The DeKalb County Election Commission has issued more qualifying petitions to potential candidates for the May 1, 2018 DeKalb County Democratic Primary
Those who have obtained petitions to date are as follows:
*Mike Foster-County Mayor
*Tim Stribling-County Mayor
*Bradley Hendrix-County Mayor
*Kevin Robinson-County Commissioner 7th District
*Nora Harvey-County Commissioner 2nd District
*Jack Barton-County Commissioner 3rd District
*Scott Little-County Commissioner 4th District
*Jeff Barnes-County Commissioner 6th District
*Betty Atnip-County Commissioner 6th District
*James L. (Jimmy) Poss-County Clerk
*Jimmy Sprague-Road Supervisor
*Jeff McMillen-Register of Deeds
*Nicole Wright-Circuit Court Clerk
*Mark Milam-Circuit Court Clerk
*Julie Young-County Commissioner 1st District
*Bobby R. Taylor-County Commissioner 4th District
Poss’ petition has been returned and (enough signatures) verified
In addition to Democrats County Clerk James L. “Jimmy” Poss, Road Supervisor candidate Jimmy Sprague, and Circuit Court Clerk candidates Nicole Wright and Mark Milam, Republicans who have made public announcements on WJLE of their intentions to run for election or re-election in 2018 are:
*Trustee Sean Driver
*Sheriff Patrick Ray
*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.

Smithville Elementary has recognized its Students of the Month for December. These students were selected for their outstanding character, academics, and other traits that make them an all-around excellent student. Selected as Students of the Month for December are:
PreK – Jolynn O’Connell
K – Ty’Yari Jackson
1st – Colten Harwell
2nd – Edward Crook

An Alexandria man has been arrested for breaking into an outbuilding and stealing a chainsaw and hedge trimmers.
(CLICK LINK BELOW TO VIEW MUG SHOTS OF PERSONS RECENTLY BOOKED AT THE DEKALB COUNTY JAIL- Intakes & Releases From: 12/04/2017 Thru: 12/11/2017)
Seagate Crystal Reports – REPOR_51.pdf (2.82 MB)
19 year old Barry Wayne Lewis, Jr. of Liberty Hill Road, Alexandria is charged with burglary, aggravated criminal trespassing, and theft of property under $1,000. His bond is $7,500 and he will make a court appearance January 4.
Sheriff Patrick Ray said that on Sunday November 26 Lewis allegedly broke into an outbuilding on Coon Branch Road and took a Stihl MS 180C chainsaw and a set of hedge trimmers valued at $330.
Lewis illegally came onto the grounds to commit the crimes while being under an active restraining order to keep off the property.
The case was investigated by a detective.
41 year old Chad Wilson Johnson of Greenwood Drive, Smithville is charged with possession of methamphetamine with intent to sell or deliver. He is under a $5,000 bond and his court date is December 21.
Sheriff Ray said that on November 5 a deputy went to a residence on Colvert Lake Road, Smithville to serve a warrant. While at the residence, the officer conducted a probation search and Johnson was found to have a small white container in his front pocket. Inside the container was a small clear baggie that held a crystal like substance which field tested positive for methamphetamine. It weighed 0.5 grams.
36 year old Chad Dwayne Cantrell of Old Bildad Road, Smithville is charged with filing a false report, theft of property, and criminal trespassing. His bond is $12,000 and he will make a court appearance on December 21.
Sheriff Ray said that on October 14, Cantrell trespassed on the victim’s property on Potts Camp Road, Smithville and took a Hallmark Dual Axle Cargo Trailer from the residence. The total value of the trailer is $5,000.
Cantrell was then charged with making a false statement on Friday, December 1 after lying to a detective during a criminal investigation in the case.

A 20 year old man is facing a charge of aggravated arson after he participated in firing a flare gun into a home while a woman and minor were inside the residence. There were apparently no injuries.
20 year old Daniel Lewis Dillard of Lee Braswell Road, Smithville is under a bond of more than one million dollars for the Class A offense of aggravated arson. He is also charged with resisting stop, frisk, halt, or search. Dillard was already on probation for a separate offense at the time of the incident. He will make a court appearance on January 4.
Sheriff Patrick Ray said that on Monday, December 4, Dillard did knowingly and recklessly partake in the shooting of a flare gun into a residence on Lee Braswell Road causing damage to the house and some of the furnishings. A female and juvenile were present in the home at the time of the offense.
Five days later while being taken into custody, Dillard tried to resist officers’ efforts in placing him under arrest. The case was investigated by a detective.
29 year old Brandon Chase Belcher of Kendra Drive, Smithville is charged with vandalism. His bond is $5,000 and he will be in court on January 4.
Sheriff Ray said that on November 9 Belcher was at a residence on Coconut Ridge Road and he spun gravel into the victim’s truck as he drove away causing $1,246 in damage to the vehicle. The case was investigated by a detective.
32 year old Vanessa Nicole Freeman of Sims Street, Dowelltown is charged with disorderly conduct. Her bond is $1,500 and her court date is January 4.
Sheriff Ray said that on Saturday, December 9 a deputy was dispatched to a residence on Floyd Drive, Smithville for a possible domestic. Freeman was outside the home screaming and cursing after being ordered several times to stop. Freeman was then placed under arrest.
48 year old Timothy Shawn Roller of Foster Road, McMinnville is charged with driving under the influence. Roller’s bond is $1,500 and his court date is January 4.
Sheriff Ray said that on Sunday, December 10 a deputy spotted a silver Chevy truck failing to maintain its lane of travel on Evins Mill Road in Smithville. The officer stopped the truck and spoke with the driver, Roller whose speech was slurred and he had an odor of alcohol about his person. Roller submitted to but performed poorly on field sobriety tasks.
48 year old Jimmy Dwight Underhill of Rolling Acres Road, Smithville is charged with domestic assault. He is under a $2,000 bond and his court date is January 4.
Sheriff Ray said that on Sunday, December 10 a deputy was dispatched to a residence on Rolling Acres Road due to a physical domestic and spoke with a woman who said that she and her ex-husband (Underhill) who still lived together had gotten into an argument over his drinking alcohol. According to the woman, she ordered Underhill to leave the home but he refused telling her she was the one who was going to leave. Underhill then kicked her in the back of the leg while wearing his cowboy boots which left a mark on the back of her left leg.
50 year old Jeffery Lee Johnson of Pack Circle, Smithville is charged with driving under the influence. His bond is $1,500 and his court date is January 4.
Sheriff Ray said that on Monday, December 11 a deputy was patrolling on Lakeside Drive when he spotted a vehicle setting in the eastbound right lane with its lights off. The officer stopped and spoke with the driver, Johnson who appeared to be jittery. The deputy detected an odor of alcohol coming from inside the vehicle. Johnson’s eyes were glassy and red and his pupils dilated. He performed poorly on field sobriety tasks and refused to submit to implied consent. A search warrant was obtained for a sample of his blood for testing.
48 year old Michael James Culver of Sparta is charged with public intoxication. His bond is $1,500 and his court date is December 21.
Sheriff Ray said that on Saturday, December 2 a deputy responded to Highway 56 south near DeKalb Memorial Gardens due to a report of a suspicious man walking down the road and acting erratically. The officer spotted the man, Culver walking into lanes of travel on the busy highway. He was unsteady on his feet. He couldn’t tell the officer where he was at and his speech was slurred. After determining Culver was under the influence of an intoxicant, the deputy placed him under arrest for his safety and that of the public.
30 year old Travis Dewayne Hawkins of McMinnville is charged with driving under the influence. His bond is $1,500 and Hawkins will make a court appearance on December 21.
According to Sheriff Ray, a deputy received a call on Tuesday, December 5 about a black Chrysler Sebring JX convertible traveling inbound toward Smithville from Sparta. The driver of the car was reported to have been involved in an aggravated assault in White County. The officer spotted the vehicle and pulled it over. The driver, Hawkins had a strong odor of alcohol coming from his person, and his speech was slurred. Hawkins told the officer that he had taken Percocet and Gabapentin before driving and had consumed some Fireball whiskey. A half filled bottle of whiskey was found in the car. Hawkins submitted to but performed poorly on field sobriety tasks.
52 year old Ronald Jeffrey Patterson of Patterson Road, Smithville is charged with violation of bond conditions. His bond is $25,000 and his court date is January 11.
Sheriff Ray said that on Sunday, December 3 Patterson was found to have violated bond conditions put in place to protect a woman (victim) by contacting her. She was a victim in an aggravated assault case. Patterson was also found to have an alcoholic beverage in his possession, which is also a violation of his bond conditions.

Recognizing an opioid overdose and knowing what to do to help save a life is not just for law enforcement officers and emergency responders.
The DeKalb Prevention Coalition is giving them and anyone else who wants to learn an opportunity to get the training needed to recognize and respond to an opioid overdose including administering Naloxone or Narcan to reverse the overdose.
The FREE training will be on Tuesday, December 19 in the History Room of the Mike Foster County Complex from 12-1pm. (Enter through the “Mike Foster” entrance to the building, turn to your right and the room is on the left). All attendees will receive FREE training in the use of Naloxone and a free Naloxone rescue kit (if available). This is open to anyone who wants to attend. The instructors will be Suzanne and Tommy Angel, Regional Overdose Prevention Specialists. Please call or email to reserve your seat.
Naloxone is a safe nasal spray medication that reverses opioid overdoses caused by narcotics like codeine, morphine, fentanyl, and heroin. This training can save the life of a loved one, friend, co-worker, neighbor or anyone using prescription painkillers or heroin who are found to be unconscious, unresponsive, possibly with blue lips and blue finger nails, and there could be signs of drug use around them such as needles or empty pill bottles.
Lisa Cripps, who is the Coordinator of the DeKalb Prevention Coalition, said this training would be helpful to anyone, especially people who have regular contact with the public.
“With the introduction of fentanyl, a synthetic opioid pain reliever that is 50 times more powerful than heroin with a fatal dose only being the size of a few grains of sand, we are thankful to offer our community a training with the medication called “Naloxone”, which is extremely affective medication that can stop opioid overdoses and can actually save lives,” she said.
“We already have our law enforcement trained and some of our first responders and now we want to offer that to the community. You might ask “who should get Naloxone training and have Naloxone on hand”? Certainly people who have overdosed before; people who are injecting drug users; pain patients; family or friends who are associated with active users; business workers who frequent homes to do work such as electricians, cable tv workers etc.; any first responders to wrecks, house fires, rescue workers, etc; and simply just if you want to be safe and have that Naloxone with you in case you need it at any point in time,” said Cripps.
If you are interested in attending this training please leave a message by contacting Lisa Cripps, Prevention Coordinator, at 615-580-9290 (text or voice message) or send a message to the Facebook page at www.facebook.com/DeKalbPreventionCoalition to reserve your seat. You may also send an email at dekalbtnprevention@gmail.com.
“Remember there is always hope for recovery for someone living but certainly not someone dead. Naloxone can save lives,” said Cripps.

Former DeKalb County High School pitching standout Steven Jennings’ first Major League Baseball card is now available.
The Bowman Company’s latest Draft product features Jennings on an insert card called “Recommended Viewing,” a two-player card that pairs up prospects from the same franchise.
Several copies have already appeared on ebay.
2017 Bowman Draft boxes are available at hobby shops and certain retail outlets.
Drafted this summer in the 2nd round by the Pittsburg Pirates, Jennings appears along with the player the team drafted in the first round, Shane Baz. The card has 4 parallel versions-refractors, gold refractors numbered to 50 copies, red refractors numbered to only 5 copies and a superfractor which is a one-of-a-kind card.
After being drafted, Jennings was assigned to the Pirates Gulf Coast League affiliate. According to rumbunter.com, a Pirate internet fan site, Jennings made 10 starts and compiled 26.1 innings. He had an earned run average (ERA) of 4.10 while striking out 13 batters and walking 10. While his strikeouts per nine innings rate was low at 4.44, he had an impressive groundball rate of 55.6 percent. Opponents batted only .281 off him which gave him a WHIP average of 1.56.
The website said “Jennings will most likely play in Short-Season A ball next season. He will likely make about 10 starts in Bristol and the Pirates will likely try to keep his innings limited in his second professional season.”
The website also said “The expectations are very high for him going forward. MLB Pipeline has him ranked as the Pirates number 10 overall prospect.”

A fire early this morning (Monday) destroyed an outbuilding and caused some damage to the residence of Buck Mooneyham at 710 Snow Street.
911 received the call at 2:15 a.m. and dispatched city police and firefighters. DeKalb EMS also responded.
According to Smithville Fire Chief Charlie Parker, a police officer was first on the scene and awoke Mooneyham, who had been asleep when the fire started. Mooneyham was not injured.
Smithville firefighters arrived to find flames protruding from the roof of the outbuilding behind Mooneyham’s home. The fire had also spread to the back porch and rear exterior of the house. Heat from the flames melted blinds on windows inside the residence.
Chief Parker said firefighters believe the blaze started from a propane heater inside the outbuilding that had been left on overnight.