Early Voting Begins Friday, July 12 for August Elections

July 10, 2024
By: Dwayne Page

Early voting begins Friday, July 12 for the upcoming August 1 elections through July 27

Early voters may cast ballots at the courthouse in Smithville during a six-hour period on Mondays, Wednesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays from 9 a.m. until 3 p.m. and Tuesdays from 12 noon until 6 p.m. Early voting on Saturdays will be from 9 a.m. until 12 noon as in the past. No early voting on Sundays.

In Alexandria, early voting will take place on two dates, Tuesday July 16 from 9 a.m. until 3 p.m. and on Tuesday, July 23 from 12 noon until 6 p.m. at the Kenneth Sandlin Center on the DeKalb County Fairgrounds.

Meanwhile, the election commission has released the sample ballot for the elections on Thursday, August 1 which will include the DeKalb County General Election, Municipal Elections in Smithville, Dowelltown, and Alexandria, and the Tennessee Republican and Democratic Primaries.

Sample Ballot

The deadline to update an address on voter registrations is Friday, July 26.

All the local Republican nominees from the March primary will be unopposed in the DeKalb County General Election including Incumbent Assessor of Property Shannon Cantrell, Sixth district incumbent school board member Jason Miller, Fifth district school board candidate Megan Moore; Constable candidates 1st District: Tyler Cripps, 2nd District: Danny Adamson, 3rd District: Incumbent Travis Bryant, 4th District: Incumbent Lane Ball, 5th District: Incumbent Mark Milam, and 7th District: Jeremy Neal, and Judge Shawn C. Fry for the newly created Criminal Court Judge position in Part III of the seven-county 13th Judicial District.

For the county commission to fill unexpired terms, Andy Pack in the 6th district and Mathias Anderson in district 7 were recently nominated and certified as Republican candidates through the local GOP caucus process and their names will appear on the August 1 ballot.

The Smithville Municipal Election will be uncontested on August 1. The three incumbent aldermen up for re-election, Shawn Jacobs, Danny Washer, and Jessica Higgins will be running unopposed. The terms are for four years each.

Only three people qualified for the Alexandria Municipal Election ballot on August 1. In this election, the positions to be filled are for mayor (unexpired term), three aldermen, and three other aldermen (unexpired terms). Beth Tripp will run for the unexpired mayor’s term while Jeff Ford is seeking to fill an unexpired alderman term and Jonathon Tripp is running for a full alderman term. No one qualified on the ballot to run for the other positions.

No one qualified to run in the Dowelltown Municipal Election on August 1 in which a mayor and two aldermen are to be elected.

The following have filed a certificate of write-in for the following offices, but their names do not appear on the August 1 ballot:

Constable- District 6:
Keith Elkins

City of Alexandria:
Mayor
Allen Lawson
Russell “Rusty” Bradshaw

Alderman
Bobbie Ford

Robert “Bobby” Simpson

Lucas “Luke” Prichard

Curtis Rutter

The August 1 ballot will feature two State Judicial Retention questions as follows:

Shall Dwight Tarwater be retained in office as a Judge of the Supreme Court At Large or be replaced?

Shall Matthew J. Wilson be retained in office as a Judge of the Court of Criminal Appeals, Western Division or be replaced?

In the Tennessee Republican Primary on August 1 the candidates are as follows:

United States House of Representatives District 6: John Rose

United States Senate: Marsha Blackburn and Tres Wittum

Tennessee Senate District 16: Janice Bowling

Tennessee House of Representatives District 40: Michael Hale

In the Tennessee Democratic Primary on August 1 the candidates are as follows:

United States House of Representatives District 6: Lore Bergman, Clay Faircloth, and Cyril Focht

United States Senate: Marquita Bradshaw, Lola Denise Brown, Gloria Johnson, and Civil Miller-Watkins

Tennessee Senate District 16: Wayne Steele

Tennessee House of Representatives District 40: Daniel T. Hawthorne

State Executive Committeewoman District 16: Rupa Blackwell.

Sample Ballot

July 10, 2024
By: Dwayne Page

An argument which led to an assault has resulted in charges against one man.

44-year-old Leonel Sanchez Rodriquez of Allen Street, Smithville is charged with aggravated assault and vandalism. His bond is $8,500 and he will be in court July 25.

Sheriff Patrick Ray said that on July 4 Rodriquez and another individual got into an argument when Rodriquez picked up a cinder block and threw it. But instead of hitting his intended victim the cinder block hit a truck belonging to someone else. Rodriquez then threw another cinder block hitting the victim in the head causing a laceration. The victim was transported by EMS to the hospital.

44-year-old Elisha Marie Boles of McMinnville is charged with forgery and bringing contraband into a penal institution. Her bond is $7,500 and she will be in court July 18.

Sheriff Ray said that on June 11 Boles forged a check in the amount of $700 and cashed it at Liberty State Bank. After Boles arrived at the jail, she was found with a bag containing 1.1 grams of a green leafy substance.

41-year-old Jason John Grady of Sparta is charged with possession of a controlled substance with intent to manufacture, sell, or deliver, tampering with evidence, and simple possession of a schedule II drug. His bond totals $40,500 and he will be in court July 25.

Sheriff Ray said that on July 5 while serving Grady with a warrant in a separate case, an officer conducted a search of Grady’s wallet and found a piece of aluminum foil and a one-dollar bill that contained a white powdery substance believed to be heroin that weighed 0.6 grams along with two half pink pills identified as oxycodone.

As the deputy placed the suspected drugs on the hood of the patrol car to continue the search, Grady grabbed and tried to dump them in an effort to destroy the evidence so it could not be tested.

24-year-old Kristofer Ryan Barrett is charged with driving under the influence, and he was picked up on a sealed indictment returned by the grand jury last week for burglary and aggravated burglary. His bond for the DUI is $2,000 and he will be in court on that charge July 18. He will be arraigned on the burglary offense July 23.

Sheriff Ray said that on July 5 a deputy was traveling north on South Mountain Street when he spotted a black Chevrolet Silverado leave its lane of travel. The officer pulled over the vehicle at the intersection of Jacobs Pillar Road and Braswell Lane and spoke with the driver, Barrett. According to the deputy, Barrett smelled of alcohol and his eyes were red and watery. His speech was slurred, and he admitted to having consumed alcoholic beverages prior to driving. Barrett submitted to but performed poorly on standardized field sobriety tasks.

65-year-old Ricky Lee Dowell of Wade Street, Smithville is charged with driving on a revoked license. His bond is $1,500 and he will be in court July 25.

Sheriff Ray said that on July 5 a deputy was patrolling East Broad Street when he observed Dowell driving a Chrysler Pacifica. Knowing that Dowell’s license was revoked, he pulled over Dowell and confirmed through a background check that his license was revoked. Dowell had been cited for the same offense on May 12. The license was revoked for failure to maintain future financial responsibility on June 26. 2023.

30-year-old Kevin Jacob Lack of Indian Trail, Sparta is charged with driving on a suspended license. His bond is $2,500 and he will be in court July 25.

Sheriff Ray said that on July 6 a deputy was patrolling Sparta Highway when he noticed a black Dodge Ram with a broken driver’s side headlight. He pulled over the vehicle and spoke with the driver, Lack. A background check through central dispatch revealed that Lack’s driver license was suspended for failure to pay fines and court costs in White County on January 9, 2024.

27-year-old Erasmo Godinez of Blue Springs Road, Smithville is charged with driving under the influence. His bond is $2,000 and he will be in court July 25.

Sheriff Ray said that on July 7 a deputy was traveling south on South Congress Boulevard when he spotted a black Dodge Durango speeding and leaving its lane of travel. He pulled over the vehicle and spoke with the driver, Godinez. According to the officer, Godinez smelled of alcohol and he admitted to having consumed three or four alcoholic beverages prior to driving. His eyes were red and watery. Godinez submitted to but performed poorly on field sobriety tasks.

35-year-old Alberto Antonio Pardo of McMinnville is charged with driving under the influence. He is under a $2,000 bond and his court date is July 18.

Sheriff Ray said that on July 3 a deputy was traveling south on South Congress Boulevard when he saw a white Dodge Ram leave its lane of travel. The officer pulled over the vehicle and spoke with the driver, Pardo who smelled of alcohol. Pardo admitted to having consumed alcoholic beverages prior to driving. Pardo’s eyes were red and watery, and his speech was slurred. He submitted to but performed poorly on field sobriety tasks.

25-year-old Luis Fernando Alvarez of Campbell Road, Smithville is charged with driving under the influence. His bond is $2,000 and he will be in court July 18.

Sheriff Ray said that on July 2 a deputy was traveling northeast on Short Mountain Highway when he observed a blue Dodge Charger with no rear lights leave its lane of travel several times. The officer pulled over the automobile and spoke with the driver, Alvarez who smelled of alcohol. Alvarez submitted to but performed poorly on field sobriety tasks. He admitted to having consumed alcoholic beverages prior to driving.

Jalen Armani Wofford of Cookeville is charged with aggravated criminal trespassing. He is under a $2,500 bond and his court date is July 18. Sheriff Ray said that on July 3 Wofford entered a residence without the owner’s consent but refused to leave even after being confronted and asked several times to leave.

57-year-old Joe Anthony Young of New Home Road, Smithville is charged with driving on a revoked license. His bond is $2,000 and he will be in court July 18. Sheriff Ray said that on July 1 a deputy was patrolling Cookeville Highway when he spotted a maroon Chevrolet. He learned from a background check that the tag displayed on the vehicle was expired. The officer pulled over the vehicle and spoke with the driver, Young who admitted that he had no license. Another background check confirmed that Young’s license was revoked for failure to provide insurance on August 13, 2023.

July 10, 2024
By:

tnAchieves, in partnership with the Tennessee Higher Education Commission/Tennessee Student Assistance Corporation (THEC/TSAC), is providing 60+ Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) clinics in counties throughout the state. These events are open to the public and are designed to provide students and families with an opportunity to complete the 2024-2025 FAFSA prior to the August 1, 2024, TN Promise deadline.

Motlow State Community College will Co-Host an FAFSA Clinic at DCHS on July 23 from 1-6 p.m.

Students and families should complete the 2024-2025 FAFSA at FAFSA.gov as soon as possible. Filing the FAFSA is not only a requirement for the TN Promise scholarship, but it is the primary application for all state and federal financial aid, including the Hope Scholarship, the Federal Pell Grant, and the Tennessee Student Assistance Award. Visit tnAchieves.org/FAFSA or CollegeForTN.org/FAFSA for helpful resources.

Below is a schedule of the upcoming FAFSA filing events co-hosted by tnAchieves and Motlow State. For questions, please email tnAchieves@tnAchieves.org and follow @tnAchieves on social media outlets for future updates.

Events in Motlow’s Service Area

Coffee County: Motlow State Community College (Main Campus) on 7/15/2024 from 4:30 PM – 6:30 PM

Dekalb County: Dekalb County High School on 7/23/2024 from 1:00 PM – 6:00 PM

Franklin County: TCAT Shelbyville (Franklin County Campus) on 7/22/2024 from 4:30 PM – 6:30 PM

Rutherford County: Motlow State Community College (Smyrna Campus) on 7/17/2024 from 4:30 PM – 6:30 PM

Rutherford County: Technology Engagement Center on 7/20/2024 from 10:00 AM – 1:00 PM

Rutherford County: Motlow State Community College (Smyrna Campus) on 7/29/2024 from 4:30 PM – 6:30 PM

White County: Motlow State Community College (Sparta Campus) on 7/29/2024 from 4:30 PM – 6:30 PM

Launched in 2009 as a public/private partnership, tnAchieves is on a mission to enhance post-secondary opportunities and outcomes for all Tennessee students. To learn more about tnAchieves and to get involved in helping Tennessee students thrive, visit our website at tnAchieves.org.

For questions and additional information, please contact Ben Sterling, tnAchieves Vice President of Content and Public Relations at ben@tnAchieves.org.

Tennessee’s Community Colleges is a system of 13 colleges offering a high-quality, affordable, convenient, and personal education to prepare students to achieve their educational and career goals in two years or less. The system offers associate degree and certificate programs, workforce development programs, and transfer pathways to four-year degrees. For more information, please visit us online at tbr.edu or visit Motlow at motlow.edu.

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