News

A 12th grader has been awarded “Student of the Month” for March at DeKalb County High School.

18-year-old Katya Hennessee, daughter of Brad and Renee Hennessee, was surprised to learn Tuesday that she had been named the recipient of the honor which included a certificate and a gift card for a meal at El Rancho Mexican Restaurant.

“I’m very honored and thankful,” said Hennessee.

Katya and her younger siblings 17-year-old Valya and 14-year-old Pasha, natives of Ukraine, were adopted by the Hennessee’s several years ago. “We went through an organization called Bridges of Faith and they bring over Ukranian kids to America to be with families here,” said Katya.

A member of the FFA club, Katya said she was also a football manager for three years. Her interest in agriculture came about because of her grandfather who has about 250 head of cattle.

After graduation, Katya said she plans to attend the Tennessee College of Applied Technology in McMinnville and study cosmetology.

Asked if she keeps up with the situation in her native Ukraine, Katya said she was so young when she left that it’s hard to comprehend now. “It’s hard to comprehend sometimes because I have been here for almost nine years, but I still remember most things because I was the oldest kid in the family. It was like, wow I came from something and look at it now,” she said.

The proposed budget for the Smithville Fire Department would be larger if all funding requests are met by the city as proposed by Fire Chief Charlie Parker.

(View Fire Chief Charlie Parker’s 2025-26 Budget Request)

In addition to renewing a request for the city to purchase a new $1.2 million fire engine to replace a 2001 model, Chief Parker met with the mayor and aldermen Monday night in a budget workshop to review with them his funding requests for the 2025-26 fiscal year ranging from salaries to payment to volunteers, repairs and maintenance, adding new hydrants, purchasing loose equipment including hoses, nozzles, air packs, ladders, fans, etc. (especially if a new fire truck is ordered) and capital outlay expenditures, etc.

The mayor and aldermen have not yet acted on Chief Parker’s requests. Another workshop will be held to prioritize all city needs and potentially scale down some budget requests prior to first reading adoption of the city budget for the 2025-26 fiscal year.

The city is being asked by Chief Parker to purchase a Pierce Custom Enforcer PUC Pumper currently priced at $1,248,449 with a prepayment discount of $130, 143 making the city’s actual cost $1,118,305. Delivery of the new fire truck would be within 37-38 months of order date. The cost would be only for the truck itself, and not the hoses and other apparatus to equip it.

“The Smithville Fire Department strives to adhere to as many recommendations, policies, and best practices of the National Fire Protection Agency (NFPA) and the Insurance Service Organization (ISO) as we possibly can. We do this for the safety of our firefighters as well as our citizens and to help reduce liability to the city,” said Chief Parker.

“In my opinion any vehicle 25 years old should be considered an antique. An apparatus over 25 years will get little ISO credit, and it is considered an antique. It can still be utilized as a reserve pumper, but it is supposed to be brought up to the newer safety standards as mandated by Fire Apparatus Manufacturing Association (FAMA) and the NFPA,”” he said.

“The cost of loose equipment needed for the new truck is somewhere between $150,000 to $200,000 and this is not included in the price of the new truck,” Chief Parker continued.

“Most of the equipment in question came with the purchase of Engine 2 in 2001, and a lot of that equipment has a 10–15-year lifespan like the hoses, air packs, and other equipment and some of it just wears out after 25 years. Since we are already at the 25 year mark a lot of this equipment is already past the suggested life span or just wearing out,” said Chief Parker.

“I pulled the equipment off the cost of the truck to try to lower the price and to spread the equipment cost out over the next 4 years. Also, some of the equipment is already out of date by several years, so even if we do not purchase a truck this year, we still need to replace some of the equipment,” he added.

Meanwhile, Chief Parker wants to add three more paid fulltime firefighter positions to the current staff of four (including himself) in order to help provide around the clock service.

“I would like to ask the city council to fund three more firefighter positions. This would give us enough personnel to staff two firefighters 24 hours per day 7 days a week. Right now, we’re getting 8 hours a day”.

“I would also like to be able to hire some of the volunteers as part time personnel to fill in when the regular crew is out on vacation or is out sick”.

“Having full time personnel helps us provide better and quicker response to our customers, faster knock down of the fire, lessen the severity of the fire, and provide quicker response on vehicle wrecks. It would also help the ISO rating,” said Chief Parker.

“Our response time during the daytime to just about any part of the city is between 3 & 4 minutes. After hours that time increases to 10 to 15 minutes. This is due to volunteers having to respond to the fire hall to get equipment,” he said.

As for payment to fulltime firefighters, Chief Parker is asking the city to extend the period for them to receive step increases.

“I would respectfully ask for the annual step raises to be extended out to at least 8 years to help us on recruiting and retention of good firefighters”.

Payment to volunteers would be increased by $10,000 to $75,000 under Chief Parker’s proposal and the current longevity/retention bonuses would be adjusted.

“Currently we pay firefighters with 10 years of service an annual longevity/retention bonus of $500. I would like to change this to recognize 5-10 years of service with $250; 10-15 years of service with $500; and go to $750 for those with over 15 years of service”.

“With our current volunteers that would add approximately $4,000 total and I think it will help some with recruiting and retention of good members,” said Chief Parker.

The city plans to use some remaining funds in the current budget to repair and add new hydrants. Chief Parker is asking that more funds be allocated for this purpose in the 2025-26 fiscal year.

“Our ISO rating of 5/5x is based on having working fire hydrants every 1,000 feet apart throughout the city limits. We have identified several areas that do not meet this. There are some areas that do not have any hydrants and some that are 3,000 feet or more apart. These are some of the areas we have identified in need of attention and are currently working to make better: Pack Circle, White Oak Drive, Foster Road, Miller Road, South College, East Broad, and West Broad Street. We currently have a plan to flow, test, and record every hydrant this spring to follow the ISO recommendations and keep our hydrants in good working order,” said Chief Parker.

The newly created DeKalb County Parks and Recreation Committee is gearing up its efforts hoping to form a partnership between the county and the cities in search of grant opportunities

“I recently met Tuesday with Meagan Reagan, Community Development Planner of the Upper Cumberland Development District (UCDD) to begin organizing the committee’s efforts,” said committee chairman Tony Luna.

“Our first priority is to develop a comprehensive master plan, which is a prerequisite for securing state and federal grants. A significant opportunity is available through a grant that provides up to $80,000 to initiate this planning process. As a collaborative effort, the grant requires a 20% match, totaling $16,000, to be shared equally among participating municipalities and the county,” he said.

The committee is seeking participation from each city and the county in this effort in order to move forward with this initiative.

Funding Opportunity Overview:

• TDEC is funding a Parks and Recreation master planning grant.
• Two funding options:
• County applies individually for up to $60,000 with a 20% match.
• County partners with cities to apply for up to $80,000 with a 20% match.
• Funding is solely for the master plan, not for implementation work.
• The master plan can enhance eligibility for additional funding opportunities.

Grant Matching Requirements

• Individual county application requires a $16,000 match.
• For a partnership (e.g., county, Smithville, Liberty):
• Estimate is roughly $5,333 to $5,500 per partner.
• Discussion indicates Liberty may have budget constraints; potential collaboration with county and Smithville is preferable.
• Additional cities (e.g., Alexandria) may be considered to share the match despite uncertain interest.

Master Plan Development Process

• Engages pre-qualified consultants identified by the state.
• Consultant’s responsibilities:
• Inventory current assets, facilities, and recreational programs.
• Use GIS mapping, surveys, and public input.
• Analyze demographics, staffing, budget, and facility use (including facility lease agreements with entities like the Army Corps of Engineers).
• Public input process includes:
• Citizen workshops asking for the five most critical local issues.
• Collection of survey findings and community recommendations.
• Review of existing recreational infrastructures such as community centers, parks, and other facilities.
• Example shared from the City of Crossville (original in 2014, with simpler recent updates).

Additional Funding Opportunities and Grant Synergies

• A Parks and Recreation master plan may make the community eligible for:
• Local parks and recreation funds (e.g., ball fields, trail improvements).
• Healthy built environment grants (up to $80,000 for projects like water fountains, lighting, sidewalk or playground improvements).
• Other funding opportunities such as the Department of Health’s Project Diabetes (up to $450,000 over three years).
• TDEC local parks and recreation program can offer up to $500,000 in state funding (with federal funds possibly raising amounts substantially).
• Existence of other smaller grants that benefit from having a comprehensive master plan in place.
• Key Stakeholders and Contacts
• Mayor Matt Adcock introduced the funding opportunity.
• Mention of discussions with Mayor Audrey Martin (Liberty) and Mayor Josh Miller (Smithville) for partnership and contribution confirmation.
• Discussion of potential challenges in engaging Alexandria.

Time Frame and Implementation Considerations

• The preparatory work on the master plan typically takes from one to one and a half years once funded.
• The planning draft stage is sufficient to begin applying for other grants.
• Coordination needs:
• Confirm city and county collaboration.
• Organize a meeting with stakeholders (Mayor Miller, Mayor Martin, and potentially others) to finalize partnership and matching funds.
• Budget integration is important; aim to include plans and proposals in the current fiscal cycle to position for summer grant awards (applications open around June 12 with award announcements by end of July 2025).

Next Steps

• Confirm internal support with relevant city and county officials (e.g., discussions with Mayor Miller and outreach to Mayor Martin).
• Decide on partnership approach (county-only versus county and cities collaborating).
• Apply for the planning grant for $80,000.
• Send and review the Parks and Recreation master plan document (example from Crossville provided, approximately 395 pages; only key sections likely to be printed for review).
• Begin the application process with support from a designated consultant once funding is secured.
• Use the master plan as a foundational document to leverage further funding opportunities (e.g., for facility improvements, staffing such as hiring a Parks and Recreation Director, and potential public-private partnerships).

Additional Considerations for Long-Term Planning

• Even if immediate improvements are limited (e.g., cosmetic upgrades like playground surfaces), a long-term plan creates a pathway for:
• Hiring a full-time Parks and Recreation Director.
• Upgrading and revitalizing underused or outdated community centers.
• Broadening programming beyond traditional parks (including theaters, community centers, and public art).
• Possibility to improve environments and create a forward-looking recreational agenda that sustains future community growth and program development.

The Smithville-DeKalb County Chamber of Commerce is proud to announce the $50,000 Three Star Grant from the Tennessee Department of Economic and Community Development (TNECD) to support the Digital Media and Marketing Program at DeKalb County High School (DCHS).

TNECD’s Three Star Director Jody Sliger recently visited DCHS to see firsthand the new high-end equipment made possible by the grant funding. This grant, applied for by the Smithville-DeKalb County Chamber, provides students access to cutting-edge technology designed to enhance learning in digital media, audio-visual production, and marketing.

Chamber Director Suzanne Williams shared her excitement for the project:

“What a great opportunity to provide students with the capability to better learn how to use digital media and audio-visual production equipment in marketing by creating promotional videos and social media content for the school and the community. One of our goals is to connect students with local businesses to learn real marketing skills while promoting our county.”

Elijah Cross, instructor for the Digital Media and Marketing class, has been putting the new tools to work. He and his students launched a podcast called TigerNation, learning essential communication and technical skills for modern marketing careers. The new equipment —including high-quality laptops, podcasting tools, and a 3-in-1 Snapmaker system—will allow students to develop advanced media and marketing content.

Brad Leach, DCHS STEM Instructor/Career and Technical Education Director, added:

“Our goal is to prepare learners for careers in planning, managing, and performing marketing activities, as well as managing the movement of people, materials, and products. Many jobs in the marketing career cluster have a bright outlook and are expected to grow rapidly in the coming years.”

Equipment Purchased with the Three Star Grant Includes:
2 Drone Systems
5 Canon Rebel Camera Kits with Lenses
1 Studio Camera with Studio Lighting Kit
1 Zoom Podcast Studio Setup
1 Snapmaker 3-in-1 3D Printer, Engraver, and Router
20 Dell Laptops with Adobe Creative Cloud Photo & Video Editing Software
24 Student Chairs/Stools
8 WorkPro Student Worktables

The Smithville-DeKalb County Chamber serves as the official county administrator for the state’s Three Star Program, which recognizes communities that meet rigorous standards in areas such as planning, leadership, workforce development, education, and economic growth. Certified communities, such as DeKalb County, are eligible for additional incentives and support, including priority consideration in infrastructure, training, and community development funding.

Williams concluded, “I’m so grateful for the opportunity to collaborate with Brad Leach who handled all the purchasing, teacher Eli Cross, and the TN Department of Economic and Community Development. This grant ensures our students are equipped with the latest tools to learn in-demand skills and prepare for high-skill, high-wage jobs in our region or beyond.”

About the Three Star Program

ThreeStar is a strategic community development program developed to assist communities in preparing for a better future, for today and tomorrow – and for generations to come.

Participating counties (and cities in these counties) are eligible for a 4% discount (for eligible projects) on both the business development and community development ability-to-pay calculations (CDBG and FastTrack) each year the county fulfills the requirements of the ThreeStar program. CDBG also provides a bonus based on ThreeStar participation up to $25,000. Additionally, only cities and counties that are active participants in the ThreeStar program are eligible to participate in other select TNECD Rural and Community Development programs.

Surprise, Surprise!

After more than 30 years as a realtor in DeKalb County, Betty Lattimore of the Real Estate Team retired last fall, but she was treated to a surprise retirement reception in her honor Tuesday afternoon at the home of Gina Denman in Smithville.

Family, friends, and co-workers including some bearing gifts, joined Lattimore for refreshments and to wish her a happy retirement.

Lattimore began her career as a realtor with the Sunbelt Real Estate Company and worked there for about four years before founding The Real Estate Team in the 1990s.

Betty said she had no idea when she showed up at Denman’s home Tuesday that a reception had been planned for her. “I was very surprised but thankful,” she said.

Lattimore said she worked with a lot of good real estate agents over the years and together they found homes and properties for many people in DeKalb and surrounding counties. Betty said she had no particular plans for retirement other than to perhaps do some traveling.

She is the mother to Dana Turner and Deddie Johnson and a grandmother.

Higher pay for EMS employees?

During Tuesday night’s meeting, EMS Director Trent Phipps met with the budget committee of the county commission to ask for hefty hourly pay raises for the 20 EMS medical personnel on the staff. In his request, Phipps is seeking a $5.00 per hour increase in pay for them along with an increase in his own pay going from $61,040 in the 2024-25 budget to $90,000 in 2025-26.

“The line item at the top for my salary. We did that to make me higher (salary) than the highest paid paramedic on the list”, said EMS Director Phipps.

If approved as requested, the total budgeted line item in salaries for the 20 medical personnel combined would increase from $773,406 in the year 2024-25 to $1,021,996 in the year 2025-26. Part time pay would jump from $140,000 to $200,000 and overtime would go from $203,000 to $287,000.

Meanwhile the EMS budgetary line item for contracted services would increase from $40,000 to $75,000 and the uniform allowance would go from $5,000 to $7,000.

The total budget for the ambulance service, if approved as presented, would increase from $1,833,033 in the year 2024-25 to $2,337, 151 in the 2025-26 fiscal year.

DeKalb EMS staff currently work on 24 hours on and 72 hours off schedule.

In addition to addressing the budget committee in person, Director Phipps provided a written explanation for his request.

“Several counties in our area have made significant payroll increases and once again we are finding ourselves behind in the competition for new, young employees. I have a healthy list of part time EMTs and Advanced EMTs, but attracting new paramedics continues to be a problem. In the last few years, we have hired several Basic EMTs that have gone on to complete advanced school and even paramedic school. Some of them are tempted to go to these other counties for better pay and even better benefits. So, retention is a concern. I have submitted information about a few other counties that were found on social media. Some of these are our neighbors like Smith and Cannon, some are farther away but not any larger than DeKalb County. Some of them are running 24/48, so don’t get caught up on the pay rate as much as the yearly salary”.

“Smith County’s starting salary is more than a 15-year employee makes here on the year. The starting pay for Cannon County is our year 17. Cannon is a smaller county with a smaller service and population. They also do not have major tourist attractions like the lake or the Fiddlers Jamboree. Rhea County is very similar in demographics to us. Again, the $65,000 start out for paramedics there is greater than our 15 years pay scale. Bedford County is not a direct competitor to us but they are also starting paramedics out better than our 15-year employees”.

“I understand that many other problems face DeKalb County with jails and schools, but as our community continues to grow, we are going to be very behind on providing care. I would like to suggest a $3.00 to $5.00 raise at the base rate. This will reflect bringing more money for some of the employees that are higher on the pay scale. This will work as a method of retention for the newer employees when they see what a difference 5 years makes on the pay scale,” said Director Phipps.

As for the $35,000 increase costs for contracted services, Director Phipps said “We are using more stuff that involves apps, a cloud-based service through our monitoring to keep up with vital signs and things like that. Its kind of a wave of the future. I am also implementing a drug control program that will cost about $3,000 a year and it tracks all the narcotics where we will scan the labels with cell phones using a proprietary app. It will allow me to track every individual file,” he said.

Budget committee member Glynn Merriman said he thinks a $5.00 per hour increase in pay for EMS medical personnel as requested by Director Phipps is too steep and he isn’t in favor of raising property taxes again, after back-to-back years of tax hikes already.

“On this $5.00 an hour I think that’s going to be hard,” said Merriman. “I know you do great work, but we have had enough with tax increases as it is now. Some of these salaries are way up there. Here’s one (employee) who makes $40,000 and overtime is $6,200 a year. Another one makes $45,000 a year with $10,790 a year overtime. All this overtime is a lot of money. I can’t see giving a $5.00 pay raise. I’m not going to ask the taxpayers for another tax hike. I will not. All this overtime is unreal. Here’s another (employee) with $12,000 overtime. Here’s another with $10,000 overtime, and one with $11,000 overtime. This aint a rich county. I don’t see it,” said Merriman.

In response to Merriman’s concern about overtime pay, Director Phipps explained that “a lot of this year’s overtime that was paid out was filling two positions for about four months. One was filling my position from October 1 until January when I was hired to fill the spot (EMS Director) left vacant. I use mostly part-time people to fill the positions, but they were working the number of hours to pull the overtime. We also had one lady go out on maternity leave,” explained Director Phipps.

“Operating on a 24/72-hour schedule has dropped our overtime payouts significantly,” Phipps continued. “The way the cycles work now there is a couple of cycles in there where you don’t get but 64 regular hours and eight overtime hours. The 24/72 schedule has saved the county a lot of money even though we had to hire more personnel to run the shifts,” he said.

According to Director Phipps a shortage of paramedics creates a demand for them and it’s more difficult to retain personnel when they can make more money elsewhere.

“At the end of the day when you dial 911 somebody is coming and the quality (skill level) of who is coming depends on how much we can pay them,” said Director Phipps. “Every paramedic that works for us has hours upon hours of college credit and more than most nurses”.

“How can we continue to go up (raise salaries) after every other county goes up. There has to be a stopping place”, said Merriman.

The budget committee has not yet acted on EMS Director Phipps’ request.

Proposed DeKalb County Zoning Map Unveiled!

Proposed Zoning Map

During Monday night’s regular monthly meeting, members of the DeKalb County Regional Planning Commission got their first look at what a DeKalb County Zoning Map might look like. The proposed map was unveiled by Tommy Lee, Director of the Upper Cumberland Development District, who serves as UCDD staff planner and advisor to DeKalb County.

The proposed map will be forwarded to the full county commission for review and if the commission still wants to move forward changes could be made before or after it is sent back to the planning commission for further study. The planning commission’s final recommendation for passage of a county zoning resolution and map must then return to the county commission for a vote on implementation followed by a public hearing.

“For the last six months or so the planning commission has been working on a proposed zoning resolution to regulate land use within unincorporated DeKalb County. To go along with that resolution, you must have a zoning map which identifies every parcel in unincorporated DeKalb County and places a zoning designation on that parcel. Tonight (Monday, April 14) what we did was the planning commission reviewed the proposed zoning map and recommended that the county commission review it and give us some feedback on it,” said Lee.

Using neighboring Cannon County’s zoning ordinance as a model, Lee explained that the proposed DeKalb County resolution and zoning map also has basically four zoning districts: residential, commercial, industrial, and agriculture.

“There are four different designations on the zoning map. The color green represents agriculture and makes up about 95% of the county. The yellow designation is for residential. Purple is for industrial and red is for commercial lots,” said Lee.

In September, the county commission voted to authorize the county planning commission to begin the process of establishing criteria for zoning in DeKalb County outside the municipalities which already have zoning subject to a public hearing and final adoption by the county commission.

Proposed Zoning Map

DeKalb West School student, Kaden Mullinax, completed his first half marathon on Sunday, April 6th, racing in the Covenant Health Half in Knoxville. The eighth grader, who is part of DeKalb Middle School’s cross country team, covered the 13.1 mile course in a time of 2:06. He placed 4th in his age group and finished 697th overall out of a field of 2,034 participants, which is in the top one-third.

DeKalb’s cross-country coach, Kristen Van Vranken had this to say, “To accomplish something of this magnitude as an eighth grader is phenomenal. The mental focus and physical exhaustion in a race of this length is so challenging and Kaden conquered his goal and finished. He is a huge part of our cross-country program and a wonderful student-athlete. We couldn’t be more proud of him”.

Two DeKalb West School students and one DeKalb Middle School student finished in the Top 10 at the 2025 Middle School Math Contest at Tennessee Tech. DMS 8th grader Carter Moore was number 2 out of 145 students in his grade division while DWS 8th grader Gabriel Blair placed 5th. DWS 6th grader Wyatt Bain placed 8th out of 145 students in his grade division.

Four hundred third-five students from 40 schools participated in the contest Thursday (April 10) at TTU.

DWS Math Contest students pictured front row left to right are Wyatt Bain, Paisley Avera, Turner Stanley, and Bella Gonzalez

Pictured back row left to right are Conner Robinson, Kaden Mullinax, Dakota Ferrell, Gabe Blair, Levi Reynolds, Bentley Martin, Joseph Grabovack, and Lucas Nokes.

A man charged with attacking his former foster parent and that man’s daughter appeared for sentencing last Monday, April 7 in DeKalb County Criminal Court.

24-year-old Garrett Nicolas Vallem entered a plea to one charge of aggravated assault and received a five-year sentence to serve at 30% before his release eligibility date. The sentence is to run concurrently with a Knox County case. Vallem was given jail credit for a total of 619 days served. He was originally charged with two counts of aggravated assault but one of them was dismissed upon his plea.

Sheriff Patrick Ray said that on June 1, 2023 a deputy was summoned to a residence on Old Bildad Road due to a 911 wrong number call. Upon arrival, the officer spoke with a man and his daughter who reported that Vallem showed up intoxicated at their home and began arguing. They said Vallem then stood up and hit his former foster parent several times on the arms, ribs and face, before putting his hands around the man’s neck rendering him almost unconscious. As the daughter intervened trying to break up the fight, Vallem allegedly hit and grabbed the woman by the throat, rendering her almost unconscious. The officer reported that the former foster parent had red marks on his neck and the side of his head, as well as a cut on his elbow and head, while the woman also showed red marks around her neck.

Meanwhile.33-year-old Hope Leigh Hicks entered a plea to possession of methamphetamine over 0.5 grams and received an eight-year sentence all suspended to supervised probation. She was fined $2,000.

Smithville Police Chief Mark Collins said that on July 31, 2024 police were summoned to South College Street where a woman was reported to be slumped over the wheel of a vehicle with the motor running. Upon arrival the officer awoke the woman, Hicks and got her out of the vehicle. She was unsteady on her feet. Hicks’ speech was slurred, and her eyes were red and watery. She consented to but performed poorly on field sobriety tasks. A small bag of a crystal-like substance was found in the vehicle along with a loaded nine-millimeter handgun. Police learned that Hicks was under bond conditions from an aggravated assault case preventing her from having possession of a firearm. She was placed in custody and a blood sample was taken from her.

49-year-old Robert Dwayne Moore entered a plea to possession with intent to deliver less than 0.5 grams of a schedule II drug and received a four-year sentence all suspended to TDOC probation. He was fined $2,000.

Chief Collins said that on May 16, 2024 an officer while on patrol stopped a vehicle on Earl Avenue. While speaking with the driver, Moore the officer noticed signs of impairment and a strong odor of marijuana. During a subsequent probable cause search, the officer found four bags of a crystal-like substance that weighed 6.09 grams, one bag containing 14 yellow pills, two bags of crushed pills, and a bag containing a green leafy substance along with scales and a grinder with white residue.

52-year-old Melisha Renea Martin entered a plea to possession with intent to deliver a schedule II drug. She received a four-year sentence all suspended to TDOC probation. Martin was fined $2,000.

Martin was charged with three others on February 28, 2022 by the DeKalb and Warren County Sheriff’s Departments while executing a search warrant at 745 Adcock Cemetery Road. At the time Martin was charged with possession of Methamphetamine with intent to manufacture, sell or deliver; Possession of a Schedule II drug (Methadone); Possession of a Schedule I drug (Heroin); Possession of a Schedule IV (Xanax); Possession of a Schedule II drug (Oxycodone); and Possession of a Schedule VI drug (Marijuana) with intent to sell or deliver. Inside her bedroom were heroin, Xanax pills, Oxycodone, methadone pills, methamphetamine, marijuana, and a large amount of baggies, scales, pipes and other paraphernalia. Inside a car registered to Martin were additional marijuana and meth.

45-year-old Hani Mohamad (BJ) Shirhan Ittayem entered a plea to possession with intent to sell less than 0.5 grams of a controlled substance. He received a six-year sentence all suspended to TDOC probation and was fined $2,000.

Sheriff Ray said that on February 19, 2023 a detective tried to confront Ittayem but he fled into the woods on foot after abandoning the motorcycle he had been operating. The detective conducted a visual inspection of the motorcycle and found on it a green scale with residue. A further search of the motorcycle yielded a bag which held a clear crystal-like substance believed to be methamphetamine that weighed 19.78 grams, and a white powdery substance thought to be cocaine which weighed 3.69 grams.

A Murfreesboro man who set fire in the front yard of a Dowelltown residence threatening a woman and her four-year-old son inside before breaking into their home entered a plea to aggravated burglary.

22-year-old Ricoryon Lamontez Henderson received a four-year sentence all suspended to supervised probation. The term is to run consecutive to a Rutherford County case against him. He was given jail credit of 49 days

Sheriff Ray said that on April 24, 2024 Henderson allegedly broke into the Corley Street residence through a bedroom window after setting fire to property outside causing the woman there and her four-year-old son to fear imminent bodily injury. Once inside, Henderson allegedly stole a green and brown Michael Kors purse valued at $250.

Before breaking into the home, Sheriff Ray said Henderson allegedly set fire outside to a flowerpot and table valued at $90, a bicycle valued at $40, and a portion of the front yard. He then took a picture of the fire and sent it to the woman. Sheriff Ray said gasoline believed to have been used as an accelerant was found on the scene and a lighter was recovered from Henderson.

35-year-old Jeremy Trent Sanders entered a plea to reckless endangerment and received a sentence of 11 months and 29 days all suspended to CPS probation.

Sheriff Ray said that on March 2, 2024 a deputy was at the Midnight Express on Sparta Highway on a call and during that investigation, Sanders walked up to the officer acting belligerently and he smelled of alcohol. At first Sanders complied with the officer’s request to leave but he later returned still acting belligerently. Sanders again was asked to leave and complied. Later Sanders returned again in a gray Nissan Altima. Sanders, who appeared to be intoxicated, was removed from the vehicle and placed under arrest after refusing to submit to field sobriety tasks and implied consent.

26-year-old Elijah Malik Walton entered a plea to aggravated assault and received a three-year sentence all suspended to TDOC probation.

According to Chief Mark Collins, Smithville Police were summoned to Bizee Mart in September 2023 in reference to a shooting that had occurred. Officers spoke with the victim who reported that Walton had shot at her. During the investigation it was discovered that Walton and the victim had gotten into an argument in Murfreesboro and she left. Later, Walton located the victim getting gas at Bizee Mart and an altercation occurred with him striking her in the face. Once she got into her vehicle and started to drive away, Walton pulled a gun and shot at her, placing the people at the convenience store in harm’s way also. Warrants were taken for Walton and he was taken into custody later.

46-year-old Jason Richard Skaroupka entered a plea to sale of a schedule II drug (methamphetamine) over 0.5 grams (2 counts) and received an eight-year sentence on TDOC supervised probation. He was fined $2,000 and given jail credit of 199 days.

The warrants against Skaroupka allege that “On August 15 and September 19, 2024 he sold methamphetamine to a confidential informant working with the Smithville Police Department in an undercover capacity. While conducting a search warrant on the home of Skaroupka on September 19, miscellaneous drug paraphernalia were found in his bedroom which included waterbongs, used syringes and many small plastic baggies, and a weed grinder. A handgun was also found in his bedroom”.

51-year-old John Allen Judkins Jr. entered a plea to driving under the influence and received a sentence of 11 months and 29 days all suspended to supervised probation except for 48 hours to serve. He was fined $350 and will lose his driver license for one year. Judkins must also undergo an alcohol and drug assessment.

Smithville Police responded to a call of two people in a truck yelling on April 26, 2023. The vehicle was in the middle of the road. Upon arrival, the officer found two individuals passed out in a Ford Ranger in the middle of the intersection. The driver, Judkins was passed out with his foot on the gas pedal and brake with the truck in gear. The officer put the truck in park and woke both parties, at which time, Judkins tensed up and put the gas pedal to the floor revving the motor to a high rpm. Judkins’ speech was slurred, and he was sweating in 55-degree temperature. When asked to exit the vehicle, Judkins complied but he was unsteady on his feet. He told the officer that he couldn’t perform field sobriety tasks, but he did consent to a blood draw.

40-year-old Frank Andy Checchi entered a plea to possession of a schedule II drug under 0.5 grams with intent to deliver (2 counts) and received a four-year sentence in each case to run consecutively for a total of eight years, but all suspended to TDOC probation pursuant to judicial diversion. He was fined $2,000. All other charges against him were nollied.

According to Police Chief Collins, both Checchi and his girlfriend, 37-year-old Randi Renee Dossett of 549 Cooper Street were each charged in February 2024 with child abuse or neglect, possession of schedule II drugs (Ritalin, Hydrocodone, Oxycodone, Fentanyl, Methamphetamine), possession of a schedule III drug (Suboxone), possession of a schedule IV drug (Xanax), possession of a schedule VI drug (Marijuana), and possession of drug paraphernalia.

“During the search several miscellaneous drug paraphernalia objects were found in the home including meth and marijuana pipes, scales, needles, burnt tin foil, cut straws, residue, and grinders along with 1 hydrocodone, 41 Adderall, 7 oxycodone, 2.5 grams of meth, 5 grams of fentanyl, 11 suboxone, 5.5 Xanax, and 10 grams of marijuana. Drugs were also found in the common areas easily accessible to the children and living conditions were found to be squalid,” said Chief Collins.