Talented DCHS Football Cheerleader Allyson Fuller Signs with Tennessee Tech

May 14, 2024
By: Dwayne Page

Something to cheer about!

Family and friends of DCHS football cheerleader Allyson Fuller gathered at DCHS Monday to celebrate her signing with Tennessee Tech University where she will be joining the Golden Eagles’ cheerleading team next season. Sydney Hickerson, Tech’s head coach of cheer and dance was also on hand for the signing.

Fuller, an outstanding high school student and cheerleader, graduated last Friday night from DeKalb County High School and will be furthering her education at Tech toward a career path in nursing. She is the daughter of Anthony and Amanda Fuller.

“I am super excited. Cheerleading in college is something I have always wanted to do,” said Ally. “I like the atmosphere of Tech. I have gone and watched them cheer at their games so many times. They are amazing. Their team is amazing. They are like a family there and Tech is not far from home so its perfect for me,” she said.

Although Fuller has had cheerleading success at the high school level she still had to prove herself to Tech.

“I had to try out,” said Ally. “They saw me in every aspect of cheer and everything that I could do. They picked me out of around 60 girls that tried out so it’s a really big honor. Its definitely a higher level but it will be really fun to do,” she added.

Fuller received the 2023 DCHS Most Valuable Football Cheerleader Award during the team banquet in January. Ally’s mother Amanda, who has been the DCHS football cheer coach, said she could not be prouder of her talented daughter.

“Having my daughter be a college cheerleader is amazing,” said Amanda. “It’s a goal Ally has had for a long time. Only two percent of the people actually get to cheer in college so that in itself is a great accomplishment. As a mom watching her go off to college is difficult to deal with but its also exciting because she is going to further her education, her skills as a cheerleader, and she will have a lot of opportunities”, she said.

In announcing her MVC award at the team banquet four months ago, Coach Fuller talked about Ally’s lifelong love for cheerleading.

“She has been around the DCHS football cheerleading program her entire life. She has been cheering since she was six years old. Ally has genuine crowd appeal and makes it all look natural and easy. She has participated in gymnastics and competition cheer, and now works as a tumbling instructor at Infinity Athletics, She has been an NCA All-American nominee every year in high school and she made the All-American team last year. She has looked up to so many amazing cheerleaders over the years and now she has become the one that many young people look up to. She is so very precious to me. She makes me proud every day,” said Coach Fuller.

Coach Hickerson said she is excited about Ally joining her program.

“Ally is a really hard worker and learns very fast. She is versatile and can play a lot of different roles, anything that the team would need. She has a great game day presence,” said Coach Hickerson.

“Ally will cheer for all home football games, then we split up and rotate squads for our basketball season, just because there are so many home games. We will travel to the Ohio Valley Conference Tournament and then if we go to March Madness, the NCAA Tournament we will travel to that as well. Last year our men’s and women’s basketball teams made it to the championship game of the OVC conference tournament and our women’s team actually won the conference, so we got to go cheer at two NCAA games which was amazing. Ally has a lot of really neat things to look forward to,” Coach Hickerson explained.

“Tennessee Tech Cheer and Dance is actually under athletics so Ally will receive all the same perks and priorities as the football, basketball, and baseball players. She will have a strength and conditioning coach, academic advisor for athletes, athletic trainer, and nutritionist,” said Coach Hickerson.

“We compete in the small co-ed game day division at the Universal Cheer Association (UCA College Nationals) in Orlando Florida. Its tough competition and very rigorous. A lot of training goes on in the fall and over Christmas break, so our teams make a lot of sacrifices to go and perform at nationals. We love doing it and we’re 4th in the nation so we are really proud of that. Next year I am looking forward to hopefully hitting that top three or top one spot,” said Coach Hickerson.

May 13, 2024
By: Dwayne Page

The first pitch of Monday evening’s Region Softball Tournament game between the DCHS Tigerettes and Marshall County in Smithville, was thrown by a young child recently diagnosed with leukemia.

Five-year-old Carrigan Cox is the daughter of Brandon and Whitney Cox of Smithville. Accompanied on the field by her parents and siblings, Carrigan’s pitch to the catcher prior to the game was met with rousing cheers and applause from the fans.

To show their support for Carrigan, who is now undergoing treatment, the Tigerettes all wore orange ribbons during the game.

Carrigan’s siblings are 13-year-old Cora, 9-year-old Clara, and Callahan, age 4.

Her father Brandon is the DeKalb County General Sessions and Juvenile Court Judge.

The Tigerettes went on to win the game 10-0 in four innings

May 13, 2024
By: Dwayne Page

A Dowelltown man who allegedly fled the scene of a recent personal injury auto accident on foot before later being arrested will make a court appearance Thursday, May 16.

48-year-old Ryder Lee Miller of Mill Hill Road is charged with evading arrest and leaving the scene of an accident.

Smithville Police Chief Mark Collins said that on May 1 police were summoned to a vehicle accident with injuries on Highway 56 North and Allen’s Ferry Road. Upon arrival, the officer learned from witnesses that the driver of a vehicle involved in the crash, Miller had fled on foot into the woods behind Village Market. After a lengthy search Miller was located and arrested. His bond is $10,000 and he will make a court appearance on May 16. The Tennessee Highway Patrol was called to investigate the accident.

27-year-old Nahum Gaspar of Wade Street is charged with two counts of domestic assault, aggravated assault, and resisting arrest. Chief Collins said that on May 12 police were dispatched to the Gaspar residence due to a physical domestic in progress. Upon arrival officers found Gaspar to be irate and violent and they learned that he had assaulted his girlfriend by allegedly pulling her hair and trying to strangle her. Gaspar then allegedly assaulted his girlfriend’s parents by hitting and kicking them. According to police, Gaspar refused to cooperate, and they had to forcefully gain control over him. Bond for Gaspar is $17,000 and his court date is May 30.

27-year-old Rebecca Hope Thomas of Foster Road is cited for theft. Chief Collins said that on April 23 police were summoned to Mapco Express due to a possible theft. After an investigation and a review of video from the store, officers determined that Thomas took items from the store without paying for them. She was subsequently located and issued a citation.

34-year-old Jonathan Daryl Lawson of Big Hill Road, Liberty is cited with simple possession of a schedule VI drug, possession of drug paraphernalia, and failure to maintain lane of travel. Chief Collins said that on April 24 while patrolling, an officer spotted a vehicle swerve into the wrong lane of travel. He pulled over the automobile and detected a strong odor of marijuana. A subsequent search of the vehicle turned up a small bag of a green leafy substance believed to be marijuana along with a set of scales containing a white powdery substance that the driver, Lawson claimed was cocaine. Lawson’s court date is May 22.

43-year-old Christie Dawn Bouldin is charged with public intoxication. According to Chief Collins, police were called to a residence on Wade Street where a woman, Bouldin was found on the front porch. She apparently did not reside there. Bouldin was believed to be in a state of confusion and showed signs of euphoria. She was placed in custody for public intoxication and issued a no trespass order to keep away from the property. Her bond was set at $2,500 and she is to appear in court on May 16.

69-year-old Charles Edward Kirby of McMinnville is charged with driving on a revoked license. Chief Collins said that on April 28 an officer was notified of a reckless driver coming into Smithville and he pulled him over in the parking lot of Walmart/Verizon. While speaking with the driver, Kirby the officer learned and then confirmed through a background check, that Kirby had a restricted license with an interlock device, but no such device was found in Kirby’s automobile. Kirby was then issued a citation for driving on a revoked license. About 45 minutes after calling someone to pick him up, Kirby was observed by police driving out of the parking lot in his vehicle. He was stopped again and charged with driving on a revoked license. His bond is $3,500 and he will be in court on the charge May 16.

64-year-old David Haskell Pippin of Sparta is charged with simple possession. According to Chief Collins, while on patrol April 27, police spotted a vehicle which was stopped in the middle of the road on East Broad Street. The officer pulled over and spoke with the driver, Pippin. During the conversation police detected a strong odor of marijuana coming from Pippin and his vehicle. A subsequent search of the automobile turned up from a sunglasses case, a plastic baggie containing 14 yellow pills believed to be Gabapentin for which Pippin had no prescription.

65-year-old Robin Wayne Reyes of Meadowbrook Drive is charged with assault. Chief Collins said that on April 29 Reyes was arrested for allegedly kissing an 11-year-old girl inappropriately several times on the head without the consent of the child or parents. Bond for Reyes is $10,000 and his court date is May 16.

55-year-old Stephen Grant Ashburn is charged with driving under the influence, possession of a handgun while under the influence, resisting arrest, and evading arrest. He was also cited for expired registration and failure to maintain lane of travel. According to Chief Collins, an officer while on patrol observed a vehicle, driven by Ashburn cross the center line of the highway several times. The officer activated his emergency lights signaling for the vehicle to pull over, but it continued traveling for another mile before stopping. After failing to comply with police instructions to exit the automobile, Ashburn was removed from the automobile but, according to police, he still failed to obey officer requests to show his hands although he was subsequently handcuffed. Police said Ashburn smelled of alcohol, his eyes were red and watery, and his speech was slurred. Ashburn submitted to but was unable to perform field sobriety tasks. Police also secured a warrant to obtain a blood sample from Ashburn. During a search of Ashburn’s vehicle, police found directly above the driver’s seat a loaded handgun. Also recovered were two empty bottles of liquor. Bond for Ashburn is $17,000 and his court date is May 23.