The Ultimate Weight Loss Challenge is back and better than ever! The 90 day challenge is sponsored by DeKalb Community and Stones River Hospitals as a county versus county competition to promote healthy diet and exercise for DeKalb and Cannon County residents. Last year’s event brought in three hundred twenty-two participants with a total combined weight loss of 943 pounds. To participate in the challenge, the communities have come together to join us at the DeKalb County Complex on February 25th or Stones River Hospital Cafeteria on February 27th – both events from 5:30pm to 6:30pm for the Kick-Off Celebration. To participate, you must work or live in Cannon or DeKalb Counties. If you are competing as a team, teams must have more than 50% of members from DeKalb or Cannon County. This way, out of county friends or family have an opportunity to join a team as well. No out of county ‘individual’ registrations are allowed. If you are unable to attend the Kick-Off Celebration, you have the option to stop by the DeKalb Co. Complex or Stones River Hospital Emergency Department to weigh-in and sign-up by Sunday, March 2, 2014.
“It’s simple. Everyone has 90 days to lose as much weight as they can. At the end of the challenge, the person (or team) that has lost the largest percentage of total weight wins $500 cash. There will be a $500 grand prize winner from both Cannon and DeKalb Counties, and additional prizes for second and third place teams or individuals,” said Shan Burklow- Marketing Director of DeKalb Community and Stones River Hospitals, “This is a fun way for us to support each other and get in shape. We have healthy cooking classes coming up as well as diet and exercise classes. Walking and running support groups are already starting to form on our facebook page. (WeightLossChallengeDeKalbCannon) We are excited to partner with Smithville Subway, Social Blendz Espresso Bar and Eatery, along with The Blue Porch Restaurant and The Gathering Place Cafe in Woodbury, TN. Each sponsor is offering a different discount or promotion when you show your Challenge Card and can help you choose lighter options to keep your calories on track.”
Local businesses that have partnered with the Weight Loss Challenge include Social Blendz Espresso Bar and Eatery and Subway Restaurant, both located on Hwy 70 / Broad Street in Smithville, along with The Blue Porch Restaurant located at the Arts Center of Cannon County in Woodbury, TN; right off John Bragg Highway and The Gathering Place Café on West Water Street in Woodbury. Sponsors will be offering a healthy menu for participants along with special discounts, coupons or offers when you show your Weight Loss Challenge Rewards Card.
“Social Blendz is excited to partner with the Weight Loss Challenge and have developed a special ‘Slender Breakfast’ and ‘Skinny Lunch’ Menu discounted for Challenge participants,” said Social Blendz owner Ron Sifford, “We use fresh ingredients and homemade bread….our paninis are delicious and our coffee is fresh ground. You can eat a delicious, low-calorie breakfast or lunch guilt-free!”
“We are proud to partner with the Weight Loss Challenge again this year,” said Pat Ford-Manager of Smithville Subway Restaurant, “Subway’s Fresh Fit Menu will work great within the Challenge and we are providing discount coupons, prizes and nutrition guides for each participant.”
“We are looking forward to the 2014 Weight Loss Challenge and hope that the community joins us in our enthusiasm,” said Sue Conley-CEO of DeKalb Community and Stones River Hospital, “Last year, in honor of the 943 pounds of combined weight both counties lost, our hospitals donated over 1,000 pounds of food to our local backpack food programs that support Cannon and DeKalb County Schools. Thanks to everyone who came out and joined the challenge last year. Due to the success of the Challenge, hundreds of needy kids were able to take a meal home with them from school throughout the year. We hope that even more people participate for 2014.”
For more information on how to participate in the Weight Loss Challenge, join their facebook page: www.facebook.com/WeightLossChallengeDekalbCannon or contact Director Shan Burklow sburklow@dchtn.com or call (615) 215-5448.

A ruling handed down today (Tuesday) by a Davidson County Chancellor may have cleared the way for the DeKalb Utility District to build its own water treatment plant.
Chancellor Ellen Hobbs Lyle has dismissed a petition for a judicial review by DUD ratepayers and the City of Smithville who were seeking to overturn a decision by the Utility Management Review Board, who last April ruled against the petitioners in their quest to halt DUD’s plans for construction of a water plant. In her ruling Tuesday, Chancellor Lyle affirmed the UMRB decision.
(CLICK PDF LINK BELOW TO READ CHANCELLOR LYLE’S RULING)
hppscan343.pdf (6.67 MB)
Specifically, the petitioners (DUD ratepayers/City of Smithville) asked the court to review the following issues:
1. “Did the UMRB err by failing to consider, pursuant to state law, the appropriateness of the DUD expanding its “services provided” to include the construction of a separate, duplicative unnecessary water treatment facility and thereby violate a statute and/or follow an unlawful procedure?”
2. “Did the UMRB err because its ruling is not supported by material evidence in the record?”
3. “Did the UMRB follow an unlawful procedure by failing to let the affected ratepayers in attendance at the contested hearing in Smithville be heard in a public hearing?”
“After considering the record, argument of counsel and the law, the court dismisses the Petition for Judicial Review. The Court determines that the UMRB performed its duty correctly and provided the review required by the statute; the UMRB’s decision is not unsupported by substantial and material evidence; and the UMRB did not engage in unlawful procedure,” wrote Chancellor Lyle.
“Having ruled against the Petitioners on each of the issues presented for judicial review, it is ordered that the Final Order of the Utility Management Review Board is affirmed, and the petition for Judicial Review is dismissed with prejudice with court costs taxed to the petitioners,” concluded Chancellor Lyle.
Last April, the Utility Management Review Board held a hearing in Smithville to review the rates to customers charged by the DeKalb Utility District at that time and rates to be charged associated with the construction of a new water treatment plant. Ratepayers and the City of Smithville, referred to as the petitioners, also wanted the UMRB to block the DUD’s decision to build a water treatment plant. They contended that the City has plentiful availability of water to supply the DUD’s customer base now and into the future. This redundancy, the petitioners asserted, should be halted. DUD officials contend it is in the best interest for DUD to have its own water plant and that the result would be lower rates to DUD customers and millions of dollars in savings to the DUD in the years ahead.
The UMRB, at the April hearing, found DUD’s rates at the time to be reasonable and refused to intervene in DUD’s business decision to build the water plant. By not reviewing “services provided” as well as “rates charged” as requested, the petitioners contend that the UMRB violated statutory provisions and or followed an illegal procedure in arriving at its decision. Attorneys for the UMRB and DUD said the Utility Management Review Board had no authority to stop the water plant project nor to force the DUD into a contractual relationship with the city to continue purchasing water.
The petitioners later filed an appeal to the Davidson County Chancery Court for a judicial review of the UMRB’s decision, hoping to win a reversal. Chancellor Ellen Hobbs Lyle held a hearing last month in Nashville with all the parties involved and said she would issue her decision within thirty days. That ruling came down Tuesday, February 25.
Attorneys for the DUD and the State Attorney General’s Office for the UMRB essentially made the same arguments for the UMRB’s decision to be upheld.
DUD’s attorney Dewey Branstetter, Jr. wrote in his court brief that “The UMRB correctly dismissed the petition created through the efforts of the City of Smithville and filed by the Ratepayers of the DeKalb Utility District. The petitioners have not and cannot meet the burden required for this court to overturn the decision of the UMRB, to remand this case back to the UMRB, or to do anything except affirm the UMRB Order.”
“The UMRB correctly decided to limit its review to the rates charged by the DUD and not to examine the business decision of the DUD to construct its own water treatment plant. While there was significant testimony about the water treatment plant, and even though the proof was overwhelming that the decision by the DUD to build its own plant was in the best interest of the customers of the DUD, the UMRB correctly decided that it was not its duty to examine that decision.”
The petitioners also contend that the UMRB failed to consider the capital expenditures associated with the new water treatment plant and how that would affect future rates. The UMRB’s ruling that DUD rates were reasonable was not supported by the material evidence presented at the hearing, according to the Petitioners.
In his court brief, Branstetter wrote that “the decision of the UMRB was supported by material evidence in the record. The transcript from the hearing and the exhibits introduced at the hearing show that the rates charged by the DUD are reasonable and that the rates proposed to be charged if the water treatment plant is built will also be reasonable. There was no proof introduced by the petitioners that would support a decision that the rates of DUD are not reasonable.”
Lastly, the petitioners argue that the UMRB did not conduct an “Open Hearing” to allow anyone an opportunity to speak and that the case should be remanded to the UMRB to hold another hearing to consider testimony and opinions of the ratepayers that desire to give public comment as part of the proceedings. Although the forum was open for the public to attend, it was conducted like a court hearing, with witnesses called to testify and be cross examined.
Branstetter wrote that this argument by the Petitioners is also without merit. “The UMRB proceeding was a contested case hearing under the Uniform Rules of Procedure for Hearing Contested Cases before State Administrative Agencies. It was not an open hearing under the Rules of the Comptroller of the Treasury for the Utility Management Review Board. As such, the Petitioners cannot legitimately argue that because the UMRB didn’t have “open microphone night” that the case should be remanded back to the UMRB for unfettered public comment.”
In the brief, Branstetter wrote that the ratepayers and the City of Smithville were represented by counsel. If their counsel had chosen to call any additional ratepayers to testify, they certainly had the right to do so. Any of the ratepayers in attendance who desired to give testimony could have been called by the counsel representing their interest, but the Petitioners failed to even attempt to call any ratepayer witnesses other than the two designate representatives, Randy Rhody and Hunter Hendrixson. The Petitioners should not now be allowed to complain that they were not given an opportunity to have an open forum when their counsel had the full ability to call any witnesses they so desired. If counsel for the Petitioners failed to call any witnesses and now assert that they were somehow prejudiced by not doing so, then it is their own fault for not calling other individuals to testify”.

A Chancery Court hearing is scheduled for Friday, February 28 on the DeKalb Utility District’s petition for a temporary injunction to keep the City of Smithville from imposing it’s higher water rate to the DUD pending a final ruling on the utility’s lawsuit against the city.
Chancellor Ronald Thurman will have that hearing Friday, February 28 at 1:00 p.m. in Cookeville. That’s where Chancellor Thurman is holding court that day.
Officials of the DeKalb Utility District are turning to the Chancery Court for relief from what they call an unreasonable water rate imposed on the utility by the City of Smithville.
In the lawsuit, the DUD is asking the Chancellor to find that the city’s new water rate to the utility of $5.00 per thousand gallons, which went into effect January 1st, is unreasonable; that the rate be set at $2.25 per thousand gallons, which the DUD believes is the actual cost of providing water services; that the city be enjoined (prohibited) from charging any rate to the DUD in excess of $2.67 per thousand while this litigation is pending; and that the city be enjoined (prohibited) from disconnecting the DUD from its water system while this lawsuit is pending. The DUD also wants the court to order a speedy hearing on this action for a declaratory judgment and to advance it on the court’s calendar.
In the hearing Friday, the Court is being asked by the DUD to enter a temporary injunction while this litigation is pending. “The rate of $5.00 per thousand gallons charged by the City to the DUD effective January 1, 2014 has caused and will continue to result in immediate and irreparable injury, loss, and damage to the DUD and its customers. The issuance of the temporary injunction will not cause undue inconvenience or loss to the City of Smithville, but will prevent irreparable injury to the DUD,” according to the lawsuit.

A 19 year old woman, charged with three others in an aggravated kidnapping last fall, pleaded guilty in DeKalb County Criminal Court Friday.
Judge David Patterson presided.
Savanah Arnold received a six year sentence to serve for the aggravated kidnapping plus a two year sentence on a separate charge of delivery of a schedule III drug (Suboxone Strips). The two terms are to run consecutively for a total of eight years to serve at 30% before parole eligibility as a standard range one offender. Other charges against her are to be dismissed but she is to pay a $2,000 drug fine. Arnold was given jail credit of eighty five days.
Arnold and three others were named in Grand Jury sealed indictments in December, 2013 for allegedly kidnapping and raping a woman they thought stole money and Suboxone strips from them in October. The cases against her co-defendants, Abigail Vogel and Johnny Devault are still pending in court. The fourth defendant, another woman, has not been arrested. Last month, Arnold was among sixty four persons named in sealed indictments by the Grand Jury as a result of a three month undercover drug investigation by the Sheriff’s Department.
In the aggravated kidnapping case, Smithville Police said the four defendants held the victim against her will at Arnold’s home on October 24. Arnold and the other woman then allegedly strip searched the victim, penetrated her body cavity looking for the money or drugs, and stole her clothes. The next day, October 25, Arnold allegedly dressed in the victim’s clothes, went to a local industry where the victim was employed and tried unsuccessfully to pick up the victim’s paycheck.
The victim came to the police department the day after the assault, October 25 to report the kidnapping, rape, and theft.
Lieutenant Matt Holmes related the story to WJLE on Wednesday, December 18 at the police department. “The victim said that on October 24, she went to Savanah Arnold’s house to watch the kids of some friends. While there, Arnold, Vogel, Devault, and the other woman showed up allegedly intoxicated on drugs and accused her of stealing from Arnold $575 and 60 suboxone strips. The victim denied it”.
According to Lieutenant Holmes, Arnold and the other woman took the victim to a back room and strip searched her. “One of the suspects placed a trash bag on her hand and penetrated the victim, searching for the money or drugs. She did not find anything. The victim resisted the assault and asked if she could leave. They refused to let her leave and took her cell phone so she couldn’t call anyone. Johnny Devault allegedly threatened to assault the victim if she continued to resist. They stole the victim’s clothes, placed her in a car half dressed, drove off and then dumped her out on the side of the road,” he said.
The next day, October 25 Arnold dressed in the victim’s clothes and went to the victim’s place of employment. She entered the industry, walked up to the counter wearing the victim’s ID and asked for her paycheck, representing herself as the victim. An industry official noticed that Arnold was not the victim and asked why she was there. Arnold then changed her story stating falsely that she was there to pick up the paycheck for the victim who was in a Nashville hospital. When the industry official told her the victim would have to come and get the check herself, Arnold left. The industry later received a call from a female, falsely identifying herself as the victim, saying it was okay for them to give her paycheck to whoever came to pick it up.
Industry officials alerted Smithville Police to a possible identity theft. Lieutenant Holmes and Officer James Cornelius responded to the call. Arnold was taken into custody at the industry and charged with identify theft.

A 52 year old registered sex offender was sentenced on three counts of stalking Friday in DeKalb County Criminal Court.
Judge David Patterson presided
Walter Smouthers received a two year sentence in each case to run concurrently with each other. He was given jail credit from August 5, 2013 to February 21, 2014
According to Smithville Police, Smouthers used a pre-paid cell phone to make sexually explicit calls from his home in Paris, Tennessee to female store clerks in Smithville.
Chief Randy Caplinger told WJLE that Smouthers, a former resident of Smithville, was arrested last August by Detective Brandon Donnell and Corporal Travis Bryant at Smouthers’ home in Paris.
Police believe Smouthers used the cell phone he purchased at a Walmart to make hundreds of sexually explicit calls between July 30, 2012 and August 12, 2013 to female clerks at six Smithville businesses.
According to Detective Donnell, Smouthers was arrested in 2007 for making similar types of phone calls to some of the same victims as in the latest cases. “It started happening again over the past year,” said Detective Donnell. “We got enough evidence to obtain a search warrant for the phone number and records and it pinged at an address in Paris, Tennessee. Through an investigation, we found that Smouthers, who lives in Paris Tennessee and is a registered sex offender, made the calls. After an investigation, it was determined a prepaid phone from Wal-mart was used to place the calls,” said Detective Donnell.
Smouthers placed his last call only minutes before police arrived to arrest him. “Twenty minutes before he was picked up and arrested, he had placed another call to Smithville,” said Detective Donnell.
“We believe this phone was used just for this purpose. He didn’t report having the phone and that would be a violation of the sex offender rules he is under in Paris, Tennessee,” said Detective Donnell.
Police found Smouthers’ cell phone hidden under a dresser in his Paris, Tennessee home.
The case was investigated by Detective Donnell and Corporal Bryant.

Five queens were crowned Saturday in the first ever Sweetheart Pageants sponsored by the Class of 2014 Project Graduation.
The events were held at the DeKalb County Complex Auditorium.
The winners are as follows:
Mini Miss Sweetheart Pageant Winners:
Queen-Kaylee Brooke Kent-Daughter of Kevin & Beth Kent
1st Runner Up-Jordyn Allison Agee -Daughter of Joey & Casey Agee
2nd Runner Up-Kloe Elizabeth Parsley- Daughter of Tyler & Shawna Grandstaff
3rd Runner Up-Ella Grace Kirksey-Daughter of Graden & Sabrina Kirksey
4th Runner Up-Brooklynn Fuson-Daughter of Billy & Sarah Fuson
5th Runner Up-Emily Danielle Johnson-Daughter of Clint & DeDe Johnson
Miss Cutie Pie-Kaylee Brooke Kent-Daughter of Kevin & Beth Kent
Miss Photogenic-Ella Grace Kirksey-Daughter of Graden & Sabrina Kirksey
Little Miss Sweetheart Winners:
Queen-Annabella Eleni Dakas-Daughter of John & Mandy Dakas
1st Runner Up-Isabella Faith Rackley-Daughter of Gordon & Jessica Rackley
2nd Runner Up-Allyson Roxanne Fuller-Daughter of Anthony & Amanda Fuller
3rd Runner Up-Macy Lynn Anderson-Daughter of Bobby Joe & Tabitha Anderson
4th Runner Up-Annabella Grace Culwell-Daughter of Tommy & Erin Culwell
Miss Cutie Pie-Avery Nicole Agee-Daughter of Joey & Casey Agee
Miss Photogenic-Annabella Grace Culwell- Daughter of Tommy & Erin Culwell
Other contestants were:
Brianna Nicole Carr-Daughter of Sherry Hattaway
Madison Dawson-Daughter of Jarred & Jamie Dawson
Kiana Nicole Driver-Daughter of Derek & Sandy Driver
Miss Junior Sweetheart Winners:
Queen: Alexis Grace Atnip-Daughter of Veronica Atnip
1st Runner Up-Katherine Grace Colwell-Daughter of Trent & Christie Colwell
2nd Runner Up-Haidyn Renee Hale-Daughter of Chad & Melissa Hale
3rd Runner Up-Addison Jean Puckett-Daughter of Jimmy & Anita Puckett
4th Runner Up-Kenlee Renae Taylor-Daughter of Ken & Cindy Taylor
Miss Cutie Pie-Ellie Elizabeth Webb-Daughter of CD & Cindy Webb
Miss Photogenic-Alexis Grace Atnip-Daughter of Veronica Atnip
Other Contestants were:
Kadee Beth Ferrell-Daughter of Anthony & Trena Ferrell
Katherine Dell Gassaway-Daughter of Julianna Gassaway & Kelly Gassaway
Kennedy Grace Agee-Daughter of Josh & January Agee
Natalie Morgan Snipes-Daughter of Tim & Michelle Snipes
Miss Sweetheart Winners:
Queen-Addison Grace Oakley-Daughter of Clark & Lisa Oakley
1st Runner Up-Sarah Anne Colwell-Daughter of Trent & Christie Colwell
2nd Runner Up-Brooklynn Storm Estes-Daughter of Chris & Shanna Bogle
3rd Runner Up-Abigail Hope Taylor-Daughter of Ken & Cindy Taylor
4th Runner Up-Julia Grace Curtis-Daughter of Bruce & Amy Curtis
Miss Cutie Pie-Sierra Nicole Johnson-Daughter of Susan Stacy
Miss Photogenic-Addison Grace Oakley
Other Contestants were:
Anna Rachel Blair-Daughter of Keith & Amanda Blair
Malia Nicole Stanley-Daughter of Larry & Phyllis Stanley & Steve Stanley
Carrie Suzanne Mooneyham-Daughter of the Late Billy Paul Mooneyham & Dori Keith
Miss Diva Pageant Winners:
Queen: Lauren Elizabeth Colwell-Daughter of Trent & Christie Colwell
1st Runner up-Haley Marie Hale-Daughter of Chad & Melissa Hale
2nd Runner Up-Taneah Brooke Cantrell-Daughter of Scott & Tammy Cantrell
3rd Runner Up-Shauna Faith Taylor-Daughter of Ken & Cindy Taylor
4th Runner Up-Lauren Ashley Medlin-Daughter of Greg & Teresa Medlin
Miss Cutie Pie-Chelsey Michelle Brannon-Daughter of Bryan Brannon & Amanda Brannon
Miss Photogenic-Taneah Brooke Cantrell
Other Contestants were:
Tyra Grace Graham-Daughter of Kyle & Doris Graham
Jessica Price-Daughter of Charles Stubbe
Laura Lynn Reed-Daughter of Thomas & Denise Reed
Hannah Renea Walker-Daughter of Scott & Misty Walker

Two women and three children were involved in a crash Sunday morning on Four Seasons Road.
Trooper Bobby Johnson of the Tennessee Highway Patrol told WJLE that 21 year old Takeshia Castillejos of Smithville was west on Four Seasons Road in a 2012 Honda Civic when she crossed the center line and struck an eastbound 2012 Chevy Equinox, driven by 38 year old Desiree Ferrell of Smithville.
Castillejos’ three month old daughter was with her along with two other children, a nine year old and a six year old. Both girls.
Upon impact, Ferrell’s vehicle overturned and came to rest on its side in a ditch. Ferrell couldn’t get out of the vehicle on her own. Members of the DeKalb County Volunteer Fire Department were called to the scene to perform extrication services.
Ferrell was taken by DeKalb EMS to meet a helicopter which landed near the scene. She was reportedly airlifted to Vanderbilt Hospital.
Castillejos was taken by DeKalb EMS to DeKalb Community Hospital and later to Vanderbilt Hospital by ground ambulance. The children were not hurt.

A federal judge has dismissed a lawsuit on the trial court level against the DeKalb County Election Commission and several others in Tennessee brought by former administrators of elections in 2009 who claim they did not get to keep their jobs for political reasons.
The order for entry of final judgment in the case was filed by U.S. District Judge Kevin H. Sharp.
Nashville Attorney John Harris, III, who represents the DeKalb County Election Commission in this case, said while this is good news for the election commission, the plaintiffs could still file an appeal to overturn the federal court’s ruling that the position of Administrator of Elections is subject to political patronage.
“Last week the federal district judge entered an order dismissing the entire case in favor of the election commissioners. The consequence of that dismissal is that the plaintiff now has a period of time within which to appeal the case to the 6th Circuit Court of Appeals. The issue that would be appealed if that is done is whether the court’s prior ruling that the position of administrator of elections is a job under Tennessee law that has sufficient political significance that the individuals holding that position can be selected or deselected or fired based upon their party affiliation. Everybody was in agreement that the trial court’s ruling on that issue really was so significant that it resolved all the issues in the case and not just part of them (issues),” said Harris in an interview with WJLE Friday.
Harris said since the trial court has entered a final judgment, any appeal would have to be heard by the appellate court. “This appeal process could easily take one to two years depending upon how fast the appellate court wants to move with it. Part of that is because they have a lot of cases on their docket. We would just sort of have to stand in line to be heard. There is an initial period of time where the parties have to order the record and then write their briefs and submit the briefs to the court and that will take several months to accomplish. We’re making progress toward getting the issue resolved one way or the other,” said Harris.
Former DeKalb County Election Administrator Lisa Peterson and other former administrators filed the lawsuit in July 2009 against the defendant county election commissions, claiming that their First and Fourteenth Amendment rights were violated when they were removed from their jobs because of their actual, or perceived, political party association. The former administrators asked the court to order their reinstatement, or in the alternative, order that they receive front pay for a reasonable amount of time. They wanted full back pay and a judgment for compensatory damages and punitive damages and an award for reasonable attorneys fees. Locally, the lawsuit named as defendants the three Republicans on the DeKalb County Election Commission James Dean, Walteen Parker, and Barbara Vanatta.

The DeKalb County School System’s cafeteria managers have all completed level one certification with the Tennessee School Nutrition Association.
“The State School Nutrition Association has three levels of certification and all of our cafeteria managers have completed level one,” said School Nutrition Supervisor Stephanie Walker-Dyer.
These cafeteria managers are Beverly Starnes at DeKalb West School, Tammy Maynard at DeKalb Middle School, Debbie Young at DCHS, Jean Hayes at Smithville Elementary School, and Pam Baines at Northside Elementary School. Amie Buchanan, assistant cafeteria manager at Northside Elementary School, has also completed level one certification.
“In order to be certified, you must have a high school diploma or a GED. You must have completed ten hours of an approved nutrition course and ten hours of an approved food safety and sanitation course. All of these ladies have completed that and we’re very proud of them. We hope they will continue to work up to level three,” said Dyer.
Meanwhile, two local cafeteria managers will be taking a culinary class during the Tennessee School Nutrition Association’s second annual Culinary Specialist Training March 10-14.
“We had two of our managers to apply to that, Pam Baines at Northside Elementary School and Debbie Young at DCHS,” said Dyer. “There were 40 applicants, twenty selected and both of our ladies got accepted. They were in the top ten for their essays. You had to write an essay as well as turn in an application. We are so very proud of those ladies. They will get recognized at the Tennessee School Nutrition Association Conference in June. That’s when their graduation takes place. Once they go to culinary school, they will do hands on preparation. They will learn how to do standardized recipes, knife skills, learn how to cook with spices, preparation methods for vegetables, fruits, meats, grains, and pastas, learn food safety and lots more. The materials these ladies will be given are knife sets, cutting boards, a resource manual, and a culinary chef coat. After completion of the course, they will come back and do ten hours of training with our ladies. We’re doing some great things in school nutrition and I am so very proud of all of our ladies there. They are really taking ownership of their kitchen and growing professionally and that is what we like to see,” said Dyer.
Meanwhile, National Breakfast Week is March 3-7. “We encourage all students to participate in Breakfast Week, not only during that week but at all times. They will be given some prizes that week,” Dyer concluded.
(TOP PHOTO: Left to right: Debbie Young-DCHS, Beverly Starnes-DWS, Jean Hayes- SES, Amie Buchanan- NES Assistant Manager, Tammy Maynard- DMS, not pictured Pam Baines-NES, and Stephanie Walker-Dyer School Nutrition Supervisor)
(BOTTOM PHOTO: Left to right: Stephanie Walker-Dyer School Nutrition Supervisor, Debbie Young Cafeteria Manager DCHS, not pictured Pam Baines-NES Cafeteria Manager)

Mr. William Freddy Curtis, US Government, Sociology, and Advanced Placement US Government & Politics Teacher at Cannon County High School was selected as Cannon County High School Teacher of the Year and Cannon County School District Teacher of the Year Grades 9-12. Mr. Curtis was recently visited in his classroom by Director of Cannon County Schools – Mrs. Barbara Parker, Supervisor of Instruction – Dr. Marcia Melton, Federal Projects Supervisor – Dr. Regina Merriman, CCHS Principal – Mr. Mike Jones, and CCHS Assistant Principal Kay Barker to announce his selection as Grades 9-12 District Teacher of the Year.
Mr. Curtis is a 28 year educator of the Cannon County School System and has taught at West Side Elementary School in the Middle Grades for 16 years, West Side School Principal for 6 years, and has served at Cannon County High School in Woodbury, TN for the past 6 years. In addition to his teaching duties he is the CCHS Data Chairman, and sponsors the CCHS Amateur Radio Club – W4WBY.
Cannon County Schools Director Barbara Parker stated, “Mr. Curtis is an outstanding long-term educator in our system. His work at CCHS as US Government Teacher and leader is to be commended. His students are routinely at Cannon County School Board, Cannon County Commission, Woodbury Board of Mayor and Aldermen, and Auburntown City Council meetings.” And CCHS Principal Mike Jones commented, “If every teacher possessed Freddy Curtis’s passion, education as we know it would change. He loves sharing his knowledge with his students, and they carry this beyond his classroom walls. We have students who are interested in holding public office and serving our society due to his influence. Our students truly understand the inner-workings of government firsthand, as a result of what they have learned from Mr. Curtis. He is a role model not only for his students but for our faculty and staff as well.”
State Representative Mark Pody recently visited Mr. Curtis’s classroom and commented, ”Freddy’s educational background is followed up with his excellence in the classroom. On many occasions while I have been in the Legislature he has brought his Government Classes to the Capitol for hands-on experience with the Tennessee General Assembly. He has demonstrated that his heart is devoted to students he so mentors daily in his classroom. Since my election in 2010, he has assisted me with advice on bills that would affect the educational system. I have also visited his classroom and have seen the respect he has from his students. I can truly attest that William F. Curtis is truly Teacher of the Year.”
Mr. Curtis said after his selection, “I am very humbled to have been selected as Cannon County High School Teacher of the Year by my peers and Cannon County Schools District Teacher of the Year Grades 9-12. In my 28 years of being an educator, I have never been selected as a ‘Teacher of the Year.’ I am very blessed to work with excellent educators. This honor is one I will cherish and is a highlight of my years in education.”
Freddy and his wife, Trena, reside in Smithville, and have four grown sons – Matthew, Trent, Casey, and Evan Curtis. They have two grandchildren, Ella Mae – age 3 and Elliott age 5 months.
Picture Caption: Pictured Left to right Dr. Marcia Melton – Supervisor of Instruction, William Freddy Curtis – CCHS Teacher of the Year, Mrs. Barbara Parker – Director of Schools, Mr. Mike Jones – CCHS Principal, Dr. Regina Merriman – Federal Projects Supervisor, and Mrs. Kay Barker – CCHS Assistant Principal.