Grand Jury Issues Brief Report on County JailMembers of the Grand Jury toured the DeKalb County Jail this week and issued a brief report. The report, signed by all members of the Grand Jury, states that " As a body, we, the grand jury, feel as though that the DeKalb County Jail was found to meet the standards set forth by the state, as well as provided adequate treatment for sick or injured inmates, and they ensure the safety and comfort of all inmates." |
2nd Annual Education Celebration A SuccessThe 2nd Annual Education Celebration held Monday night in downtown Smithville was a huge success. A large crowd of students and parents came out to receive free school supplies and meet the faculty and staff of their school. All five DeKalb County schools were represented by faculty and each school’s PTO had a booth providing parents information on how they could be part of their schools PTO. There were many other clubs and organizations on hand giving out supplies and information as well. Director of Schools Mark Willoughby was part of the opening ceremony along with State of Tennessee Department of Health Commissioner Susan Cooper. Ms. Cooper and her staff provided a booth called “GetFitTN” which gave away sun block kits, pedometers and information on living a healthy lifestyle. Read the rest of this article |
More than 60 Indicted by Grand JuryMore than 60 people were indicted by the August term of the DeKalb County Grand Jury this week including four named in sealed indictments. All those indicted will appear for arraignment in DeKalb County Criminal Court on August 20th at 9:00 a.m. Defendants and their charges are as follows: Bobbie Lisa Andrews- Driving under the Influence, Violation of the implied consent law, and public intoxication. Troy E. Bain- Simple possession of a schedule III controlled substance and possession of a prohibited weapon Terry R. Barnes- Contributing to the unruly behavior of a minor Gary Gilmore Britt and Sammy Gene Taylor- Possession of a schedule II controlled substance for sale and delivery, possession of paraphernalia, and simple possession of a schedule II controlled substance. James David Cargill- Theft over $1,000 Kathyerine Michelle Carr- Sale of a counterfeit schedule II controlled substance and possession of paraphernalia. Read the rest of this article |
DCHS Listed as "High Priority" School In State's Annual Progress ReportThe Tennessee Department of Education released its annual progress report this week listing which Tennessee schools and school systems met performance standards for the 2006-07 school year. In accordance with No Child Left Behind, the DeKalb County School System is listed as "Good Standing" as it met necessary benchmarks for the 2006-2007 school year. According to Supervisor of Instruction Dr. Carol Hendrix, "DeKalb West School, Northside Elementary and Smithville Elementary are all listed as "Good Standing" as they met all No Child Left Behind benchmarks for the 2006-2007 school year in 37 categories. DeKalb Middle School met all benchmarks for the 2006-2007 school year except for the category of "Students with Disabilities". Read the rest of this article |
Taylor Gets Eleven Year Prison Sentence For Aggravated Sexual BatteryJudge Leon Burns, Jr. handed down sentences to several people in DeKalb County Criminal Court Monday. 60 year old Ceylon Taylor entered a best interest plea to a charge of aggravated sexual battery and was sentenced to 11 years to serve in prison. He must abide by all sex offender requirements. He was given jail credit of seventeen months. 21 year old Johnnie L.Mitchell pleaded guilty to statutory rape and was sentenced to two years to serve. He must perform 100 hours of community service work . He will not be on the sexual offender registry, under terms of his plea agreement. Mitchell's case will run concurrently with a theft conviction for which he is facing three years in Putnam County. Read the rest of this article |
Many Community Supporters Rally Around Chief Stufano- Aldermen Fail to Override Mayoral VetoMany community supporters of Smithville Police Chief Tom Stufano rallied to his defense during Monday night's meeting of the Board of Mayor and Aldermen The city board also failed to override a mayoral veto of the council's decision three weeks ago to place Chief Stufano on administrative leave with pay. Mayor Taft Hendrixson, at the very beginning of the meeting Monday night, called for a vote on the override. A "yes" vote was for the veto to be upheld. A "no" vote was for the veto to be overridden. Aldermen Willie Thomas and Jerry Hutchins' Sr. voted "no" and Aldermen Steve White and Cecil Burger voted "yes". Alderman Tonya Sullivan "passed" saying "I had several concerns. I've worked with Mr (John) Pryor (city attorney) to try to come to some conclusion on that. I'm still a little undecided so I'm going to pass. I still have some concerns." Read the rest of this article |
Two Charged with Violation of Sex Offender LawThe DeKalb County Sheriff's Department is one of the agencies responsible for the reporting of Sex Offenders. Sheriff Patrick Ray says the Sheriff's Department does frequent checks on offenders to make sure they live at the address they have listed. Sex Offender's must report in person once within 7 days of their date of birth to the Sheriff's Department or their reporting agency. Offenders must also report anytime they change their address, employment, and/or school within a 48 hour time period. During the last few weeks, the Sheriff's Department has charged the following people. 30 year old Billy Jason Lackey of Pine Orchard was charged on July 31st with violation of the sex offender law where he changed his address and failed to report it. 29 year old James Allen Hesson was charged with violation of the sex offender law on July 31st where he changed his address and failed to report it. More arrests are pending. Read the rest of this article |
Thunderstorm Causes Widespread Power Outage and Problems for Central DispatchA severe thunderstorm with high winds, heavy rains, and lightning rumbled over parts of DeKalb County Saturday afternoon causing some damage with downed tree limbs and a widespread power outage. Read the rest of this article |
Saturday Fires Cause Extensive DamageFires destroyed one home and caused extensive damage to another residence as well as a pickup truck Saturday. County Fire Chief Donny Green says the first fire occurred around noon at the mobile home of Gary Hawkins at 6125 Lancaster Road. Hawkins claims he was connecting a 100 pound propane tank, when flammable gases from the leaking tank ignited, causing the mobile home to catch on fire along with a fiberglass camper shell on his pickup truck. Read the rest of this article |
Smithville Police Arrest Man for Indecent ExposureSmithville Police Detectives have arrested 66 year old Jimmy Arnold of 6886 Short Mountain Road, Smithville for Indecent Exposure. Chief Tom Stufano says the victim reported this week that a man approached her and her infant child at Greenbrook Park and exposed his privates to her. The victim screamed and told the man, now identified as Arnold, that she was calling the police. The man left the scene in his vehicle just prior to police arrival. Detectives assigned to the case were able to establish an identity of the man and found that Arnold was responsible for the crime. Further investigation disclosed that Arnold had been a custodian for the DeKalb School system and allegedly had participated in this type of activity before. Arnold was arrested and transported to the DeKalb County Jail. His bond is $1,000. Read the rest of this article |
