DeKalb County Republican Party’s Reagan Day Dinner Thursday evening at the county complex auditorium.
The Governor commended state legislators for joining him in efforts to more wisely manage the taxpayers money, cut taxes, improve education so that high school graduates are more ready for college or a career, and create a business friendly climate in the state to attract more jobs.
“In Tennessee, we have the lowest debt per person of any of the fifty states,” said Governor Haslam. When you go to bed at night, you probably should sleep with one eye open worried about how much debt we have out of Washington but at least as a Tennessean you should know that for years we in Tennessee have been responsible about how we manage your money. We have one of the two or three lowest tax systems in the country. We have a state where our savings account, what governments call rainy day funds, has doubled since we’ve been in office. We’ve lowered taxes. We’ve cut the tax on groceries. We eliminated the gift and inheritance tax. And we’re cutting the Hall Income Tax for senior citizens. We’re cutting taxes. We also owe less money than we did before. Hardly any other government anywhere can say that. I think that’s what conservative government looks like. We run our budgets the way that you do and because of that we’ve been named one of the three best managed states in the country,” the Governor continued.

As for education, Governor Haslam said the state has a primary responsibility to see that students in Tennessee are better prepared for the future. “In about three months we will be having high school graduations all across the state. One of our primary responsibilities is to make certain that when those students walk across the stage and shake the principal’s hand and get a diploma that they are prepared when they walk off that stage either to go on to school, to college or that they are prepared for a job. In Tennessee we haven’t always done a good job on that. About four or five years ago, Tennessee was given an F minus for truth in advertising because we were saying that ninety percent plus of our kids were proficient at their grade level. But seventy percent of those kids needed remedial work when they got to community college. Now we’re raising expectations, making certain that student are prepared for the work that is out there. We do that for two reasons. One is so that our kids will have every opportunity in a very competitive world. But the second reason is because businesses want more depth of talent. They have told us we should produce more of those skill sets that are needed so we’re working hard to do that, making certain that our students are prepared for this. At the end of the day, those of us in government struggle hard to make critical choices and we don’t take it lightly. We know that the things we do really have impact and we want to make certain that we’re preparing students and that we’re making this a place where businesses want to locate,” said Governor Haslam.
“Businesses are deciding where to locate by the kind of government that exists in that place. About three months ago CEO magazine polled 500 CEO’s of all sized businesses from all across the country. They ranked all the states one to fifty in order of the state’s you’d like to do business in. Tennessee ranked fourth. Of the top twenty states ranked by the CEO’s, seventeen of them were led by Republican Governors. Of the top ten, nine were led by Republican Governors and of the top five all of them were. What that says is, we set the climate and people are choosing our states to do business,” he said.
“My pledge to you is to do everything we can to make this the kind of state you’re proud of and where you want to raise your family and grow your business,” concluded Governor Haslam.
Following the Governor’s remarks, Jennifer Winfree, local GOP Party Chair presented a plaque to Barbara Vanatta, whose late husband Kennith Vanatta served as party chairman from 2002 to 2008.
The plaque reads ” Presented in memory of Kennith Vanatta, Chairman 2002-2008. For his many years of dedicated and loyal service to the party. It is people like him who have made this party strong. DeKalb County Republican Party”
Barbara Vanatta is a member of the DeKalb County Election Commission.

A group of local educators, students, and others opposed to Tennessee Common Core standards greeted Governor Bill Haslam with protest signs and chants as he arrived in Smithville Thursday evening to speak at the local Republican Party’s Reagan Day Dinner. The event was held at the county complex auditorium.
The Governor did not acknowledge the protestors as he emerged from his automobile and entered the building where friends and supporters were waiting to welcome him.
Many educators say they are fed up with the pressures put upon them in the classroom and they want the Governor, a supporter of Common Core, to hear their voices. “We’re sick and tired of being sick and tired with the way teachers and kids are being treated in education,” said Bill Conger, President of the DeKalb County Education Association. “We’re over testing and putting too much on the kids. The Common Core and the standards they’re trying to set for us are too high, too fast and they’re putting pressure on teachers making it difficult for them to do their job every day,” said Conger.
“It’s difficult for the teachers to live up to all the mandates,” said Bryan Jones, an eighth grade science teacher. “We just can’t teach school because of all the paperwork. We have so many things going on we have to do to comply with the state. It’s also very difficult for the kids. Common Core is something we need to reject as a county and state,” added Jones.
Lisa Mabe, a third grade teacher at Northside Elementary, said the evaluations and merit pay system are most unfair to teachers. “We teach our hearts out every day. We want our students to do well but we are judged on an evaluation system that isn’t fair. We’re scored one through five and we’re rarely given five’s because we’re not perfect. Yet we do everything that is expected of us. We love our kids and we want them to learn. We only ask that they treat us fairly. The merit pay isn’t fair. They want to give us raises based on our job performance and our test scores but our classes aren’t divided equally. If you want us to have merit pay, you’ve got to base all our classrooms equally and give all teachers a chance to achieve those standards but it’s not set up that way. It never has been. I’ve been teaching for nineteen years and I’ve had more evaluations this year than I had my first year of teaching. You are welcome in our classroom anytime. I want to be accountable. I am accountable but do it fairly,” said Mabe.

The Upper Cumberland Human Resource Agency’s Nutrition Program announced today that it will be participating in the national 2014 March for Meals campaign. UCHRA’s Nutrition Program Community Champions week is March 17 – 21, 2014.
“In this tough economy, the food and human contact we provide to seniors in this community is needed more than ever,” said Kelly Dishman, Nutrition Director of the Upper Cumberland Nutrition Program “We need the community to come out and support our March for Meals events. Our clients are counting on us. We can’t let them down.”
March for Meals is a national campaign held during the month of March, initiated and sponsored by the Meals On Wheels Association of America to raise awareness of senior hunger and to encourage action on the part of local communities. Hundreds of Senior Nutrition Programs across the United States, like UCHRA’s Nutrition Program, promote March for Meals through public events, partnerships with local businesses, volunteer recruitment and fundraising initiatives.
“Our Meals On Wheels programs are on the front lines every day in the battle against senior hunger,” said Meals On Wheels Association of American President and CEO Ellie Hollander. “March for Meals is a time when communities can come together to stand with their local Meals On Wheels program and support our mission to end senior hunger in America.”
The Upper Cumberland Human Resource Agency’s Nutrition Program served 93,630 Congregate Meals in FY ’13 and 191,349 Home-Delivered Meals. If you are interested in participating in the March for Meal’s campaign by helping to prepare and/or deliver meals to our homebound senior clients during our Community Champions Week March 17 – 21, 2014, please contact your local UCHRA office for more details or check out the website at www.uchra.com.

Two men accused of stealing more than $100,000 worth of copper and brass from Federal Mogul in Smithville last year were sentenced Friday in DeKalb County Criminal Court.
Judge David Patterson presided.
56 year old Billy Joe Rigsby pleaded guilty to theft over $60,000 while 29 year old Corey Dickens entered a plea to theft over $10,000. Rigsby received a ten year sentence to serve at least 30% as a range one offender before parole eligibility. He was given jail credit of almost six months from August 13, 2013 to February 21, 2014. Rigsby also pleaded guilty to a separate charge of delivery of a schedule II drug and received a three year sentence in that case to run concurrently with the theft offense. He received a drug fine of $2,000.
Dickens received a five year sentence in the Tennessee Department of Corrections. He was given jail credit of almost six months from August 1, 2013 to February 21, 2014. Dickens and Rigsby are to make restitution jointly and severally to Federal Mogul in the amount of $109,771.
The case against a third defendant, 46 year old Martin Riley, III is still pending.
According to Smithville Police, the thefts occurred multiple times from December 2012 to August 2013 during the middle of the night after the second shift when no one else was at the plant. The intruders went under and over a fence, entered through an unlocked door at the receiving area behind the building, and loaded carts with 50 pound bags of almost pure grain copper, which is used in the manufacture of brake pads at the facility. In some cases, pieces of EDM brass were also stolen.
According to Lieutenant Matt Holmes, the investigation began after police first received a tip and then a formal complaint by an official of Federal Mogul. “We spoke to a representative of Federal Mogul who advised us that they had been suspecting some copper was being stolen. They placed a hidden camera out there. He (Federal Mogul official) provided us with some video. When we watched the video and through investigation, we were able to identify the two subjects on the video as Martin Riley and Billy Joe Rigsby,” he said.
“They way they were doing it was after hours they were entering the building, loading up carts while no one else was there, and wheeling the carts out the back door. They would go during the times they (plant) were closed during the middle of the night and take anywhere from 10 to 25 to 30 bags at a time or however many they could get loaded and feasibly get out of there with. They went under the fence and loaded their truck,” said Lieutenant Holmes.
After committing the thefts, the men allegedly sold the copper and brass at the Southern Central business in McMinnville. “He (Federal Mogul official) initially didn’t know how much copper had been taken but they were working on doing an inventory so we started calling around, trying to locate the copper. We learned the copper had been sold to Southern Central in McMinnville,” he said. “They would take the copper and brass to the scrap yard. In some cases, they transferred the copper from the bags they came in to totes to transport it to the scrap yard,” said Lieutenant Holmes.
The investigation revealed that Rigsby and Dickens were allegedly partners in the crimes from December, 2012 to March, 2013, until Dickens was arrested on a separate charge. Rigsby then allegedly continued with the thefts from the plant and was allegedly joined by Riley, on at least one occasion, through August 4, 2013.
The case was investigated by Chief Randy Caplinger and Lieutenant Holmes.
In other cases, 31 year old Joseph Huff Ray pleaded guilty Friday to theft over $1,000. He received a three year sentence to serve at 30% before his release eligibility date. The term is to run concurrently with another sentence against him. He was given jail credit from June 27, 2013 to February 21, 2014. Sheriff Patrick Ray said that on Thursday, June 27 Ray allegedly took a 1988 Ford Ranger pickup valued at $5,000 from a residence on Game Ridge Road. He allegedly wrote a statement admitting to taking the truck. The case was investigated by a criminal detective of the sheriff’s department.
26 year old Molly Lawrence pleaded guilty to two counts of theft over $1,000. She received a four year suspended sentence in each case to run concurrently with each other. She must make restitution of $2,500 to one victim and $2,908 to another. Her payment is $250 per month as a condition of probation.
30 year old Ryan Lee Walden pleaded guilty to one count of aggravated burglary and one count of theft over $1,000. He received a five year sentence for the aggravated burglary, all suspended to supervised probation except for one year to serve. Walden also received a three year sentence in the theft case, all suspended to supervised probation. The two sentences are to run concurrently with each other. Walden must pay restitution of $60 to one victim and $5,649 to the other. He was given jail credit from August 16, 2013 to February 21, 2014. Sheriff Ray said that on Wednesday, July 31 the victim, who resides on Allen Ferry Road, reported that sets of Bone China plates, cups, and bowls had gone missing from the home. Walden was found to have sold these items to an auction house in DeKalb County. The value of the stolen items was more than $1,000.
21 year old Terry Jones, III pleaded guilty by information to two counts of burglary. He received a three year sentence in one case and two years in the other. The terms are to run consecutively with each other for a total of five years but concurrently with another case. He was given jail credit from January 25 to February 21, 2014. According to Sheriff Ray, Jones allegedly broke into a residence on Dale Ridge Road on Friday, January 17 and stole several items including a 2003 Red Honda 250 Recon ATV, a Remington Model 870 Shotgun, Insulated Carhartt Jacket, Trail Cameras, a full box of 12 gauge shotgun shells, eight bottles of whiskey, and one Igloo cooler. Six days later, on Thursday January 23, Jones allegedly broke into a garage on Johnson Ridge Road and took a Yamaha Kodiak 400 four wheeler, valued at $4,000. The case was investigated by a deputy of the Sheriff’s Department.
31 year old Jonathan McCormick pleaded guilty to burglary and theft over $1,000. He received a three year sentence in each case. The two sentences are to run concurrently with each other but consecutively with a three year sentence he received after pleading guilty to sale of a schedule II controlled substance. His total sentence is six years but it has all been suspended to supervised probation except for 120 days to serve. He was fined $2,000 and given jail credit from January 15 to February 21, 2014. Sheriff Ray said that on Saturday, June 8 McCormick allegedly entered an outbuilding on Lee Braswell Road and took from the property a John Deere riding mower and an air compressor. The total estimated value is $6,829. The case was investigated by criminal detectives of the sheriff’s department. McCormick was also among those named in sealed indictments by the Grand Jury last month after a three month undercover drug investigation by the Sheriff’s Department.
25 year old Brandon Wayne Hutchings and 25 year old Jessica Anne Jenkins each pleaded guilty to promotion of meth manufacture and auto burglary. Each received a three year sentence on the meth charge and two years for the auto burglary. The two sentences for Hutchings are to run consecutively with each other for a total of five years. The terms for Jenkins are to run concurrently with each other for total of three years. She has been granted judicial diversion probation. Hutchings was given jail credit from August 7, 2013 to February 21, 2014. Smithville Police Sergeant Bradley Tatrow stopped Jenkins’ vehicle on July 21, 2013 for a traffic violation. Sergeant Tatrow noticed that the driver, Hutchings, had slurred speech and he was unsteady on his feet. When Hutchings was asked to empty his pockets, a pill believed to be morphine was discovered. Police asked Jenkins for permission to search her vehicle but she refused. K-9 Officer Cornelius was then called for assistance. Jenkins’ vehicle was searched after K-9 LEO was deployed and alerted on the automobile. Several items were found during the search known to be used in the illegal manufacture of methamphetamine. On the same day, July 21, 2013 Sheriff Ray said that Hutchings and Jenkins were charged with breaking into and taking a purse from a vehicle parked at Sligo bridge. Entry was gained by breaking out a rear window on the passenger side causing $300 in damage. The purse contained a wallet, pants, tank top, and a belt, all valued at less than $500. Hutchings and Jenkins were arrested some two hours later. Found on Hutchings was the victim’s identification.
35 year old Jenadiah Barnes pleaded guilty to one count of forgery and received a two year sentence to serve. The term is to run concurrently with another TDOC sentence against him. He must make restitution of $980. Barnes was given jail credit from December 2012 to February 21, 2014. Sheriff Ray said that Barnes allegedly passed six forged checks at Prichard’s Foods in Alexandria in the amounts of $135 and $100 on June 22, 2011; $135 and $160 on June 24, 2011; and $225 and $225 on June 29, 2011 The name of the victim was forged on the checks without authorization.

Controversy over Common Core standards is growing at the state and national level creating an issue for legislators to confront.
Complaints range from data collection, teachers and students being under too much pressure in meeting the standards, to a perception by some of a pro-Muslim, anti-Christian attitude in textbooks, among other issues.
State Senator Mae Beavers, speaking at a town hall meeting Thursday in Smithville, said she would like to see the standards banned, reversing approval granted almost four years ago. “I have filed a bill to do away with it. I’m against the federal government telling us what to do with our educational system in Tennessee,” said Senator Beavers.
State Representative Terri Lynn Weaver, who also spoke at the meeting, agreed saying she is getting more calls from teachers and parents who are opposed to the new standards. ” I do not like the pressure and the accelerating speed that the federal government is pushing this down our throat. I have always said Common Core is to education as Obama Care is to health care. It’s too much federal input and too much law, especially when they start picking and choosing what we teach our kids,” said Representative Weaver.
” When teachers who thought it was a good thing at first are starting to call us and they are upset about it now, then you know something is truly wrong. They feel the pressure and see the things that are wrong. It’s starting to be questioned everywhere,” added Senator Beavers.
The State Board of Education adopted the Common Core standards for math and English/language arts in 2010, following up on legislation approved on a bipartisan and almost unanimous basis at the urging of then-Gov. Phil Bredesen. The move was part of an effort to win federal funding under the federal “Race to the Top” law — an effort that succeeded, earning Tennessee $500 million in federal money for education.
The new learning objectives are meant to better prepare kids for college, and to make sure students here are on the same page as students across the state and across the country. Until now, each state had its own, often very different, set of standards.
Senator Beavers said she is concerned that Common Core is putting too much pressure on teachers and students. “I have a grandson in the city school system in Murfreesboro. They have fully implemented Common Core. He is in Discovery School. They have to test to get in. He was reading fourth grade level in the first grade. He loves learning but he hates school this year because he said all they do is test all day. That’s what Common Core is all about. They are constantly testing. The teachers are under a lot of stress right now with Common Core. I hate that for the kids. I have studies that show it damages children in their early years, kindergarten through third grade because of the pressure,” said Senator Beavers.
The overall focus of the new standards is to get students to think more critically rather than memorizing facts. Representative Weaver said she believes it goes too far. “When I was in the third grade, we memorized multiplication tables. My grandson is in the third grade and they are not allowed to do that anymore. They have to show the process. I’m all about analytical thinking but some things you’ve just got to know. You’ve got to know what’s right and wrong but there seems to be a teaching mechanism here to make it be not absolute,” she said.
Representative Weaver said the standards are also unfair to special education students and teachers who are held accountable. “They are demanding that special education kids be at a certain level when those children are never going to be at that level. These children are being prepared to fail and that is not fair to the teachers who are evaluated on the progress of these kids. It’s failure before you even start and that’s frustrating. I believe we should let the good teachers do what they do best. Let them teach. They know the kids and how to work with them,” added Representative Weaver.
Senator Beavers said she also supports legislation to restrict the collection and distribution of student data except for the child’s parents. “There are bills to stop the data collection. This data keeps everything on your child. If they ever get suspended for even one day, it’s on their record for the rest of their lives. Their first employer will get to see that information. That scares me to death that this data could be going to the federal government. Yet, I’ve had parents tell me they’ve gone to school to see their child’s work and are told, that work belongs to the Commissioner of Education. We can’t let you see it. There’s something wrong here folks” she said.
The content of some textbooks is also a cause of concern for Senator Beavers. “I went to a forum in Brentwood last year on Common Core. They had a lot of experts testify about things that were left out of the curriculum. Pearson is the book Tennessee contracts with and we require such a high bond on our textbook companies that come into Tennessee that they (Pearson) are the only ones who qualify. They are the ones we heard parents in Williamson County complaining about with the sex in the books and the pretty much pro Muslim, anti Christianity (referring to) Christianity as a cult. I mean we’ve heard all kinds of stories about the textbooks. I’ve read some stuff about the sex that is being taught that is alarming,” said Senator Beavers.
Another issue is the cost of developing online PARCC testing (Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers). Not only must schools have up-to-date computers and operating systems, they must have adequate bandwidth to accommodate these computers. Additionally, an iPad or other tablet alone won’t work for PARCC testing. Keyboard usage is mandatory with the PARCC system. The Tennessee Department of Education is aware of these issues and is working to address the problem. Still, it could be cost prohibitive for some counties. “My poorest county is Clay County and they are telling me their school system is almost bankrupt already and then you lay this on them. What are they going to do? We can’t afford to keep it (Common Core),” said Senator Beavers.
While the DeKalb County School System received some $260,000 in extra money from the state for infrastructure, the district still needs more than $320,000 to purchase all the computers and accessories that are needed to be ready for the launch of PARCC testing in the 2014-15 school year.

The DeKalb County Commission Monday night honored Eagle Scout Ethan Judkins.
Judkins’ project consisted of fundraising for the construction of a handicap ramp and viewing platform for the physically challenged at the DeKalb County Fair.
The viewing platform and ramp are located at the hilltop arena and will be available for use during the 2014 DeKalb County Fair in Alexandria.
Judkins joined the Boys Scouts in 2007. He is a senior at DCHS. He enjoys outdoors, hunting, camping, canoeing. He is an active deer and turkey hunter. He has completed 21 merit badges and his project, the wheelchair observation deck, is expected to benefit people in wheel chairs to view activities at the T.C. McMillen arena during the fair.
Ethan plans to attend a diesel mechanic school after graduation. He is a friendly, outgoing young man. He has a positive attitude and a great outlook on life and he always has a plan.
The county commission honored Judkins by declaring Monday, February 24, 2014 Ethan Judkins Day in DeKalb County

A Murfreesboro woman has been charged with theft for allegedly stealing money and a car from a nursing home patient.
31 year old Robin Ann Baquedano is facing one count of theft of property over $10,000 and one count of theft of property over $60,000. Her bond is $200,000 and she will be in court on April 14.
Sheriff Patrick Ray said that on Wednesday, January 15 a deputy went to a residence on McMinnville Highway in answer to a complaint of suspicious persons in a Ford Fiesta belonging to a patient at NHC Healthcare Center in Smithville. The officer spoke with Baquedano and another person and inquired about the victim’s car, which was not at the residence. Baquedano said she did not know where the car was but believed that her mother had it. The officer went to NHC and spoke with the victim who said no one should be driving her vehicle. The deputy later related that message to Baquedano. Almost three weeks later on Tuesday, February 4, Rutherford County officers spotted Baquedano driving the victim’s car in Murfreesboro. She was arrested for possession of a stolen vehicle and held for the DeKalb County Sheriff’s Department who picked her up. The case was investigated by a DeKalb County Sheriff’s Deputy and Criminal Detective.
Meanwhile, Sheriff Ray said Baquedano also allegedly took approximately $105,000 from the same victim’s money market account at Regions Bank in Smithville from November 8, 2013 to February 5, 2014. Baquedano has allegedly admitted to taking the victim’s money from the victim’s account.
In another case, 50 year old Reginald Hill Miller of Walker Creek Road, Alexandria is charged with domestic assault. His bond is $2,500 and he will be in court February 27. Sheriff Ray said that on Sunday, February 16, the Sheriff’s Department received a complaint of a physical altercation in progress at a residence on Walker Creek Road. Upon arrival, the officer spoke with a woman who had a busted lip, swollen eye, and two cuts to her left cheek. She said that her husband assaulted her in a disagreement over the family dogs. Miller allegedly admitted to committing the assault and he was taken to jail.
32 year old Joshua Lesley Johnson of Hendrixson Road, Smithville was arrested on Wednesday, February 19 on a Grand Jury sealed indictment. He is charged with one count of sale and delivery of a schedule III drug (Subutex) and one count of violating the drug free zone. He was arraigned last Friday, February 21. His bond was $30,000.
31 year old Deanna Brooke Pedigo of Miller Road, Smithville is charged with disorderly conduct. Her bond is $2,000 and she will be in court on March 6. Sheriff Ray said that on Saturday, February 22, while a detective was conducting an investigation at DeKalb Market, Pedigo started yelling, cursing, and throwing things. She was arrested and taken to the jail for booking.