News

Several people showed up Thursday night to speak out against the state issuing a National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit for the discharge of wastewater and storm water from Smyrna Ready Mix (SRM) Smithville Quarry on North Driver Road at Snow Hill. The public hearing held at the county complex was conducted by the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation’s Division of Mineral and Geologic Resources.

(View video below of the public comments at the SRM NPDES permit hearing Thursday night. WJLE will post a separate story on the public comments at a later time)

During the hearing, the state took no questions but gave members of the public up to five minutes each to speak. Prior to the hearing, the state had information tables set up around the auditorium where staff showed plans and took questions from the public about the project.

Jessie McBride, Office of External Affairs representative with TDEC, served as hearing officer for the meeting. “The public hearing is to receive comments on the proposed issuance of a National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System permit to Smyrna Ready Mix (SRM) Smithville Quarry for the discharge of treated mine wastewater and storm water from a limestone mining and processing facility in DeKalb County. The receiving stream for the proposed discharge is Drivers Branch. The draft NPDES permit number is TN0070737.”

“The proposed new NPDES permit area consists of 30 acres and mine wastewater and storm water would be treated in settling ponds prior to discharge and outfalls 001, 002, 003, and 004 to Drivers Branch” explained McBride. “The sediment control structures, and all appropriate best management practices meets or exceeds the divisions designed criteria. Drivers Branch is classified by the department as fully supporting its classified uses including fish and aquatic life, irrigation, livestock watering, wildlife, and recreation. The application asserts the proposed activity will only cause Demin iMIS degradation of parameters available. The NDPES permit is proposed to be issued for a five-year term, and the permittee must maintain coverage until all permit termination requirements are satisfied”.

If approved, the permit would require the quarry operator to monitor and report water discharge levels to the state and the public.

“The permittee is responsible for monitoring discharges from the facility and reporting results to TDEC and to the EPA,” said another TDEC representative during the hearing. “The NPDES program was established as a self-monitoring program by Congress in the 1970s. This was necessary considering the sheer number of facilities covered by NPDES permits. In Tennessee alone there are approximately 13,400 permits. Nationwide there are approximately 335,000 permits. There are not enough federal and state environmental regulators to conduct all necessary monitoring which would require a massive increase in staffing and funding of environmental regulatory agencies such as TDEC and EPA. TDEC conducts routine compliance inspections at all permitted facilities to ensure they are operated and monitored as required,” said the TDEC representative.

“When it comes to limestone quarries our only authority is over the quality of water that is discharged from the facility. The mining section only has the authority which has been vested in us by the state legislature,” said the TDEC representative. “We do not have any authority over the right to mine, property rights, planning, zoning, blasting, noise, dust, truck traffic, or other concerns. We are also prevented by state and federal law from considering these concerns when making a decision on a water quality permit. These permits do not negate or supersede any local restrictions, nor do local county restrictions prevent the issuance of a water quality permit. A water quality permit is not a land use permit, and it does not grant the permit holder the right to mine”.

Neighbors in the Snow Hill area first became aware of SRM last summer after being shaken by a blast during the company’s prep work for the quarry at the site. Complaints were filed with the state and county. In August the state found that SRM had been crushing without issuance of an NPDES permit.

SRM submitted an application in September after which the site was determined to be inactive. An Inspection for Hydrological Determination (HD) Report was received on September 12, 2024.

“A hydrologic determination is Tennessee’s process for determining the presence of jurisdictional streams,” said the TDEC representative. “A completed hydrological determination was submitted for this site in September. TDEC visited the site to confirm the findings. The hydrologic determination found two streams which were removed from the project area and protected buffers were established”.

By November SRM was again found by the state to be in non-compliance for operating without a permit and halted activity at the site.

“The complete application for this project was received on November 13, 2024,” said the TDEC official “ During the public comment period the TDEC division of natural areas informed the TDEC division of mineral and geologic resources that the Short Mountain Crayfish which is known to occur in the area had its status changed from ”deemed in need of management” to state “threatened” on December 25, 2024. The division requested that the applicant submit a consultation request to the TWRA which has jurisdiction over state listed species. The consultation was submitted by the applicant as requested and TWRA responded that they did not anticipate any adverse impact to state listed species”.

Locally, neighbors in recent months have complained to the county commission because a cease-and-desist order had not been sent by the county to SRM regarding the quarry on Snow Hill due to the fact that SRM had apparently been operating illegally without a permit prior to passage of the county powers act in October.

TDEC explained during the hearing how a county powers act could be enforced.

“NPDES permits are separate from any county powers act and powers act restrictions must be administered and enforced by the county or municipality. TDEC has no authority over any powers act but we were provided with a copy of it. The powers act works by requiring the license from the county clerk which can only be issued if the powers act requirements are met. As written, an applicant must first obtain all state permits before seeking approval under the powers act.

A final decision by the state on approval of the NPDES permit application by SRM is not expected for several weeks”.

Written comments related to the NPDES permit are still being accepted by the TDEC until April 7, 2025. Comments should be emailed to DMGR.PublicNotice@tn.gov or by mail to the TDEC Mining Section at 3711 Middlebrook Pike, Knoxville, TN 37921.

DeKalb County’s local option sales tax collections for February 2025 were significantly less than the previous month but better than February 2024 collections.

According to the Tennessee Department of Revenue, DeKalb County collected $170, 149 in February 2025, down from $277,102 in January but better than $138, 326 taken in during February 2024.

Local option sales tax collections in February 2025 were down in three of the four towns in DeKalb County compared to January including Smithville, Alexandria, and Dowelltown but up from February 2024 totals in Smithville, Alexandria, and Liberty.

In Smithville, February 2025 collections were $373, 607, down from $467,422 in January but better than $359, 089 in February 2024.

Alexandria’s collections dropped from $35,418 in January 2025 to $32,025 in February but were up from February 2024’s collections of $30,420.

Dowelltown brought in $3,658 in February 2025 compared to $4,795 in January and $4,428 in February 2024.

Liberty’s jumped from $11,560 in January 2025 to $14,888 in February and up from $9,948 collected in February 2024.

Net collections of local option sales taxes for the county and cities combined in February 2025 were $594, 329, down from $796, 299 in January but still better than the $542,212 taken in during February 2024.

A year ago, net collections dropped from $846, 718 in January 2024 to $542,212 in February.

February 2025 sales tax collections reflect previous month activity.

Jerry Scott, who served on the 911 board for 24 years, recently announced his resignation. Scott is also a former county commissioner from the 3rd district having served 24 years. He left that office in August 2014.

A longtime member of the DeKalb County Emergency Communications District (911) Board has stepped down.

Scott was honored at the March 911 Board meeting for 24 years of service to DeKalb Emergency Communications District. The 911 board and employees want to formally thank Mr. Scott for his dedication and leadership to the 911 community and DeKalb County. His remaining term is being filled by longtime DeKalb County resident Hugh Washer.

Stepping down and stepping up!

After eight years including two undefeated conference championship seasons, DeKalb Saints head football coach Justin Poteete is stepping down this fall but his brother Hunter will be stepping up to succeed him as leader of the middle school program.

Coach Justin guided the 2024 Saints to a 10-0 season and an Upper Cumberland Conference Championship, the program’s first since winning the title in 2018 with an 8-0 record.

Although Coach Justin is relinquishing his head coaching duties, he will remain on the sidelines this fall as a volunteer assistant.

“I just felt like a lot of things for me came full circle last year as far as being head coach of the program. Its been a blessing. I did it (head coach) for eight years but my wife and I had a baby last year and I have other children so I decided to step back and devote more time to my young ones as they are growing up and not miss out too much with them. Hunter and I talked about it and we discussed it with the administration so he will take over the program this year but I will still help out. We’re pretty much just flip-flopping roles. As head coach you have to do a lot of things that sometimes takes your time away from the field, so this year I’m looking forward to just coaching as an assistant,” he explained.

Coach Justin said he is confident the program is in good hands.

“Hunter is more than capable. He ran the offensive side of the ball for the last seven years. It will be a smooth transition. I’m excited to see what the future holds,” he said.

Coach Justin took over the program from former Saints Coach Tad Webb in 2017. Prior to getting the head coaching job, Coach Justin was Coach Webb’s assistant for seven years. Justin will continue to teach 8th grade Social Studies at DeKalb Middle School.

“I want to thank all my players and their families, Coach Webb, my assistant coaches Hunter Poteete, Joseph Pack, Jacob Hale, and Abram Edwards and my family for their support,” said Coach Justin Poteete.

It’ll have to wait!

The hiring of the new Alexandria Police Chief has temporarily been put on pause after only three of the six aldermen showed up for the regular monthly Alexandria town council meeting Tuesday night at city hall.

Officer Vincent Turocy, appointed by Mayor Beth Tripp, is currently serving as interim chief.

Those present for the meeting were Mayor Tripp and Aldermen Jonathon Tripp, Sherry Tubbs, and Jeff Ford. Those absent were Aldermen Luke Prichard, Bobby Simpson, and Tiffany Robinson.

Although Mayor Tripp announced that no city business could be transacted, she allowed department heads and the city auditor to make reports to the aldermen. She also announced that City Attorney Matt Boss, who was appointed to the position only four months ago, has resigned.

Interim Chief Turocy was also permitted to formally ask that he be hired by the board as the new chief

According to the Alexandria city charter “A majority of the Board shall constitute a quorum, and the presence of the Mayor and three (3) Aldermen, and in the absence of the Mayor, the presence of the Vice-Mayor and three (3) Aldermen shall constitute a majority. The Mayor shall preside at meetings of the Board and is authorized to vote in the event of a tie vote of the Board. She shall have veto power over any legislative actions of the Board”.

Turocy, who came to Alexandria from Hendersonville last September, has a law enforcement background spanning more than 27 years. He is a retired lieutenant with the Tennessee Highway Patrol (Nashville District).

“I am here today to ask if I could serve you and the citizens of Alexandria as your next police chief. It would be my goal to provide our community with professional and a reliable police force. I will be involved in our community and its events and I plan to create some of my own,” he said.

“I started my career in public service in 1993 when I joined the United States Army Military Intelligence Corps after graduating from high school,” said Officer Turocy.” I served three years before leaving to pursue my career in law enforcement. I am a graduate of Bethel University with an associate and a bachelor’s degree in emergency services management with a 4.0 GPA. In 1999 I joined the Tennessee Highway Patrol as a communications dispatcher and then I became a reserve police officer in 2000 with the Burns Police Department and I was subsequently hired by the Tennessee Highway Patrol in the spring of 2000 while still being a THP dispatcher. In 2014 I was promoted to sergeant over the state capital protection unit where I supervised 22 state troopers and oversaw the protection of the state capital complex in Nashville. I returned to the road in 2015 as the Robertson County midnight sergeant and in 2017 I was made the full-time supervisor in that area. I later transferred to Sumner County as road sergeant where I supervised Sumner and Wilson County troopers. In 2022 I was promoted to lieutenant over the Nashville District in special events for the THP in Davidson County. I was honored to receive THP Trooper of the Year in 2001 and 2003. Additionally, I received District THP Trooper of the Year in 2001, 2012, and 2013. Throughout my career I have also received also numerous commendations. In July 2024 I retired from the state of Tennessee,” said Officer Turocy.

Meanwhile Nathaniel (Nate) Lombard of Sparta, a former White County officer, addressed the board asking that he be hired by the board as a full-time officer. He is married to Veronica Dodge who had two brief stints as an Alexandria Police Officer before recently leaving to join the Smithville Police Department.

“I joined the military in 1998 and did six years as a combat medic and got EMT certified,” said Lombard. “I grew up in Lake City Florida. After getting out of the military I worked as an EMT in San Antonio for about five years. In 2007 I decided I wanted to do law enforcement, so I went to the San Antonio College Law Enforcement Training Academy. I graduated from there. I got my first police officer job in 2008 with a county hospital police department and worked there for 10 years. While there I became certified as a field training officer and had numerous experiences running shifts. I actually helped them develop and wrote the policies for a tactical medic program because they didn’t have one. We came to Tennessee in 2018 to be closer to family and I did a short stint with Murfreesboro. In 2021 I got hired on with the White County Sheriff’s Office. I worked there for about three and a half years. While there I again worked as an FTO. I was a patrol sergeant and ran one of the night shifts for a couple of months,” said Lombard.

Other members of the Alexandria Police Department are part timers Jon Jenkins and Stephen Wassman.

Going through tolls is a routine part of driving for millions across the U.S. E-ZPass makes toll paying fast and convenient – as easy as driving through dedicated lanes. But some scammers are exploiting E-ZPass’s popularity to scam drivers through a phony “outstanding toll” text.

This widespread scam sends an unsolicited SMS message claiming the recipient has unpaid E-ZPass tolls. To avoid penalties, it tells them to click a link to settle the debt. However, it’s a sneaky fraud meant to steal your money and identity. However, the texts do not originate from any official E-ZPass agency or toll road authority. They are fraudulent messages sent by scammers to deceive the public and capture personal information and money.

A step closer?

During Monday night’s regular monthly meeting, March 31, the county commission may be poised to make a decision on the most preferred site for new jail construction

The commission held its monthly workshop last night (March 24) and identified two other potential locations for a jail which had not been previously discussed including 33 acres owned by Steven Cantrell on West Main Street and 71.5 acres owned by Tim Staley known as Smith Road properties on Smith Road. Both locations are in the city limits of Smithville with utilities either available or easily accessible.

Commissioner Larry Green, who serves as the jail committee chairman, said members of the DeKalb County commission toured the Smith County Jail and Justice Center last Tuesday with Bob Bass, former Deputy Director of the Tennessee Corrections Institute, who now serves as a county correction partnership consultant. Prior to the trip, Green said he and Bass along with County Commissioner Tony Luna looked at the Cantrell and Staley properties and both sites according to Bass, measured up equally in terms of suitability with the Peggy Hayes property near Walmart.

“The Steven Cantrell property on West Main Street is 33 acres and the asking price is $1.7 million. Bob (Bass) rated all the different properties as far as availability to sewer, water, how it lays, residential (proximity), what we do with it. He (Bass) rated this property and found it equal to the Hayes property. It has less residential area around it. It drains good. It has sewer, electricity, water and as far as lay of the land, it would be a good place for us to build. It would fit on it,” said Green.

“The second property we looked at is Smith Road properties. Its on Smith Road. When you turn off East Main Street go past the subdivision (Estes Street), it’s the big field on the right, across from the (Steve) Colvert property. Its 71.5 acres and the asking price is $3 million. It is already annexed in the city. It has water and sewer. It has less residential area around it for us to be concerned about and we would probably get less feedback from residences than from anywhere else. We could set it back far enough that we could isolate it from everything else. Bob (Bass) rated it equal to the Cantrell and Hayes properties as far as building. It does not have three phase power there yet, but Smithville Electric System has said this would not be a concern because it could be extended from East Main Street to the property and the cost to do that would be minimal,” he said.

With 71.5 acres, Green added that the Staley property offers more potential future county land uses. “We have room out there for doing anything with it. Five or ten years down the road we could add courtrooms, or maybe an EMS building, 911 building, ball fields, etc. Its all out there,” he said.

Meanwhile, Green said a revised offer has come in on the Hayes property. “The entire Hayes property including 38 acres is now priced at $3.6 million. They would also sell just 34 acres of the property now zoned R1- and R-2 residential for $2.7 million but they would keep the road frontage on West Broad Street. There are two properties there rated commercial. They would keep those. But we would get an easement. The first one is 100 feet wide on the west side of the C-1 property facing Highway 70 providing an entrance to the county. This easement would run parallel to residential housing and the Hayes C-1 property connecting to the R-1, R-2 property. The other easement would be 50 feet wide coming from the corner of Wade and Short Street providing a second entrance into the property,” said Green.

At one time the Hayes property seemed to be the most favored by some commissioners except for the price, but now a few members have expressed concerns about putting a jail there with it being near a residential neighborhood. Commissioner Luna said in his opinion the Hayes property would be better suited for commercial purposes.

“I have never been a fan of that property just because of the location. That’s a much better place to put a retail business. I’d rather have the taxes from the retail business than to put a justice center or jail there that we are never going to make taxes off of,” said Commissioner Luna.

Speaking about the Staley property, Commissioner Greg Matthews said he would like for the county to have the site appraised.

“I think we should get it appraised. At least we could see what the difference is between the appraisal and what they are asking. We may have to pay a little more than what it appraises but I think the 71.5 acres does offer a whole lot of future growth,” said Matthews.

Green said another site, belonging to Jerry Dwayne Foster on Allen’s Ferry Road had also been considered but it would perhaps be less desirable because the 57.59-acre site is not in the city limits and doesn’t have sewer service.

“We had looked at the Foster property, which is behind the middle school, but the sewer line is in front of the middle school and to go from the middle school you would have to go down Tiger Drive. There are two water lines beside Tiger Drive, and we would have to stay 10 feet inside that which would put us going through the middle school softball field. And according to an engineer, it would cost between $750,000 and one million dollars just to put the sewer back there. In my mind that basically eliminated that property. Plus, it’s not annexed in the city,” said Green.

Although Bass was not present during Monday night’s workshop, he has previously advised against building a new jail on the existing downtown site.

“I have never been a proponent of doing that. It’s a site that is not going to work. You could tear it down and start over and it wouldn’t work. That property will not support that size of a footprint of a jail they need today. It (jail annex) was set up as a dormitory facility with no isolation cells. They (DeKalb Jail) don’t have a cell up there to put just one person in. Refitting it (jail annex) would be so expensive, and you would lose square footage you have now,” Bass explained at January’s Jail Committee meeting.

Wherever the jail is built, Green said officials in Smith County advised that a sewer grinder pump be installed to keep the sewage from clogging up from Un flushable objects.

“Although the cost would be up to perhaps a quarter of a million dollars, Smith County strongly advised us to put in a grinder pump to help prevent things getting stopped up in the sewer. They said you could put a brick down the commode and if it flushes it will grind it,” he said.

Green said he had not negotiated with any landowner on price but believes the county commission should make a decision soon.

“I would like to see us Monday night take a vote. We are at the point now where we have pretty well identified every property that’s available. I think once we decide where we are going to build it, I think the rest of it will go pretty quickly. That’s my opinion,” said Green.

The appointment of a new police chief and a new officer is on agenda for Tuesday night’s monthly meeting of the Alexandria Mayor and Aldermen.

The meeting will be held Tuesday, March 25 at 7 p.m. at city hall.

The naming of a new chief is scheduled to come in the wake of the firing of Chief Kenneth K.D. Smith last Thursday night, March 20.

The agenda for the meeting is as follows:

Mayor Beth Tripp to open the meeting

Roll Call

Prayer and Pledge

Approval of minutes from last meeting

Open the floor for resident input to speak on agenda items only

Appointment of a Police Chief and a new officer

Department monthly reports- Fire, Water/Sewer, Streets, Financial, Attorney, and Mayor

Unfinished business-Seay Church (James Duke Family), Engineer (Evan White)

New Business- Reserve officer to move to part time. Address sidewalks in front of the coffee shop. Change to Government software from Quickbooks. Plaque for Vester Parsley, former city attorney

Easter- set a date and time for community Easter egg hunt

Town of Alexandria Movie Night 2025 (per approval).

Adjourn

State Representative Michael Hale has introduced a resolution in the Tennessee General Assembly to honor the New Life United Pentecostal Church on the celebration of its 75th anniversary.

The resolution is as follows:

“WHEREAS, New Life United Pentecostal Church of Smithville has stood on the rock solid foundation of Christian belief, service, and love for seventy-five years, serving as a bastion of faith and outreach to the people of its community; and

WHEREAS, in 1945, Sister Trudie Colvert was the first to bring the message of Oneness, Jesus’s Name baptism, and the gift of the Holy Ghost, as preached in Acts 2, to the Smithville/DeKalb County area; and

WHEREAS, on May 1, 1949, the church became affiliated with the United Pentecostal Church (UPC) International, with the first building being purchased in 1952 and named the First Pentecostal Church; and

WHEREAS, over the years, several families have served as pastor to spread the good news throughout the community, including Trudie Colvert, EE Cooper, Robert Rutledge, Jesse Plunk, Norman Welcher, Marvin Tidrick, E.A. Calvin, Edward Grace, Sr., Larry Sims, Doyle Neal, Ralph Yarbro, Roger Moore, Howard Smith, C.W. Milam, Paul Sanders, and Dwayne Cornelius; and

WHEREAS, three separate UPC churches existed in the Smithville/DeKalb County area at one time, and New Life emerged from the merger of the three congregations in a special service in August of 1987, when they officially became one congregation under the name of New Life United Pentecostal Church, with Paul Sanders elected as the pastor; and

WHEREAS, Brother Sanders oversaw the building of a new church facility at 860 Congress Boulevard, and the first service was held there in September 1992; and

WHEREAS, Reverend Sanders retired in 2006, and Reverend Dwayne Cornelius was elected as pastor in April 2007; and WHEREAS, a remodel of the original New Life church building took place in 2009; and

WHEREAS, after the purchase of property next to the church, a remodel and conversion of the Pamida building was completed in 2012, adding 36,000 square feet of space to use for God’s glory; and

WHEREAS, upon the completion of that building, a fully accredited children’s program, the Kids Connection Early Learning Center, was established, and the vision of a Christian private school began as DeKalb Christian Academy in 2017; and

WHEREAS, in 2024, a new sanctuary was completed, and the original New Life church building became “The 860,” a facility designed to house the children’s ministry department; and

WHEREAS, the church now consists of two campuses, with three buildings totaling 60,000 square feet and serving over 300 constituents; and

WHEREAS, New Life United Pentecostal Church is one of the great religious institutions and catalysts for positive spiritual change in our State and nation, and the members of this exceptional congregation should be appropriately honored for their exemplary service to their fellow Christians and to the good people of Tennessee; now, therefore,

BE IT RESOLVED BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE ONE HUNDRED FOURTEENTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF TENNESSEE, THE SENATE CONCURRING, that we join with the pastor and congregation of New Life United Pentecostal Church of Smithville in celebrating the seventy-five years they have spent building God’s Kingdom, thank these good people for their notable service to their Lord and the State of Tennessee, and wish them much continued success.

A Rebel without a home!

Who could resist “Rebel”? This super sweet cuddle bug is now available for adoption at a discount at the DeKalb Animal Shelter?

“Rebel is about four or five years old. We think he is sort of a Pointer, German Wirehaired mix. He is a good boy, super sweet, and he would be a great hiking partner as well as a great couch cuddle buddy. Rebel is already neutered and up to date on vaccines. He has been dewormed, and he is on flea and tick prevention. He is sponsored so his adoption fee is only $50,” said DAS Director McKenna Frazier

If you are interested in meeting Rebel, fill out an application on the animal shelter website or come in. Visit https://www.dekalbanimalsheltertn.com/ or call 615-597-3647.

The shelter is open Mondays-Fridays from 10 a.m. until 4 p.m. and Saturdays from 10 a.m. until 2 p.m. on Transfer Station Road off Highway 70 east behind Tenneco.