2024 DeKalb County Fair to be held June 24-29

November 7, 2023
By: Dwayne Page

The Grandpa Fair of the South is one of the most exciting entertainment venues of the summer in DeKalb County and it’s normally held in mid-July. But in 2024, the DeKalb County Fair in Alexandria will be moving up on the schedule to June 24-29 and will become among the first fairs held during the year in Tennessee. Only Clay County’s fair will be held earlier.

Jeff McMillen, Fair Manager, said the reason for the earlier date is primarily due to having to schedule a new carnival, James Gang Amusements of Alabama.

For the last three years, the DeKalb County Fair has contracted with the B&K Carnival Company of South Carolina but the two sides were unable to come to terms on the dates for the fair next year.

“Our Board President initially met with B & K and they couldn’t give a specific date for next year’s fair except for the one they wanted to talk about in August and they (B&K) wanted to go to a five day fair instead of the six days we always have but we could not afford to do that and we didn’t want to be sandwiched in between the Putnam and Wilson County Fairs which are held in August,” said McMillen.

Because the DeKalb County Fair is a smaller venue than many others, McMillen said it had to find a carnival that would be the right fit and did so in the James Gang Amusement Company. Again, the only issue was setting a date for the fair next year.

“James Gang Amusements does the White, Putnam, and Smith County Fairs but the only date they had available that would work for us was June 24-29 and we are fine with it. The only thing it affects by having it that early is the availability of some produce straight out of the garden like tomatoes and stuff like that but maybe people could put a few plants out early if that’s what they want to do to get their produce entered in the fair,” McMillen continued.

Although nightly events on the hill at the T.C. McMillen arena are crowd pleasing, they are also costly and subject to cancellation in the event of rain. Still, McMillen said the fair board wants to schedule as many as possible next year and possibly acquire rain insurance for some events.

“We want to have an event every night on top of the hill like we used to do. We have already scheduled two nights of ATV/ Motorcycle racing and one night of a demolition derby as in the past but we are also looking at bringing back a rodeo along with a Monster truck and a Bump N Run Derby Racing event although those are not yet set in stone,” said McMillen.

The fair’s website is being revamped to make it more user friendly especially for mobile phone users; more rides may be added to the midway; and possibly a beefed-up schedule of entertainment at the Lion’s Club Pavilion in addition to the nightly pageants. Plans are also to have the premium book available earlier, perhaps by the first of the year.

November 6, 2023
By: Dwayne Page

An active moonshine still was found last month by the DeKalb County Sheriff’s Department in an investigation at the home of an Alexandria man which also turned up methamphetamine and drug paraphernalia.

Due to the discovery, 56-year-old Edward Wayne Tarpley, II of Old Liberty Road, Alexandria and companion, 33-year-old Erica Beth Martin of Woodbury are each charged with possession of drug paraphernalia and possession of methamphetamine with intent to manufacture, sell, or deliver. Tarpley is also charged with possession of a moonshine still. Bond for Tarpley is $15,000. Martin’s bond is $13,500. Both will make a General Sessions Court appearance November 9.

Sheriff Patrick Ray said that on October 10 detectives went to Tarpley’s home after receiving a report that he had an active moonshine still. Tarpley is currently on probation with the Tennessee Department of Corrections. A moonshine still was found at the home and it was actively producing liquor. A search of Tarpley’s bedroom that he shared with Martin turned up 1.2 grams of a white crystal-like substance believed to be methamphetamine, glass pipes, syringes, and digital scales. Other items needed to produce liquor including copper piping, corn mash, etc. were found along with personal belongings of both Tarpley and Martin which were in close proximity to the illegal items in the room.

November 6, 2023
By:

A variety of upgrades have been announced for the Upper Cumberland Human Resource Agency’s (UCHRA) transit services in the coming weeks.

Beginning Tuesday, Nov. 14, UCHRA Public Transportation will begin charging a flat rate of $2 each way for in-county travel. Special discounts, for seniors, people with disabilities, and veterans, are also available for eligible passengers.

In another move to improve overall efficiency, a new trip management software will go live next week; allowing UCHRA Public Transportation to be more efficient without requiring passengers to schedule trips on specific days and providing a more user-friendly experience for passengers.

“Our old fare system was designed to encourage passengers from outlying areas of the county to coordinate their trips on certain days to improve efficiency,” said Holly Montooth, UCHRA Public Transportation Director. “We can introduce a more straightforward fare structure as a result.

“We’re very excited to bring these technological innovations to our rural public transportation users in the Upper Cumberland region,” Montooth added. “We’re also thrilled to announce the launch of the UCHRA Transportation app.”

In the coming weeks, a new app, UCHRA Transportation, will also launch. The UCHRA Transportation app is designed to better serve the agency’s existing PickUp Upper Cumberland passengers who currently access this popular on-demand service through the Uber app. This new app, UCHRA Transportation, is available for download via the Apple App Store and the Google Play store.

For more information about UCHRA’s Public Transportation services, visit www.ucpublictransit.com or call 833-828-7477 to connect with the department’s call center.

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