Based on Early Voting Response, Turnout for August 1 Elections May be Lighter than Four Years Ago

July 28, 2024
By: Dwayne Page

If early voting in DeKalb County is any indication the turnout for the August 1 elections locally on Thursday may fall far short of the result four years ago in August.

Sample Ballot

Early voting ended Saturday and during the two-week period a total of 668 cast ballots in DeKalb County including 627 in person and 41 absentees. Four years ago in a similar August election, a total of 3,266 cast ballots (total) including 1,665 on election day, 1,270 walk-in early voting, and 331 paper absentees.
The reason for the lighter turnout is likely because hardly any race is contested Thursday except for US Senate and House primary races and there is an active write-in campaign in Alexandria for Municipal mayor and aldermen seats.

Of the 668 who voted early locally in this election, 520 cast ballots in the Tennessee Republican Primary and 129 in the state Democratic Primary. Nineteen voted in only the County General Election without participating in primary.

On Saturday, July 27, a total of 58 voted including 48 in person and 10 by absentee. Of the 58, a total of 50 cast ballots in the state Republican Primary and 8 in the Democratic Primary.

Election Day is Thursday, August 1 and voting at all 12 precincts that day will be from 8 a.m. until 7 p.m. WJLE will have LIVE election return coverage starting at 7 p.m.

Voters will decide races in the DeKalb County General Election, Tennessee Republican and Democratic Primaries, and the Municipal Elections in Smithville, Dowelltown, and Alexandria.

All the local Republican nominees from the March primary are unopposed in the DeKalb County General Election including Incumbent Assessor of Property Shannon Cantrell, Sixth district incumbent school board member Jason Miller, Fifth district school board candidate Megan Moore; Constable candidates 1st District: Tyler Cripps, 2nd District: Danny Adamson, 3rd District: Incumbent Travis Bryant, 4th District: Incumbent Lane Ball, 5th District: Incumbent Mark Milam, and 7th District: Jeremy Neal, and Judge Shawn C. Fry for the newly created Criminal Court Judge position in Part III of the seven-county 13th Judicial District.

For the county commission to fill unexpired terms, Andy Pack in the 6th district and Mathias Anderson in district 7 were recently nominated and certified as Republican candidates through the local GOP caucus process and their names appear on the August 1 ballot.

The Smithville Municipal Election is uncontested on August 1. The three incumbent aldermen up for re-election, Shawn Jacobs, Danny Washer, and Jessica Higgins are running unopposed.

Only three people qualified for the Alexandria Municipal Election ballot on August 1. In this election, the positions to be filled are for mayor (unexpired term), three aldermen, and three other aldermen (unexpired terms). Beth Tripp is running for the unexpired mayor’s term while Jeff Ford is seeking to fill an unexpired alderman term and Jonathon Tripp is running for a full alderman term. No one qualified on the ballot to run for the other positions.

No one qualified to run in the Dowelltown Municipal Election on August 1 in which a mayor and two aldermen are to be elected.

The following have filed a certificate of write-in for the following offices, but their names do not appear on the August 1 ballot:

Constable- District 6:
Keith Elkins

City of Alexandria:

Mayor
Allen Lawson
Russell “Rusty” Bradshaw

Alderman
Bobbie Ford
Robert “Bobby” Simpson
Lucas “Luke” Prichard
Curtis Rutter

The August 1 ballot also features two State Judicial Retention questions as follows:

Shall Dwight Tarwater be retained in office as a Judge of the Supreme Court At Large or be replaced?

Shall Matthew J. Wilson be retained in office as a Judge of the Court of Criminal Appeals, Western Division or be replaced?

In the Tennessee Republican Primary on August 1 the candidates are as follows:

United States House of Representatives District 6: John Rose

United States Senate: Marsha Blackburn and Tres Wittum

Tennessee Senate District 16: Janice Bowling

Tennessee House of Representatives District 40: Michael Hale

In the Tennessee Democratic Primary on August 1 the candidates are as follows:

United States House of Representatives District 6: Lore Bergman, Clay Faircloth, and Cyril Focht

United States Senate: Marquita Bradshaw, Lola Denise Brown, Gloria Johnson, and Civil Miller-Watkins

Tennessee Senate District 16: Wayne Steele

Tennessee House of Representatives District 40: Daniel T. Hawthorne

State Executive Committeewoman District 16: Rupa Blackwell.

July 28, 2024
By: Dwayne Page

A suspected drug dealer will make his first court appearance Thursday, August 1 after being arrested two weeks ago on July 16 during a traffic stop by the sheriff’s department.

48-year-old Bobby Wayne Pinegar, Jr. of McMinnville Highway is charged with possession of schedule VI & I controlled substances (marijuana) and (heroin) with intent to manufacture, sell, or deliver and possession of drug paraphernalia. His bond is $105,000.

Sheriff Patrick Ray said that Pinegar, who had an outstanding warrant against him, was spotted by a deputy on Vaughn Lane. Pinegar was driving a blue PT cruiser. The officer pulled over the vehicle and spoke with Pinegar. During the investigation, the deputy found Pinegar with five vacuum packed sealed bags containing a green leafy substance believed to be marijuana. The combined weight was 5 pounds and 12 ounces. The officer also recovered from Pinegar a clear baggie with a pink powdery substance thought to be heroin. According to Sheriff Ray, an inventory of the vehicle within the center console produced a vitamin B 12 container with a pink powdery substance believed to be heroin and in the top half of the center console was another clear baggie containing a pink powdery substance thought to be heroin. The total combined weight was 49.12 grams. In addition to the drugs, Pinegar was found to have a black magnetic container with residue, several spoons with residue, four individual baggies with residue, 29 needles, and several scales, all believed to have been used for drug activity.

46-year-old Stephen Anthony Patterson of Pine Grove Road is charged with aggravated assault. His bond is $10,000 and he will be in court August 1. Sheriff Ray said that on June 23 Patterson and his wife got into an argument during which he allegedly grabbed a pool stick and threatened to kill her causing the woman to fear for her life. Patterson then allegedly used the pool stick to break the windows of a vehicle in which the woman was seated causing the broken glass to hit her in the eye and facial area resulting in injury.

24-year-old Dakota Leestorm Fathera of High Street, Alexandria is charged with driving under the influence. His bond is $2,500 and he will be in court August 1. Sheriff Ray said that on July 17 a deputy pulled over a black Ford Taurus for failure to maintain its lane of travel. He spoke with the driver, Fathera and found him to have dilated glossy eyes and he was sweating profusely. Fathera submitted to but performed poorly on field sobriety tasks. He admitted to having smoked up to three marijuana joints prior to driving.

49-year-old Mark Bradford Frasier of Sparta is charged with leaving the scene of an accident. He is under a $7,500 bond and his court date is August 8. Sheriff Ray said that on July 18 Frasier fled the scene of a motor vehicle accident that damaged a Caney Fork Electric Cooperative guide wire and a fence belonging to another. Witnesses at the scene identified Frasier as the driver of the vehicle.

24-year-old Breydon Dale Jones of Turner Drive, McMinnville is charged with public intoxication. His bond is $1,500 and he will make a court appearance on August 8. Sheriff Ray said that on July 19 a deputy spotted Jones walking on Jefferson Road, and he stopped to speak with him. Jones smelled of alcohol and his speech was slurred. Jones said he had just left Fishlipz bar and was too drunk to drive.

39-year-old Victor Alfonso Cardenas of McMinnville is charged with driving under the influence. His bond is $2,500 and he will be in court August 8. Sheriff Ray said that on July 20 a deputy was traveling south on McMinnville Highway when he observed a white Chevrolet Cavalier leave its lane of travel several times. The officer pulled over the car and spoke with the driver, Cardenas who smelled of alcohol. Cardenas admitted to having consumed six beers prior to driving. His eyes were red and watery, and his speech was slurred. Cardenas submitted to but performed poorly on field sobriety tasks.

39-year-old Marvin Orlando Varela of Nashville is charged with driving on a revoked license and possession of a controlled substance with intent to manufacture, sell, or deliver. His bond is $15,000 and he will be in court August 8. Sheriff Ray said that on July 20 a deputy was patrolling Dale Ridge Road when he noticed a black pickup truck failing to maintain its lane of travel. He initiated a traffic stop and spoke with the driver, Varela. A background check through central dispatch revealed that Varela’s driver license was revoked. He already had two previous DRL offenses in 2020 due to a DUI. During an inventory of the vehicle, an officer found a small bag which held a white powdery substance believed to be cocaine which weighed 0.47 grams.

32-year-old Denys Edgardo Herrera of Joe Tittsworth Street, Smithville is charged with driving under the influence. He is under a $5,000 bond and his court date is August 8. Sheriff Ray said that on July 21 a deputy was traveling west on East Broad Street when he spotted a red Honda leaving its lane of travel several times. The officer pulled over the vehicle and spoke with the driver, Herrera who smelled of alcohol. His eyes were red and watery, his speech was slurred, and his movements were slow. When asked to get out of the vehicle, he failed to put it in park and the automobile began to move forward. Once the vehicle was stopped and Herrera got out, he became very unsteady on his feet. Herrera admitted to having consumed five alcoholic beverages prior to driving.

July 27, 2024
By: Dwayne Page

The start of the new school year is bringing changes in administration positions at three of the five schools in DeKalb County.

Teresa Jones, who became assistant principal last year at DeKalb Middle School, will succeed Caleb Shehane as principal there this year. Shehane recently resigned after serving two years as DeKalb Middle School principal.

Taking Jones’ place as DMS assistant principal is veteran teacher Josh Agee.

Meanwhile Thomas Cagle, who served as an assistant principal at DeKalb County High School for the last three years, has stepped down. Succeeding him in that role is Seth Willoughby, who for the last two years has been assistant principal at DeKalb West School.

Jones said she is super excited about this new chapter in her life.

“Last year I walked into an assistant principal position in a school that had some great foundations going on,” said Principal Jones. “My plan is to build on those foundations to make DeKalb Middle School a place where students, parents, and community members are proud to call their own. That is my goal. I want students to be proud of the job and success in the work they do while they are here. I want parents to be proud to send their kids to DeKalb Middle School and I want teachers to be proud being part of something that is moving forward,” said Jones.

Before becoming assistant principal last year, Jones served 20 years as a seventh-grade teacher.

“I was a 7th grade math teacher for 15 years in Smith County and then I was hired here at DeKalb Middle School as a 7th grade math teacher,” she said.

In 2020, Teresa was chosen as Teacher of the Year for DMS and at the district level. She is married to Chris Jones and the couple has four children, Evan, Ean, Eli, and Olivia Grace.

After spending his entire career at DeKalb Middle as a teacher, Agee said he is proud to be joining the administration.

“I am going into my 24th or 25th year at the middle school so this is my family and my home,” said Agee. “I have done a little bit of everything throughout the years. I started off teaching math and I have done science, social studies, and reading. Everything except for English. My last job was RTI. I also coached basketball for 22 years here. I was ready for a new challenge. I am really excited about being a part of the leadership team here,” said Assistant principal Agee.

Agee and his wife January are the parents of four, Kennedy, Vaden, Lucas, and Teagan.

Meanwhile at DeKalb West School, Snow is moving from a long-time teaching position to administration as assistant principal.

“I am very overwhelmed but excited to serve in this capacity,” said Snow. “I just completed my 16th year teaching. For the last eleven years I taught 4th grade and before that I taught 1st grade for five years”.

Cindy’s husband is Eric Snow and her stepson is Brody.

Willoughby is returning to DCHS where he began his career in the school system as a Biology teacher in 2015 before taking the assistant principal post at DeKalb West in 2022. During his time at the high school, Willoughby also served as an assistant boys basketball coach and was the head tennis coach.

“I am very excited to be back at the high school. I will always love the West School. That’s a very special place but I look forward to serving the students and faculty at the high school,” said Willoughby.

Seth and his wife Mackenzie have a one-year-old son Baylon.

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