Five Charged in Recent Burglaries and Thefts

June 1, 2020
By: Dwayne Page

Four people were arrested last week for breaking into a Liberty home twice in the same day while another man has been charged in a separate case for stealing a car on Holmes Creek Road.

In the Liberty case, 38 year old Kenneth Adam Wright of Vandergriff Hollow Road, Dowelltown; 34 year old Jonathon David Thomas of Nashville Highway, Liberty; 23 year old Emma Katherine Alverson of Steeplechase Drive, Smithville; and 37 year old Samantha Bee Florida of Turkey Branch Road, Liberty are each charged with 2 counts of aggravated burglary and 1 count of theft over $1,000. Bond for each is $45,000 and they will make a court appearance on June 18.

Sheriff Patrick Ray said deputies responded to a complaint of a prowler around a residence on Old Highway 53 in Liberty and discovered the burglary upon arrival. Detectives were notified and started an investigation which revealed that the foursome had broken into the residence twice on May 29 and stole several items with a total value of $7,395 including an Xbox 360, large red craftsman tool box, record player, paint rollers, 2 trail cameras, plastic tool box, a jump box, samurai katana, DVDs, tea set, hunting blind, Holy Bible vinyl record, shop vac, solar battery charger, antique oil lamp, pots and other miscellaneous items.

Meanwhile in the car theft case, 33 year old Cory Allen Chapman of Sycamore Creek Road, Woodbury is charged with burglary and theft of property. His bond is $15,000 and he will be in court June 11.

Sheriff Ray said that on May 24 Chapman broke into and stole a 2004 Saturn Ion located on Holmes Creek Road. The car was valued at $1,300. The case was investigated by a detective of the sheriff’s department.

June 1, 2020
By: Dwayne Page

Notice of 2020 FSA County Committee Election and Local Administrative Area (LAA) Boundaries

June 1, 2020 Smithville, Tennessee; Donny Green, DeKalb-Cannon County FSA County Executive Director, announced that the nomination period for the 2020 Farm Service Agency (FSA) County Committee Election is underway. The nomination period continues through August 1, 2020.

“I encourage all producers to participate in the county committee election process by nominating candidates by the August 1 deadline,” said Green. “We are counting on as much participation as possible, because county committees are an important link between the farm community and the U.S. Department of Agriculture. We have seen a trend in recent years of increased nominations of minority, beginning farmers, and women producers and we hope that will continue.”

Committees apply their judgment and knowledge to make decisions on county commodity price-support loan eligibility, establishment of allotments and yields, conservation programs, disaster programs, employment and other farm program-related issues. Nationwide, there are more than 7,700 farmers and ranchers serving on FSA county committees. Committees consist of three to 11 members who are elected by eligible local producers. Member serve three-year terms.

To be eligible to serve on an FSA county committee, a person must participate or cooperate in a program administered by FSA, be eligible to vote in a county committee election and reside in the local administrative area in which the person is a candidate.

Nominees must reside in Local Administrative Area (LAA) for which they are seeking to be elected. For the 2020 Election, the DeKalb-Cannon FSA County Committee Election will conduct elections in LAA-2 (DeKalb County) and LAA-4 (Cannon County). Below is the description of the LAA’s that will be conducting elections this year:

Local Administrative Area # 2, the portions of DeKalb County described as following:

West of a line where Hwy. 146 crosses the Cannon County line following Hwy. 146 north to Hodges Rd.; thence north to Tabernacle Rd.; following a line from Tabernacle Rd. to Dry Creek Rd.; west of Dry Creek Rd. to Hwy. 70 West; north of Hwy. 70 to Hwy. 96 North (Dale Ridge Rd.); west of Hwy. 96 North to Hwy. 141 (Wolf Creek Rd.);West of Hwy. 141 to Center Hill Dam; thence following the Caney Fork River north/northwest to the Smith County line; thence south of the Smith County line; thence east of the Wilson County line to the Cannon County line; northwest of the Cannon County line back to the intersection of Hwy. 146 and the DeKalb/Cannon County line.

Local Administrative Area # 4, the portions of Cannon County described as following:

That portion of Cannon County that lies east of Highway 53 (a state highway that runs south from the DeKalb County line and north from the Coffee County Line).

Individuals may nominate themselves, or others, as a candidate. In addition, eligible candidates can be nominated by community-based and other organizations in the county where the election is being held before the close of the nomination period, especially groups representing socially disadvantaged farmers or ranchers. Nominations and elections are open to all eligible candidates and voters without regard to race, color, religion, nation origin, age, sex, marital status or disability. The nomination form (FSA-669A) is available at USDA Service Centers and online at: http://www.fsa.usda.gov/elections

Ballots will be mailed to all eligible voters in LAA’s # 2 and # 4 on November 2, 2020. Completed ballots must be returned, either in person or postmarked, no later December 7, 2020. For more information about FSA county committees, visit the DeKalb/Cannon County USDA Service Center or call 615-597-8225, extension 2.

June 1, 2020
By: Dwayne Page

A WJLE Radiothon to raise money for the DCHS Class of 2020 Project Graduation will be Friday, June 5th from 9:00 a.m. until noon.

The radiothon had originally been scheduled for March 27 but was postponed due to COVID-19.

High school seniors and parents on the Project Graduation committee will be answering phones, taking pledges during the drive. Any member of the Class of 2020 is urged to stop by the station to make an appearance on the radiothon to talk about their school activities and future plans.

Last year’s event raised $8,100 easily surpassing the goal of $5,000.

Project Graduation is an all night drug-free, alcohol-free graduation party for members of the DCHS Class of 2020 committed to having a safe, wholesome, yet entertaining celebration together for the last time as a class. The event begins following the graduation ceremony on June 19. Project graduation will be held at the Smithville First Baptist Church Life Enrichment Center.

Call 615-597-4265 during the Radiothon to make your pledge from 9:00 a.m. until noon on Friday, June 5th. Listen LIVE on FM 101.7/AM 1480 and LIVE streaming at www.wjle.com.