DeKalb Records Staggering April Jobless Rate of 22.4%- 8th Highest in State

May 29, 2020
By: Dwayne Page

Statistics released today by the Tennessee Department of Labor and Workforce Development show a staggering increase in unemployment for each of Tennessee’s 95 counties in April as many businesses closed to help slow the spread of COVID-19.

At 22.4%, DeKalb County recorded the 8th highest April county unemployment rate in Tennessee, up by 18.4% from the 4% DeKalb jobless rate for March. The local unemployment rate for April, 2019 was 3.6%.

DeKalb County’s labor force for April was 7,793 compared to 7,724 in March while the number of unemployed jumped from 357 in March to 1,746 in April. A total of 6,047 DeKalb Countians were working in April, down from 7,367 in March.

Jobless rates for April among the fourteen counties in the Upper Cumberland region were as follows from highest to lowest:

Warren: 24.3%
DeKalb: 22.4%
Van Buren: 20.1%
Jackson: 17.1%
White: 16.9%
Cannon: 16.2%
Putnam 14.7%
Smith: 14.3%
Macon: 13.9%
Clay: 13.7%
Overton: 13.6%
Cumberland: 12.7%
Pickett: 10.6%
Fentress: 10.1%

The unprecedented and historic spike in unemployment impacted some counties more drastically than others, but no area of Tennessee escaped the pandemic’s effect on the state’s workforce.

Fayette County had Tennessee’s lowest unemployment rate in April. At 9.4%, the county’s rate increased by 6.1 percentage points when compared to its revised March rate of 3.3%.

Weakley County had the second-lowest unemployment rate for the month at 9.6%, followed by Hardeman County at 9.7%.

Fayette, Weakley, and Hardeman were the only counties in the state with unemployment rates below 10% in April.

Sevier County recorded Tennessee’s highest unemployment rate for the month. The county’s new jobless figure of 29.5% represents a staggering spike of 26 percentage points when compared to its revised March rate of 3.5%.

Neighboring Cocke County had the second-highest jobless rate in April at 25.6%, a 20.9 percentage point increase from the previous month. Grundy County ranked third-highest with a rate of 25.3%, which is a 21.1 percentage point spike when compared to March’s rate.

When comparing Tennessee’s three largest cities, Nashville had the highest unemployment rate in April. The city’s rate of 15.9% is a 13.5 percentage point increase over its revised March rate of 2.4%. Memphis recorded a rate of 14.3%, a spike of 10.1 percentage points from the previous month, and Knoxville’s April rate of 14.7% is an 11.8 percentage point jump.

Statewide, unemployment reached a historic high in April. The seasonally adjusted rate of 14.7% surpassed the previous all-time high figure of 12.9% in January 1983.

Unlike the statewide unemployment rate, county unemployment statistics are not seasonally adjusted.

May 29, 2020
By: Dwayne Page

Three inmates at the DeKalb County Jail were found with contraband in their cells during a recent shakedown.

28 year old Joshua McAllen Beckham of White Street, 40 year old Erik Thomas Dunn of Indian Mound Road, and 49 year old Chad Everette Knowles of the Loop Circle are each charged with possession of contraband in a penal institution.

Sheriff Patrick Ray said that on May 15 during a shakedown at the jail, Beckham was found to have a large rock and a piece of metal; Dunn had a makeshift sewing needle and a shank; and Knowles was in possession of two medical clips. These items were found among the prisoners’ belongings near their cell bunks. Some of the items found could potentially have been used as a weapon.

A Dowelltown woman has been charged with assaulting another with a knife.

47 year old Kandida Faye Davidson of Frosty Point Road is charged with aggravated assault. Her bond is $1,500 and she will be in court June 11.

Sheriff Ray said that on May 25 a deputy was dispatched to a residence on Frosty Point Road due to a possible domestic assault. The caller said that she had been cut by a knife. Upon arrival the officer spoke with the woman who said that she and her girlfriend had gotten into an argument and that Davidson pulled a knife and assaulted her, making a small cut on the right side of her head.

37 year old Warren Brandon Glasby of Avant Circle, Alexandria is charged with public intoxication. His court date is June 11.

Sheriff Ray said that on May 13 a deputy spotted a man riding on the hood of a vehicle on Hobson Street in Smithville before jumping off and walking away. The officer confronted the man, Glasby. According to the deputy, Glasby was very fidgety and unable to stand still. He appeared to be under the influence. Glasby was placed under arrest for his safety and that of others.

27 year old Killian Blake Ellis of Hillwood Acres, Alexandria is charged with violating an order of protection. His bond is $1,500 and he will be in court June 11.

Sheriff Ray said that on May 6 Ellis contacted a woman several times by phone in violation of an order of protection against him sought by this woman.

May 29, 2020
By: Dwayne Page

A man wanted for first degree murder in Bedford County was arrested at a home in Dowelltown Thursday night.

25 year old Colby Ray Watford is charged in Bedford County with first degree murder and is under a one million dollar bond. He will soon make a court appearance in Bedford County.

Sheriff Patrick Ray said that detectives from the Shelbyville Police Department contacted DeKalb County Sheriff’s Department detectives Thursday, May 28 about assisting in the arrest of Watford at his home at 136 South Mill Street in Dowelltown. Later in the evening, detectives with the Shelbyville Police Department along with detectives and patrol deputies from the DeKalb County Sheriff’s Department and Sheriff Patrick Ray went to the residence and took Watford into custody without incident.

Officers later obtained a search warrant and executed it at Watford’s home looking for more evidence.

So far, no charges are pending on Watford in DeKalb County.