Attorneys for Alexandria Town and Mayor File Motion to Dismiss Federal Lawsuit Brought by former City Employee
by: Dwayne PageMar 24, 2025
A motion to dismiss!
Attorneys for the town of Alexandria and Mayor Beth Tripp have filed a motion in federal court to dismiss a lawsuit brought by a former employee claiming she was wrongfully terminated.
Patricia Houser, a former town recorder, court clerk, tax collector, and backup water clerk, is suing the City of Alexandria and Mayor Tripp in her individual and official capacities for deprivation of due process under the 14th amendment and for slander, defamation, and defamation by implication, in violation of state law.
In the motion to dismiss filed Monday, March 17 an attorney for the town and mayor, A. Ryan Simmons of the Brentwood law firm of Farrar/Bates/Berexa stated several reasons why the complaint should be dropped. In support of the motion, Simmons claims that Plaintiff (Houser) has failed to state any viable claims against the Defendants (town and mayor); has failed to establish that she was deprived of any Constitutional right or law of the United States; that she did not possess a property interest in her employment with the Town; that Plaintiff (Houser) never requested a name-clearing hearing following her termination; that she has failed to state a claim for a substantive due process violation; and that the complaint also fails to state a claim for Monell liability against the Town. According to the motion to dismiss, the official capacity claim against Mayor Tripp is duplicative requiring dismissal; and that Mayor Tripp is entitled to qualified immunity in her individual capacity. Further, the motion goes on to allege that the complaint fails to state a viable claim under state law for defamation or defamation by implication against Mayor Tripp; that Defendant Tripp is entitled to immunity in her official capacity under the Tennessee Government Tort Liability Act; and that Mayor Tripp is entitled to absolute immunity in her individual capacity.
“Alternatively, the Court should decline to exercise supplemental jurisdiction and dismiss Plaintiff (Houser’s) state law claim. Wherefore, Defendants (Town of Alexandria and Mayor Tripp) respectfully request an order dismissing Plaintiff’s complaint in its entirety,” the motion concluded.
Houser is seeking a jury trial; reinstatement to her position; compensatory and punitive damages; payment of lost wages and benefits; attorney’s fees, etc.
Houser is represented by the Nashville law firm of Biesecker, Dutkanych & Macer, LLC.
TDOT says County’s Wolf Creek Convenience Site must be moved off state right of way
by: Dwayne PageMar 24, 2025
For years the county has maintained an unmanned garbage collection convenience center in the Wolf Creek community at the intersection of Medley Amonette Road (Highway 96) and Old Buffalo Valley Road, but its located on the Tennessee Department of Transportation right of way and TDOT wants it to be removed.
During last week’s public works committee meeting, County Public Works Director Brian Reed raised the issue about whether the Wolf Creek site could eventually become a manned site. According to County Mayor Matt Adcock, Reed later checked with TDOT and the answer was not only no, but even the unmanned site there will have to go.
“The waste container can’t be on TDOT right of way and should be removed. It may be possible to purchase land from TDOT using the excess land program. I drew a line on the picture (attached) to show a possibility for purchasing excess land. Any entrance would have to meet TDOT’s driveway manual and would be difficult to have a safe entrance this close to the intersection,” wrote TDOT District 27 Engineer Bo Hoskins in an email correspondence to Reed.
The county has 11 manned convenience sites and Wolf Creek is one of three unmanned sites. The other two are at Temperance Hall and in the Austin Bottoms community. Of the fourteen sites, the county owns all but three, Snow Hill, Silver Point, and at Alexandria.
According to Reed, the state is making a push for counties to go to all manned sites and is funding grants for that purpose.
“The state has put a priority on grants for those sites and is funding up to $125,000 with a 10% local match per site and I would like to apply for some grants in next year’s budget to eventually get rid of our unmanned sites,” said Reed.
The county has not yet come up with an alternate convenience site location for Wolf Creek.
DCHS Tennis Developing a Winning Culture
by: Dwayne PageMar 24, 2025
The DCHS boys’ tennis team won the DeKalb Invitational with a 5-2 victory over Macon County at the Smithville Golf Club last Friday. The Tigers were 3-0 on the day, with their other two victories over Riverdale and Oakland. The tournament title was the first in the tenure of Head Coach Brian Cadle, who is in his fourth year at the helm for the Tigers.
Lance Duke, a freshman, led the Tigers with a 6-0 record for the day, going undefeated in both singles and doubles play. Tiger seniors Ian Barnes, Jackson Mathis, and Luke Midgett all won five matches to secure the team championship. The Tigers stand at 4-1 for the season and Coach Cadle was both pleased and excited for the boys. “I started this tournament a few years ago to give our kids a chance to play lots of matches on the same day as a way to prepare for both the district regular season matches and tournament. Winning the tournament and gaining valuable season experience is a double blessing.”
The girls finished second in the tournament with a 2-1 record. They defeated Riverdale and Oakland but lost to Macon County in the championship. Charlotte Paladino, the lone senior in the varsity lineup, led the girls with a 4-2 record. Junior Candice Rico also won four matches. Juniors Abby Joe Crook, Jayde Lester, and sophomore Kayce Hale all won three matches for the Lady Tigers. The girls’ team record is 3-2, with the three wins equalling half of the team victories from last season. Cadle pointed out the growth of the girls’ team over the past three seasons. “Our girls’ program had to essentially start over in 2023, with the loss of several seniors and two returning players not coming out. We did not win a match that year, won six matches last year and now sit at three wins already. The girls have worked through the adversity and worked hard in the off-season to improve and get more experience. It certainly shows right now.”
The DCHS tennis program has enjoyed an overall surge in both participation and success, along with growing player confidence. Mathis, the senior captain, for the Tigers, commented on his confidence as a doubles player. He is partnering with a longtime friend, Midgett. “Luke and I have been friends for over ten years and know how to play off each other. We are both very energetic people on the court who know when to take the load if one of us is not playing well. We are confident in each other and go into every match knowing that we can win.”
Cadle is excited about the Tiger tennis program seeing players from the same family joining in. “We are proud to have two second-generation players in Ian and Lance. Their dads, Adam Barnes, and Patrick Duke, were both tennis players at DeKalb during their time in high school. Barnes stated, “My dad was a great influence in how I got into tennis and grew my skill so quickly. We would go to the courts a lot and hit and he taught me all that he knew about the sport.”
The DCHS team also has several siblings of current players in the tennis program pipeline. Ethan Brown, a sophomore Tiger player has an older brother, Isaac, who played for the Tigers and graduated back in 2023. Mia Bell is a freshman player for the girls’ varsity team and has a brother, Oliver, who is a 6th grader on the middle school team. Luke Midgett’s youngest, brother, John Casey, a 4th grader, is participating in the 10 and under tennis program offered in Smithville by Coach Cadle. Paladino has an older brother, Ian, who played for the Tigers and graduated in 2022. “The best tennis programs have players who belong to tennis families, with several kids playing tennis for their school. I have seen that trend in all my years of coaching. I am so excited to see our DeKalb families going in that direction.”
The boys’ program has seen a winning season in the last two seasons and earned ten wins in 2024. Cadle is hopeful that both teams will reach that pinnacle this season.”We have started strong and the kids have begun to develop a winning culture of commitment, consistency, and confidence. Our team has progressed to believing in their ability to win matches.” At press time, the Tigers played White County on Tuesday and will host York Institute on Thursday at 3:30 pm.