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.

Many people have longed for a safe place in DeKalb County where kids could hang out and have good, clean healthy fun. Justin and Kendra Cantrell have made that dream a reality with the help of the court system, city and county governments, and the generosity of local folks.

On Saturday (May 31), “The Spot” officially unveiled its cool digs at the grand opening in the former Rotary Club building, across from the Smithville Golf Course and Swimming Pool.

“One day we drove by here and my husband said the Lord told him that this is going to be our building and within a couple days, it was,” Kendra Cantrell recalls. She and her husband Justin had helped with “The Spot” in Smith County, which opened in 2011.

“Justin and Kendra came to work there and have been working with me in Smith County with students there doing a lot of our after school programs,” explains Program Director Barbara Kannapel. After becoming certified in social/emotional learning curriculum and working with kids in Smith County for several years, the couple wanted to bring the idea back home.

“I saw the need in DeKalb County and just thought I’d tackle it,” Justin Cantrell said. “The community has been a big help. Everybody that I have encountered has been a big help with it. We just hope to see kids’ lives more stable, families more stable, and just have a safe place for kids to hang out and have a good time together.”

“I grew up in the foster care system myself,” adds Kendra Cantrell. “So, I’ve always had a passion to want to help kids. and we’ve prayed about it and talked about it for years now about having our own program here in DeKalb County.”

The couple first opened the doors for “The Spot” on April 30. Thirteen children came that first Wednesday, and the program has rapidly taken off.

“Justin and Kendra are wonderful because they can relate to those kids in a way that a lot of us can’t. So, they’re seeing great results,” Kannapel says. “We have a program that we do for kids who have been through juvenile court. We work with them for about eight weeks and get them back on track hoping to prevent them from being adult offenders. We proposed a five-year plan to DeKalb County folks. That was two years ago, and we’re way ahead of the game on our five-year plan.”

The Cantrell’s have been working with kids in juvenile court and seeing great results. They’ve extended their teaching to kids in the school system in 5th grade and up with building healthy relationship skills, solid communication, and learning refusal skills to help in making wise choices.

The Spot is open to 5th through 12th graders on Wednesday’s after school.

“Everything is free. So we’ll be offering some camps this summer. we’ll be offering some swimming and some summer activities. or they can just come and bring their friends and have a good time,” Kannapel says. “Justin and Kendra have worked really hard with the community to bring in game tables and video games, everything that’s going to be fun for kids and have a safe place to bring their friends.”

“They come and hang out,” Kendra adds. “It gives their parents a break, and it gives us time with them just to kind of pour into them and try to love on them and help them anyway we can.”

“I come from a broken home,” Justin said. “Both my parents were very young when they had me, and they struggled. They also had addiction, alcoholism, things like that in my family and if it wasn’t for sports, I probably would have been way worse off than I really was. But I think if I had a place like this, I could have found comfort and peace and more understanding than what was going on in my home life.”

The vision of The Spot is to see families with the assets they need to thrive as positive, contributing members of their schools and community.

“Our end goal is to see stronger families, have more family engagement,” Kannapel said. “We know that some of the kids that come to our programs, their parents have been incarcerated or have had some kind of brokenness in their families. We want to strengthen families for the next generation.”

“I’m just overjoyed,” Kendra said, as a large group of kids played in the background. “I told my husband today I think I literally prayed in my sleep last night. I’m just blown away with the people and the support we have.”

For more information about “The Spot” Youth Center call Kendra Cantrell at 931-854-6172.

For the second year in a row 6th grade student Karson Mullinax was the recipient of the top reading award at DeKalb West School. DWS School Librarian Amanda Mullinax, who is also his mom, presented Karson with the Amanda Mullinax Librarian Award for earning the most Accelerated Reader points since starting at DeKalb West. He has earned 2,364.5 points in his school career, securing him a prestigious spot on the plaque in the school library.

“Since last year when he accomplished his goal of having his name on the plaque, I am so extremely proud that he has continued to pursue his love of reading!” Amanda Mullinax said.

Karson also earned the Mrs. Sabrina Farler Principal Award for earning the most AR points this year with 458.1 points.

“Karson is the absolutely best student,” 6th grade teacher Melissa Sliger said. “He is a super hard worker and is always so kind. As far as reading goes he is always the first to finish his work and always picks up his book to read. By doing this I believe he is able to drown out everything around him because he is so into his book. I have never seen him without a book. He always has one with him. In March he started reading the series Warriors and he says he is loving it. Overall, I would keep Karson forever if possible. He is quiet, respectful, and truly enjoys reading “.

Karson is a brilliant student who shies away from the spotlight. But his past teachers have had no trouble bragging on the kind-hearted, studious young man.

“Karson was one of those students that was constantly reading in class,” says Karson’s 4th grade teacher and now Assistant Principal Cindy Snow. “As soon as he got finished with his work, he was reading a book. Free time…reading a book. During math class…reading a book. He would read any chance he would get. It seemed that reading was his “escape”, and he could totally zone everything else out while reading.”

“Karson is one of very few students in my many years of teaching that I have watched firsthand find the joy in reading,” 5th grade ELA teacher Rachel Desimone said. “He will complete his schoolwork and then back into the book he goes! The AR point system encourages some students as they watch their rocket soar to new heights, but I think Karson would stick with reading even if it weren’t for that. This says a lot about him and his love for reading.”

He has always loved books!” his mom said. “We all read to him when he was younger, which I believe showed him the importance. Here’s a funny: It wasn’t long after he learned to read himself that he made it very clear that he didn’t want me to read aloud to him anymore. He said, “You read too slow!” Which, in comparison to him now, is true; he is a much faster reader than I am!”

His teachers see that Karson’s passion for reading is reflected in his academics. This school year Karson earned “Leader of the Pack” awards in every subject area, straight A’s and is an active member of the Junior Beta Club.

“Due to the fact that he is such an avid reader, he has always had a more expanded vocabulary than most students,” says Snow. “He is quick to understand and create puns and figurative language, and we enjoy (outside of school) using quite a bit of sarcasm and joking with each other,” she adds with a laugh. “Also, his writing shows evidence of the fact that he loves to read. He is imaginative, humorous, and detailed in various forms of writing.”

Kaylee Womack dominated the Academic Awards at the DeKalb West School 8th Grade Recognition. Womack was honored with the ELA, Math, History, and Science awards from Dwayne Blair’s homeroom. From Mrs. Bratten’s homeroom, Gabriel Blair picked up the Math and History awards while Halia McDaniel received the ELA award and Dakota Ferrell was handed the Science award.

Named to the Principal’s List (All A’s) for the year were Gabriel Blair, Grant Brown, Mia Hall, Kaden Mullinax, Caroline Neal, and Kaylee Womack. Named to the A & B Honor Roll for the entire year were Jaretzy Aguilar, Adam Brown, Cryslan Cecil, Dakota Ferrell, Katelynn Fry, Bella Gonzalez, Yesica Gonzales, Makenna Lomas, Halia McDaniel, and Kylie Pierce.

The Making Tracks (Most Improved) Award were awarded to Josh Floyd and Javan Hefflin. Four students were awarded with the Citizenship Awards: Gabriel Blair, Halia McDaniel, Levi Cripps, and Caroline Neal. The 4 PAWS Awards went to Kaden Mullinax and Cryslan Cripps. Mullinax and Adam Brown were highlighted for Perfect Attendance.

The following five students were acknowledged for earning the highest grade point averages in middle school (6th-8th grades): Gabriel Blair ranked one with a 3.732 GPA, Kaylee Womack ranked 2nd with a 3.682 GPA, Kaden Mullinax ranked third with a 3.645 GPA, Mia Hall ranked fourth with a 3.643 GPA, and Halia McDaniel was fifth with a 3.580 GPA.

These students were recognized by their activity teachers: Jonah Maynard and Caleb Dickerson for Guidance, Logan Winfree and Malachi Gaither for Library, Savana Muncey and Javan Hefflin for Music, Gabriel Blair for STREAM, Halia McDaniel and Logan Winfree for Computer.

P.E. Teacher Kelly Pyburn recognized several students for their sports activities with different teams. Jacob Johnson and Slade Bennett, who are members of the high school fishing team, will be in the state championship. Dayton Heflin, who fishes in the TBF Tournament series, has won with his teammate 1st at Norris Lake, Melton Hill Lake, 2nd at Dale Hollow Lake, and 3rd at Nickajack Lake. Kaylee Womack was the leading scorer for the Lady Bulldogs this past season, was also named to the All-tournament team at Forks River Tournament. Gabriel Blair achieved his black belt in Taekwondo and is now able to teach students. He also has won multiple medals at three different tournaments this year. Caroline Neal was on the DMS Saints softball team that finished 3rd in the district, and she was named to the All-Tournament team. Kaden Mullinax, a member of the Cross Country team, also placed 4th in his age group at his first-ever half marathon. Levi Cripps helped lead the football team to a regular season and conference championship. He was named All-Conference. In basketball, Levi was the leading scorer and was named to the All-Tournament team at the Forks River Tournament. Maddux Pyburn also made the All-Tournament team at Forks River. As a member of the DWS baseball team, Maddux helped lead them to regular season and district tournament championships. The Bulldogs continued to make their way into the finals of the sectionals.

Librarian Amanda Mullinax presented the following Accelerated Reader awards: Halia McDaniel and Jaretzy Aguilar-Castellanos with a $5 gift certificate for earning 400 points; Bella Gonzalez, Kate Pistole, Makenna Lomas with an AR pin for 500 points; Halia McDaniel, Caroline Neal, and Kate Pistole with a bowling trip for being the Top Readers in 8th grade. Awesome Accuracy for scoring a 95% or higher on AR tests went to Halia McDaniel, Kenzie South, and Dakota Ferrell. Kaden Mullinax was presented with the 1,000 + points certificate. He earned a total of 1,703.9 points.

Mullinax also earned the most Jr. Beta service points with 108 hours. Other 8th grade Junior Betas recognized for service include Gabriel Blair with 73 hours, Bella Gonzalez- 10.5 hours, Mia Hall- 21.25, Caroline Neal- 15.75 hours, Kate Pistole- 42.75 hours, and Kaylee Womack- 38 hours.

Here are the members of the 2025 DWS 8th Grade Class: Jaretzy Aguilar, Slade Bennett, Gabriel Blair, Adam Brown, Grant Brown, Cryslan Cecil, Kayla Checchi, Adonis Cooprider, Levi Cripps, Caleb Dickerson, Jacob Dies, Dakota Ferrell, Joshua Floyd, Katelyn Fry, Malachi Gaither, Bella Gonzalez, Yesica Gonzalez, Spencer Gregory, Jada Hale, Mia Hall, Marilda Hatfield, Dayton Heflin, Javan Hefflin, Jacob Johnson, Makenna Lomas, Jonah Maynard, Halia McDaniel, Ezzy Moore, Kaden Mullinax, Savana Muncey, Jaython Myers, Caroline Neal, Jake Nokes, Allie Pedigo, Kylie Pierce, Kate Pistole, Maddux Pyburn, Aydin Reed, Isaac Scott, Kenzie South, Miley Tays, Harley Willingham, Logan Winfree, and Kaylee Womack.

DeKalb West School Principal Sabrina Farler and Assistant Principal Cindy Snow presented this year’s Perfect Attendance Awards at school this morning (Friday, May 16). Six students earned the prestigious award for not only being present for school every single day but not arriving late or leaving school early.

Congratulations go to 8th graders Kaden Mullinax and Adam Brown, sixth grader Karson Mullinax, fifth grader Mary Alice Moore, third grader Raylan Patterson, and second grader Canaan Davis. They each received a certificate and $50.

University of Tennessee football coaching legend Phil Fulmer will be in DeKalb County next month at the 2nd Annual Man Up Dinner at Smithville First Baptist Church. The 2012 inductee into the College Coaches Hall of Fame will be the guest speaker for the event on Sunday, May 4. The dinner kicks off at 6:00 p.m. in the church’s LEC. Costs of the meal is free, but a $10 donation is suggested. A pre-dinner meet and greet with Coach Fulmer will begin at 5:00 p.m. and costs $30, which will cover the suggested meal donation. Anyone wanting to be part of the meet and greet will need to register at the church website, www.smithvillefbc.org.

During his tenure with the Volunteers, Fulmer became the 1998 National Coach of the Year and achieved 137 wins in his first 15 campaigns, tying for the fourth-most in a 15-year span in college football history. He brought home 2 SEC championships and a piece of 7 SEC East Division titles. When playing the nation’s No. 1-ranked teams, he had an impressive 5-0 record.

While Coach Fulmer was a notable foe to reckon with on the gridiron for U.T between 1992-2008, he did more than lead teams to victories. He also helped guide young men into winning lives off the field.

“When we started our program, I wanted it to be all facets,” Coach Fulmer told Smithville FBC Pastor Chad Ramsey during a recent phone interview. [Ramsey and his wife, Kathy, are huge UT fans who grew up in East Tennessee during Fulmer’s winning reign.]

“We [the coaches] were like parents away from home for them, and we told them we would get them better [athletically] and support them academically, but we’re also going to have this Christian background and attitude around our program, and we did. We influenced a lot of kids along the way. You could pour into them, but you couldn’t make them do it. We had a lot more success than we didn’t. You get into coaching, thinking I can make a difference. We’re dealing with kids’ lives. I think they would tell you they came through it at a really, really good time for Tennessee because we had that family attitude.”

Fulmer himself enjoyed a solid family upbringing in the tiny town of Winchester, Tennessee.

“I had just a magical childhood,” Fulmer said. “My dad worked two jobs all his life. My mom was a stay-at-home mom. They were the most loving Christian people you could ever imagine. Honestly, it was almost like Mayberry. We grew up Southern Baptists. Every time the church opened we were there—Sunday, Sunday night, Wednesday night. I was saved at 13.”

“I went away to college and found my Christian friends, and we’re still friends today, teammates Steve Robinson of FCA and John Keller, who went on to become a Baptist minister himself. Even now, through the Fellowship of Christian Athletes, we speak and get around our young people as much as we can. My coaches in Little League, Babe Ruth and on up through high school were great influences as well.”

“When I became a coach, I wanted that to become a part of our legacy and part of our mentoring of young people as much as we could. We were the first ones in the conference to have a fulltime team chaplain in the building. They tried to do the separation of [church and] state thing, but we found a way to make it work. It’s been real important to me all my life, and I’m thankful for the people who touched my life so much growing up.”

Coach Fulmer left his charmed existence after graduating from Franklin County High School and earned a spot as offensive guard on the Vol football team.

“Going away to college was a big deal,” Fulmer said. “I didn’t have a way to pay for my education. So, if I got a scholarship, which I did, they couldn’t run me off. I was going to finish,” he said with a chuckle. “You grow a lot in college. The basics are still the same—do the right things. When I became the head coach in ’93, we started a Bible study, and we still have it going now. A group of us meet every other Monday.”

Now retired, the 74-year-old continues walking the Christian walk at his home in Maryville.

“I’m reading now 12 Ordinary Men,” Fulmer says. “It’s a fantastic book. All the apostles/disciples are heroes for all of us. The challenges that they had and the failures that they had made them into the people and leaders they were. It’s just incredible.”

Coach Fulmer will be delivering a motivational speech at the 2nd Annual Man Up Dinner at Smithville FBC Sunday, May 4. You’re invited to join the coach for “great food, a great talk, and more importantly a time for men of all ages to connect with God.”

Two DeKalb West School students and one DeKalb Middle School student finished in the Top 10 at the 2025 Middle School Math Contest at Tennessee Tech. DMS 8th grader Carter Moore was number 2 out of 145 students in his grade division while DWS 8th grader Gabriel Blair placed 5th. DWS 6th grader Wyatt Bain placed 8th out of 145 students in his grade division.

Four hundred third-five students from 40 schools participated in the contest Thursday (April 10) at TTU.

DWS Math Contest students pictured front row left to right are Wyatt Bain, Paisley Avera, Turner Stanley, and Bella Gonzalez

Pictured back row left to right are Conner Robinson, Kaden Mullinax, Dakota Ferrell, Gabe Blair, Levi Reynolds, Bentley Martin, Joseph Grabovack, and Lucas Nokes.

DeKalb West School has announced the Students of the Month for March. Named to the honor were Bryce Grisham, PreK; Madilynn Tipton, Kindergarten; Landon Fuson, 1st grade; Madeline Hamlet, 2nd grade; Tristen Lynn, 3rd grade; Marley Pyburn, 4th grade; Kalynn Lattimore, 5th grade; Bradi Turney, 6th grade; Alivia Deyoung, 7th grade; Mia Hall, 8th grade.

Two teachers of the month were chosen for March. Principal Sabrina Farler and Assistant Principal Cindy Snow presented the certificates to longtime 5th grade teacher Jeanna Caplinger and one of the school’s newest additions, music teacher Hannah Bratton.

DeKalb West School has announced the Students, Teachers, and Employees of the Month for both January and February. The first of the year was kicked off with the following top students: America Thompson, Pre-K; Dawson Randolph, Kindergarten; Oakleigh Poston, 1st; Adaline Gibbs, 2nd grade; Kai’lyn Hopkins, 3rd; Kaycie Avera, 4th; Noah Hall, 5th; Oliver Bell, 6th; Alyssa Cecil, 7th; and Kaylee Womack, 8th. Mrs. Teresa Sullivan was named Teacher of the Month and Mrs. Donna Driver was selected as Employee of the Month.

In February the following were chosen as Students of the Month: Hadley Pierce, Pre-K; Reese Leiser, Kindergarten; William Young, 1st grade; McKenzie Nokes, 2nd; Jude Sebolt, 3rd; Kennedy Avera, 4th; Xavier Oyugi, 5th; Holden Leiser, 6th; James Upchurch, 7th; and Kaden Mullinax, 8th.

Mrs. Jessica Antoniak was named Teacher of the Month, and Mrs. McKenzie Dunaway was selected as Employee of the Month.

Angela Davis experienced an unspeakable tragedy in her life not once, but twice. The first loss occurred in 2010 when her husband died. She and her teenage son went to the Haven of Hope for grief counseling with therapist Kay Quintero.

“I felt like–and I think my son felt the same way when his father passed that—we were in a safe place and we knew that it was private,” said Davis, who agreed to share her experience for this story to help others. “We could just pour our heart out to her. It made us stronger to where we could move forward and talk about it with other people.”

So much so that her only son, Corporal Bryan Tyler Vanhoose used his trial to provide empathy to others grieving a loss.

“Whenever he joined the Marines, he was a strong advocate against suicide,” Davis says. “He would help certain people that was in the Marines, if they were having really difficult time, he would share his experience that he had, with his dad and addiction.”

In 2019, Davis’ son passed away suddenly and again, she returned for individual counseling. “I think you’re just so raw and you’re just so emotionally not good. You don’t want to live. I just felt safer with Kay for a while. I didn’t want to go talk about that with anyone else but her. She kind of got me back on my feet and got me to where I could plug through the day and head off to the next day.”

A few months after her son’s death, Davis and her second husband gave group counseling a try with Heart of the Cumberland in Cookeville.

“The group that I was in was mothers that had recently lost a child and that was really helpful. I guess it was six of us maybe in that small group and it was all women. There were some mothers that had just lost their child that month. One mother had lost her son and his girlfriend. They died in a car accident, and he had just turned 16. It really helped being with a group of individuals that are going through your same thing.”

Learning how to manage grief like Davis processed is something the Haven of Hope and Heart of the Cumberland would like to help with the people in DeKalb County. Later this month a workshop will be held on managing grief.

“This is for people who have suffered loss recently or in the past and would like to learn strategies and gain resources for coping with grief,” veteran therapist Kay Quintero said. “The Haven of Hope offer this comprehensive workshop featuring certified professional counselors from DeKalb County Haven of Hope. Sessions will be available for adults, teens, and children ages 4 and up.”

The adult seminar will include understanding the grief process, normal emotions for grief, coping strategies, meeting others where the common denominator is grief, differences in men and women grieving, what adults need to know about children grieving, and available resources for help. Licensed counselors will lead these classes with age level grief activities.

The grief workshop will be Saturday, February 22, 10:00 a.m. until 2:00 p.m. at Smithville First Baptist Church in the activities building, located at 101 West Church Street. Pre-registration is required . To register or for more information about costs, call the Haven of Hope at (615) 597-4673.