Car crashes are a leading cause of death for children 1 to 13 years old. Many deaths and injuries can be prevented by proper use of car seats, boosters and seat belts. Getting safety information and car seat instructions to parents and caregivers is crucial to saving young lives.
Sheriff Patrick Ray and the DeKalb County Sheriff’s Department are committed to ensuring the safety of your children. Car seats are essential to your child’s safety in the event of an automobile accident. Unfortunately, close to 90% of car seats are installed incorrectly and many children travel unrestrained.
The DeKalb County Sheriff’s Department is partnering with the Tennessee Highway Safety Office in conducting a car seat safety check event. Trained car seat technicians will be on hand March 22 from 11:00 a.m. until 2:00 p.m. at the Smithville Walmart, located at 515 West Broad Street, Smithville to check car seats and to make sure they are properly installed in your vehicle.
Sheriff Ray says “Every child deserves the chance to grow up and become an amazing adult; make sure your child has the chance. Please plan to visit us at this event.”

Retired educator and avid hunter Linda Franklin and her husband retired TWRA officer Ben Franklin recently returned from a hunting trip to Welaka, Florida where they each bagged an Osceola turkey.
With the kill, Linda has scored an American grand slam, having harvested a turkey from each of the four major subspecies in the United States, Eastern, Merriman, Rio Grande, and now the Osceola.
“We went to Florida because it’s the only place that has an Osceola turkey. That is the only one that I lacked having a grand slam. This was my third time down there and for me the third time was the charm. I will have to say in my defense that I have never pulled the trigger on one until this time. When I pulled the trigger, he fell,” she said.
While Linda is thrilled to have her first grand slam, Ben has four grand slams and is one kill away from scoring his fifth. “We’re going to Kansas next month to hunt the Rio again and if he gets one there that will be his fifth grand slam,” said Linda.

The Real Estate Team recently attended The Eastern Middle TN Association of Realtors Awards of Excellence Banquet at the Nashville Airport Marriott.
Three members of the team received the Gold Honor that represents sales in excess of $2.5 million and one silver honor in excess of $1.25 million.
Recipients’ include Tony Fuston, Betty Lattimore, Jennifer Hannah and Danny Conger. Some were saying this was the winners table for Dekalb County. The Real Estate Team strives for success and has added five new agents since October. They would like to thank all of our clients and DeKalb County for our continuing success. The firm is dedicated in representing the buyers and sellers in their best interest.

Tennessee’s 2017 spring turkey season opens on Saturday, April 1 and continues through Sunday, May 14. The state young sportsman hunt for youth ages 6-16 is March 25-26.
Spring turkey harvest numbers have been consistent for a number of years in Tennessee. Tennessee turkey hunters have passed the 30,000 harvest mark for 14 consecutive years during the spring hunting season.
Hunting hours for turkeys are 30 minutes prior to legal sunrise until legal sunset. Legal hunting equipment includes shotguns using ammunition loaded with No. 4 shot or smaller. There is no restriction on number of rounds in magazine. Longbows, recurve bows, compound bows, and crossbows are permitted.
Firearms and archery equipment may have sighting devices except those devices utilizing an artificial light capable of locating wildlife. Night vision scopes are illegal.
Bag limits are one bearded turkey per day, not to exceed four per season. Any turkeys harvested during the young sportsman hunt count toward the spring season limit.
More information on the 2017 spring turkey season can be found in the 2016-17 Tennessee Hunting & Trapping Guide. The guide is available at TWRA offices, license agents, and online at www.tnwildlife.org.

DeKalb County’s unemployment rate for January was 7.2%, up from 5.9% in December and above the rate of 5.8% in January, 2016.
The local labor force for January, 2017 was 7,670. A total of 7,120 were employed and 550 were unemployed.
County unemployment estimates for January 2017 show the rates increased in all 95 counties.
Jobless rates for January among the fourteen counties in the Upper Cumberland region were as follows from highest to lowest:
Jackson:9.1%
Clay: 8.9%
Pickett: 8.2%
Cumberland: 8.1%
Van Buren: 7.2%
DeKalb: 7.2%
Overton: 7.2%
Fentress: 6.8%
White: 6.1%
Smith: 6%
Putnam: 5.9%
Warren: 5.6%
Macon:5.2%
Cannon:5.1%
For the month of January, Davidson County has the state’s lowest major metropolitan rate at 4.1 percent, increasing from 3.7 percent the previous month. Knox County is 4.7 percent, an increase from the previous month’s 4.2 percent. The Hamilton County rate is 5.5 percent, increasing from a previous rate of 4.8 percent. Shelby County has a 6.3 percent rate, increasing from December’s 5.6 percent.
Tennessee and the U.S. have experienced an increase in the preliminary unemployment rates for January. Tennessee’s rate is 5.4 percent, increasing from the previous month’s revised rate by three-tenths of a percentage point. An increase of one-tenth raised the U.S. preliminary rate to 4.8 percent.
The state and national unemployment rates are seasonally adjusted, while the county unemployment rates are not. Seasonal adjustment is a statistical technique that eliminates the influences of weather, holidays, opening and closing of schools, and other recurring seasonal events from economic time series.

A woman escaped injury in a one car rollover Thursday night on Keltonburg Road (Highway 288).
Trooper Ronny Smith of the Tennessee Highway Patrol told WJLE that 35 year old Melissa Edmunds of Antioch Road, Smithville was traveling west in a 2010 Chevrolet Cobalt when the car went off the right side of the highway, struck a dirt bank, and then overturned in a field. She was not injured.
Members of DeKalb EMS and the DeKalb County Volunteer Fire Department and Sheriff’s Department were also on the scene.

A Cookeville man who failed to stop at a THP checkpoint in DeKalb County and then led State Troopers on a pursuit before crashing at Baxter Friday has been arrested.
(CLICK LINK BELOW TO VIEW MUG SHOTS OF PERSONS RECENTLY BOOKED AT THE DEKALB COUNTY JAIL- Intakes & Releases From: 3/20/2017 Thru: 3/27/2017)
Seagate Crystal Reports – REPOR_16.pdf (2.39 MB)
(CLICK LINK BELOW TO VIEW MUG SHOTS OF PERSONS RECENTLY BOOKED AT THE DEKALB COUNTY JAIL- Intakes & Releases From: 3/13/2017 Thru: 3/20/2017)
Seagate Crystal Reports – REPOR_15.pdf (2.52 MB)
Christopher Todd Montgomery, who was found with drugs, paraphernalia, and handguns, is charged with evading arrest by use of a motor vehicle, tampering with evidence, possession of schedule II controlled substance for resale/delivery, simple possession of schedules II, III, IV, & VI controlled substances and drug paraphernalia, reckless endangerment, possession of a handgun while under the influence of an intoxicant, possession of a handgun by a convicted felon, possession of a firearm during the commission of a dangerous felony, driving under the influence 1st offense, driving on a revoked driver’s license, reckless driving, altering a license plate, and four other miscellaneous traffic offenses.
According to THP Sergeant Greg Tramel, State Troopers were conducting a seatbelt checkpoint on State Highway 56 in DeKalb County at the Putnam County line Friday when a vehicle traveling north failed to stop for the checkpoint. At that time, the driver threw what appeared to be drugs out of the window and continued driving north on State Highway 56 into Putnam County.
Troopers Brandon Jackson and Chris Delong pursued the vehicle on Old Baxter Road until it crashed east of the Boma Community Center in Baxter. No one was injured during the crash. The driver, Montgomery, was arrested. Contraband seized during this incident included seven bags of a clear rock like substance believed to be methamphetamine totaling 4.93 ounces, one bag, 6.6 grams, of marijuana, seven Xanax pills, three other pills listed as controlled substances, one .380 caliber handgun, one .22 caliber handgun, and various drug paraphernalia