Five Local Square Dance Teams to Compete in the 53rd Annual Smithville Jamboree

July 3, 2024
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DeKalb County will have 39 local cloggers across five square dance teams take the stage this Friday and Saturday to compete in the Smithville Fiddlers’ Jamboree. Under the direction of DeKalb county native Mary Ann Puckett, four teams will compete in Youth Square Dance on Friday and one team will compete in Adult Square Dance on Saturday. The local Youth Square Dance teams are the award-winning DeKalb Dancin’ Delights (who took second place at the Wilson County / Tennessee State Fair last August and who placed second last weekend at the Robert Spicer Tennessee State Buck-Dance Championship in Dickson, Tennessee), Center Hill Hoedown, Caney Fork Circle Eights, and Ragland Bottom Roundup. Smithville Select will be competing in Adult Square Dance this year.

Director Mary Ann Puckett said, “These teams have been practicing hard since March at the Evins Park Amphitheater and are ready to bring their routines down the street to the big stage. I’m truly inspired to see so many of our local kids interested in old-time dance. We are lucky to have this world-class bluegrass festival right here in our hometown. The Jamboree undoubtedly sparks a tremendous amount of local interest in Appalachian dance. It’s almost like the Jamboree stage was built for square dancing, and we can’t wait to get up there!”

The teams performed at the DeKalb County Fair last Saturday evening and danced for the residents at The Webb House and NHC on Monday of this week. The square dance teams will perform at the Evins Park Amphitheater on Thursday, July 4th. The Smithville Community Chorus will start the festivities at 6:00 P.M. with the dancing to follow.

July 3, 2024
By: Dwayne Page

DeKalb County has a new Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency Officer.

Colt Elrod of Cookeville joins longtime TWRA Officer Tony Cross assigned to DeKalb County. Elrod has been a TWRA officer for two years. He and his wife of four years Delaney have a young child, Leo who is only a few weeks old.

Elrod said he enjoys working in this area and hopes to be here for a long time.

“I am originally from Mississippi. That’s where my mom’s family is from. We moved around a little bit when I was growing up. My stepdad was in the military. I came back to Cookeville and started school at Tennessee Tech in 2016. I graduated in 2020 and worked for a couple of years doing some graduate things. I got hired by TWRA two years ago and went down to Chattanooga and served as an officer there for about a year and a half. It was an interesting time in my life and I learned a lot but I really like it here,” said Elrod.

Colt said becoming a game warden was not always his life’s ambition.

“I grew up loving to hunt and fish and people used to ask me when I was younger about maybe someday becoming a game warden, but I would say I didn’t want to do that. When the time came for me to get a job, I knew I wanted to be in the wildlife field. I had a friend who was an officer and he tried to talk me into it saying I would be a good fit with TWRA. The more I thought about it the more I realized that this would be a great way to become involved with the hunting and fishing community the way I wanted to be, so I decided to give it a shot. I got hired and ended up loving it. This has been a perfect fit for me,” said Elrod.

July 3, 2024
By: Dwayne Page

A man indicted in March for child sex crimes had his day in court Monday, July 1.

41-year-old George Daniel Evans, indicted for three counts of rape, four counts of sexual battery by an authority figure, two counts of continuous sexual abuse of a child, and two counts of incest, entered a plea to two counts of sexual battery by an authority figure. Evans received an 8-year sentence to serve at 100% on both counts to run concurrently. He will be on the state’s sex offender registry. Evans has been given jail credit of 542 days.

According to the indictment, Evans allegedly had sexual contact with two children under the age of 14 on several occasions from October 2015 to October 2021. At the time of the first offenses the children were 7 and 8 years old.

46-year-old Christopher Joe Bogle entered a plea to theft of services over $2,500 and received a sentence of 2 years on supervised probation until his court costs and restitution of $5,300 to Caney Fork Electric Cooperative are paid. Sheriff Patrick 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.

23-year-old Jamaal Pleasant entered a plea by criminal information to attempting to possess methamphetamine over 0.5 grams and received a 6-year sentence to be served on supervised probation. He was fined $2,000. Pleasant was given 21 days jail credit.

35-year-old Anthony William Tramel entered a plea to possession of methamphetamine over 0.5 grams and received an 8-year sentence suspended to supervised probation. He was fined $2,000. Tramel was given jail credit of 23 days.

36-year-old Philando Darnell Fullilove entered a plea to possession of methamphetamine with intent to manufacture, sell, or deliver. He received an 8-year sentence to serve concurrently with a Smith County case. He was fined $2,000. Fullilove was given jail credit of 217 days.

46-year-old Jackie Darrell Ervin entered a plea to aggravated assault and received a sentence of 5 years to serve at 30% but consecutive to other sentences against him.

43-year-old Angela Lynn Ayers entered a plea to attempting to deliver a controlled substance and received a sentence of 4 years all suspended to TDOC supervised probation. She was fined $2,000.

56-year-old Shannon Lee Patterson entered plea to theft over $10,000 and received a 3-year TDOC sentence on supervised probation pursuant to judicial diversion.

22-year-old Cassidy Renee Judkins entered a plea to theft and received a sentence of 11 months and 29 days on supervised probation until all court costs are paid.

58-year-old Randall Mullins entered a plea to two counts of aggravated assault and received a 6-year sentence in each case to run concurrently to be served at 30% before his release eligibility date but the manner in which he is to serve the term will be determined at a sentencing hearing. Mullins is requesting judicial diversion. He was given jail credit of 268 days.

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