Purse Stolen from Car Near Post Office-Police Seek Tips in Solving the Crime

Smithville Police are asking for your help in solving a theft last Thursday, September 30th in which a purse was stolen from an automobile parked near the post office.

According to police, a woman reported that her purse had been stolen out of her car while she was in the Post Office. Witnesses saw a white female in her early 20's with black shoulder length hair run from the area and then stop on the north side of the Post Office by some bushes.

Lieutenant Steven Leffew searched the bushes and found the purse but missing were the victims credit card, cash, checkbook and a Peintex digital camera.

Anyone with information on this or any other offense is asked to contact the Smithville Police Department at 597-8210 or the Tip Line at 464-6046.

All information is confidential

Meanwhile in other city crime news, 27 year old Luis Lopes RaBananlos of Adcock Cemetery Road and 31 year old Leonel Sanchez Rodriguez of South Mountain Street were arrested on Saturday, September 25th and charged with simple possession and possession of drug paraphernalia. The arrests were made by Smithville Police Officers Matt Farmer and James Cornelius in the parking lot of Mapco Express. Officer Farmer saw RaBananlos come out of the store and he appeared to be unsteady on his feet as he got into his vehicle. Officer Farmer walked over to the vehicle and saw, in plain view, a pack of rolling papers. After obtaining consent to search the vehicle from the owner, Rodriguez, three marijuana roaches were found in the ashtray and one was confiscated from the back floor. Bond for each man is $2,000 and their court date is October 7th.

33 year old Brandy Mae Egerton of Big Hurricane Road was arrested by Officer James Cornelius on Sunday, September 26th for driving on a suspended license. Egerton was operating a motor vehicle which was stopped for a light violation. A computer check revealed that her license were suspended for failure to satisfy a citation. Bond for Egerton is $1,000 and her court date is October 7th.

46 year old Jerry Trent Haas of Streamer Drive was arrested by Officer James Cornelius on Sunday, September 26th for driving under the influence. Officer Cornelius was called to check out a complaint about a man sleeping behind the wheel of a truck in the Wal-Mart parking lot. Upon speaking with the driver, Haas, Officer Cornelius smelled a strong odor of an alcoholic beverage on his person and when he exited the vehicle, he was unsteady on his feet. Haas submitted to sobriety tasks but he performed poorly. Bond for Haas is $1,000 and his court date is October 7th.

34 year old Lynda Michelle Neville of Smith Road was arrested Monday, September 27th by Sergeant Joey Jones for simple possession and possession of drug paraphernalia. Sergeant Jones was called to check out a complaint about a careless driver on Wal-Mart Drive. As he walked up to the vehicle, Sergeant Jones smelled the odor of marijuana and a marijuana joint was in plain view on the console. Upon a search incident to arrest, Sergeant Jones found a cigarette box containing a pack of rolling papers, a plastic bag that contained marijuana and four marijuana roaches. Bond for Neville is $2,000.

47 year old Kenneth Wayne Vanatta of Snow Street was arrested by K-9 Officer Brad Tatrow on Tuesday, September 28th for domestic assault. Vanatta allegedly hit a family member several times in the face and head with his fist. Bond for Vanatta is $2,500 and his court date is October 6th.

19 year old Anthony Charles South of East Bryant Street was arrested by Detective Matt Holmes on Tuesday, September 28th for theft of property. On Friday, September 24th at City Walk Apartments a cell phone was taken from a vehicle. Three days later, on Monday, September 27th the phone was located by police at McDonald's restaurant. The person the phone was taken from stated that Anthony South gave the phone to him. South initially denied giving the phone to anyone but later admitted to police that he gave the phone away. Bond for South is $1,000 and his court date is October 7th.

21 year old Joshua Dewayne Dishman of McMinnville was cited by Officer David Phillips on Wednesday, September 29th for shoplifting. An employee of the Dollar Store saw Dishman take a pair of sunglasses. Dishman told Officer Phillips that the sunglasses were in his pocket. The court date for Dishman is October 28th.

36 year old Sharon Groshon Malone of South College Street was arrested by Officer Matt Farmer on Wednesday, September 29th for violation of probation, possession of a schedule II & IV controlled substance and possession of drug paraphernalia. Officer Farmer was at Malone's residence to serve a violation of probation warrant and during a search incident to arrest, a metal container was found in her left front pants pocket. Inside the container were four schedule II pills and one schedule IV pill. Six hypodermic needles were also found in the residence. Bond for Malone is $4,500 and her court date is October 21st.

DeKalb Health Department to Offer Flu Vaccine Friday

Seasonal influenza vaccine is now available at the DeKalb County Health Department. Flu vaccine will be offered on Friday, October 8th at the health department on Tiger Drive from 9:00 a.m. until 4:00 p.m.

Please call the health department at 597-7599 to find out the best time to get your flu vaccine.

Seasonal flu is a preventable illness that can be serious and even deadly. Each year, 5 to 20% of the country's population gets seasonal flu. Nationally, thousands of people die from influenza each year, most of them over age 65; however, the flu can cause serious illness for people of any age. The 2009 H1N1 flu strain is expected to come back again this season, and it can be especially hard on children and pregnant women. Last season during the H1N1 pandemic, 13 Tennessee children died of the flu.

The DeKalb County Health Department urges vaccination as the best way to protect yourself and your family from the flu. This year, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommend that everyone over the age of six months get a flu vaccination. There is no special pandemic vaccine this season; the 2010 seasonal flu vaccine includes protection against H1N1 flu, in addition to two other strains of seasonal flu expected to circulate this year. Even if you have already had the H1N1 vaccine, you should still get this year's flu vaccine to protect you from the other strains. Flu vaccine will be plentiful and is already available from many providers, including private physicians and pharmacies.

The cost of the flu shot is $32.00. The health department will bill traditional Medicare-the red, white, and blue card-for those with that coverage, but no Medicare Advantage Plans or private insurance will be billed for the shot.

To make an appointment for vaccination or ask questions about flu vaccine, call the DeKalb County Health Department at 597-7599.

Meanwhile. the Family Medical Center is administering flu shots at both locations, Smithville and Alexandria any day that the office is open, Monday through Saturday from 8:00 a.m. until close, which is usually at 5:00 p.m. No appointment is necessary. Flu shots are covered by most insurances, and the Family Medical Center will file those for the patients.

This year's flu shot contains not only the traditional A & B strains, but also H1N1. The Family Medical Center has plenty of vaccines for those ages 6 months and older. FluMist, the intra-nasal attenuated live vaccine for healthy individuals ages 2 to 49 is also available.

Patients may call either office with any additional questions – Family Medical Center – Smithville (615) 597-4395 or Alexandria Family Medical Center – (615) 529-2116.