County Establishes 45 MPH Speed Limit on Whorton Springs Road

December 26, 2021
By: Dwayne Page

Motorists on Whorton Springs Road will have to travel a bit slower.

During Monday night’s regular monthly meeting (December 20), the DeKalb County Commission by a unanimous voice vote, granted a request by individuals who live on Whorton Springs Road to set the speed limit there at 45 miles per hour.

Over the past couple of years, the county commission has set speed limits on several county roads at the public’s request in the interest of safety.

The following are a few examples:

*November 2019, the county commission voted to establish a 35 mile per hour speed zone on Tramel Branch Road near Alexandria

*June 2020, a 35 mile per hour speed limit was set for Johnsons Chapel Road.

*July 2020, the county commission voted to establish a 35 mile per hour speed limit on the Ragland Bottom Road to the US Army Corps of Engineers line; a 30 mile per hour limit on the Four Seasons Road from the Young Bend Cemetery to the Corps of Engineers line; and a 30 mile per hour speed limit on Dearman Street from the Smithville City Limits to Bright Hill Road. The portion of Dearman Street in the city was already posted at 30 miles per hour.

*August 2020, a continuous 20 mile per hour speed limit was established for Puckett’s Point Road. Up until then the first 2/10s of the two-mile road had been posted 30 miles per hour with the remaining 1.8-mile stretch being 20 mph.

*July 2021, a 30 mile per hour speed limit was set for Big Hurricane Road

Under state law, the speed limit on any county road is 55 miles per hour unless the county commission acts to change it. Some members of the county commission say they believe there should be more consistency in the speed limits established for county roads.

December 26, 2021
By: Dwayne Page

The number of active COVID cases in DeKalb County as of Thursday, December 23 was 74 with 7 new cases according to the Tennessee Department of Health. That’s an increase of 14 from the 60 active cases reported on Friday, December 3 in WJLE’s last report.

There have been 81 deaths in DeKalb County since the pandemic began in March 2020, up by 4 since December 3 and 115 have been hospitalized due to COVID within the past 21 months.

At last report 44.8% of the DeKalb County population had received at least one dose of COVID vaccine and 39.2% were fully vaccinated.

Over the last seven days, December 16-22 DeKalb County had a case count of 37 for a daily case rate of 25.8 per 100,000 residents

For the most recent 14 days, December 9-22 DeKalb County’s case count was 80 for a daily case rate of 27.9 per 100,000 residents.

For the 14 days prior, November 25 to December 8, the case count was 68 for a daily case rate of 23.7 per 100, 000 residents.

From March 5, 2020, to December 22, 2021, DeKalb County has had a total of 4,436 confirmed or probable cases of COVID-19 for a daily case rate of 33 per 100,000 residents.

Over the last 7 days the average percent positive was 11.2%.

December 25, 2021
By: Dwayne Page

Two people have been arrested in separate cases for stealing electricity from Caney Fork Electric Cooperative.

33-year-old Molly Sue Lawrence of Page Drive, Smithville and 44-year-old Christopher Joe Bogle are each charged with theft of services. Bond for Lawrence is $20,000 and she will make a court appearance January 16. Bogle is under a $7,500 bond and he will be in court January 6.

In the case against Lawrence, Sheriff Patrick Ray said that Caney Fork Electric Cooperative terminated electric service at a residence on Page Drive December 5 but discovered eight days later on December 13 that someone had tampered with the meter box there resulting in the theft of $1,805 in electricity.

Meanwhile, in the case against Bogle, Sheriff Ray said that on February 22, 2019, Caney Fork Electric Cooperative terminated service at an address on Antioch Road but later discovered that someone had tampered with the meter box there on December 2, 2021, resulting in the theft of $5,773 in electricity.

31-year-old David Micah Williams of Auburntown is charged with criminal trespassing. His bond is $2,000 and he will make a court appearance January 6.

Sheriff Ray said that on December 15 a deputy was called to Sparta Highway due to an unwanted guest who was intoxicated. Upon arrival the officer spoke with the trespasser, Williams and instructed him to leave the premises at the owner’s request but he refused. Fuston was taken into custody.

47-year-old Michael Willie Richmond is charged with violation of the sex offender registry and possession of methamphetamine with intent to manufacture, sell, or deliver. His bond is $25,000 and he will make a court appearance January 6.

Sheriff Ray said that on December 17 Richmond was found at an address on East Broad Street where he had been residing since December 11 but as a sex offender, he had not reported his move there to the sheriff’s department within the time requirements of the state’s sex offender rules. Richmond also had on him an estimated 1.5 grams of a crystal-like substance believed to be methamphetamine wrapped in several pieces of paper and baggies.

39-year-old Jodie Wade Taylor, recently named in a sealed indictment by the grand jury, was picked up on December 18 charged with two counts of possession of methamphetamine with intent to sell or deliver and four other counts of possession of a controlled substance (methamphetamine) for sale or delivery.

33-year-old Dustin Matthew Brewer is charged with public intoxication. His court date is January 6. Sheriff Ray said that on December 18 a deputy was summoned to the 900 block of Keltonburg Road where a man was spotted walking in the road dressed in all black clothing. Upon arrival the officer spoke with the man, Brewer but due to his erratic behavior, the deputy determined that Brewer was under the influence. Brewer was unable to satisfactorily perform standardized field sobriety tasks and was placed under arrest.

39-year-old Christian Antonio Avina of Foster Road, Smithville is charged with driving under the influence. His bond is $1,500 and he will make a court appearance January 6.

Sheriff Ray said that on December 18 a deputy spotted a blue Chevy truck traveling west on Highway 70 and noticed that it crossed the yellow line several times. He stopped the truck and spoke with the driver, Avina, who appeared to be under the influence. Avina submitted to field sobriety tasks and then was placed in custody. An inventory search of the truck turned up two glass pipes from under the seat.

45-year-old Stacey Carroll Thompson of Madison is charged with driving under the influence and her court date is January 6.

Sheriff Ray said that on December 18 a deputy pulled over a black Ford Escape for failing to maintain lane of travel. The officer spoke with the driver, Thompson who appeared to be drowsy and her speech was slow and slurred. She submitted to but performed poorly on field sobriety tasks. She also submitted to implied consent (blood test) and was placed under arrest.

42-year-old Eric Steven Pollard of McMinnville is charged with evading arrest and possession of a prohibited weapon. His bond is $10,000 and he will make a court appearance on January 6.

Sheriff Ray said that on December 27 a deputy spotted Pollard in a 1993 red Chevrolet and tried to stop him knowing that Pollard had an active warrant against him for illegal possession of a weapon. Instead of pulling over, Pollard tried to evade arrest resulting in a pursuit, but he was subsequently arrested. The warrant against Pollard resulted from an incident two years ago on December 10, 2019, when a deputy had found Pollard in possession of a .22 caliber Iver-Johnson revolver. At that time Pollard admitted that the gun belonged to him and that he was a convicted felon. Pollard had been convicted of methamphetamine possession with intent to manufacture, sell, or deliver on March 3, 2019 in White County.

37-year-old Jonathan Dewayne Barnes of Talley Road, Smithville is charged with a 7th offense of driving on a revoked or suspended license. His court date is January 13.

Sheriff Ray said that on December 20 a deputy went to a residence to serve a warrant on Barnes when he spotted him drive by. Knowing that Barnes’ license was revoked or suspended, the officer confronted Barnes and placed him under arrest.

30-year-old John Edward Strayn of Walker Creek Road, Alexandria is charged with violation of bond conditions. He is under a $1,000 bond and his court date is January 6.

Sheriff Ray said that on December 21 Strayn was arrested for violation of bond conditions. During the booking process Strayn placed a phone call, saying it was to his mother, but it was actually to his wife and the conversation was overheard by a sheriff’s department correctional officer. Strayn later admitted to the officer that he had been on the phone with his spouse. Under the bond conditions against him, Strayn is to have no contact with his wife.

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