Lieutenant Detective Matt Holmes Steps Down from Smithville Police Department

May 28, 2020
By: Dwayne Page

The City of Smithville Police Department has said goodbye to long time employee, Lieutenant Detective Matt Holmes.

After nearly 13 years with the City of Smithville, Holmes recently announced an early retirement. On Friday, May 29, 2020, Police Chief Mark Collins and Captain Steven Leffew presented Lt. Holmes with a plaque honoring his service to the City of Smithville.

“After much prayer and consideration, I have decided to begin the next chapter in my life. The City of Smithville has been a phenomenal place to work and I consider everyone to be like family,” said Lt. Holmes.

After being employed by the City of Smithville in September 2007 as a patrolman, Holmes was promoted to Detective in 2010 and then to Lieutenant in 2014 with the responsibility for overseeing the Investigation Division within the Police Department. Holmes is a graduate of the Walter State Police Academy, Basic TBI Investigation School, as well as TBI’s Advanced Crime Scene School.

“ Lt. Holmes has been a valuable asset to the Smithville Police Department from his creative ways at solving cases to his excellent leadership skills. We will be losing someone with experience/knowledge and the desire to always do the right thing and he will be greatly missed,” said Police Chief Collins.

“Matt was an outstanding investigator. I have watched him close out cases in amazing ways. Matt is a humble person and has always gone out of his way to help. He will be missed tremendously,” added Captain Leffew.

“From the bottom of my heart, thank you to everyone who has given me the ability to serve the citizens of Smithville. I will always be indebted to you and I will regard the time I have spent here as some of my fondest memories,” said Lt. Holmes.

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.