News

U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Farm Service Agency (FSA) Executive Director Donny Green, in DeKalb and Cannon counties, reminds producers to report planted, prevented planted, and failed acres to establish or retain FSA program eligibility.

For planted crops, the following acreage reporting deadlines are applicable for DeKalb and Cannon counties for the 2025 crop year:

July 15: corn, soybeans, cucumbers, okra, peppers, potatoes, pumpkins, squash, strawberries, tomatoes, watermelons, cantaloupes, peas, and perennial forage (hay and pasture)

July 31: hemp

Aug. 15: green beans

Dec. 15: fall-seeded small grains (wheat)

The following exceptions apply to the above acreage reporting dates:

If the crop has not been planted by the above acreage reporting date, the acreage must be reported no later than 15 calendar days after planting is completed.

If a producer acquires additional acreage after the above acreage reporting date, the acreage must be reported no later than 30 calendar days after purchase or acquiring the lease. Appropriate documentation must be provided to the county office.

If a perennial forage crop is reported with the intended use of “cover only,” “green manure,” “left standing” or “seed,” the acreage must be reported by July 15, 2025.

Producers must report crop acreage they intended to plant but, due to natural disaster, were prevented from planting. Prevented planting acreage must be reported on form FSA-576, Notice of Loss, no later than 15 calendar days after the final planting date, as established by FSA and the Risk Management Agency. According to Green, the Crop Year 2025 final planting date for corn is May 20, 2025, and the final planting date for soybeans is June 15, 2025.

Producers with failed acres should also use form FSA-576, Notice of Loss, to report failed acres. For losses on crops covered by the Noninsured Crop Disaster Assistance Program and crop insurance, producers must file a Notice of Loss within 15 days of the occurrence of the disaster or when losses become apparent. Producers must timely file a Notice of Loss for failed acres on all crops including grasses.

Please visit the DeKalb/Cannon County FSA office or call 615-597-8225 to schedule an appointment to file your crop year 2025 crop acreage report. To find your local FSA office, visit www.farmers.gov .

Seventy plus members of the DCHS Class of 2025 were rewarded for years of academic and athletic achievements during Tuesday evening’s senior awards night program held in the high school gym.

WJLE and participating sponsors are presenting a photo gallery of the DCHS Class of 2025.

Click on the link below to view the senior formals.

Photo gallery

WJLE recorded the program and will feature it Wednesday, May 14 at 9:30 a.m. on WJLE AM 1480/FM 101.7 and on the Live audio stream at www.wjle.com. The program sponsors are DTC Communications, FirstBank, Glynn’s Auto Sales, and Optimus Pest Solutions.

Commencement for the Class of 2025 will be Friday, May 16 at 7 p.m. at DCHS

Almost every year at least one or more seniors at DCHS completes the credits necessary to earn an associate degree from Motlow State Community College just as they are finishing up their high school studies in preparation for graduation.

Such is the case this year for Dare Collins, Allison Goodwin, Alyssa Gilpin, and Megyn Patterson who can now proudly call themselves a college graduate while they await their high school diploma which will be presented to them Friday night, May 16 during the commencement for the Class of 2025 at DCHS starting at 7 p.m.

Through Motlow College’s dual enrollment program, high school students like Collins, Goodwin, Gilpin, and Patterson can earn college credits while still enrolled in high school. Students can take classes on a Motlow College campus, online, or even at a partner high school like DCHS.

According to the Motlow website, Dual Enrollment participation requirements are as follows:

• 3.0 High School GPA (2.5 GPA for CTE courses, such as Mechatronics) and a 3.0 GPA in a student’s high school classes in the subject area they wish to take collegiate classes, or ACT subscores of 18 English, 19 Reading, 19 Math

• “Homeschool students must have qualifying ACT scores (must have a composite of 21 or higher to get two free classes in a semester). If a homeschooled student doesn’t have an ACT composite of 21 or higher, he/she may receive more than one grant in a single semester if he/she has maintained a B average after the completion of at least two collegiate courses”.

Some high schools may have more stringent eligibility requirements

Collins and Patterson earned an associate degree in health science while Goodwin and Gilpin received an associate degree in psychology

The DCHS Tigerettes will be on the road at Lawrence County with a Region Tournament Championship on the line Wednesday evening,

WJLE will have LIVE coverage with the Voice of the Tigerettes John Pryor starting at 6 p.m. on WJLE AM 1480/FM 101.7 and on the LIVE audio stream at www.wjle.com

The Tigerettes defeated Marshall County in a rain shortened five inning Region Semi-Finals Game Monday 4-0 at the Danny Bond field while Lawrence County beat Stone Memorial 4-2.

WJLE thanks its sponsors:

• Gill Automotive
• C&S Farms
• The Realty Firm
• Love-Cantrell Funeral Home
• FirstBank
• DTC Communications
• DeKalb Prevention Coalition
• Liberty State Bank
• DeKalb Funeral Chapel
• Curtis Supply
• Wilson Bank & Trust
• Sams Tire & Auto Services
• DeKalb County insurance
• Caney Fork Electric Cooperative
• Galaxy Ford

The Smithville Mayor and Aldermen will soon consider two new rezoning proposals and a plan of services for another property owner annexation request.

(View map of Smithville Urban Growth Boundary Here)

Map

During Monday night’s regular monthly meeting, the Smithville Municipal Planning Commission voted to recommend rezoning a parcel of property located on West Main Street from R-1 (Low Density Residential) to C-1 (General Commercial) at the request of owner Mark Hart who wants to build a salon for his daughter.

While land around the Hart location is currently zoned R-1, city officials said the property across the street is all zoned C-1.

The recommendation now goes to the mayor and aldermen who will consider adopting a rezoning ordinance on first reading followed by a public hearing and then second reading action after all adjoining landowners have been notified.

The planning commission also voted to recommend a request from Josh Hawkins to rezone a parcel of property located at 885 Foster Road from R-1 (Low Density Residential) to R-2 (High Density Residential).

Hawkins wants to build a duplex on the property. According to city officials the back half of Hawkins’ property is in the county but the front half where he wants to put the two-family duplex is in the city.

Again, as with the Hart request, the planning commission’s recommendation regarding the Hawkins site will go to the mayor and aldermen who will consider adopting a rezoning ordinance on first reading followed by a public hearing and then second reading action after all adjoining landowners have been notified.

In other business, the planning commission approved Mitchell Bowman’s final plat for a 29-lot subdivision located near Holmes Creek Road. City officials said the development meets all the subdivision regulations and zoning ordinance requirements.

A plan of services has also been recommended by the planning commission for the proposed annexation of a parcel located at 640 East Broad Street by the owner’s request, Lou Ann White. According to city officials, White wants this parcel to be in the city limits adjoining another she owns which is already in the city.

The mayor and aldermen will consider adopting a resolution in June calling for a public hearing on the proposed annexation and approval of a plan of services. Adjoining property owners would then be notified. Any final action on the request in August would not come until after a public hearing in July.

During a public comment period, Smithville property owner Steve Cantrell said that while he had no issue with the White property in particular, he asked that this annexation request and all future such requests from other entities (including SRM also on Highway 70 east) be put on hold until the city can ensure that each annexation consideration is based on an overall growth plan.

“The Smithville City Government approved the Smithville Tennessee Land Use and Transportation Policy Plan for 2010-2030 which is dated May 2011 and specifically addresses future annexation of property into the City limits of Smithville,” Cantrell explained. “It cites the passage in 1998 of Public Chapter 1101 by the TN Legislative Body. Specifically, 1101 allows the city to establish an urban growth boundary in which it expects urban development to take place. Under provisions of this state law, the urban growth boundary is the only area the municipality can feasibly consider the annexation of additional land,” said Cantrell.

“This is a multi-year annexation schedule which would be in the form of a Smithville Fringe Area Study. To the best of my knowledge, this study or related work has never been done. And as such, the city’s annexation process comes into serious question,” Cantrell continued.

“The mayor and aldermen bear the responsibility for the successful implementation of the Smithville Tennessee land Use and Transportation Policy Plan for 2010-2030”.

“Under the responsibility of due diligence on behalf of the taxpayers, I recommend each one-of you read or reacquaint yourselves to ensure you understand the plan before this or any other annexation proposals are considered. In turn, there may be both additional permanent and temporary actions you may wish to take,” said Cantrell.

“You can still annex outside of the urban growth boundary,” said Tommy Lee, Director of the Upper Cumberland Development District, who serves as UCDD staff planner and advisor to the City of Smithville.

“What I am questioning is we are having proposals put before this committee without an understanding of what the logic was behind having to do that in accordance with the plan that is in effect through 2030. I’m not sure how many of you have had the privilege of reading the 2010-2030 plan which was put together for your use. Yes, our infrastructure is good enough right now but I’m talking about the future infrastructure as we continue to annex and if you don’t have a plan then we are getting ready to pay a big bill in the future. We need to make sure that any annexation is done with smart growth in mind and not piecemeal,” said Cantrell.

On Tuesday, Lee sent to city officials a copy of the municipality’s current urban growth boundary,

“I have attached the Smithville Urban Growth Boundary. The two parcels that we have recently recommended the plan of services for annexation (White and SRM properties on East Broad Street) are both within the growth boundary,” wrote Lee.

“We look at it (annexation) on a case-by-case basis. We don’t just automatically (recommend) annexation for everything that comes before this board,” said planning commission member Caleb Gash.

In 2021 the city denied an annexation request by a landowner for development of a 40-lot subdivision on his 13-acre site near the airport.

Map

A 50-year-old Overton County woman lost her life when the Ford F150 she was in crashed and overturned after hitting a deer early Sunday morning on Highway 70 east near Jack Hudson Road. The wreck occurred around 12:48 a.m.

Dead is Ms. Jimmie Allen of Hilham, Tennessee in Overton County.

According to Trooper Jacob Raper of the Tennessee Highway Patrol, Ms. Allen and three others, 54-year-old Stanley Hammock, 37-year-old Travis Murphy, and 46-year-old Amanda Porter were passengers of a 2017 Ford F150 traveling west on Highway 70 in the Hillcrest-Johnsons Chapel area. The pickup was driven by 55-year-old Charles Smith. All but Allen were residents of Livingston also in Overton County

Trooper Raper said after Smith’s vehicle struck the deer, it left the roadway to the right and went up an embankment before overturning. The F150 then came to rest on its top facing south across both lanes of Highway 70. Ms. Allen, though not ejected, went through the sunroof as she was not wearing her seatbelt.

Porter was airlifted to Vanderbilt hospital and Smith was taken to Ascension Saint Thomas DeKalb Hospital. Hammock and Murphy were not injured.

Members of the DeKalb County Fire Department’s Johnsons Chapel Station and extrication team were summoned to the scene along with sheriff’s deputies, DeKalb EMS and the Tennessee Highway Patrol Critical Incident Response Team (CIRT).

Four high school anglers from Smithville–Mason Taylor, Wesley Kent, Braeden Mangin, and Bill Stanton will represent their hometown in the Tennessee Bass Nation High School State Championship on May 30-31, launching from Sunset Marina on legendary Dale Hollow Lake.

These dedicated student-athletes will face off against the best high school bass fishing teams in the state, bringing their hard-earned skills to one of Tennessee’s most challenging and rewarding fisheries.

Adding to the excitement, Mason Taylor and Wesley Kent have already qualified for the 2025 Bassmaster High School Strike King National Championship, which will occur July 31-August 2 on Clarks Hill Lake in Evans, Georgia. Earning a spot in this prestigious national tournament is a testament to their talent and determination.

“We are incredibly proud of what these young anglers have achieved,” said Coach Taylor. A heartfelt thank you goes out to the sponsors who have supported the teams this season.

An investigation by the DeKalb County Sheriff’s Department and special agents with the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation into a Saturday night shooting at the Midnight Express Gentlemen’s Club on Sparta Highway has resulted in an arrest.

According to Sheriff Patrick Ray, 40-year-old James Barsotti of Davis Road Pleasant Shade, believed to have been responsible for shooting an employee of the Gentlemen’s Club, is charged with one count of attempted second degree murder. He was booked into the DeKalb County jail Saturday night on a $300,000 bond and his court date is set for May 29.

The victim was transported by helicopter to a Nashville hospital, where he continues to be treated for his injuries. The name of the victim has not been released.

In his first statement Saturday night, Sheriff Ray said “a call came from the Midnight Express at 8:22 pm that someone had been shot at the club. Deputies arrived on the scene at 8:29 pm and found a male victim with a gunshot wound in the bar. The shooter was also on the scene and fighting another individual in the parking lot. The shooter was taken into custody. The shooting took place in the parking lot and the victim went back in the building. The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation was called in to investigate the shooting. The shooting victim was airlifted to a Nashville Hospital. The Smithville Police Department and Constable Mark Milam also assisted,” said Sheriff Ray.