Duke and Curtis Capture Little Mister and Miss Crowns at DeKalb County Fair

July 14, 2021
By: Dwayne Page

Colton Graham Duke and Kallen Averie Curtis were crowned Little Mister and Miss at the DeKalb County Fair Tuesday night.

Duke is the 5 year old son of John and Whitney Duke of Smithville and Curtis is the 5 year old daughter of Heather Page and John Curtis of Smithville.

They succeed the 2019 Little Mister and Miss Jayson Knowles and Brinley Hale. Knowles is the 6 year old son of Mark and Donna Pedigo of Smithville and Hale is the 7 year old daughter of Leslie and Austin Maxwell of Alexandria. There were no Little Mister and Miss Fair Pageants last year due to COVID-19.

The pageants featured contestants ages 4-6.

First runner-up in the Little Mister Pageant was Maddux Hale, 4 year old son of Kimberly and Austin Hale of Smithville. He also earned the Most Photogenic honor and Jordan Isaiah Wright, 5 year old son of Nick and Mikayla Wright of Smithville was second runner-up.

First runner-up in the Little Miss contest was Haddeign Grace Harvey, 4 year old daughter of Chad and Kayla Harvey of Alexandria.

Kendyl Reign Atnip was second runner-up. She is the 5 year old daughter of Brooke Hutchings and Cody and Kimberly Atnip of Liberty.

Third runner-up was Dallas “Toby” Agee, 4 year old daughter of Donny and Stephanie Agee of Smithville.

Katie Jo Prichard, 6 year old daughter of Luke and Jodee Prichard of Alexandria was fourth runner-up.

Janna Rae Davis was Most Photogenic. She is the 4 year old daughter of Tanner and Emily Davis of Liberty.

The Miss Congeniality honor went to Anniston Faith Davidson, 6 year old daughter of Robert and Trista Davidson of Smithville.

Others in the top ten were Stella Grace Adcock, 6 year old daughter of Byron and Paige Adcock of Smithville; Summer Elizabeth Longmire, 4 year old daughter of Drew and Kristy Longmire of Smithville; Ava Grace Roller, 5 year old daughter of George Roller and Abbey Caldwell of Smithville; Anniston Faith Davidson, 6 year old daughter of Robert and Trista Davidson of Smithville; and Jacqlin Ila Rose Prichard, 6 year old daughter of Mark and Amanda Prichard of Smithville.

July 13, 2021
By: Dwayne Page

An arrest has been made in a 2018 DeKalb County fatal hit and run case.

34 year old Anthony Hartle was picked up in Warren County Tuesday on a DeKalb County grand jury sealed indictment for vehicular homicide in the death of 51 year old Gyula Gulyas of Brush Creek and originally from Hungary.

Gulyas’ body was found on Highway 70 in front of DeKalb Middle School early on Sunday, morning December 9, 2018, the victim of a fatal hit and run.

According to Trooper Bobby Johnson of the Tennessee Highway Patrol, a motorist spotted the body lying in the highway around 2:40 a.m. that morning and reported it to 911. Its not known exactly what time the hit and run occurred.

Trooper Johnson said Gulyas had been at Twisted Oaks on Highway 70 earlier and as he started to leave the parking lot his Kia Soul got stuck in a ditch. Gulyas later got a ride into town and was dropped off near the hospital. That was the last reported sighting of Gulyas alive.

Although the Tennessee Highway Patrol had not identified the person or vehicle responsible for the hit and run at the time officials believed the automobile was a silver colored 2006 to 2010 model Jeep Commander SUV because of paint chips and pieces of a front grill found on the highway near the body.

Hartle was later identified as a suspect and after a THP investigation the case was taken to the DeKalb County Grand Jury where a sealed indictment was returned against him for vehicular homicide. Hartle has remained at large for several months since that indictment was handed down but authorities got a tip this week that Hartle was staying at a town house in McMinnville and they found him there. He was placed in custody.

July 13, 2021
By: Dwayne Page

The daughter of local resident and longtime businessman Jimmy Driver wants federal mail fraud charges brought against the person who sent a letter to the City of Smithville falsely in the name of her father complaining about the condition of the Town Cemetery.

Kim Driver Luton said her father never sent the letter and the person responsible should be prosecuted because it has created a firestorm of controversy. Luton added that she is disappointed in the way city officials handled the matter claiming they should have tried to contact her father to authenticate the letter.

During the public comment period of Monday night’s meeting, Luton addressed the Mayor and Aldermen.

“Last month, the city received a letter allegedly from Jim Driver concerning the Smithville Town Cemetery. The letter stated the “conditions were deplorable” and demanded action from the City. This letter was not sent by my father, Jimmy Driver, and I am disappointed in the way the City handled this matter. The letter has no return address, no phone number, and was not signed. Someone typed “Jim Driver” at the end of the letter. My father signs everything “Jimmy Driver”, said Luton.

“I think someone should have tried to contact my father to verify that the letter came from him. Instead, the City got in touch with Dr. Mary Evins who voluntarily oversees the Smithville Town Cemetery Association, to let her know about the complaint. This started a firestorm which has created an opportunity for us to discuss the cemetery,” Luton continued.

Mayor Josh Miller said when the city received the letter his first thought was to make sure the city had not failed in fulfilling an obligation to maintain the cemetery.

“I wanted to make sure it wasn’t the city’s responsibility to keep it up. I wanted to make sure we were not dropping our responsibility on that. I called (Alderman Shawn) Jacobs and wondered if the city at any time had ever maintained that cemetery and we haven’t to my knowledge,” said Mayor Miller.

“Smithville Town Cemetery was chartered in 1838. The management of the cemetery is handled by the Smithville Town Cemetery Association, a strictly non-profit, volunteer organization. Tommy Webb, DeKalb County Historian, managed the association until 2019, when Dr. Mary Evins volunteered to take it over. The association receives no money or any help from the City, and relies strictly on donations to maintain and repair the cemetery,” she said.

“There is a good chance that some of you have ancestors buried in Town Cemetery. If so, you are an automatic member of the Smithville Town Cemetery Association. The association needs your help, and it needs the City’s help. The association has a facebook page where the Beautification Committee posted information concerning plans that are underway to restore the wrought iron fence around the cemetery and other maintenance projects. Anyone can help my making a donation which can be mailed to 300 East Main Street, Smithville 37166,” said Luton.

“As far as the bogus letter, we would like to get the original letter and envelope to deliver to the U.S. Post Office to file federal mail fraud charges. There is still someone, who falsely used my father’s name as well as tried to cause a lot of problems between the City, the Drivers, and the Evins’. My only hope is that the City will verify the authenticity of such inflammatory letters in the future,” Luton concluded

City administrator Hunter Hendrixson said Luton was welcome to the letter and the envelope it came it.

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