Early Voting Ends with Turnout of 689 for March 3 Primaries

February 26, 2020
By: Dwayne Page

A total of 689 people cast ballots during the early voting period in DeKalb County for the March 3 primaries

According to the DeKalb County Election Commission, 102 voted Tuesday including 53 in the Democratic and 49 in the Republican Primaries.

For the eleven days combined, 689 cast ballots including 335 in the Republican and 354 in the Democratic Primaries.

Voters in both parties are selecting their preferences for US President. Republicans are choosing the GOP nominee for Criminal Court Judge Part II in the 13th Judicial District, and the DeKalb County Democratic primary is being held where local Democrats are selecting nominees for Assessor of Property and Constable in 6 of the 7 districts.

Polls across DeKalb County will be open Tuesday, March 3 from 8 a.m. until 7 p.m. WJLE will have LIVE election return coverage Tuesday night starting at 7 p.m.

February 25, 2020
By: Dwayne Page

The controversy lingers over who should be chairman of the DeKalb County Budget Committee

During Monday night’s county commission meeting, County Mayor Tim Stribling said he has reached out to the County Technical Advisory Service (CTAS) on whether the budget committee can act unilaterally to replace its own chairman with someone else based on provisions of Tennessee’s Fiscal Control Acts of 1957 or whether DeKalb County is governed by the Local Option Budgeting Law of 1993 which does not specifically address the makeup of the budget committee.

First district county commissioner Dennis Slager has served in the position since taking office in 2018 but last Wednesday night during a budget committee meeting three of his fellow members voted to oust him as chairman and have County Mayor Tim Stribling take over as ex officio chairman of the budget committee. The following day, Jerry Adcock, one of the members who voted in the majority to remove Slager, said he never intended to do that.

The vote Adcock and others cast was on a motion made by fifth district county commissioner and budget committee member Anita Puckett to remove Slager as chairman. Puckett was frustrated with Slager over a recent meeting between the budget committee and the Board of Education concerning its request for funding to build new schools. Puckett claimed that Slager tried to control and manipulate the meeting and that he shared his own opinion and made it seem he was speaking for the committee

Slager denied the assertion saying he gave everyone who wanted to speak and have input an opportunity to do so.

Until CTAS renders an opinion as to whether the action to remove Slager is legal, County Mayor Stribling said the committee will continue to operate as it has with no changes.

The five members of the budget committee have historically served at the pleasure of the County Mayor who appoints them with the approval of the county commission.

In September 2018, County Mayor  Stribling appointed to the budget committee Dennis Slager, Anita Puckett, Jerry Adcock, Sabrina Farler, and Jeff Barnes and he named Slager as chairman.

In the motion to remove Slager as chairman, Puckett referenced the 1957 law which states that “The committee shall consist of five members, one of whom shall be the county mayor and the other four shall be appointed by the county mayor with the approval of the county governing body at its regular January session each year or at any subsequent session. The county mayor shall be the ex officio chair of the budget committee and the director of accounts and budget shall be the ex officio secretary of the budget committee”.

“Although he has not given an opinion on Puckett’s motion, Ben Rogers of CTAS has said that he is under the impression that we are under the 1993 act rather than the 1957 law,” said County Mayor Stribling.

For example, the 1957 Act states that the makeup of the budget committee includes a director of accounts and budgets who shall be the ex officio secretary. DeKalb County has no such director of accounts and budgets on the committee.

“This county has traditionally operated the committees where the chairman of the county commission who happens to be the county mayor has named the committees and has named the chairperson of the committees. I think it is a dangerous situation if we get into changing the structure of that committee because of some hard feelings,” said County Mayor Stribling.

“Are you saying that the vote is null and void,” said Puckett.

“I’m not saying anything until I get a ruling from CTAS. I sent them your motion and we will get a ruling one way or another from CTAS,” Stribling responded.

Fourth district commissioner Janice Fish Stewart said this incident only underscores the need for the county to adopt a set of policies and procedures for how business is conducted.

“We are in pretty dangerous territory here because whatever we do is going to set a precedent for everything else going forward. We have worked hard on developing policies and procedures and are having difficulty getting them passed but I am not giving up. I am chairman of the policies and procedures committee and we need them to address situations like this and others that come up. But we cannot allow ourselves to let emotional things get involved. I don’t think that is somewhere where we really need to go. We all have to work together and make decisions based on the people we represent. We need to make the right decisions and take the emotions out of it. We have to be adults. We have to come together as one body with one goal in mind and that is to do what is best for the citizens of DeKalb County,” she said.

Slager said that County Mayor Stribling should consider making changes on the budget committee.

“My concern is that the budget committee is becoming a committee that has personal agendas and motives. That is an extremely serious committee and we are there to represent the people of the county including every district and every citizen but when we start injecting personal opinions, motives, agendas, and carrying a banner for a certain group then it appears to me that the committee can no longer function. We cannot allow personal conflicts and things like that to enter into any committee meeting. We have to understand what our duties are in the committee and they are not to vote people in, appoint people, dismiss people, and ridicule people. That is not our job. This is a five member committee and I do not see how this committee moves forward with those types of motives and do the work of the people. It’s a serious situation this county is entering into financially. We have major issues coming up and we cannot have personal feelings involved in these decisions. I would ask you as chairman and county mayor to consider in the best interest of the county to look at maybe reappointing this committee and find five people, regardless of who they are, that can be independent with no motives or agendas and are serious about solving the problems of this county,” said Slager.

No action was taken.

February 25, 2020
By: Dwayne Page

A Smithville man was recently arrested after being indicted almost two years ago in a child sex crime investigated by the Smithville Police Department.

39 year old Hoss Lee Stith of Cripps Lane, Smithville is charged with sexual exploitation of a minor and sexual battery by an authority figure. His bond totals $100,000 and his court date is May 19.

Stith, who was arrested on February 19, appeared for arraignment Friday, February 21 in DeKalb County Criminal Court before Judge Wesley Bray.

According to the sealed indictments returned by the DeKalb County Grand Jury on July 23, 2018, Stith had sexual contact with a 16 year old girl on June 3, 2018. He also had less than 50 images of minors engaged in sexual activity.