Alexandria has new alderman

June 19, 2025
By: Dwayne Page

Alexandria has another new Alderman. Debbie Fisher was appointed by the Alexandria Town Council during Tuesday night’s regular monthly meeting. She was then sworn into office by City Recorder Jessica Howard.

Fisher succeeds former Alderman Jeff Ford who resigned that position to accept the mayor appointment last week.

Aldermen David Cripps and Sherry Tubbs voted for Fisher while Aldermen Bobby Simpson and Luke Prichard passed. Mayor Ford cast the tie breaking vote in favor of Fisher.

Fisher said she is honored to be selected to serve the Town of Alexandria.

“I live on West Main Street and have since the fall of 2015. I spent 28 years with the Wilson County government in the finance department and 12 of those years I was the assistant finance director and the rest of my time there I was the insurance manager and risk manager for the whole county. I worked with all the county departments. My background is with county government, but I am hoping my county background can help here. I’m hoping to be helpful,” said Fisher.

The monthly regular city meeting was held a week earlier than normal due to the fair coming up next week.

In other business, the aldermen for budgetary reasons voted to eliminate two city hall positions held by financial officer Rhonda Conatser and part time water clerk Amber Ahlgard but to pay them through July.

“One of the things we are struggling with is our budget,” said Alderman Sherry Tubbs.” There was a lot of hiring and promises of more money that we could not afford. We hired a new lady Amber Ahlgard two months ago, but her position is one we will have to do away with right now. We will also need to let Rhonda go.
She has tried and done a great job but was not given the tools meant for the job. We do need a CMFO (certified municipal finance officer) but we will have to hire one already trained. I’m told MTAS (Municipal Technical Advisory Service) will advertise for us to find a CMFO,” said Alderman Tubbs.

The aldermen adopted a continuing budget resolution to keep city government operating past July 1 until a new budget is adopted.

When asked during public comments, Mayor Ford announced that the city is perhaps moving closer to hiring a city attorney. “We interviewed an attorney today (Tuesday). They are discussing it, and we are discussing it”, said Mayor Ford.

Earlier this month, the Aldermen adopted an ordinance to authorize the city to collect a $5.00 fee for both written and electronic citations prepared by a law enforcement officer, according to TCA § 55-10-207. However, once a city adopts such a fee, the ability to collect it must sunset five years from the ordinance’s adoption.

During Tuesday night’s meeting, the aldermen approved a police department request to spend $5,478 for the purchase and installation of the needed printers and equipment for city police patrol cars to support the e-citation system.

The $5.00 fee received must be apportioned as follows:

(1) $1.00 of such fee will be retained by the city court clerk; and

(2) $4.00 of such fee will be transmitted on a monthly basis by the city court clerk to the law enforcement agency that prepared the traffic citation that resulted in a plea of guilty, or nolo contendere, or a guilty judgment.

The law enforcement portion shall be accounted for in a special revenue fund of said law enforcement agency and may be used only for the following purposes:

(1) Electronic citation system and program related expenditures; and

(2) Related expenditures by the local law enforcement agency for technology, equipment, repairs, replacement and training to maintain electronic citation programs.

However, the clerk’s portion shall be used for computer hardware purchases, usual and necessary computer related expenses, or replacement, and may not revert to the general fund at the end of a budget year if unexpended.

During public comments, one city resident asked if funds were able to “stop doing band aids when it comes to roads in this town (street repairs)”

“Roads are very pricey, and we don’t know where we are on the budget,” said Mayor Ford. “The town has been operating basically off of the bank account balances since last August. We are putting our budget back together so we will be looking at that (roads). Just listening to the public, the people of this town as far as I view, they treasure trash pick-up, and they don’t like potholes. There may be a few other things that you guys are big on but that’s what makes it on Facebook, social media, and the public square. That is certainly things that we as a board will look at,” said Mayor Ford.

The alderman set Saturday, October 4 as the date for Ole Timers Day at the request of a business owner so plans can be made now. The event will start at 9 a.m.

In the future, Mayor Ford said he would like to get reports from the business community, seniors, and maybe even the fair board to keep the city in the loop on what they are doing. He said it’s an open invite but not required.

June 18, 2025
By: Bill Conger

Seamstress and quilter Elizabeth Pruitt, the owner of Quilts, Memories, and Sew Much More, has founded a special niche that has created rave reviews and swelled into a massive business. Pruitt started the memory bears from her DeKalb County home ten years ago when her dad, a college history professor at Westbrook College in Portland, Maine passed away. He always wore blue striped or solid blue oxford cloth shirts. Among a huge pile of her dad’s shirts, she found the perfect one to use, an orange and gray plaid Seersucker.

“I made the bear and I showed it off on Facebook. People just loved it!” Pruitt explained to WJLE from her sewing room. A very large computerized quilting machine fills part of the room with many of her ongoing projects organized to her liking.

The popularity of the bears began to extend beyond Smithville when she created a listing for them in her Etsy shop, QuiltsandMemoriesUS. “My goodness gracious! I have made 1,700 bears in the last four or five years for people all over the United States, Canada, Mexico, and Australia.

Pruitt is invited into the lives of people’s loved ones who are grieving deceased family or cherished friends. They often send photos of the person who died wearing the clothes along with a personal letter explaining the significance, and sometimes they are accompanied by the people’s obituaries.

“A lot of them that stand out to me are the young adults, who didn’t get a chance live their life. Those are the ones that seem to choke me up a little bit. This one woman lost her 17-year-old son in a car accident, and one of the shirts in the box was the shirt he wore when he died in the car. That gets me. When I got the bears all done and I sent them to her, she had a gathering of his friends, and she had a picture of her son and the friend wearing the shirt that she gave to the friend. Now they’re sitting there holding the bear that I made from the shirt. That’s just heartbreaking.”

Pruitt will receive unique items like a handmade 1963 prom dress made from red velour material with eggshell white colored lacing across the top. She made two bears that looked just like the dress.

“A girl sent me her wedding dress, and I made a bride and a groom bear from her wedding dress. He was wearing a little vest and the bride bear was wearing a little veil. It was really cute.”

She was asked to create a bear from the fabric of a grandpa’s favorite recliner that was camouflage with a deer pattern.

“There’s so many things that people can come up with like favorite blankets, favorite quilts, even fabric luggage. They cut all the fabric off it because mom had traveled the world with that piece of luggage. They had me make a bear from the luggage fabric. It was crazy, but it was pretty cool when it was done.”

Pruitt’s bears garner praise, strong reviews and thank you notes from those who now have a tangible memory to literally hold.

“Here’s a whole story that I got from somebody,” Pruitt explains as she reads one of the letters in her collection. “I’m sending you a flannel shirt. Lavender is my wife’s favorite color. My wife’s name is Cynthia. She passed away from breast cancer 10 days ago. Ten days before he sends me a shirt for a bear.”

Normally, for shipping orders Pruitt allows a lead time of six to eight weeks to create the memory bear, but she can squeeze local folks into a shorter time frame. Before the memory bears, Pruitt had already been tackling a myriad of projects from hemming and sewing to t-shirt quilts and most recently custom rug tufting. She lends her crafty hands to non-profits at times including a genealogy tree that is planned for Alexandria. It’s quite the feat to juggle all her sewing jobs.

“I’m too easily distracted,” she admits with a smile. “I’ll think I’ve got to cut those shirts. let me go make a bear, wait a minute, I’ve got to work on this dress. It’s just like, dishes are in the sink. I got to go put the dishes in the dishwasher. That’s part of being here at home. It’s like focus. You can do this.”

Starting as a teenager, Pruitt has been sewing for more than 40 years.

“My mother taught me how to read patterns and how to sew,” she says. “One of the first things I ever made was a little peach corduroy flower girl dress for my older sister’s wedding back when I was about 13 years old. That was my first experience in sewing. But I didn’t do anything for the longest time until I had the kids [Bailey and Grayson]. Then, it was just pretty much a hobby until people knew I could do hemming. It just grew from there.”

Pruitt will be giving a live demonstration of her craft at the DeKalb County Fair on Thursday, June 26 at 6:00, 7:00, and 8:00 p.m.

June 18, 2025
By: Dwayne Page

Hello Nicole!

Meet Nicole Wright, the next DeKalb County Clerk and Master for the Chancery Court.

Appointed by Chancellor Ronald Thurman to succeed longtime Clerk and Master Debra Malone upon her retirement effective June 27, Wright will be taking her oath of office that afternoon at 4 p.m. in Smithville. Wright’s first full day will be Monday, June 30.

“I am truly honored to be considered for this position, and I look forward to assuming the duties of the office,” Wright told WJLE Tuesday.

“I learned about the opening a few months ago. I immediately began to pray about it and consider it. I submitted my resume to the Chancellor and later interviewed with him. A little over a week ago, he informed me that I got the job,” said Wright.

Born and raised in DeKalb County, Wright has made public service a lifelong career.

“I began my adventures in public service here in DeKalb County in 1995. I went to work for the DeKalb County Ambulance Service. I was an EMT (Emergency Medical Technician) for 25 years working at various times in that position. I served at the 911 Dispatch under the direction of former Sheriff Lloyd Emmons and later became a dispatcher for the City of Smithville Police and Fire departments. I subsequently worked at the DeKalb County E-911 centralized dispatch center when it relocated to its new facility for a brief period,” stated Wright.

“Following that, I worked as a Deputy Clerk for former Circuit Court Clerk Katherine Pack for six years and ran for the position in the 2018 August election as the Democratic nominee when Ms. Pack chose not to seek re-election. I was subsequently employed by the Circuit Court Clerk’s Office of Warren County.

“During my career, I also worked for five years as an Office Administrator for local attorney Jeremy Trapp. I served as an Escrow Officer for DeKalb Title, LLC for five years. In October 2024, I became a Deputy Trustee at the DeKalb County Trustee’s office,” Wright said.

Nicole and her husband Jeff Wright reside in Smithville, and they have three daughters and four grandchildren. Jeff has also made a career in public service, both as a career firefighter for the City of Murfreesboro and as Deputy Chief and 39-year veteran firefighter of the Smithville Volunteer Fire Department.

“Smithville is our home, and I enjoy working near my family,” said Wright.

Nicole plans no major changes in the operation of the office and the two current employees will stay on including full time deputy clerk, Amanda Vaughn, and part time deputy clerk Sarah Evans.

“I am so grateful they have agreed to stay,” said Wright. “Debra has done a tremendous job in her many years of service, and I look forward to keeping that going. I certainly want to wish her all the best in her well-deserved retirement,” she said.

“I enjoy meeting new people and engaging in conversations. Our door remains open, and we are here to serve,” Wright concluded.

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