DeKalb Unemployment Rate Inched Up in February

March 30, 2023
By: Dwayne Page

Many counties across Tennessee experienced significant drops in unemployment in February after the end of seasonal employment impacted January’s numbers, according to new data from the Department of Labor and Workforce Development (TDLWD).

DeKalb County was an exception.

The February jobless rate in DeKalb County was 4.2%, a slight increase from the January rate of 4% and above the rate of 3.6% in February, 2022.

The local labor force for February, 2023 was 8,086. A total of 7,743 were employed and 343 were without work.

Twenty-two counties across the state saw rates decrease during the month, while unemployment held steady in 21 additional counties. Rates did increase in the remaining 52 counties.

One of the most notable decreases was in Perry County. It had the highest unemployment rate in January at 9.8% but one month later, its rate dropped 4.7 percentage points to 5.1%.

Moore County recorded the lowest rate across the state for February at 2.5%, which was unchanged when compared to the previous month. Williamson County had Tennessee’s second-lowest rate at 2.6%, up 0.1 of a percentage point from its January rate.

Cocke County recorded the state’s highest unemployment rate for the month. At 6.5%, unemployment in the county was still down 0.5 of a percentage point from January’s rate of 7%. Bledsoe County’s rate was the second-highest at 5.9%, which mirrored its number from the month before.

Tennessee’s statewide unemployment rate held steady at 3.5% in February. That marked the fifth consecutive month unemployment across the state remained unchanged.

Nationally, unemployment in February increased to 3.6%, up 0.2 of a percentage point.

Unlike statewide and national unemployment rates, county data is not seasonally adjusted to take into consideration seasonal impacts on unemployment.

Jobs4TN.gov currently has more than 300,00 open positions available around Tennessee and just across its borders. Job seekers can utilize a variety of services on the site that will help them find meaningful employment. They can also go to TNWorkReady.com for information on Adult Education, help for justice involved individuals to find work, and much more.

March 30, 2023
By:

April is Confederate History month in Tennessee. During that month in 1862, the Battle of Shiloh was fought in West Tennessee. With this bloody battle came the realization the War Between the States would bring unprecedented human suffering. The War also ended in April with the surrender of General Lee’s Army of Northern Virginia in 1865. To recognize Confederate History Month and local Confederate Veterans, the Savage-Goodner Camp 1513 of the Sons of Confederate Veterans is dedicating a memorial to Confederate Veterans interred at Mt. Holly Cemetery, 1800 Allens Ferry Road, Smithville, Tennessee (near Elizabeth Chapel Baptist Church) on Thursday, April 13, 2023 at 6:30 p.m. A brief ceremony at the cemetery with military and civilian reenactors will accompany the unveiling of a memorial sign containing the names of the Confederate Veterans buried in Mt. Holly Cemetery.

The public is invited to attend and witness this ceremony.

Those Confederate Veterans being memorialized are:

Jacob Atnip
George Washington Bond
Joseph H. Bozarth
Samual Arch Carter
William Hayes
James S. Holley
John S. Holley
Henry C. Johnson
Bartemus H. Pack
John Pack
W.M. Pack

Arvine Peyton Page
James D. Robinson
Jeremiah (Jerry) Smith
Chesley Taylor
David C. Taylor
Pete E. Taylor
James T. Trapp
John A. Trapp
E. C. Walker
Henry L. Winfree
William Winfree

March 29, 2023
By: Dwayne Page

Seven months after taking office, DeKalb County General Sessions and Juvenile Court Judge Brandon Cox has settled into his new role.

In an interview with WJLE Tuesday, Judge Cox said that while the duties are challenging, he is enjoying being judge.

Listen here.

“I am enjoying it. It’s a challenge each day but I enjoy the different cases that are brought before me and seeing it from a different perspective,” said Judge Cox.

After having observed and participated in the court system as an attorney for several years, Judge Cox took the bench last September with some new ideas to hopefully bring more efficiency to the judicial system at this level and he has been able to put many of them in place including making changes to the court calendar.

A “Preliminary Hearing Docket” for contested cases is now held once a month in addition to the regular criminal court docket. One of the benefits is that it cuts down on the amount of time law enforcement officers have to spend in court on their cases thus saving the county money for overtime pay.

“One of the benefits that I think directly impacts the county is my new “Preliminary Hearing Docket” which I hold once per month. This docket is in addition to my regular criminal docket which is held every Thursday,” said Judge Cox. “The point of this docket is to schedule contested hearings. Prior to this special docket, law enforcement officers that had cases on the regular docket were often required to be in court each and every Thursday. That caused some officers to go over their allotted hours and would cost the county overtime pay. Since I have taken office, the officers are only required to be present when subpoenaed to be present for a hearing, or at the request of the district attorney. The result is that we no longer have officers sitting in court once a week awaiting a hearing that may not take place. The officers are no longer getting the overtime from their time in court, and thus the county is saving money. Most importantly, these officers can be on the road and in the county doing their jobs,” said Judge Cox.

In an effort to enhance security, Zoom video arraignments and docket calls are scheduled for inmates to prevent having them brought from the jail to the courthouse so often.

“On my Thursday Criminal Docket, there are between 6 and 20 persons that are incarcerated,” Judge Cox explained. “Previously, these individuals were shackled and hauled across the street to Court first thing. Many times, the inmates were brought over simply to have their case continued. They would also take up two or three rows of seats making it difficult to get others in the courtroom and making it difficult to properly secure the inmates from the public. Because of these issues, I have implemented video arraignments and docket calls. At the beginning of each docket, I call the jail docket via zoom, and we only bring over the inmates that are needed in person for hearings or to enter a plea. This reduces the number of inmates brought over significantly, and we often have only a handful brought over. This has freed up the courtroom gallery seating for the public and has made keeping the courtroom secure much simpler. It has helped speed the dockets along as well, and has reduced the distractions in court,” said Judge Cox.

The Juvenile Court docket has also been changed to keep School Resource Officers from having to make a court appearance during school hours except when subpoenaed to be present. The recent school shooting in Nashville serves as a reminder why school security is vitally important.

“We have all been saddened by the news of the shooting in Nashville at the private school,” said Judge Cox. “My prayers are with the families impacted and those young children. We are blessed in this county with some great School Resource Officers (SRO’s). But, sometimes they get taken away from their duties at the school. One of the reasons they would be removed from school was to attend juvenile court. I know the importance of having the SRO’s on campus and doing their job protecting the staff and students. Because of this, I have implemented changes to the juvenile court docket so SRO’s are not pulled from school. First, no SRO is required to attend court unless subpoenaed to be present. If they are needed during school hours, for a detention hearing or other emergency hearing, they will be permitted to attend via zoom or via telephone. Any regularly scheduled hearing that requires an SRO to be present will be scheduled after school hours. Additionally, my Youth Service Officer (YSO) will be responsible for going to the school to assist the SRO in filing the requisite charges for a youth committing a delinquent offense. No longer is the SRO required to leave the school and go to the Courthouse to file a petition,” said Judge Cox.

Recovery Court is now held each week on Tuesdays starting at 8 a.m.

“I have rearranged some other dockets including my Recovery Court Docket, which is now held every Tuesday morning,” Judge Cox said. “This docket sometimes moves quickly but more often than not our team takes a deep dive into each participant and the docket will run on into 10 a.m. or after. Previously, this would interfere with the Wednesday civil and juvenile dockets, causing those cases to not be called until around 10 a.m. or after. Since I have moved this docket, our Wednesday dockets begin promptly at 9 a.m. This benefits the lawyers and the litigants who are present in court. And it allows me and the Recovery Court Team to take the time necessary for each of our Recovery Court participants,” said Judge Cox.

Due to some of these changes, Judge Cox now holds court nearly every Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday and more calendar changes may be necessary later.

“I will be making other minor changes to the calendar in the coming months as I am able to discern the best way to situate the differing dockets that I have and after getting input from other interested parties and groups. I know that we will be changing the Child Support Docket and Juvenile Delinquent Docket in July. These changes are necessary to reduce the clutter and conflict between dockets. And it will give me the opportunity to give each case and litigant the attention and deliberation they deserve,” Judge Cox concluded.

In Part 2 of his WJLE interview, Judge Cox will be announcing court policy changes in a later post here.

Listen here.