DeKalb Youth Baseball Joins Cal Ripken/Babe Ruth

February 3, 2020
By: Dwayne Page

The DeKalb Youth Baseball League is undergoing changes.

With player registration beginning Saturday, February 8 President Casey Midgett has announced that the league is switching its affiliation to Cal Ripen/Babe Ruth and with it will come some modifications in the way the program is operated.

“We have switched affiliations this year and are now part of Cal Ripen/Babe Ruth baseball. The Cal Ripen part is for the younger kids and Babe Ruth is for the older ones but its all part of the same organization,” said Midgett”.

By being affiliated with Cal Ripken/Babe Ruth, Midgett said DeKalb County teams will have more opportunities during post season play.

“The local season we have here will be basically unchanged. We get to run it just like we normally do but after our regular season is over we will get to participate in the tournaments that Cal Ripken and Babe Ruth offer. Just like our high school plays in a district, we (youth baseball) will also play in a district. Our district will be us (DeKalb), Cookeville, Crossville, Livingston, Celina, and Jamestown. When the tournament starts it will be at the district level and if we do well enough we will go on past that to what we call the state which is really just a large region of teams. We will have an opportunity to play through there and go further even as far as their world series which is televised now. This will give our kids a little something more to look forward to,” said Midgett.

“What we have run into in the past is when we went to our tournaments we ran into a lot of travel teams and while we competed well it really was stacked against us although we took the best players from all of our teams in whatever respective leagues they were in and competed with those guys. We feel this will be a much better fit for us and give our kids a better opportunity to really succeed,” he continued.

The home field for the younger players will be at the Little League Park on Allen’s Ferry Road while the Joe L. Evins Park will serve as home to the new senior league team.

“We will be at the field on Allen’s Ferry Road, commonly known as the Little League field. Overall we will start with players ages 7-8 and up to 15 year olds this year. Our 7-8 year olds in the past have been a coach pitch team. One of the changes this year is we will not have a coach pitch league. It will be machine pitch for 7-8 year olds. We will have a machine doing the pitching instead of coaches doing that which is the way Cal Ripken is set up in the tournaments. We want to match that so our kids will be used to that type of pitching when we get there (tournaments) ,” said Midgett.

“We will have a 9-10 year old minor league which is the first level of kid pitch baseball and 11-12 year old kid pitch which is what we call major league. Something else we are really pushing this year is our 13-15 year old league. We call that our senior league. It is designed to fill that gap of kids that age who don’t have an option to play anywhere else. We will have some players in our senior league from the West School’s baseball team but we won’t start our season until their year is completed. Overall we are aiming for mid April to start our youth baseball league but as far as senior league it probably won’t start until late April or the first of May. We will play the senior league games at the Joe L. Evins field and they will have an opportunity to have an all-star team and advance like the rest of our teams,” said Midgett.

Age requirements are a bit different for Cal Ripken/Babe Ruth.

“In the past it was whatever age you were on January 1 that determined what level you played in. From now on it will be whatever age you are as of May 1. To make it fair to all everyone will go back in the draft this first year even if you are a returning player. An exception is we will allow the head coach to keep his player and he will have an assistant coach who will have his player as well but everybody else will go back into the draft to make it as fair as we possibly can for everyone,” said Midgett.

Registration fees will also increase.

“We have raised the registration fee from $40 to $65 per player plus $50 per additional player from the same family. It is actually a cost savings to people. In the past we have asked parents to either work the concession stand or to pay $30 to get out of working but this year no parent will have to buy out or work in the concession stand. We will pay other people to do that. If you bought out last year you will save $5 this year by us doing it this way”.

Midgett said improvements are underway and more are planned for the ballfields.

“We have some things in the works. A new scoreboard has come in and it will be put up at the Little League field and we will take down the old scoreboard there and put it at the Joe L. Evins field. We’re also working on the fields. We’re going to put in a dirt mound for the minor and major league teams and we will need some help to do that. We would like to build a batting cage. We have the pad poured for that and we’re one step away from being able to erect a shed out there where kids can practice when its raining or during the winter. We want to continue making improvements to the field where we can have a first class place to play. Its all about trying to better DeKalb County as a whole and start building that community pride,” added Midgett.

DeKalb Youth Baseball Signups will be February 8 at Northside Elementary School; February 15 & 22 at the County Complex Main Room; and February 29 at the UT Extension Office in the County Complex.

Registration fees are $65.00 per child and $50 for each sibling. Please bring proof of player age and proof of residency. Player ages determined by what age the player is as of May 1st.

Coach Pitch: 7-8 year olds
Minor League: 9-10 year olds
Major League: 11-12 year olds
Senior League: 13-15 year olds

Tryouts for all leagues will be Saturday, March 7

There will be no concession stand buyouts this year and no parents will be required to work them.
They accept debit/credit cards. Transaction fee applies.

February 2, 2020
By: Dwayne Page

A Saturday night crash on Cookeville Highway near the DeKalb/Putnam County line claimed the life of a 20 year old Smithville man.

Samuel Dewayne Wright was taken from the scene by DeKalb EMS to Ascension Saint Thomas DeKalb Hospital where he was pronounced dead.

The accident occurred at around 8:17 p.m. in DeKalb County.

Trooper Caleb Bain of the Tennessee Highway Patrol told WJLE that Wright was traveling south on Highway 56 in a 2006 Mini Cooper as 18 year old Hunter Hoffman of Mount Juliet was northbound in a 2015 Dodge Charger.

According to Trooper Bain it is unknown as this time which driver was at fault until CIRT (Critical Incident Response Team) of the THP takes a look at the scene and conducts a further investigation.

Hoffman was transported by ambulance to Cookeville Regional Medical Center for non life threatening injuries.

Both were wearing their seatbelts.

Samuel was born October 19, 1999 in Lebanon to his parents, John & Teresa Waggoner Wright. Samuel was employed with Donelson Air and he attended the Refuge Church in Smithville. He was the President of the Unique Obsessions Car Club of Smithville, an organization he was proud to be a part of.

Funeral Services will be held on Wednesday, February 5, 2020 at 2pm from the Chapel of Love-Cantrell Funeral Home. Bro. Graden Kirksey & Bro. Donnie Kelly will officiate with burial to follow at DeKalb Memorial Gardens. Visitation with the family will be on Tuesday from 11am-9pm and Wednesday from 10am until service time at 2pm.

He was preceded in death by his Maternal Grand Father, Grady Samuel Waggoner & Paternal Grand Parents, Archie & Thelma Wright. Maternal Aunt & Uncles, Sharrion & Mike Rhoten & Joe White. Paternal Aunt, June Blaylock. Survivors include his Parents, John & Teresa Wright of Smithville. Sister, Olivia & Ivan Beale & a soon to be niece or nephew of Smithville. Maternal Grandmother, Oneda Montgomery Waggoner of Smithville. Uncles & Aunt, Jerome Waggoner of Smithville, Roy & Wilma Rockwell of Livingston, Andrew & Lynne Wright of Celina, Kim & Joe Endsley of Knoxville. Several cousins, friends and family also survive.

In lieu of flowers the family asks that donations be made to The Refuge Church building fund in memory of Samuel.

Love-Cantrell Funeral Home in charge of the arrangements.

February 2, 2020
By: Dwayne Page

Smithville Police have charged a Liberty man with stealing an air compressor.

41 year old James Ricky Ashford of Liberty was arrested on January 25 for criminal trespass and theft of property. Police say that on January 23, Ashford spotted an air compressor setting in the driveway of a residence on Poss Street and then returned later that night to steal it. Ashford put the air compressor in his vehicle and took it to his residence in Liberty. Ashford was found to be in possession of the stolen property on January 25 and he was taken into custody. Bond for Ashford is $3,000 and his court date is February 6.

34 year old Krystle Rose Sweat of 120 Kings Court was arrested on January 14 for attempted escape and assaulting an officer. Police were summoned to the courthouse to pick up Sweat due to an active parole violation against her. As the officer escorted her to the jail to be booked, Sweat asked that she be permitted to let her boyfriend know where she was going. The officer allowed Sweat to stop at the vehicle where her boyfriend was waiting and she got inside the vehicle and rolled up the window. As the officer reached inside the automobile through a cracked window to reopen the door Sweat began fighting with him and telling her boyfriend to drive off. While trying to remove her from the vehicle, the officer was assaulted as Sweat pushed and kicked him in the upper body area. Other officers were called to render assistance and Sweat was placed in custody. Bond for Sweat is $12,500 and her court date is January 23.

63 year old Johnny Wayne Trapp of 8264 Holmes Creek Road was arrested on January 20 for public intoxication. Police were called to Food Lion where a man was reported to be passed out on the floor. Upon arrival, the officer found Trapp lying in the floor by the door. EMS was summoned and Trapp was awakened. The officer found Trapp to be intoxicated and he had an odor of an alcoholic beverage on his person. Incident to arrest police found a 374 milliliter bottle of Vodka in Trapp’s back left pocket that was nearly empty and a 200 milliter bottle in his right front pocket which was also partially empty. Trapp was taken into custody as he was believed to be a danger to himself. Bond for Trapp is $1,500 and his court date is February 6.

25 year old Amber Cheyenne Caldwell of 620 Highland Street was cited on January 21 for driving an unregistered vehicle and simple possession. During a routine traffic stop police detected an odor of marijuana coming from the vehicle. The officer checked the plate through central dispatch and learned that it belonged on another automobile. Caldwell, the driver, couldn’t provide proof of insurance. After obtaining consent to search, the officer found 21 ½ pills believed to be Xanax, Suboxone, and Valium for which Caldwell could not provide a prescription. Her court date is February 6.

27 year old Lisa Michelle Huard of 732 Gentry Avenue was arrested on January 24 for possession of methamphetamine and she was cited for simple possession of a schedule III drug and possession of drug paraphernalia. Police were called to assist officers of the Tennessee Probation and Parole during a house visit. As state officers conducted a search, 2 bags were found inside a couch that contained a crystal-like substance and part of a pill. The pill was identified as Subutex and the crystal-like substance that weighed approximately 1-gram field tested positive for Methamphetamine. Also in the couch was a glass pipe and in Huard’s bedroom 2 more glass pipes were found in a jacket pocket. Bond for Huard is $5,000 and her court date is February 13.

Juvenile petitions were taken against three teens on January 24 for being unruly or delinquent. According to Smithville Police the teens broke into the Smithville Hemp Dispensary located at 458 West Broad Street by throwing a cinder block through the front window causing $450 in damages. Once inside, the teens stole $4338 worth of property belonging to the owner of the business.

62 year old Tina Lynn Cazee of Alexandria was cited on January 26 for vandalism. Police were called to St Thomas DeKalb Hospital where a woman had reportedly keyed the victim’s car. The officer learned that Cazee thought the victim had looked at her wrong and flipped her off. Cazee went into the hospital and later as she left Cazee took her own key and caused damage to the driver and passenger side of the victim’s car. Her court date is February 6.

33 year old Danny Ray Prater of McMinnville was arrested on January 29 for theft over $1,000. Police received a call about a possible stolen iPhone 11 Max Pro. The victim initially reported losing his phone at Hardees and to help locate it he used an iPhone app which revealed that the phone was inside the restaurant. A man there acting suspiciously was confronted and asked if he saw the phone. The man answered “no”. After later viewing restaurant surveillance cameras police identified the man as Danny Prater and found him behind Bill Page Ballpark. When asked about the phone, Prater turned it over to police. Bond for Prater is $5,000 and his court date is February 13.

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