A fire destroyed a residence at 379 Magness Road early this morning (Tuesday) believed to be the home of Nathan Joe Trapp.
Central dispatch received the call at 3:06 a.m.

Upon arrival firefighters found the structure fully engulfed in flames. It could not be saved.
No one was at the residence at the time of the fire and there were no injuries. The cause of the fire is undetermined.
Members of the Short Mountain Highway, Belk, and Main Stations of the DeKalb County Volunteer Fire Department responded along with the tanker truck. Deputies of the DeKalb County Sheriff’s Department were also there.

A Dowelltown man is facing multiple counts of theft after admitting involvement in several thefts of utility trailers in DeKalb County over the last six months.
19 year old Colten Gene Young of Old Mill Hill Road will make a court appearance on seven counts of theft over $1,000 on August 24. He is under a $35,500 bond.
According to Sheriff Patrick Ray, Young has admitted to being directly responsible for three of the thefts and aiding in the others. Smithville Police also recently filed a charge against him for a utility trailer theft in the city. But Young’s crime spree was not limited to DeKalb County. He has admitted to utility trailer thefts in Sparta, Manchester, Gatlinburg, and Rockwood.
Meanwhile Sheriff Ray is urging anyone who may have purchased a utility trailer from Young or if you have information concerning someone else who has done so to contact the DeKalb County Sheriff’s Office in person or call 615-597-4935. You may also contact the crime tip line at 615-464-6400 or email Sheriff Ray at sheriff21@dekalbsheriff.net
“We have been having utility trailers, mostly bumper trailers, stolen within the last six months. After we spoke with the Smithville Police detective about the person they had arrested (Young), one of our detectives and I went to the White County Sheriff’s Department and talked to Young where he was being housed on a charge by the Sparta Police Department. We considered him to be a person of interest in our theft investigation at that time. We actually spoke with him on three different occasions and gathered information. During the second interview, Young agreed to take the detective and me to places in the area where he had stolen utility trailers. After taking us to the site of a theft behind F.Z. Webb & Sons Pharmacy on South Congress Boulevard where Smithville Police had investigated, Young led us to L&M Farms, the former H.J. Judkins Nursery on Short Mountain Highway where he said he had stolen a trailer. From there we went to Turner’s Napa Auto Parts on West Broad Street where he claimed to have stolen a trailer. Young also admitted to having stolen $3,900 from a residence on Old Mill Hill Road,” said Sheriff Ray.
From the information provided by Young, investigators learned who had bought the trailer taken from the Napa Auto Parts location and they were able to recover it.
During a third interview, Sheriff Ray said Young told investigators that while he had not been directly responsible for the other thefts he had been a spotter for or with another man and spotted trailers at the Smithville Church of God on West Broad Street, at a residence off Highway 56 south, and at a home on Backbone Ridge near the White County line. The trailers from all three of those places were later reported stolen.
After confessing to his involvement in the local thefts, Sheriff Ray said Young took responsibility for thefts of fourteen trailers in Lincoln County, at least two in White County, one in Gatlinburg, one in Rockwood, and one in Manchester.
“We have been working with the Sheriff’s departments in Lincoln County and Coffee County along with the Sparta Police Department. Many of the cases against Young in those counties stemmed from our investigation on him here,” said Sheriff Ray.
Charges filed by the DeKalb County Sheriff’s Department against Young are as follows:
*Theft over $1,000 (March 1 Young aided and assisted taking a white 6’ x 10’ enclosed trailer which belonged to the Smithville Church of God valued at $2,000. He had spotted the trailer with or for another man)
*Theft over $1,000 (May 15 Young took a black 18 foot Lawrimore trailer from behind Turners Napa Auto Parts on West Broad Street valued at $1,500)
*Theft over $1,000 (May 23 Young took $3,900 from a residence on Old Mill Hill Road in Dowelltown)
*Theft over $1,000 (June 1 Young aided and assisted in taking a black 16 foot trailer from Magness Road valued at $2,000. He had spotted the trailer with or for another man)
*Theft over $1,000 (June 7 Young took a black 16 foot trailer from a nursery on Short Mountain Highway valued at $1,800)
*Theft over $1,000 (July 14 Young aided and assisted in taking a black 5’ x 8’ trailer from Backbone Road, Sparta in DeKalb County valued at $1,250. He had spotted the trailer with or for another man)
*Theft over $1,000 (July 14 Young aided and assisted in taking a black 7’ x 14’ trailer along with a canoe and kayak which were on the trailer all valued at $2,629. The theft occurred off Short Mountain Highway. He had spotted the trailer with or for another man)
Sheriff Ray urges anyone who has bought or who is considering buying a utility trailer or other equipment to guard against becoming a victim.
“We are more than happy to come out and look at your trailer. We will check the numbers on it if you want us to. If you are planning to buy a trailer give us the serial number and we will be glad to check that to make sure it isn’t stolen,” said Sheriff Ray.
“What we don’t want to happen is for someone to purchase one of these stolen trailers unaware but then discover that it has had an altered VIN number. We don’t want anyone to get in trouble for something like that,” he said.
Make sure you obtain a title with your purchase and not settle for just a bill of sale. “In some cases, Young provided his unsuspecting customers with a bill of sale. A title is the best way to buy a trailer, four wheeler, or vehicle because a bill of sale is not a guarantee that what you are buying isn’t stolen,” said Sheriff Ray.
Another thing to consider is that if its discovered that the trailer you bought was stolen, you could lose all the money you invested in it.

After six and a half years as the operator of the Smithville Golf Course and Swimming Pool, Tony Poss is calling it quits.
He has given notice that he is ending his lease with the City of Smithville. The nine hole golf course and pool are currently closed.
It will be up to the Smithville Mayor and Aldermen to name a successor.
Poss entered into a 10 year lease with the city in February, 2011 with an option to extend the term of the lease for an additional 10 years.

DCHS Principal Randy Jennings has come under fire in recent days from some for his position on enforcing the long-standing dress code policy at the school but he is getting support from friends in high places.
Director of Schools Patrick Cripps and the Board of Education released a joint statement Tuesday afternoon to let the community know they stand with Jennings and his staff. “We would like to inform the members of the community that we fully support Mr. Jennings, the administration and members of the faculty and staff at DeKalb County High School throughout this process”.
Some students and parents have expressed frustration with how the school administration is handling the matter which has given rise to rumors of possible protests. But in spite of the criticism by those who feel the dress code enforcement is too harsh, others have shown their support.
“We take this opportunity to thank the many students and residents of DeKalb County for their support and words of encouragement during the recent dress code controversy at DeKalb County High School. Thank you for your continued support,” the statement concluded.
In a statement released over the weekend, Principal Jennings said the high school will follow the dress code that has been in place for several years and that students are being asked to follow the rules that are in the student handbook,” he said.

Dailey & Vincent, one of today’s most celebrated bluegrass duos, spent the day Monday downtown Smithville shooting scenes for a new music video called “Unsung Heroes” from their latest CD project “Patriots & Poets”.
“Unsung Heroes” pays tribute to veterans and active duty military soldiers as well as law enforcement officers, first responders, and others who perform a service for their fellow man but often go unrecognized. The music video will even feature several of those hometown heroes from right here in DeKalb County
The production crew spent part of the morning videoing scenes at Sundance Restaurant where local veterans, including one as old as 93, gathered around a dining table with county music star Aaron Tippin, who was invited, to visit and swap stories for the Dailey & Vincent project. The duo later joined the veterans at the table to perform the song “Unsung Heroes” in their honor as part of the video shoot.
Dailey, who co-wrote the song with country music stars Bill Anderson and former Statler Brother Jimmy Fortune, said it sends a powerful message. “We sat down and asked each other what we thought we would like to write about and Bill said I think we should write about the unsung heroes like the first responders and people who do things that are kind to other people. We call them the unsung heroes and that is what we wrote about,” said Dailey.
Vincent, who makes his home in DeKalb County, decided another fellow entertainer and DeKalb Countian should also be part of this project too. “Thinking of the veterans, we invited Aaron Tippin, a staunch supporter of the military. When Jamie wrote this song and we decided to do a video, I told him we can’t do this with Aaron. He was my first call and he said he would be glad to do it. I am so happy to have him here. Aaron has been part of this community for many years and I am so thankful he took time out of his busy schedule to be part of this video shoot with these gentlemen and to help us say thank you and pay homage to them for what they have done for the freedoms that we have. This is such a huge blessing and we are so thankful to Aaron and all of them,” said Vincent.
Local veterans to be featured in the Dailey & Vincent “Unsung Heroes” music video are Kenny Bly, Tommy Webb, Donald Gilbert, Paul Robinson, Jerry Lee Cantrell, Edward Frazier, Edsel Frazier, and Alan Stengel. The music video is expected to be released within the next couple of months.
Their newest album, “Patriots & Poets”, which features “Unsung Heroes” both builds and expands upon the previous releases of Dailey & Vincent, offering good hard-driving bluegrass alongside polished acoustic country tracks and it includes collaborations with Steve Martin, Doyle Lawson, TaRanda Greene, David Rawlings, and Bela Fleck.
Grand Ole Opry members, five-time GRAMMY award winners individually, three-time GRAMMY award nominees collectively, four-time DOVE Award winners, and winners of 35 IBMA Awards altogether (including 3-time IBMA Entertainer of the Year Award winners and 3-Time Vocal Group of the Year Award winners), Dailey & Vincent, backed by one of the best bands on tour today, are some of the most reputable and elite entertainers in American music; bluegrass, traditional country and gospel music. They have garnered world-wide attention with their first national, top-rated television series, “The Dailey & Vincent Show,” on RFD TV and over 500 airings of their PBS special “Dailey & Vincent ALIVE – In Concert.” Their CD, Dailey & Vincent ALIVE, debuted at #1 on the Billboard Bluegrass charts and remained at the top position for over 15 weeks.

Smithville Electric System is only weeks away from energizing its new substation.
The John Robert Nixon substation, named for the longest serving member of the Smithville Electric System Board of Directors, is located on just over five acres at 1239 South College Street.
While SES will continue to share the existing substation on West Main Street with TVA and Caney Fork Electric Cooperative, the new one will be solely for the use of Smithville Electric System.
“The work on the substation is actually complete. TVA has to do final testing on their meter and then we will be able to energize the transformer. This should be done within the next few days. We have some cosmetic work to finish on the property, landscaping, sod work and planting some trees. The replacing of the line down College Street is about 45 to 60 days behind schedule due partially to weather delays. The contractor plans on energizing part of the new line and start moving everything over from the old lines this week. We will be able to remove all the old poles once the transformers and equipment, including the cable TV and telephone lines, are moved to the new poles. SES plans on having a dedication ceremony in honor of Mr. Nixon but the date has not been set,” Richie Knowles, Interim SES Manager told WJLE.
The idea of building a second substation has been in the making for several years but the SES board began to put the plan in motion two years ago when it purchased the property on College Street after receiving approval from TVA to proceed.
According to Knowles, the new substation will provide the City of Smithville an alternate power source. “We will be able to supply power to the entire city from either substation. We can do maintenance work on the West Main Street substation without shutting off the power to the entire city,” he said.
The new substation will also be a plus for industrial recruitment to the city and lessen power outage concerns of industries already here. “Taking a city wide outage is very expensive for everyone involved. A planned outage cost to our industries alone is approximately $200,000 an hour. The new substation will help keep that from happening. It will also provide us a secondary feed for industries that might be looking at possibly coming to Smithville. That is usually their first question “do you have a dual feed”? Soon we’ll be able to say “yes we do”. Hopefully that will help attract new industry and help us keep the industry we have,” said Knowles.
Smithville Electric System is governed by a five member board of directors, appointed by the Mayor. In addition to Nixon, other current members of the board are Tony Hagan, Walter Burton, Hilton Conger and Smithville Mayor Jimmy Poss.
Nixon is in his 48th year as a member of the SES board, which was founded in 1969. Other original members of the board were, Bill Maffett, Dr. W.E. Vanatta, John Bill Evins, and Clarence Braswell. Nixon has just been reappointed to a new term on the SES board but has stepped down as chairman, a position he has held since the beginning.
In a recent interview with WJLE, Nixon reflected on the history of Smithville Electric System. “We started in May 1969. The City of Smithville issued utility service bonds to purchase the electric system for $450,000 from McMinnville Electric, which had been operating the system for 25 years. McMinnville Electric had bought it from Tennessee Electric in 1944. After Smithville Electric System was formed, the city appointed a board to make all the decisions for the electric utility,” he said.
Today, Smithville Electric System serves more than 2,500 metered customers, more than double the number in 1969.
Nixon said Smithville is fortunate to have its own electric utility with directors who have managed it so well over the years. “When we decided to build this new substation, we didn’t have to borrow the money or raise rates to do it. We already had the $3 million dollars needed to complete the project,” he said.
Born in the Cove Hollow area, Nixon grew up and was educated in DeKalb County. He started college in 1948 at MTSU in Murfreesboro. He married June Judkins in 1951 and was drafted later that year. After serving in the U.S. Army including a tour of duty in Korea, he returned home to his wife and a job offer.
“Jim Amonett approached me about going to work at the Chevrolet garage”, he said.
Nixon later joined Amonett as partner owners of the business which became known as Amonett-Nixon Chevrolet. Nixon sold his interest in the dealership and left in 1983 to take on a new role as Clerk and Master for the DeKalb County Chancery Court, after having been appointed by Chancellor Vernon Neal. He served in that position for sixteen years.
Nixon has two daughters, Gwen Tolbert and Sandra Wall; and a granddaughter Tara Tolbert. His wife June passed away in 2009.

A Smithville Police Officer received minor injuries in a traffic accident this morning (Monday) at the intersection of North Congress Boulevard and East Main Street.
Lieutenant Detective Matt Holmes was taken by DeKalb EMS to St. Thomas DeKalb Hospital where he was treated and released.
Trooper Ronnie Smith of the Tennessee Highway Patrol told WJLE that 22 year old Ethan Byford of Smithville was traveling north on Congress Boulevard in a 2004 Dodge pickup truck when he ran the red light and struck Holmes’ police car.
Lieutenant Detective Holmes was crossing Congress Boulevard from East Main Street heading west when his 2010 Ford Crown Victoria was struck in the side.
Byford was not injured but was cited for running the red light.