Forty Six Featured in Friday’s Toddler Show at DeKalb County Fair

July 17, 2021
By: Dwayne Page

Forty six toddlers from ages 13 to 47 months were featured Friday evening during the annual Toddler Show at the DeKalb County Fair.

First place winners received a blue ribbon. Red ribbons went to those receiving second place.
This year’s recipients are as follows:

Boys (13 to 18 months)
Winner: Corbin James Claude, the 18 month old son of Bailey Pack of Dowelltown
Runner-up: Ranson Lewis Dewberry, the 14 month old son of Tiffany and Eric Dewberry of Smithville
Other participants: John Luke Scott, 16 month old son of Reagen and Kristen Scott of Smithville; Coleman “Ridge” Dedmon, 18 month old son of Brey and Samantha Dedmon of Dowelltown; and Sawyer Cordell Oyster, 14 month old son of Coleman and Morgan Oyster of Liberty

Girls (13 to 18 months)
Winner: Delylah Reed, 13 month old daughter of Josh and Olivia Reed of Smithville
Runner-up: Dayvani Haggard, 13 month old daughter of Caleb Haggard and Haley Haggard of Smithville

Other participants: Lydia Sutherland, 14 month old daughter of Madison Cripps and Dusten Sutherland of Smithville; Fallon Wiggins, 15 month old daughter of Megan Linder and Destry Wiggins of Smithville; Myra Shepherd, 15 month old daughter of John and Alanna Shepherd of Smithville; and Carleigh Edwards, 18 month old daughter of Abram and Shannon Edwards of Liberty

Boys (19 to 24 months)
Winner: Elijah Robert Underhill, 23 month old son of Nick and Christian Underhill of Smithville
Runner-up: Callahan Dean Cox, 19 month old son of Brandon and Whitney Cox of Smithville

Other participants: John Forrest Linder, 20 month old son of Joshua and Emily Linder of Smithville and Waylon Johnson, 23 month old son of Alexis Utley and Ian Johnson of Smithville

Girls (19 to 24 months)
Winner: Jazmin Ariel, 19 month old daughter of Blanca Jones and Joel Perez of Smithville.
Runner-up: Livy Slager, 21 month old daughter of Jon and Katie Slager of Alexandria

Other participants: Ella Claire Rathbone, 23 month old daughter of Corey and Sarah Rathbone of Smithville; Ava Michelle Burton, 23 month old daughter of Paige Burton of Alexandria; Elena Rose Ritchie, 19 month old daughter of Destinee Ritchie and Ricardo Escobedo of Dowelltown; Elliott Quinn Prichard, 21 month old daughter of Mark and Amanda Prichard of Smithville; Emberly Rose Musick-Morris, 21 month old daughter of Alannah Musick-Morris and Elijah Fults of Smithville; and Myracle Jade Clark, 22 month old daughter of Morgan Clark of Liberty.

Boys (25 to 30 months)
Winner: Samuel Keith Griffin, 27 month old son of Luke and Casey Griffin of Alexandria

Girls (25 to 30 months)
Winner: Hattie Donnell, 25 month old daughter of Travis and Amber Donnell of Alexandria
Runner-up: Laurel Cait Kilgore, 28 month old daughter of Colby and Taylor Kilgore of Smithville

Other participants: Serenity Carmen Tiner, 30 month old daughter of Billy and Stephanie Tiner of Smithville; and Cornelia Grace Kamer, 27 month old daughter of Timothy and Alexa Kamer of Liberty

Boys (31 to 36 months)
Winner: Jaxen Khyren Agree, 31 month old son of Donnie and Stephanie Agee of Smithville.
Runner-up: Gradyn Elijah Harvey, 35 month old son of Chad and Kayla Harvey of Alexandria

Other participants: Kase Bryson Roller, 32 month old son of George Roller and Abbey Caldwell of Smithville; and Matthew Hayden Williams, 31 month old son of Dillon and Hailey Williams of Alexandria.

Girls (31 to 36 months)
Winner: Briar Rose Kilgore, 35 month old daughter of Clay and Mariah Kilgore of Smithville
Runner-up: Peyton Rae Shepherd,33 month old daughter of Jason and Ashley Shepherd of Smithville
Other participant: Elizabeth Mary Sue Gammons, 34 month old daughter of Bruce Gammons and Amanda Ford of Smithville

Boys (37 to 47 months)
Winner: Camden Lucas Wright, 38 month old son of Nick and MiKayla Wright of Smithville
Runner-up: Hagen Kayd Ford, 45 month old son of Bruce Gammons and Amanda Ford of Smithville

Other participant: Myles Hale, 38 month old son of Kimberly and Austin Hale of Smithville

Girls (37 to 47 months)
Winner: Adalyn Cate Meadows, 45 month old daughter of Caitlin Anderson and Nate Meadows of Smithville.
Runner-up: Carrigan Elise Cox, 37 month old daughter of Brandon and Whitney Cox of Smithville

Other participants: Rozlyn Marie Prichard, 46 month old daughter of Mark and Amanda Prichard of Smithville; Opal Rose Sackman, 42 month old daughter of Collin Sackman and Destiny Perryman of Dowelltown; Kathryn Ann Williams, 45 month old daughter of Dillon and Hailey Williams of Alexandria; Blakelynn Emerie Cripps, 42 month old daughter of Corey and Kami Cripps of Smithville; Magnolia LaRue Ellis, 38 month old daughter of Nicholas Ellis of Alexandria; and Charlee Anna Eaton, 44 month old daughter of Lonnie Eaton and Katie Turner of Alexandria.

July 17, 2021
By: Dwayne Page

The DeKalb Animal Coalition may soon be getting more financial assistance from the county.

During a meeting Thursday night, the budget committee voted 4 to 3 to recommend to the county commission that the request from the Coalition be granted for a contribution of $39,805 to hire an additional full time employee with benefits at the animal shelter. The money, if approved by the commission with passage of the 2021-22 budget, would go to and the employee would be hired by and under the control of the Coalition and not the county at the starting wage of $15 per hour.

Budget committee members voting for the funding were County Commissioners Jenny Trapp, Beth Pafford, Dr. Scott Little, and Julie Young. Those voting against were Commissioners Jerry Adcock, Sabrina Farler, and Jeff Barnes.

The county currently funds $3,000 a year for animal control.

The shelter has two full time positions funded by the City of Smithville and a part time employee that the Coalition provides but that is not enough according to Emmaly Bennett, Assistant Director at the shelter who addressed the budget committee with the request at the Tuesday night meeting.

“I know you (county) have budgeted $3,000 a year for animal control because of the contract you have with the 501c3 (DeKalb Animal Coalition) but that is not adequate. Its not working. We receive phone calls daily from those who need our assistance and as of right now its just really hard for us to get to them. With another employee that would help with responding to animal control calls in the county and city as well. Two people have to respond to an animal control at all times for safety reasons and we must be accompanied by a law enforcement officer because we are not animal control officers,” said Bennett.

“Right now the city funds $115,000 a year for our animal shelter. They also supply the truck, maintenance, fuel, and everything that goes into a shelter and the Coalition which is a non-profit supplies a part-time employee for the weekends and they put in about $60,000 a year and supply money for our vaccinations, animal care, and other things like that. They (Coalition) are also required in their contract to keep up maintenance on the inside of the building while the city maintains the outside of the building,” added Bennett.

According to Bennett another full time employee would allow animal control services to be more responsive and adequately prepared to safely handle calls and would secondarily allow the DeKalb Animal Shelter to have increased operational hours to better serve the public and reduce or eliminate overtime hours of all employees.

Bennett said two thirds of the animals taken in at the shelter come from within DeKalb County outside the City of Smithville. Statistics provided by Bennett show that from November 6, 2017 when it opened until July 1, 2021, the shelter has taken in overall 1,410 animals including 488 from the City of Smithville (34.60%) and 922 (65.39%) from DeKalb County.

During Thursday night’s meeting, Third district commissioner Jenny Trapp made a motion that the coalition’s request for $39,805 be granted adding that it should be considered funding and not a contribution. Seventh district member Beth Pafford offered a second to the motion.

Trapp said the animal coalition provides a service much like the fire and police departments and that the county should be doing more than $3,000 a year especially when the city is putting in $115,000 a year.

“We have an obligation to keep the shelter running adequately, and this will help. If we can sit there and fund 911, we can fund the fire department, it’s not so hard to fund the animal shelter, which provides care for these animals that come in. They neuter and they spay them, and give them their shots. I don’t understand why it is not a priority. It should be. They provide a service to the county just like the fire department, just like the EMS, just like the police department. They provide a service and that is something we need to think about,” said Commissioner Trapp.

Fourth District Commissioner Dr. Scott Little agreed with Trapp that the county should be doing more.

“Two thirds of the animals at the shelter come from the county and the city pays $115,000 a year while the county pays $3,000 a year. I don’t see anyway that you can look at that and think we (county) are doing our share. Just from plain fairness we have got to do more,” said Commissioner Little.

Second District Commissioner Sabrina Farler said while the county should perhaps do more in terms of funding, granting a request for $39, 805 for a new position starting at $15 per hour seems too much given the fact that most county employees don’t earn that much money especially starting out.

“We don’t have anyone (county employee) starting at $31,000. I am not saying we don’t need to support more than $3,000. I am just not sure $15.00 an hour is where to start at. Fifteen dollars an hour is a pretty hefty salary to start with when you think of what we have done (salary wise) across our county (county employees). We had some $10 an hour employees (DeKalb EMS) last year. Our educational assistants (school system) start at $13,000 a year. No one in our administrative staff (county employees) with zero experience starts at $30,000 a year,” said Commissioner Farler.

Fifth District Commissioner Jerry Adcock vehemently expressed his opposition to funding the $39,805 position insisting that the county should stick to the original memorandum of understanding with the Coalition which says in part that the Coalition is to pick up aggressive animals for the county when a request is made from the county mayor’s office or the sheriff’s department at a fee of $110. The county has had to pay only $1,100 over the last year.

“Four years ago, they (Animal Coalition) came to us and said enter into this contract and they would never come back to us again. That’s in the contract,” said Commissioner Adcock.

Bennett, who was not associated with the animal shelter four years ago, said that agreement was made before the shelter was even built and needs have changed adding that even the city has amended its original contract.

“As time has progressed the city has revised their contract. In the original contract the city funded one full time employee and one part time. They later bumped it up to two full time employees,” responded Bennett.

Most of the animals at the shelter are not picked up by the coalition but brought to the shelter voluntarily as owner surrenders and strays. Commissioner Adcock asked why those people are not charged a fee for bringing animals into the shelter. Bennett said that would discourage people from bringing them in.

“This will gross a lot of people out but I grew up in the country and when I was a kid if you had a stray dog in the way and it didn’t belong to a neighbor we eliminated them,” said Commissioner Adcock.

“It’s 2021 and we’re not doing that”, said Bennett.

“Then the people who are bringing them (animals) to you should be paying and not those (county taxpayers) who are not bringing them to you,” added Commissioner Adcock.

In March the City of Smithville voted to terminate the city’s 99 year lease with the DeKalb Coalition for the Humane Treatment of Animals and for the city to assume total control of the operation. The Coalition went to Chancery Court to challenge the decision and was granted a temporary injunction to take back control of the shelter from the city pending a hearing in Chancery Court. A settlement has reportedly been reached between the City and Coalition subject to the court’s approval. The announcement is expected at the next scheduled hearing this month in Chancery Court.

Shelter Background:
The DeKalb Animal Shelter opened in November 2017 on Transfer Station Road off Highway 70 east in Smithville behind Tenneco Automotive under the guidance of the DeKalb Animal Coalition, a non-profit organization, with a mission to provide a safe location for neglected, abandoned and abused animals; to provide an alternative low-kill policy so these animals receive medical attention, reduce overpopulation, and be cared for until they can be placed in homes. The new shelter replaced an old dilapidated dog pound which the city operated and staffed for years on Smith Road
The two full time employees who work at the shelter, Director Megan Moore (no longer employed there) and Emmaly Bennett were employed by the City of Smithville. The Coalition also funds a part time employee. The city provides a truck for the shelter which is used for animal transports and the city has other expenses related to the shelter as specified in the 99 year lease which the city entered into with the Coalition in 2015. The original agreement was for the city to fund only one full time and a part time employee but that was later changed due to the workload.

Both the City of Smithville and the DeKalb County Government appropriated $75,000 for construction of the shelter and the Coalition raised funds and borrowed money to complete it.

Also under the Memorandum of Understanding with the county, the Coalition is to pick up aggressive animals for the county when a request is made from the county mayor’s office or the sheriff’s department at a fee of $110.

In a meeting on October 29, 2020, Janice Plemmons Jackson, the City of Smithville’s financial advisor, provided information on how much the city has spent on animal control before and since 2017.

“In fiscal year 2015 (before the new shelter was built) we spent roughly $60,000. In 2016 we spent $63,071. In 2017 we spent $64,000. In 2018, not counting the $75,000 that we gave toward building the shelter, we spent $118,372. In 2019 we spent $103,000 and in 2020 we have spent almost $115,000 so we have almost doubled what the city has been spending since before the building was built and what we have been contributing,” said Jackson.

“What we committed to originally was one full time and a part time employee, a vehicle and utilities. In addition to that you have some salary payroll taxes, insurance, retirement, repairs and maintenance, supplies, uniforms, the vehicle operation, and we do insure the building. They (Coalition) insure the contents, etc. So our costs have doubled yet we are getting no revenue (from the shelter). I don’t see a whole lot of what they are contributing other than they have got the building in place for us,” said Jackson.

July 16, 2021
By: Dwayne Page

Authorities have now released the name of the man who died in a mobile home fire Wednesday morning on Dale Ridge Road.

38 year old Jason Tallent perished in the blaze. He was employed by the City of Smithville and owner of In the Flesh photography.

The cause of death has not been released but authorities do not suspect foul play.

The DeKalb County Volunteer Fire Department was summoned by 911 at 6:08 a.m. reporting a fully involved structure fire at 1383 Dale Ridge Road.. Members of the Liberty, Cookeville Highway, and Main Stations responded along with the Sheriff’s Office and DeKalb EMS.

Upon arrival firefighters found the mobile home fully in flames and learned that someone might still be inside. After extinguishing the blaze, firefighters discovered the remains of a body. TBI was contacted to assist the Sheriff’s Department in the investigation.

The cause of the fire has not been determined.

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