The DeKalb County Board of Education is considering installing cameras on school buses to catch motorists behaving recklessly.
The issue was discussed briefly during Thursday night’s regular monthly school board meeting.
The cameras automatically record when the buses activate their stop signs. Or, the school system could choose to have the cameras operate manually allowing bus drivers to push a panic button to activate them. The goal is to catch motorists who drive around school buses while the buses are picking up or dropping off students. Failure to stop for a school bus is a traffic violation in Tennessee. The cameras record what’s happening around the bus, so police don’t have to rely on bus drivers to provide descriptions of rule-breakers.
“One is a manual system that drivers would use when they pull up to a stop and they see traffic is not going to stop. They can push a panic button which automatically turns the cameras on and we can catch all the images. Or there is another system that is quite pricey but it is all automated. When the stop sign is deployed, it all comes on,” said Transportation Supervisor Jimmy Sprague. “In my opinion the panic button is probably the better bang for the buck. I am still waiting on confirmation within state laws if this would stand in a court of law where we could prosecute somebody. I’ve researched this and found that other states, Georgia, Alabama, and Indiana use them (camera systems) and get good results. They’ve cut their stop arm issues by 60%. Right now in order to fill out a report (on a violator) and send it to the state you must have a tag number. Usually when this issue comes about it happens so quickly and the car goes by the bus (so fast) you don’t have a chance to get a tag number. Sometimes they’ll catch up with a car at a stop light and get a tag number then and I can fill out my report and send it to the state. As of today I have sent twenty nine reports to the state where I have caught and my drivers have caught (violators) on the routes,” said Sprague.
Board Chairman W.J. (Dub) Evins, III said school bus safety is a serious concern. “I’ve seen some of this first hand. I actually saw what turned out to be almost an accident with a special education bus just yesterday (Wednesday) when someone turned in front of it. We have issues where when these stop signs go out (stop arms on buses) and these buses stop there is a period of time in state law that says when the flashing lights come on and the stop sign comes out, that means (motorists) stop. It’s a matter of the general public, when they’re driving down the road, especially down a five lane highway paying close attention. Consider if this were your child getting off that bus would you pay more attention? There have been a few citations written. I’m not in favor of writing a lot of citations but I am in favor of giving fair warning. In discussing this matter, I hope that people will start abiding by (the law and take into consideration) that there are upwards of 90 children and teenagers on these buses and getting them to school safely and getting them home safely is of utmost importance. We have 3,000 students in this school system and 2,000 of them ride the bus. I hope the general public will understand it,” said Evins.
No action was taken Thursday night. If a system is purchased, the school board may elect to obtain only one camera system initially and use it on more than one bus. By rotating its use among buses in the fleet, motorists would not know which bus is equipped with the device on any given day.
In other business, Board Chairman Evins gave the Director of Schools monthly update on personnel on behalf of Director Mark Willoughby who was unable to attend due to sickness in his family.
Cynthia Taylor has been employed as a bookkeeper. Shea Wiegele, a teacher at DCHS, has been granted a leave as requested.
Jacqueline Michelle Overstreet has been transferred from a substitute to an educational assistant position. Elaine Davis, bus driver has resigned.

One week after being charged with second degree murder in the fatal stabbing of his girlfriend, 42 year old Anthony (Tony) Tyrone Crews made his first court appearance this morning (Thursday) under tight security at the DeKalb County Courthouse.
Crews stands accused of killing 28 year old Ashley Bain, whose body was found lying on the floor of a bedroom at the home she and Crews shared at 3870 Cookeville Highway, Smithville last Thursday afternoon, February 5.
During the brief hearing in General Sessions Court today, Judge Bratten Cook, II increased Crews’ bond from $250,000 to one million dollars and set his next court date for March 5th. Judge Cook also appointed the District Public Defender’s Office to represent Crews. WJLE was the only media in the courtroom covering the hearing.
Before increasing the bond amount, Judge Cook questioned Crews about his background. Crews said he was from New York and had relocated to McMinnville three years ago. He is married and had once served in the military. At the time of his arrest last Thursday, Crews was enrolled as a student at MTSU and had worked at Shiroki in Smithville. He admitted to having a misdemeanor criminal past for simple assault in New York but claimed the charges against him there were dismissed. Crews said he is not currently on parole or probation for any other offense.
After being appointed to represent Crews, Assistant District Public Defender Allison Rasbury West asked that his bond be kept at $250,000 saying that amount was sufficient. However Judge Cook raised it to one million dollars. Upon hearing the judge’s decision, Bain’s father, who was in the courtroom along with other family members, called out “Thank you Judge”.
Crews was then escorted out of the courtroom by sheriff’s deputies and transported back to a facility in another county.
Members of the family and all others in the courtroom were asked to remain seated until Crews had departed the building.
Sheriff Patrick Ray told WJLE last Thursday that Bain had been stabbed numerous times about the upper body. It’s not known exactly how long Bain had been dead by the time authorities were notified but Sheriff Ray said she had been seen alive earlier in the day on Thursday. A knife, believed to have been the murder weapon, was found in the home.
According to Sheriff Ray, Crews called 911 at 2:33 p.m. to report that he had discovered Bain’s body when he entered the residence. Sheriff Ray and members of the DeKalb County Sheriff’s Department were alerted and quickly arrived on the scene. The TBI and District Attorney General’s Office also joined the investigation. Sheriff Ray said authorities determined that Crews had committed the crime and made up the story about finding the body. Although officials believe they know the motive for the stabbing, Sheriff Ray said they are not releasing it at this time.
The warrant against Crews alleges that “on February 5th, 2015, at 3870 Cookeville Highway, Anthony Tyrone Crews did intentionally and knowingly kill Ashley Bain by stabbing her numerous times about the upper body”.

Play ball!
Although some finishing touches are needed before it’s completed, the new indoor training facility for the DCHS baseball program is now open and being used by the players just in time for the upcoming season.
“It’s being used now. This is the second week they (players) have been in it,” said Jeff McMillen, President of the DCHS Tiger Baseball Booster Club.
The boosters spearheaded the fund raising drive for construction of the 40 x 81 foot metal building, which consists of two hitting and two pitching lanes on artificial turf, dressing room with lockers, coaches office, restroom facility with shower, and a storage room.
“We started talking about this a couple of years ago. Coach (Tracy) Slone believed in it and he got us believing in it and we got busy. We’ve been able to raise the money and do the things we needed to do for the program to take it to the next level. We’re very proud of what we have and the community has been wonderful to help us,” McMillen told WJLE.
Local businesses and individuals have supported the effort with cash donations and others have provided volunteer labor to help build the facility. “The only thing we paid anybody to do in here was we had the metal put on the roof. Everything else is volunteer labor from mostly a few parents of the players and we’ve had some people who stepped up who have construction businesses. We got our permits pulled by a licensed electrician. We did the wiring and he did the inspection and we had to go under state inspection too. But everything is up to codes,” said McMillen.
Still, a few other projects remain to make the building complete. “We don’t have our water and sewer hooked up yet but they’re in the process of finishing up the sewer. We’ll put the water in within the next couple of days. We have heat in the building but we need a separate heater for the dressing room. And we’re hoping to pour a little concrete around the front of the building to keep the gravel out of the inside. It’s just the finish up work you have to do. As money becomes available we’ll do all those things. Hopefully, we’ll get it all done before the season is over,” he said.
McMillen said the new facility has already generated enthusiasm. “I think it will be good for the program and the kids. They have already bought into it. We’ve worked out here until eight, nine, and ten o’clock at night and just about every night we’re out here there are kids out here too staying and hitting as long as we’re here,” he said.
The DCHS Tiger Pre-Season Schedule is as follows:
Saturday, February 14: Stewarts Creek (AWAY): 11:00 A.M. (PRE-SEASON)
Thursday, February 26: Friendship Christian (HOME): 4:00 p.m. (PRE-SEASON)
Tuesday, March 3: Siegel (AWAY): 5:00 p.m. (PRE-SEASON)
Thursday, March 5: Cookeville(AWAY): 5:00 p.m. (PRE-SEASON)
The season opener will be Monday, March 9 at home against Grundy County at 5:00 p.m.

The Blue Springs Community Center is currently in the process of being updated.
These updates include improved wiring, lighting, plumbing, flooring, painting, blinds, and other cosmetic improvements. Additional updates are also planned, but your monetary support is needed to make them possible.
If you would like to make a monetary donation for improvements to the Blue Springs Community Center, please contact Reed Miller by calling (615) 215-7938 or mail your donation to 414 South College Street, Smithville, TN 37166. Any monetary donation amounts are appreciated and needed in order to continue making improvements to the community center.

A neighborhood watch group is partnering with the DeKalb County Sheriff’s Department to combat crime in the Seven Springs Community.
The group has been reporting suspicious activity in the area including at the bridge on New Bildad Road, where drug paraphernalia has been found, apparently left behind by trespassers who have been using that location to engage in drug activity.
Sheriff Patrick Ray said arrests have already been made in that area and boulders have been placed there to keep others out. “This is at the bridge on New Bildad Road. We’ve been having a lot of people come and park under the bridge. This past year, we joined forces with the neighborhood watch program at Seven Springs and contacted Road Supervisor Butch Agee who brought a couple loads of big rocks down there and put them in the drive that leads under the bridge to stop people from coming down there. In the past we have found people there with meth labs and drugs. We’ve also found drug paraphernalia laying on the ground there and old meth labs laid out in the weeds so we joined in a partnership with them. The landowners have posted that property down there where nobody has permission to be down there unless they ask the landowners first and no one is to be there after dark. Anybody we catch down there, we’ll cite them for criminal trespassing,” said Sheriff Ray.

The owners of Cookeville Boat Dock haven’t paid all their property taxes to DeKalb County for more than a decade and a Judge assigned to hear the case in Chancery Court still has not ruled on it, though a decision could come soon. The total tax bill owed comes to almost $200,000 including interest and penalties.
From 1998 through the 2012 tax year, owners of Cookeville Boat Dock & Resort, Inc. have been named as defendants in DeKalb County Chancery Court lawsuits filed against delinquent taxpayers. The amount Cookeville Boat Dock & Resort, Inc. owes through 2012 in delinquent taxes comes to $183,289.94 (taxes on personal property and leased property including the base tax plus interest and penalty, attorneys fees, and court costs). Further penalties are assessed each month. Additionally for the 2013 tax year, the Trustee’s Office reports that Cookeville Boat Dock & Resort Inc. owes a total of $9,307 in delinquent taxes including interest and penalty to date. The marina also owes $8,213 for the 2014 tax year, which comes due February 28, 2015.
In a Chancery Court delinquent tax lawsuit, the marina owners claim that they can’t be forced to pay ad valorem (property) taxes on constitutional grounds. But in 2013, Tennessee Attorney General Robert E. (Bob) Cooper, Jr. gave an opinion that the marina’s claim is without merit and should be dismissed by the court.
The attorney for Cookeville Boat Dock, Jon E. Jones of Cookeville contends the owners of the marina are being discriminated against in that the county is trying to force them to pay ad valorem taxes on the boat dock facility which is leased from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (federal government property) while other properties in Tennessee leased from the state or local government entities (under Article II, Section 28 of the Tennessee Constitution) are exempt from payment of ad valorem taxes. This, he claims is a violation of the Supremacy Clause of the U.S. Constitution making the tax assessment against Cookeville Boat Dock & Resort, Inc. invalid. In 2013 Jones filed an amended answer to the county’s Chancery Court lawsuits against delinquent taxpayers including Cookeville Boat Dock & Resort along with a counter complaint seeking a declaratory judgment for his clients.
Attorney General Cooper, who was made a party to the case to defend the constitutionality of Article II, section 28 of the Tennessee Constitution, asserts in his answer to the marina’s counter complaint that the state constitution does not grant a property tax exemption to commercial taxpayers that operate a business on land owned by the state or local government. Cooper further asserts that Cookeville Boat Dock’s constitutional challenge is not properly before the court because the marina owners failed to first pursue other statutory remedies available to them.
Cookeville Boat Dock owns and operates a commercial boat dock and concession on land in DeKalb County that is leased from the federal government. The marina has been assessed ad valorem taxes on the boat dock property since 1998; however, it apparently has not paid these taxes and, thus, the boat dock property has been included in the delinquent tax proceedings of DeKalb County covering the tax years from 1998 through 2012. “It is the Attorney General’s understanding that Cookeville Boat Dock has not been assessed for the underlying real estate that is owned by the federal government or for any leasehold interest in the real estate. Rather, Cookeville Boat Dock has been assessed only for the buildings and other structures that make up the boat dock property,” wrote Attorney General Cooper in his answer.
In their Trial Brief, “Cookeville Boat Dock & Resort, Inc. is asking the Court to declare that DeKalb County’s assessment of ad valorem taxes against boat dock facilities leased by Cookeville Boat Dock & Resort, Inc from the United States is a violation of the Supremacy Clause of the U.S. Constitution because Tennessee exempts boat dock facilities from taxation when the lessor is an agency of the state.”
In his answer, attorney general Cooper wrote that ” the Federal Supremacy Clause does not prevent DeKalb County from assessing the property of a taxpayer that operates a commercial boat dock on land leased from the federal government”.
Former Chancellor Vernon Neal recused himself from hearing the delinquent tax case against Cookeville Boat Dock & Resort, Inc. in 2002 citing a personal conflict. Former Circuit Court Judge John Turnbull was designated and appointed to hear the case to its conclusion. After Turnbull retired from the bench, the case was passed on to Judge Amy Hollars but it still has not been settled in court. The case is reportedly under review by Judge Hollars and a decision is expected soon.