DWS Teacher Janet England Retires

November 15, 2018
By: Bill Conger

After 31 years of teaching, Janet England has retired from DeKalb West School.

England started this school year as usual with plans to work through the year, but something just didn’t feel right. She turned in her retirement papers and left by the end of August. It was a bitter sweet time because her father, Neil Dudney, who has since passed away, was sick in the hospital. Instead of taking care of students, she was then taking care of her daddy.

“I was so very thankful and blessed, I was able to retire when I did and be where I needed to be for my parents,” England said.

Overall, though, Mrs. Janet says being retired feels “wonderful.”

“I have not missed hearing an alarm clock. I have enjoyed not having a set daily schedule to follow. It has been really nice so far. It’s still exciting! I have missed seeing friends at school and the interactions with the student on a daily basis.”

A 1983 graduate of D.C.H.S., England attended David Lipscomb College and graduated from Tennessee Tech in 1987 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Elementary Education (grades 1-8). Her tenure with DeKalb West started in September of ’87. She taught Chapter/Title 1 for three years, 4th grade for nine years, 8th grade for three years, 6th grade for 11 years, and RTI for the last five years of her education career.

“In the past I have taught all subjects, but my favorites are math and social studies,” says England.

She served as yearbook advisor for five years, cheerleading coach for one year, FCA sponsor for two years, the 21st Century After School Program for six years and served on various school committees.

Born in Rockwood, TN with her twin sister, Susan, Mrs. Janet lived most of her life in Smithville. Married to her high school sweetheart, Brian England, the couple has a daughter, Laura, who is an Optometrist in Lawton, OK.

“She was a dedicated teacher, wonderful friend, and good advice giver,” says Lori Pryor. “We taught fourth grade together several years ago and discovered we are a lot alike, and after riding to school together for years we discovered our daughters are a lot alike too.”

“She was not only my teaching partner but also my mentor, and she very quickly became my close friend” says Jenny Cantrell, who at one point taught 6th grade with Mrs. Janet. “She had to answer hundreds of my questions; yet, she did without complaining. She claimed that she was training me to take care of her someday just like Ms. Pat Allen had done for her. We had a lot of fun together, probably too much, which probably led to us being separated!  She was the most organized person in existence. I was not that person, so I was happy to let her interpret data, make suggestions, and give advice, and in return, I would decorate our classroom doors and talk her into trying new things. I hope Ms. Janet’s retirement will be an adventure of a lifetime because she deserves it.”

England plans to hit the road quite often.

“My plans are to travel whenever I get a chance,” says England. “I have already been to the beach and to Oklahoma to visit my daughter and family [grandson, Charles]. We are planning on returning to Oklahoma as much as we can.  We are planning a trip to New Orleans in the near future. We will probably be heading back to our beach house whenever we are able. I have several projects/hobbies that I have planned to do around the house and for family. Who knows what I will get myself into in the future, the possibilities are endless!”

November 14, 2018
By: Dwayne Page

Friday is the deadline to get your name on the list for a free Thanksgiving Day meal courtesy of the DeKalb Emergency Services Association (DESA).

In partnership with Adoration Health as well as local businesses and volunteers, the DESA will be preparing and delivering Thanksgiving Meals to the needy or underserved on Thursday, November 22.

“We feel that this is just another way our local emergency service providers and our supporters can serve our community. If you or a family member would like a hot meal on Thanksgiving Day, please call one of the numbers listed below to be added to our delivery list. We will need your address, phone number, and number of persons in your household. The meals are scheduled to be delivered between 10:00 a.m. and 12:00 Noon,” says Association President Blake Cantrell.

DESA will accept names of persons requesting meal through Friday, November 16.

To get your name on the delivery list, call 615-390-0297 or 615-712-4286.

Additionally, if you want to support this community project by donating food items or volunteering your time to prepare meals and/or make deliveries, you can contact any of the phone numbers above. The DeKalb Emergency Services Association also plans to prepare and deliver meals on Christmas Eve. A future announcement will be publicized later for this project.

November 14, 2018
By: Dwayne Page

Eight players on the 2018 DCHS football team and an Assistant Coach have earned All-Region honors.

Tiger players honored are as follows:
Most Outstanding Offensive Lineman Isaac Cross
Most Outstanding Quarterback Axel Aldino
Most Outstanding Returner Desmond Nokes

Special Teams Coach Thomas Cagle

1st Team All Region Grayson Redmon
1st Team All Region Isaac Knowles
1st Team All Region Dylan Denson

2nd Team All Region David Bradford
2nd Team All Region Hunter Fann

Head Coach Steve Trapp said the honors are well deserved. “Record wise its not a year we will look back on and have a lot of pride about it but these guys deserve this recognition and I think each and every one of them would say they couldn’t get that recognition without their teammates. Even through a bad season record wise as individuals, they did a great job for us and its always good for them to get that recognition at the end of the season. These are voted on by the rest of the region coaches so for them to get the accolades bestowed upon them by their peers and other coaches, it just says the type of work they put in and type of players that they are,” said Coach Trapp.

The Tigers went 3-8 overall during the 2018 season with an appearance in the state play-offs, the 14^th in school history.