Alexandria Man Facing Assault Charges and Other Offenses

May 6, 2025
By: Dwayne Page

An Alexandria man making hand gestures mimicking the firing of a gun after a dispute with a man and woman is facing assault charges.

49-year-old Michael Dwayne Bennett of Fuston Hollow Road Alexandria is charged with resisting arrest, driving on a revoked license, and assault (2 counts). His bond totals $17,000.

Sheriff Patrick Ray said that on April 23 a detective pulled over Bennett for driving on a revoked license. A background checked through central dispatch confirmed the offense. When told by the detective he was being arrested for DRL, Bennett became angry, refused to obey verbal commands, and pulled away when the detective grabbed his arm. After a brief struggle Bennett was placed in custody.

On the assault charges, Bennett was allegedly observed prowling around a residence and when confronted on a public roadway by both a man and woman, an altercation ensued between them and Bennett made a hand gesture toward them mimicking the firing of a gun causing the man and woman to fear imminent bodily injury.

35-year-old Debra Denise Waldo of Miller Road, Smithville is charged with driving on a revoked license and criminal impersonation. Her bond is $7,500 and she will be in court May 15.

Sheriff Ray said that on April 29 a detective was patrolling Evins Mill Road when he noticed a black Ford F150 traveling in the opposite lane. The detective pulled over the vehicle and spoke with the driver, a woman who identified herself as Candice Stajda and she gave her date of birth as September 18, 2000, A background check of the license through central dispatch revealed no record of that name. The woman was determined to actually be Waldo after a further investigation. Waldo lied about her name knowing she was wanted in both White and DeKalb County and for a revoked license offense. A background check on Waldo revealed that her license was revoked due to a DUI in Bradley County with a revocation date of September 1, 2015.

31-year-old Gerardo Morales of Blue Springs Road, Smithville is charged with domestic assault. His bond is $3,500 and he will be in court May 8.

Sheriff Ray said that on April 20 a deputy was summoned to Blue Springs Road due to a domestic abuse complaint. Upon arrival the officer spoke with a woman and her daughter. According to the woman, Morales and her daughter had gotten into an argument and she slapped Morales’ arm to get him away from her daughter. Morales then hit her (mother) on the left side of the face causing swelling and bruising. Statements were taken from both women and Morales was placed in custody.

May 6, 2025
By: Dwayne Page

For the second time within a week, the county commission has revised a medical examiner policy regarding how medical death investigators (MDIs) from the ambulance service are to be paid on death calls.

Under the new policy, as adopted by the county commission during Monday night’s special called meeting, four members of DeKalb EMS (EMTs & EMT-IVs) serving as MDIs will receive incentive pay for responding to death calls. One EMS employee will be designated as the “lead MDI” paid an extra $1.00 per hour on his hourly rate while the other three MDIs will get an additional 75 cents per hour. The idea is to have people from different EMS shifts to serve in the role. Qualified non-county (1099 contracted) employees could be called upon to serve for $100 per decedent if EMS MDIs are not available. In recent years, the county has recorded up to 75 death calls per year.

The new policy states in part, “There shall be three regular MDIs and one lead MDI appointed by the Medical Examiner, EMS Director, and County Mayor from the ambulance service. These four individuals will be on a performance-based term of six months to participate as an MDI. An MDI is encouraged to participate within a six-month period. If an MDI has not participated in a six-month period or their performance has been considered less than the desired performance, the Medical Death Investigator can be replaced by request of the Medical Examiner after or during the six-month period. If the four MDIs are unable to take a call, qualified non-county employees may be used paid at a rate of $100 per decedent”.

Commissioners voting for the new policy were Tom Chandler, Daniel Cripps, Sabrina Farler, Myron Rhody, Tony Luna, Greg Matthews, Larry Green, Glynn Merriman, Andy Pack, Beth Pafford, and Mathias Anderson. Commissioners voting against it were Brandon Donnell and Jeff Barnes. Commissioner Tony (Cully) Culwell was absent.

Commissioner Tom Chandler said by offering this incentive pay, MDIs would answer death calls at any time as part of their regular salary. “Roughly ballpark, this policy at a dollar an hour (extra incentive) would give that lead MDI about $2,100 of extra money a year whether they did any death investigations at all. And it doesn’t matter when they went (called out) whether its 3 o’clock in the morning or 5 o’clock in the afternoon. They are getting paid to do death investigations. Their compensation for doing death investigations came as part of their salary,” said Commissioner Chandler.

Commissioner Greg Matthews raised a concern that with this policy, hourly EMS employees serving as MDIs under certain conditions might still earn overtime pay. “If they (MDIs) work their full (EMS) shift and get their full money (salary) and then they answer four (MDI) calls then all four of those calls is overtime and those hours are not figured into this money (incentive pay). We are basing this on an hourly salary based on their regular hours,” said Commissioner Matthews.

“They will get paid when they go out on a call so it could accumulate overtime,” said County Mayor Matt Adcock.

EMS Director Trent Phipps explained to the commission that EMS is trying to avoid tying up an ambulance on an MDI death call.

“On Friday when he (MDI) was on an ambulance call in Murfreesboro and the only other person that was currently being allowed to do it (MDI) was also on an ambulance and answered a call that was way above her training because it was only the second or third one, she had ever done. She was tying up an emergency ambulance trying to sort out a problem. We’re trying to make that not happen,” said Director Phipps.

The commission rejected an earlier proposal 9-3 during the meeting to pay the lead MDI an extra 75 cents per hour and 50 cents per hour more to the three other MDIs and to add four hours of overtime each.

Commissioners voting for that motion were Larry Green, Brandon Donnell, and Sabrina Farler.

Commissioners voting against were Tom Chandler, Daniel Cripps, Myron Rhody, Tony Luna, Greg Matthews, Glynn Merriman, Andy Pack, Jeff Barnes, and Beth Pafford.

During a county commission workshop on April 24, the policy as proposed at that time was to pay medical death investigators four hours (overtime per call) at an hourly rate based off their ambulance service salary. But during the regular monthly meeting Monday night, April 28 the proposed policy, as adopted by the county commission was changed at that time from four hours to eight hours (overtime) that medical death investigators were to be paid. That policy, as adopted by the county commission on April 28, came under fire from Sheriff Patrick Ray who argued that the policy didn’t provide a level playing field between the on-call MDIs and his own on call employees who often have to spend a much longer period of time at a death scene and are not guaranteed eight hours of overtime. The sheriff’s opposition prompted the special called meeting Monday night.

The new policy in its entirety as adopted by the county commission Monday night, May 5 states as follows:

“The DeKalb County Medical Examiner will be appointed by the County Mayor with confirmation by the DeKalb County Commission. The DeKalb County Medical Examiner will serve five-year terms without term limits. The Medical Examiner will serve as the Medical Examiner and Medical Director of the DeKalb County ambulance service serving in the role responsible for death certificates, cremation certificates, ambulance service medical protocols, and any other task even by the County Mayor or County Commission that is pertinent to the Office of Medical Examiner or Medical Director. This policy is to adhere to all provisions set by statute T.C.A. § 38-7-104.”

“The Medical Examiner will be compensated at $100 per decedent. Deputy Medical Examiners or Medical Death Investigators, furthermore, regarded as MDI’s, shall be compensated 75 cents extra to their ambulance service salary as an incentive for conducting medical death investigations. The “Lead MDI” shall make an extra one dollar on their EMS salary to be the lead MDI. This one dollar is not in addition to the 75 cents that a regular MDI would make. There shall be three regular MDIs and one lead MDI appointed by the Medical Examiner, EMS Director, and County Mayor from the ambulance service. These four individuals will be on a performance-based term of six months to participate as a MDI. An MDI is encouraged to participate within a six-month period. If an MDI has not participated in a six-month period or their performance has been considered less than the desired performance, the Medical Death Investigator can be replaced by request of the Medical Examiner after or during the six-month period”.

“If the four MDIs are unable to take a call, qualified non-county employees may be used paid at a rate of $100 per decedent”.

“Non-county employees or non-ambulance service employees may participate as a MDI if they are a licensed emergency medical technician (EMT), paramedic, registered nurse, physician’s assistant or a person registered by or a diplomat of the American Board of Medicolegal Death Investigators and approved by the county medical examiner as qualified to serve as medical investigator (T.C.A. § 38-7-104(f). This individual will be considered a 1099 employee and will be compensated at a rate of $100 per decedent. These MDIs will not be covered under the county’s insurance and will not be offered county benefits. It will be the responsibility of the 1099 contracted employee to self-provide any liability, malpractice, etc. insurances”.

May 6, 2025
By: Dwayne Page

Property tax rates for City of Smithville landowners will not be going up this year, but water and sewer rates will be raised by 4% in order to keep utility revenues ahead of expenses, per state requirement.

During the regular monthly meeting Monday night, the Mayor and Aldermen adopted on first reading a budget ordinance for the 2025-26 fiscal year. Second and final reading action will be at the June 2 regular monthly meeting.

The city property tax rate is 0.7523 cents per $100 of assessed value and it is expected to generate $1,230,000 in local revenue. Actual city property tax collections for the year ending 2023-24 were $1,217,281.

The new rates for city water customers will be $8.59 per thousand gallons of usage (up from the current rate of $8.26 per thousand). Rates for customers outside the city limits will be $12.88 per thousand (up from the current rate of $12.38 per thousand. City sewer customers will pay $8.00 per thousand (up from the current rate of $7.69 per thousand).

Under state law, if a utility operates at a loss for more than two years and doesn’t address it, the state has the authority to force rate increases to make it solvent. The city is currently not running at a loss in the water and sewer fund. According to the budget the city finished the 2023-24-year June 30 on the plus side by $530,625 but is projected to be only $2,914 to the good by the end of the 2025-26 year on June 30.

The new budget includes a 3% pay raise for hourly city and salaried employees with a few exceptions (noted below). Those with up to four years of service would get a step raise due them on their employment anniversary date along with the 3% increase. The total regular base pay for all city employees combined in 2025-26 will be $3,081,525, up by $169,567 from $2,911,958 in 2024-25.

According to the budget, the salaries of the following city department heads and employees will be as follows (regular pay not including benefits) in 2025-26:

City Administrator: $90,000, up from $85,840 in 2024-25

Public Works Director: $74,000 up from $70,008

Certified Municipal Finance Officer (CMFO): $74,000, up from $66,950

Golf Manager: $42,000 up from $38,192

Lead Operator in Water & Sewer Maintenance (same employee with new title): $26.32 per hour with CDL, up from $23.64 per hour with CDL.

Parks employee: (same employee going from part time to full time): $19.07 per hour, up from $17.52 per hour.

Also included in the proposed new budget is $4,000 to increase the longevity pay of volunteer firefighters as follows: 5 to 10 years of service- $250; 10 to 15 years of service-$500, and over 15 years of service-$750. Total budgeted payment to volunteer firefighters-$70,000.

Not included in the budget is the proposed purchase of a $1.2 million Pierce fire engine as requested by the fire chief nor the three additional full-time (career) firefighter positions he wanted.

Projected general fund expenditures for 2025-26 are to exceed revenues by $250,970. A year ago, the budget showed that actual city spending outpaced revenues by $795,688 for the year ended June 30, 2024.

In the water and sewer fund, the city is projected to finish next year (2025-26) in the plus column by only $2,914. A year ago, actual water and sewer revenues exceeded expenditures by $530,625 as of June 30, 2024.

The 2025-26 budget includes the following in new spending:

CAPITAL OUTLAY:

*Public Works: mower trailer-$5,000; steam cleaner-$5,000; backhoe thumb kit-$5,300 (funded 50% from the general fund or $2,650 and 50% from the water and sewer budget $2,650)

*Fire Protection: 2 tri band filters for radios-$7,000; 10 batteries for radios-$3,800; training site equipment-$15,000; loose fire equipment-$25,000; new hydrants-$50,000

*Street Department: Paving-$100,000

Police Department: 2025 Tahoe-$52,143, 2025 Tahoe equipment-$8,554; 2025 Durango-$45,060, 2025 Durango equipment-$10,925, and tasers-$58,592.

*Financial Administration: G-5 software upgrade- $27,600 (funded 50% from the general fund or $13,800 and 50% from the water and sewer fund $13,800); backhoe thumb kit-$5,300 (funded 50% from the general fund or $2,650 and 50% from the water and sewer budget $2,650)

WATER AND SEWER FUND FIXED ASSET ADDITIONS:

*Fixed Asset additions: wastewater treatment plant air piping project- $130,000; G-5 software upgrade-$27,600 (funded 50% from the general fund or $13,800 and 50% from the water and sewer fund $13,800).

« First ‹ Previous 1 2 10 11 1213 14 22 112 2596 Next › Last »