DCHS Lady Tigers Hold off Warren County while Tigers Fall to the Pioneers

December 14, 2024
By: Dwayne Page

The DCHS Lady Tigers got back in the win column Friday night with a 40 to 37 victory over visiting Warren County but the Tigers dropped their game to the Pioneers losing 60 to 44.

The Tigers (2-7) and the Lady Tigers (3-6) will travel to Watertown Tuesday night, December 17. The girls game will tip off at 6 p.m. followed by the boys game and WJLE will broadcast both LIVE. In the last meeting on December 6, the Lady Tigers lost their game 58 to 40 while the Tigers knocked off the purple Tigers in the nightcap 78 to 36.

In the Friday night girls game (December 13), DC and Warren County were tied at 8 after the 1st period and at 15 to 15 by halftime. The Lady Tigers outscored Warren County in the 3rd period and led 32 to 20 going into the 4th period. From there DC went on to win 40 to 37.

Chloe Van Vranken and Allie Melton shared high scoring honors for DeKalb County with 11 points each followed by Avery Agee 9, Jordyn Agee 5, and Brooklyn Fuson and Millie Barton each with 2.

The Tigers were outscored 21 to 9 after the 1st period and trailed 35 to 20 by halftime and 45 to 31 after the 3rd period before falling to the pioneers 60 to 44.

Dallas Kirby led the Tigers in scoring with 12 followed by Jordan Parker 10, Porter Hancock 8, Elliot Barnes 6, Chase Young and Seth Fuson each with 3 and Jon Hendrix with 2.

December 14, 2024
By: Dwayne Page

DCHS baseball senior Ty Webb is looking forward to his last season as a Tiger coming soon, but the star catcher is equally excited about his next move after high school playing days.

Friday afternoon, Webb’s family, friends, and coaches celebrated Ty’s signing with Maryville College to play for the Scots baseball team. The celebration was held at the DCHS auditorium.

Webb, son of Tad and Tracy Webb, said Maryville College seemed to be the best fit for him and along with playing baseball he plans to study civil engineering.

“Last summer I went to a lot of showcase camps to get myself out there in front of a lot of different coaches and they (Maryville) reached out to me first,” said Webb.

“It’s a smaller school close to home. I really liked the coaches. I talk to them a lot. They just seem like good people. Its seems to have a very good atmosphere there,” he said.

At Maryville, Webb said he hopes to continue catching but he might even get some playing time in the outfield for the Scots.

Tad Webb, head coach of the DCHS Tiger baseball program, is not only Ty’s coach, but he is his father.

As a dad, Tad said he couldn’t be prouder.

“Its something Ty has looked forward to for a long time and something he has worked for. He has definitely earned it and deserves it,” said Coach Webb.

When asked if it was more difficult for him as a father coaching his own son, Coach Webb said “Its tougher coaching him because of my expectations of him and I’m more critical but then I try to hold all of my guys to that same accountability,” he said.

As for Maryville, Coach Webb said he believes Ty has made a good choice. “We went up there on a couple of different visits. After the first visit and I didn’t tell him but I told Tracy I thought it was the fit for him but ultimately it was his decision where he wanted to go,” said Coach Webb.

Before he heads off to College, Ty has one more season of high school baseball to experience playing for his father and he can’t wait for it to begin.

“I am very excited to see what’s in store for us,” he said. “I see myself as a leader and one of the key players to help put everybody where they need to be. I’m a catcher so I see the whole field. I try my best to make sure everybody is where they need to be and that they have the right attitude,” he continued.

“Although I enjoy catching, I also like hitting. I put a lot of time into that but that’s baseball. You have to put a lot of time in. You get out of it what you put in it, “said Ty.

Coach Webb said he too is anxious to get back on the diamond and to coach Ty for one more year.

“Ty will still take care of things behind the plate. He’s one of our leaders but we have several guys coming in that I am expecting big things out of,” said Coach Webb.

“Ty has been in the top of the order the last two years and will be again this year if he continues to swing like he is capable of and I expect that to happen. We have some other guys battling to get in that lineup as well,” he said.

“With only four seniors this season, we will have a lot of new faces which is exciting for us because we get the opportunity to get to work and put in that time with them and develop some more relationships. I’m expecting some of these younger guys to step in and increase their role this year and l I look forward to seeing their growth. We’re going to put a team out there that will compete,” added Coach Webb.

Ty has two brothers, Tucker, a sophomore who joins him as a member of the Tiger baseball team and his youngest brother is Tate.

Both Ty and Tucker are also on the Tiger football team.

December 13, 2024
By: Dwayne Page

Although the threat of a cease-and-desist action against the Jones Brothers rock quarry at Liberty looms, no action has yet been taken by the county to enforce the regulations established almost two months ago with passage of the county powers act and apparently none is pending.

Prior to the regular November monthly meeting December 2, County Attorney Hilton Conger reportedly met with the county mayor and county commission in a closed attorney client conference to give legal advice on how to handle enforcement specifically as it relates to two rock quarry companies, Jones Alexandria Quarry on Old Highway 53 Liberty and Smyrna Ready Mix on North Driver Road at Snow Hill, and the McMinnville Energy cryptocurrency mining on South College Street Smithville. Neither of these companies apparently meets the 5,000 foot-distance requirement for their proposed sites as specified in the county powers act resolution. The companies are also required to make application for a local permit. The regulations took effect immediately on adoption by the commission October 28.

Under the regulatory resolution, which was approved by the county commission on an 11-1 vote October 28 “No quarry, rock crusher or gravel pit, cryptocurrency mine, landfill, adult entertainment, or methadone clinic may be located within 5,000 feet of a residence, school, licensed daycare facility, park, recreation center, church, retail, commercial, professional, or industrial establishment. Measurements shall be taken from the nearest recorded property line of the business to the nearest property line or boundary of the foregoing”.

The resolution further provides “In addition to the non-refundable fee of $150, an initial fee of $100 must be paid by the applicant for a permit to operate a quarry, rock crusher, or gravel pit, cryptocurrency mine, landfill, adult entertainment or methadone clinic if the license is granted with an annual $100 permit renewal fee”.

However, under the grandfather clause of the resolution, a provision in section VIII states that the distance requirements shall not apply to quarries, rock crushers or gravel pits, cryptocurrency mines, landfills, adult entertainment or methadone clinics “in existence and in operation” on October 28, 2024. Defining what “in operation” means is proving a topic for debate.

The question then becomes should all three companies — the McMinnville Energy LLC cryptocurrency mining and the Jones Brothers and SRM quarries— be subject to the County Powers Act, or were they already “in operation” when the commission passed it.

After reaching out to County Attorney Conger by phone last Friday, December 6, WJLE received an email response from him on Tuesday indicating that a move by the county to send Jones Brothers a cease-and-desist letter is premature.

“I know we talked about a Cease and Desist letter; however, at this point they (Jones Brothers) haven’t started anything so there’s nothing for them to cease doing. The first step is for them to file an application for a permit. If they start without filing for a permit, then we will send a Cease and Desist letter. You will notice that I copied Quarland LLC and Bradshaw Farm. That’s the 2 pieces of property where they are proposing to put the quarry. Quarland LLC and Bradshaw Farm have the same Registered Agent, James F. McCullough, in Mt Juliet. Quarland LLC bought the property from OH 53 LLC whose President is James F. McCulloch, the same person who is the Registered Agent for Quarland LLC and Bradshaw Farm. I can’t find out anything about Mr. McCullough,” wrote Conger.

In a follow up email to Conger on Wednesday, WJLE asked the following question: Could you give me a statement as to the reasons why the other two companies are not included (in cease and desist), SRM and McMinnville Energy?”

Conger responded by email with the following statement: “I have no problem with you saying you contacted me for an update and that I disclosed that Jones Brothers has been contacted and advised that they need to file an application for a permit to operate a quarry. Based on the location I don’t see it passing the test but we’ll have to wait and see if they even file an application. As for SRM and McMinnville Energy, it is the consensus of a majority of the (county) commission that they would be grandfathered,” wrote Conger.

Members of the public, especially those living near these quarry and cryptomine sites who fought for implementation of the county powers act are now frustrated claiming that Jones Brothers and McMinnville Energy were not “In Existence and in Operation” on October 28 when the county powers act regulations were adopted by the county commission and are still not in operation even today. As for SRM, members of the public also allege it was not legally “in operation” at the time the county powers act passed. The state recently stepped in to halt work at Snow Hill and SRM agreed to remove equipment from the site after a state investigator advised SRM was working there without the required water discharge permit, in violation of state law.

The county powers act requires businesses have all required permits in place before they can file for a local permit to operate. SRM’s state water permit application is pending, but the public has not yet had the opportunity to comment on the permit application, as required.

The following “inspection narrative” was made available by the Division of Mineral & Geological Resources-Mining Section of the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation in a Mining Facility Inspection Report.

“On November 15, 2024, staff from the Division of Mineral and Geologic Resources – Mining Section, Virginia Lawrence conducted a follow up inspection of the SRM Materials, LLC dba – Smithville Quarry in Smithville, DeKalb County TN, in response to the Notice of Violation issued on August 16, 2024, for operating a mine site without a permit”.

“SRM personnel, Mike Hollingshead and Trevor Wagner were onsite during the inspection. During the inspection, Mining staff confirmed the movement of and continued presence of rock processing equipment on site. SRM personnel relayed that the rock crusher had been run the previous day to test the equipment. The rock hammer attachment on an excavator had been used to break blasted rock into smaller pieces to prepare for crushing. Additionally, mining activities on site have expanded since the last inspection via land clearing, and site entrances have been made accessible for construction and mine traffic”.

“Operating a mining facility which has the potential to discharge process wastewater or industrial stormwater without a proper permit violates the Tennessee Water Quality Control Act of 1977, TCA § 69-3-108(b). In a text message correspondence to Virginia immediately following the inspection, Mr. Hollingshead said “I will move the crusher back and out of the way until you tell me I can crush.” The initial individual NPDES application for the Smithville Quarry was received on September 6, 2024, and deemed incomplete. The most recent revision of this application was received on November 13, 2024, and is currently pending review”.

“At this time, the Smithville Quarry does not have active permit coverage to discharge process wastewater or industrial stormwater. No conditions of water pollution were observed during the investigation. Discharges of wastewater or stormwater were not occurring. Without proper intervention, the loose limestone and sediment on site do have the potential to generate runoff causing a condition of pollution. Mr. Hollingshead agreed to continue establishing Best Management Practices (BMP) to prevent sediment from discharging off site”.

Jones Brothers has filed an application for a water quality permit and citizens were invited to submit written comments back in August. The Division of Mineral and Geologic Resources will hold a public hearing next Tuesday night regarding the proposed issuance of a National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System permit. The public hearing, one of the last steps in the permit application process, will be held December 17 at 6 p.m. at the DeKalb County Complex. An information session will be held at 5 p.m. The proposed permit application is for a new limestone quarry to be named Jones Alexandria Quarry is at 2159 Old Highway 53, Liberty in DeKalb County.

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