Seventy four students in the L.B.J. & C. Smithville Head Start Program received certificates during a graduation ceremony held Monday at the county complex auditorium.
Parents and other family members and friends turned out for the program which featured the children singing songs including ”Goodbye Friends” and dancing to the recording of “Happy”.
Students in each of the four classes wore graduation caps and came to the podium to receive their certificates as their names were called by the teachers.
Director Cathy Shehane read a graduation poem in honor of the students and presented a “Perfect Attendance” award to Jasmine Grace Gallegos for the 2016-17 school year.

The 20th annual Relay for Life to raise funds and awareness for the American Cancer Society will be Friday, May 5 at Green Brook Park in Smithville.
This year’s theme is “Relaying Southern Style”
The entertainment begins at 5:15 p.m. followed by the opening ceremony at 6:00 p.m. featuring personal testimonies from cancer survivors and then a Survivors’ Lap, during which those who have survived the struggle circle the track together to help everyone celebrate what has been achieved against cancer.
A Luminaria Ceremony begins at 9:00 p.m. to remember loved ones lost to cancer and to honor those who have battled the disease.
The schedule of events for the evening is as follows:
5:15 p.m.- Terry Hodges
5:35 p.m.- Kathy Goodwin
5:55 p.m.- Presentation of the colors by Boy Scout Troop #347
The National Anthem:
Invocation by Chris Moore, pastor of the Smithville Church of God
Welcome by Ivadell Randolph
Introduction of cancer survivors
Prayer for cancer survivors by Dwayne Cornelius, pastor of the New Life United Pentecostal Church
Song honoring cancer survivors by Don and Bonnie Rigsby
6:20 p.m.-Suzanne Slager
6:30 p.m.-Tina Boston
6:45 p.m.-DeKalb Middle School Beta Club Chorus
7:00 p.m.- David Turner & Friends
7:30 p.m.- Fluty and the Flutones
7:45 p.m.- Heritage from the Smithville First Assembly of God
8:00 p.m.- Elvis (Kevin Roberts) Salem Baptist Church
8:30 p.m.- Elizabeth Chapel Baptist Church Young Adults
8:45 p.m.- Smithville Church of God Praise Team
9:00 p.m.- Luminaria Ceremony
Prayer by Alex Woodward, preacher at the Gassaway Church of Christ
9:15 p.m.- Seth Willoughby
9:30 p.m. Zone Status
11:30 p.m.- Closing Ceremony
Midnight-Relay Ends

WJLE and participating sponsors are presenting a photo gallery of the DCHS Class of 2017 in May. You may now view it at www.wjle.com.
Graduation is set for Friday, May 26 at the DCHS football field.
Click on the link below or the box on the left side of the WJLE homepage to view the senior formals.http://wjle.com/graduation/2017/page1
Once you open the page, click each photo to view a larger image. The name of the senior you select is at the bottom of the photo. Or you may move your mouse over the photo to view the name.
There are 178 photos in the gallery divided up 30 photos to a page. Notice the box to the left in the photo gallery. After you view page 1 be sure to click the links for pages 2-6 to view the remaining photos. The names of seniors not pictured are also listed inside the box.
The WJLE photo gallery page is sponsored in May by Fast Pace Urgent Care Clinic, General Sessions and Juvenile Court Judge Bratten H. Cook, II, Assessor of Property Shannon Cantrell, Trustee Sean Driver, County Clerk James L. (Jimmy) Poss, County Mayor Tim Stribling, Saint Thomas DeKalb Hospital, Circuit Court Clerk Katherine Pack, DTC Communications, Arrow Termite & Pest Control, DeKalb Tire & Service, DeKalb Funeral Chapel, and Smithville Mayor Jimmy Poss.

A one vehicle crash claimed the life of a McMinnville man and seriously injured another from Hendersonville Saturday on Highway 70 east near the former VFW Club.
Dead is 45 year old Larry Jones of McMinnville. 33 year old Brandon Temple of Hendersonville was airlifted by Life Flight to Vanderbilt Hospital in Nashville.
Trooper Bobby Johnson of the Tennessee Highway Patrol told WJLE that Jones was driving east on Highway 70 in a 2001 Chevy Blazer when he failed to negotiate a curve and went off the right side of the road. The Blazer struck a wooden post and old VFW sign and then ran off a steep bluff into the hollow below. The vehicle overturned and came to rest on its top. Jones died at the scene.
Members of the DeKalb EMS, DeKalb County Volunteer Fire Department, Smithville-DeKalb County Rescue Squad, and DeKalb County Sheriff’s Department responded.
Because of the steep hillside, EMS and rescue volunteers used ropes to access the crash scene. The victims were removed from the passenger side of the vehicle, placed in stokes baskets, and brought back up to the top of the hill. The Life Flight helicopter ambulance landed in the parking lot of the old VFW Club and airlifted Temple to Vanderbilt Hospital. Jones’ body was taken by DeKalb EMS to Saint Thomas DeKalb Hospital.
(VIEW VIDEO OF VEHICLE AT THE BOTTOM OF THE HOLLOW OFF HIGHWAY 70 EAST NEAR OLD VFW CLUB LOCATION)

The crash remains under investigation by the Tennessee Highway Patrol.

Constable Mark Milam assisted in directing traffic.

The leader of the DeKalb County Democratic Party has been named Secretary of the Tennessee Democratic County Chairs Association, and re-elected Chairman of the 6th District County Chairs.
Jordan Wilkins was elected to the positions on Saturday, April 29 in Murfreesboro at the annual Statewide Conference.
The 6th district includes the following counties: Pickett, Fentress, Cumberland, White, DeKalb, Cannon, Coffee, Wilson, Smith, Jackson, Overton, Clay, Putnam, Trousdale, Macon, Sumner and Robertson counties.
“My goal is to make sure each county party is strong and active in their communities, spreading our message on what Democrats are doing to help make life better for all Americans. I plan to work closely with each county Chair to ensure that we have good candidates running up and down the ballot in 2018,” said Wilkins.
Meanwhile Wilkins recently met Virginia Senator Tim Kaine at a fundraising event in Nashville. Sen. Kaine was the 2016 Democratic Vice Presidential nominee.

April 23-29 was NHC Volunteer Week. A special luncheon was held on Friday, April 28, 2017, to honor all NHC Smithville volunteers and celebrate their important contribution to the patients of NHC Smithville. Representatives from churches, civic clubs, schools, and others were on hand to enjoy the lunch. Smithville resident Linda Davis was recognized as the Volunteer of the Year. Mrs. Davis has volunteered for over 7 years, giving generously of her time and talents.
“Volunteers are an important asset to any organization and we are blessed to have so many caring individuals involved at our center,” said Clint Hall, Administrator. “They are truly a part of the NHC Smithville family. The time, energy, care, compassion, talents, and genuine love they have for the patients and families are incredible.”
Those interested in volunteering at NHC Smithville are welcome to stop by during office hours (M-F, 8-5). For more information, please call Kayla Beth Adams at (615) 597-4284 or email kadams@nhcsmithville.com. All volunteers must pass a background check.
NHC Smithville offers inpatient and outpatient rehabilitative care and accepts Medicare, Medicaid, private insurance, workers compensation, managed care, and private funds. The inpatient healthcare center offers skilled nursing and rehabilitation services to adults of all ages on a short-term and continuing care basis. NHC Smithville’s outpatient clinic offers physical, occupational, and speech therapy services. For more information about NHC Smithville, visit www.nhcsmithville.com.

The DeKalb County Fair is honoring local veterans with a special exhibit for them on “Memory Lane” at the fairgrounds this year.
Organizers are seeking names, photos, and other military information of veterans now in preparation for this exhibit.
“The 2017 DeKalb County Fair, with help of the Liberty State Bank, will be adding a Veterans Exhibit on Memory Lane this year at the fair. We are asking everyone who knows a veteran to please send us your information,” said spokesperson Ria Baker.
“We’d love a copy of a picture with their name, branch of service and the years served. Past years to present, all men who served in wartime or keeping the peace.,” she said.
“This building will also have exhibits of any memorabilia we can get from different wars and lists of all the names we can verify through records and we have access to,” Baker added.
The Veterans Exhibit on Memory Lane will be open July 17-22 from 5:00 p.m. until 9:00 p.m. nightly during this year’s DeKalb County Fair.
You may contact Ria Baker at 615-529-2840 or leave your information and photo at any of the Liberty State Bank locations. Please don’t bring any pictures unless they are copies and be sure to put the name on the back.
“It’s a labor of honor and respect in progress and we hope to add to it yearly. Help us out by sharing your information and by coming by to see the building,” Baker concluded.

A local observance for the National Day of Prayer will be Thursday, May 4 at noon on the east side of the DeKalb County Courthouse.
Isaac Gray, minister at the Smithville Cumberland Presbyterian Church, said everyone is invited to attend the event which is non-denominational.
“I want to invite you to come and join us on Thursday, May 4 for the observance of the National Day of Prayer. On that day, our community will gather and pray for our nation, our state, our city, our communities, and our churches. It is a great privilege for God’s people to come together with the purpose of seeking His will and His ways. This event is not sponsored by any church organization. It is simply a gathering of God’s people with the purpose of seeking His face and His glory. We will have local pastors from Smithville and surrounding areas lead us in this time of prayer. We will gather at 12 noon on Thursday, May 4 on the east side of the DeKalb County Courthouse, facing Smithville City Hall. Our rain location is the basement of the courthouse at the same time on the same day. We hope to see you there as we seek God together,” said Gray.
The National Day of Prayer is an annual observance held on the first Thursday of May, inviting people of all faiths to pray for the nation. It was created in 1952 by a joint resolution of the United States Congress, and signed into law by President Harry S. Truman. The Task Force is a privately funded organization whose purpose is to encourage participation on the National Day of Prayer. It exists to communicate with every individual the need for personal repentance and prayer, to create appropriate materials, and to mobilize the Christian community to intercede for America’s leaders and its families. The Task Force represents a Judeo-Christian expression of the national observance, based on the understanding that this country was birthed in prayer and in reverence for the God of the Bible.

21 year old Jessica Ashley May, serving an eight year sentence for attempted aggravated child neglect stemming from the 2015 death of her 23 month old son, will have her first parole hearing next month.
Although May is a state prisoner, she is incarcerated at the Carroll County Jail and the parole hearing will be held there on Tuesday, May 23.
May stood before Judge Gary McKenzie in DeKalb County Criminal Court on Wednesday, December 7, 2016 and entered a plea to attempted aggravated child neglect, a Class B felony, and received an eight year sentence as a range I mitigated offender to serve at least 20% before parole eligibility. At the time May had already served 568 days since her arrest on May 19, 2015.
(VIDEO BELOW IS OF JESSICA MAY BEING ESCORTED OUT OF COURTHOUSE AFTER HER PLEA AND SENTENCING HEARING IN DECEMBER)

Less than a week before May’s plea, her fiance at the time, 25 year old Cody Key was handed a 45 year prison term for the beating death of May’s child, 23 month old Colten Alexander May after entering a plea in Putnam County Criminal Court to second degree murder. Key is to serve 100% of the sentence but he was given jail credit of 563 days for time served from May 19, 2015 to December 1, 2016.
Key is incarcerated at the South Central Correctional Center in Wayne County, a Tennessee Department of Correction facility.
The couple brought the child to the emergency room of Saint Thomas DeKalb Hospital on Sunday morning, May 17, 2015 but he was already dead. It was determined that the child had suffered internal and other physical injuries that resulted in his death. Law enforcement officers concluded that Key had severely beaten the child and that May knew the abuse was taking place.
“I will say that Jessica May was not involved in the killing of her child, Colten May. She was not an actor in that homicide. We did charge her with neglect because of a history of abuse of the child in which she either turned a blind eye to or did nothing about it. The abuser of the child was Cody Key but Jessica May did nothing to prevent the abuse that was inflicted on the child by Cody Key and she turned a blind eye to it over a period of time. In plain language that is the gist of the circumstances as to why she was charged with neglect,” District Attorney General Bryant Dunaway told WJLE after the hearing.
May, who was pregnant again at the time of her arrest in 2015, was later transferred to the custody of the Tennessee Department of Correction due to her special needs. After giving birth, she was initially incarcerated in the Warren County Jail. Her child was placed in the custody of the Department of Children Services and is reportedly now with May’s family members.