News
March 13, 2025
By: Dwayne Page
A labor of love!
Members of the local FCE Club met Wednesday to put their sewing skills to good use by assembling a variety of comfort cushions, primarily for breast cancer survivors who have undergone treatment and surgery. The comfort cushions will be donated to an area breast cancer clinic and dispersed to future patients.
This is just the latest project undertaken by FCE, which stands for Family Community Education, once known as the home demonstration club. The group meets every three months and participates in various community endeavors from cooking demonstrations to field trips and hosting guest speakers, etc. Membership is open to men and women and the club operates under the local UT/TSU Extension Service.
“We always do projects or have a guest speaker. Today we are making comfort cushions for breast cancer survivors to put on their seatbelts and under their armpits where they have had their scars,” said Pat Wilt, FCE Secretary/Treasurer.
“This is the Family Community Education Club (FCE), once known as the Extension Homemaker Club and one of the things they do is participate in community projects. This project today is wonderful and is going to affect a lot of lives. It’s (FCE) a program offered by UT Extension and anyone can join. We meet every three months,” said Dr. April Martin, DeKalb County UT/TSU Extension Agent.
The purpose of comfort cushions is to provide relief for patients after surgery. They are used to relieve pressure from the areas of discomfort. Plus, they help provide better rest and sleep for the patient. Seat belt cushions create a protective barrier and helps relieve pressure to a tender chest area which may cause discomfort.
Proposed New Names for County Complex Meeting Rooms
March 12, 2025
By: Dwayne Page
New names!
During Tuesday night’s meeting, the public works committee of the county commission voted to rename the history room, arcade room, and art room at the county complex to give them a more distinguishable identity subject to final approval by the full county commission.
The committee is recommending that the history room be renamed “The Tennessee Room”, that the arcade room be given the name “The DeKalb Room” and that the art room be called “The Classroom”.
Since the county complex was opened in 2012 the rooms had names for their intended purposes. Arcade games were originally placed in the arcade room for youth to gather but over time they were removed. Although the history room was meant to have been used to display county historical artifacts it was never developed for that purpose. Both rooms remain vacant but are often used by senior citizens and other groups. The art room is located near the main auditorium of the complex and its purpose is also primarily for the public to meet or gather.
Meanwhile, the committee also voted to recommend that any historical displays be placed in the county offices end of the county complex down the hallway by the offices of the county clerk, register of deeds, trustee, etc. provided it meets with the approval of the full county commission and state fire marshal. The idea is to make the displays more highly visible to the public while keeping them in a more secure environment. If approved it may take some time to organize such an effort in that the county currently has no panels, cabinets, or display cases for historical artifacts.
McKenzie Indicted on Second Degree Murder Charge
March 11, 2025
By: Dwayne Page
A fatal shooting in August 2024 has resulted in a second-degree murder indictment against one man.
66-year-old William Anthony McKenzie of Streamer Drive, Smithville was indicted by the new term of the DeKalb County Grand Jury Tuesday, March 11 in the death of 39-year-old Earl Craig Asbury, Jr. at McKenzie’s residence.
Chief Deputy Brian Williams of the DeKalb County Sheriff’s Department issued the following prepared statement at the time of the incident. “On Thursday, August 29, 2024 at 6:54 p.m. Central Dispatch received a call of a possible shooting at 163 Streamer Drive. The DeKalb County Sheriff’s Department arrived on the scene at 7:05 p.m. and made contact with William McKenzie and then with a deceased male laying in the yard. The deceased male was 39-year-old Earl Craig Asberry Jr. of Smithville”.
“McKenzie, the suspect, was booked into the DeKalb County Jail and charged with TCA 39-13-210 Second Degree Murder.
Upon the request of Sheriff Patrick Ray, the 13th Judicial District Attorney’ Generals Office summoned the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation to the scene.
On scene were Sheriff Patrick Ray, Chief Deputy Williams, DeKalb County Sheriff Deputies, DeKalb County Sheriff’s Detectives, the DeKalb County Medical Examiner’s Office and Assistant District Attorney General Greg Strong.
The arrest warrant stated at the time that “The investigation revealed that McKenzie, by his own admission, did intentionally and knowingly discharge a firearm striking the victim, Earl Craig Asberry, Jr. multiple times in the Turso area resulting in his death. Prior to the arrival of law enforcement, the investigation revealed that McKenzie made several attempts to conceal the body and made comments of intentions to remove the body from the scene”.
McKenzie was among 20 people indicted by the grand jury Tuesday, March 11
All those indicted and their charges are as follows:
Shane Curtis Gardner: aggravated assault
Matthew Dewayne Griffith: false reports
Jill Henderson: disrupting a meeting and/or procession
Markus Jay Majka: evading arrest and resisting arrest
Howard Robert Mayo, Jr.: possession of a schedule II drug (meth) over 0.5 grams with intent to sell or deliver
William Anthony McKenzie: second degree murder
Martha Renee Kirby Norris: possession of a schedule II drug (meth) over 0.5 grams with intent to sell or deliver and possession of a schedule I drug (heroin) with intent to sell or deliver
Hani Mohammad Sirhan Ittayem: possession of a schedule II drug (meth) over 0.5 grams with intent to sell or deliver; possession of a schedule II drug cocaine over 0.5 grams with intent to sell/deliver; and evading arrest
Jay Lee Mullican: possession of a schedule II drug (amphetamine) with intent to sell or deliver and possession of drug paraphernalia
Willie Ray Murphy: possession of a schedule II drug ( meth) over 0.5 grams with intent to sell or deliver
Amanda Lanette Knowles: filing a false report
Keith Clifford Lafreniere: violation community supervision of life (3 counts) and violation of the sex offender registry
Timothy Ryan Lawson: especially aggravated kidnapping; aggravated rape (2 counts); rape (2 counts); aggravated assault; and interference with emergency calls
Jeremy Trent Sanders: DUI and DUI per se
William Joseph Scott: DUI; DUI per se; possession of a handgun while under the influence
Jason Richard Skaroupka: sale and delivery of a schedule II drug (meth) over 0.5 grams (2 counts); felony possession of a handgun; and possession of drug paraphernalia
Carlos Edward Lopez Stiff: aggravated assault
Michael Lynn Vance: simple possession of a schedule II drug (meth) and possession of drug paraphernalia
Destry Jordan Wiggins: DUI and DUI per se
John Brent Williams: especially aggravated kidnapping; aggravated robbery; and aggravated assault (2 counts)
