State Representative Mark Pody said he is grateful for the opportunity to serve the people of DeKalb County and the 17th District as their new State Senator.
Pody, a Republican, was elected in a close race Tuesday over Democrat Mary Alice Carfi to fill the remaining year of former State Senator Mae Beavers’ unexpired term. She gave up her seat to run full time for Governor next year.
Pody contacted WJLE by phone Tuesday night after the election results came in to thank the voters for their support.
“I am so proud of the district and I am grateful and honored for all the votes we received. Anytime somebody runs and puts their name in the hat to run against anybody it’s a good thing. That way voters have a choice and ideas can be clearly heard. I am grateful for the campaign that we ran and especially grateful for the result,” he said.
Pody now plans to resign his House seat in District 46 as he prepares to move to the State Senate.
“In the morning (Wednesday) I will officially resign from the State House of Representatives in District 46. The Governor will have my resignation on his desk in the morning (Wednesday) and the Speaker of the House will have it on her desk and I’ll officially take office as a Senator. They have to first go through all those official things like certifying the votes and things like that,” said Pody.
Pody, a Wilson County resident, said the Wilson County Commission will appoint someone to fill his unexpired term in the State House. There is still about a year left in the term.
Pody plans to seek a full four year term in the State Senate in 2018. The state primaries will be held in August with the Tennessee General Election to follow in November, 2018.
Meanwhile, Carfi also contacted WJLE Tuesday night after the results came in to thank her supporters.
“I want to thank everyone who voted for me and spent countless hours knocking on doors, making phone calls, writing post cards, and really welcoming me into the community. I am so proud of everyone who helped with my campaign and I am so appreciative for all your work that was done on my behalf. We may not have accomplished what we were seeking but that doesn’t mean that we give up our work to improve the lives of people in District 17 and in Tennessee. I am committed to working on your behalf to make sure that everyone has access to affordable health care, better paying jobs, and a quality education for our children regardless of their zip code. Thank you again for your votes and your hard work. We may not have won but I think we ran a very respectable race and we showed that Tennessee and Democrats will be working hard in 2018 to make sure that we have elected officials who are willing to fight for the people regardless of their party affiliation,” she said.

State Representative Mark Pody will soon be moving to the upper chamber to fill the unexpired term of former State Senator Mae Beavers after beating Democrat Mary Alice Carfi in the Special Election Tuesday.
Pody will be resigning his State House seat in District 46 this week. His unexpired term is expected to be filled by the Wilson County Commission. District 46 includes a portion of DeKalb and Wilson Counties and all of Cannon County.
In the six counties that make up Senatorial District 17, Pody won in a close race 5, 990 (51.32%) to 5,682 (48.68%).
Pody carried Cannon County 467 to 353, Macon 428 to 238, and Wilson 3,641 to 3,561. Carfi carried DeKalb County 579 to 548, Smith County 733 to 716, and Clay 218 to 190.
A total of 1,128 DeKalb County voters cast ballots in the election including 661 on election day and 467 early votes/absentees.
Carfi carried seven precincts including Alexandria, Courthouse, Dowelltown, Keltonburg, Smithville Church of Christ, Smithville Church of God, Snow Hill, and she had a majority of the early votes/absentees.
Pody carried seven precincts including Belk, Blue Springs, County Complex, Johnsons Chapel, Liberty, Rock Castle, and Temperance Hall.
Pody and Carfi each had 1 vote at the Edgar Evins State Park precinct.
(CLICK LINK BELOW FOR DISTRICT RESULTS)
http://elections.tn.gov/results.php
Absentee/Early Voting:
Pody-216
Carfi-251
Alexandria:
Pody-39
Carfi-43
Belk:
Pody-24
Carfi-9
Blue Springs:
Pody-20
Carfi-10
County Complex:
Pody-34
Carfi-33
Courthouse:
Pody-23
Carfi-53
Dowelltown:
Pody-19
Carfi-20
Edgar Evins State Park:
Pody-1
Carfi-1
Johnsons Chapel:
Pody-24
Carfi-8
Keltonburg:
Pody-13
Carfi-18
Liberty:
Pody-37
Carfi-16
Rock Castle:
Pody-12
Carfi-6
Smithville Church of Christ:
Pody-26
Carfi-38
Smithville Church of God:
Pody-33
Carfi-39
Snow Hill:
Pody-14
Carfi-23
Temperance Hall:
Pody-13
Carfi-11
TOTAL:
PODY-548
CARFI-579

The Upper Cumberland Human Resource Agency would like to remind those who receive assistance through the Temporary Emergency Food Assistance Program, known as Commodities; it is time for recertification of their commodities card. With 2018 deliveries right around the corner, it is very important for recipients to recertify their commodity card with their local county offices prior to the first pick-up date.
Recertification date starts January 8th. First Distribution is February 8th.
If you think you or someone you know qualifies for this program, please contact the UCHRA office in your county for more information.
The UCHRA County telephone: DeKalb County 615-597-4504
The Upper Cumberland Human Resource Agency does not discriminate on the basis of age, race, sex, color, national origin, religion, or disability in admission to, access to, or operations of its programs, services or activities.
“This project is funding under a Grant Contract with the State of Tennessee.”

The Smithville Rite Aid store is now a Walgreens Pharmacy.
The pharmacy is apparently among nearly 2,000 Rite Aid stores across the country which have been purchased by Walgreens, the second-largest pharmacy chain in the U.S.
Walgreens and Rite Aid recently announced that federal regulators had approved Walgreens’ purchase of 1,932 Rite Aid stores in 31 states and the District of Columbia, about 250 fewer stores than they had first planned.
According to a report on www.time.com, Walgreens currently has roughly 8,175 locations in the U.S., second only to CVS (9,709) in terms of pharmacy chains. For two years, Walgreens had waged a campaign to boost its footprint by scooping up Rite Aid locations. Over the summer Walgreens scrapped its original plan to purchase 2,186 Rite Aids—but it came to an agreement more recently to buy 1,932 of the stores, at a cost of $4.375 billion in cash and other considerations, according to the Walgreens fourth-quarter earnings report.
The purchase would theoretically give Walgreens over 10,000 store locations, vaulting it into the top spot over CVS as America’s biggest pharmacy chain. But Walgreens isn’t just adding stores; it plans on subtracting hundreds too, the report on www.time.com stated.
After receiving regulatory clearance for the Rite Aid purchase, Walgreens “has been able to carry out a complete review of its expected combined U.S. store portfolio to determine the scope of a program to optimize locations,” a company release stated.
Some stores will be closed. The company anticipates that it will shutter roughly 600 retail locations in that “optimizing” process, starting next spring, USA Today reported. Walgreens hasn’t said which locations will be closed, but it’s expected that most of them will be among the ranks of the Rite Aid stores it’s buying, and that the vast majority of closures will be within one mile of another Walgreens-owned store.
All the store closures should be complete within 18 months, Walgreens says. The company plans on spending $500 million over the next three years to convert Rite Aid stores it isn’t closing into Walgreens.
Meanwhile, Rite Aid will still be in the pharmacy business. After the sale to Walgreens is complete, Rite Aid will still have roughly 2,600 stores in the U.S., according to CNN.
According to a report on coupons in the news.com. “Several states that were to retain just a small handful of Rite Aid stores, will now have none. Alabama, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Mississippi, Rhode Island, Tennessee and West Virginia now join Indiana, South Carolina, Utah and Washington DC as locations where there will be no Rite Aids whatsoever after the deal goes through. All existing Rite Aid stores there will be sold to Walgreens in the revised deal.
Meanwhile, several Northeastern states will hold onto more Rite Aids than originally planned. The bulk of the roughly 250 Rite Aid stores that are no longer part of the deal with Walgreens, are located in Connecticut, Maryland, New Jersey and New York. In addition, Idaho, which was to sell off several Rite Aid stores, will now keep them all.

Three more incumbent members of the county commission have picked up qualifying petitions from the DeKalb County Election Commission for the May 1, 2018 DeKalb County Democratic Primary.
The latest to get their petitions are Joe Johnson, 2nd District County Commissioner; Larry Summers, 7th District County Commissioner; and Wayne Cantrell, 4th District County Commissioner.
Those who have obtained petitions to date are as follows:
*Wayne Cantrell-County Commissioner, 4th District, Incumbent
*Joe Johnson-County Commissioner, 2nd District, Incumbent
*Larry Summers-County Commissioner, 7th District, Incumbent
*Mike Foster-County Mayor
*Tim Stribling-County Mayor, Incumbent
*Bradley Hendrix-County Mayor
*Kevin Robinson-County Commissioner 7th District, Incumbent
*Nora Harvey-County Commissioner 2nd District
*Jack Barton-County Commissioner 3rd District, Incumbent
*Scott Little-County Commissioner 4th District
*Jeff Barnes-County Commissioner 6th District, Incumbent
*Betty Atnip-County Commissioner 6th District, Incumbent
*James L. (Jimmy) Poss-County Clerk, Incumbent
*Jimmy Sprague-Road Supervisor
*Jeff McMillen-Register of Deeds, Incumbent
*Nicole Wright-Circuit Court Clerk
*Mark Milam-Circuit Court Clerk
*Julie Young-County Commissioner 1st District, Incumbent
*Bobby R. Taylor-County Commissioner 4th District
Poss’ petition has been returned and (enough signatures) verified
In addition to County Clerk James L. “Jimmy” Poss, Road Supervisor candidate Jimmy Sprague, and Circuit Court Clerk candidates Nicole Wright and Mark Milam, others who have made public announcements on WJLE of their intentions to run for election or re-election in 2018 as Republicans are:
*Trustee Sean Driver, Incumbent
*Sheriff Patrick Ray, Incumbent
*Danny Hale for Road Supervisor
*Reed Edge for Road Supervisor
*Susan Martin for Circuit Court Clerk
The following county offices are up for election in 2018: Road Supervisor, County Mayor, Circuit Court Clerk, Sheriff, Register of Deeds, County Clerk, and Trustee and for the county commission in each of the seven districts (two per district for a total of 14).
DeKalb County Democrats will be nominating candidates for county offices in a primary set for May 1, 2018.
Democratic nominees will face any Republican and or Independent challengers in the August, 2018 general election. The DeKalb County Republican Party will be choosing its nominees by caucus. The qualifying deadline for all candidates will be the same, NOON February 15, 2018.

A man who got into trouble last week for kicking his ex-wife has been arrested again.
48 year old Jimmy Dwight Underhill, Jr. of Rolling Acres Road, Smithville is charged with violation of an order of protection. Underhill’s bond is $3,000 and his court date is January 4.
Sheriff Patrick Ray said that on Thursday, December 14 a deputy went to a residence on Rolling Acres Road to do a welfare check on a woman. While at the home, the officer found Underhill there in violation of active bond conditions which prohibit him from having any contact with this woman. Those bond conditions became effective December 11, 2017.
Underhill was arrested for domestic assault last week after allegedly kicking his ex-wife during an argument. He is under a $2,000 bond in that case and his court date is January 4.
33 year old Andrew Allen Dillon of Dry Creek Road, Smithville is charged with domestic assault. His bond is $3,000 and his court date is January 11.
Sheriff Ray said that on Friday, December 15 a deputy was dispatched to a residence on McMinnville Highway to do a welfare check on a man but after checking further learned that he was at a home on Cedar Drive. Upon arrival the officer learned from the man that his mother’s boyfriend, Dillon had struck him in the abdomen with his knee. There were several visual marks of the assault.

A woman arrested for identity theft and fraudulent use of a credit card almost a year ago and earlier for obtaining a controlled substance by fraud has been granted probation.
(CLICK LINK BELOW TO VIEW MUG SHOTS OF PERSONS RECENTLY BOOKED AT THE DEKALB COUNTY JAIL- Intakes & Releases From: 12/11/2017 Thru: 12/18/2017)
Seagate Crystal Reports – REPOR_52.pdf (3.69 MB)
33 year old Stephanie Sue Summers entered a plea in DeKalb County Criminal Court Tuesday, December 12 to two counts of identity theft and two counts of obtaining a controlled substance by fraud and received a four year sentence in each case. She is to serve a total of eight years on these charges to run concurrently with a Putnam County case against her. The sentence has been suspended to supervised probation and she has been granted judicial diversion. Summers must also make restitution of $6,817 and she is under a restraining order to keep away from Walmart.
According to Smithville police, the victim in the case filed a report of credit card fraud on Wednesday, December 21, 2016 after receiving mail from a bank informing him of a past due amount on a credit card. The victim contacted the bank and received an account summary of the credit card with purchases having been made three times at the local Wal-Mart. Upon investigation it was discovered that Summers had obtained the victim’s credit card without his knowledge or consent and proceeded to make purchases. The drug offenses occurred in May, 2016
41 year old Rachel Lucille Sprague entered a plea to sale of a schedule II drug and received a three year sentence suspended to probation. She was fined $2,000 and must make restitution of $90 to the DeKalb County Sheriff’s Department. Sprague was charged in an undercover investigation earlier this year.
39 year old Stephen Anthony Patterson entered a plea to charges of possession of methamphetamine with intent to sell and a second offense of driving under the influence. He received a six year sentence for the meth charge and 11 months and 29 days in the DUI case. The terms are to run concurrently with each other but they have been suspended to supervised probation except for 45 days to serve. He was fined $2,600. Patterson was given 38 days jail credit.
Sheriff Patrick Ray said that on Sunday, February 19 a deputy responded to the intersection of Curtis Road and Sparta Highway due to a vehicle which was found setting at a stop sign for a long period of time. The deputy came upon the scene and saw the driver pulling out on Sparta Highway heading east before crossing over into the oncoming lane of travel. The vehicle eventually stopped at a residence on Sparta Highway. The officer approached the vehicle and made contact with the driver, Patterson who was slumped over in the vehicle . His eyes were bloodshot and he appeared to be under the influence. Patterson performed poorly on field sobriety tasks and was placed under arrest. While conducting a search of Patterson, the deputy found in his right front pocket a baggie in a metal container that held 0.93 grams of methamphetamine which field tested positive. The container also held 43 ½ xanax pills. The officer further recovered $467 in cash on Patterson’s person. After Patterson was transported to the jail for booking, a correctional officer found a black baggie in Patterson’s hoodie pocket which held 99 whole plus two halves more of xanax pills.
30 year old Phillip Andrew Martin entered a plea to a second offense of driving while license revoked and received a sentence of 11 months and 29 days suspended to supervised probation.