The DeKalb Animal Coalition Presents “A Haunted History Tour”

September 30, 2023
By: Dwayne Page

Smithville has a ghoulish past with stories of devilish deeds that will make your hair stand on end. Learn all about these blood curdling events on a guided journey called “: A Haunted History Walking Tour” that will take you to the scenes of these horrific crimes. It’s a pre-Halloween event you don’t want to miss. Come along if you dare Thursday and Saturday, October 26 & 28 starting at 6:30 p.m. each night. The cost is only $10 for adults and $7 for children 10 years of age and younger and all proceeds raised will be donated to the DeKalb Animal Coalition for the continued operation of the DeKalb Animal Shelter.

The starting point of the tour each night is the Smithville First United Methodist Church Christian Fellowship Center, 100 West Church Street. Ticket sales start at 5:30 p.m. with complimentary refreshments. The tour begins at 6:30 p.m. Advance ticket sales are the at the law office of Sarah J. Cripps at 201 West Main Street Smithville.

“We will be talking about some murders both solved and unsolved during the 19th & 20th centuries in the City of Smithville and actually take you to the places where they occurred,” said Sarah Cripps, event organizer.

“Among the cases we will be discussing on the tour is the unsolved murder of Henrietta Tramel which occurred on January 31, 1974 in her home,” Cripps continued.

“We will also be covering a much-discussed murder of Ms. Cannie Hayes Smith that occurred on May 2, 1929. That one is also unsolved”.

“We will talk about the hanging of young John Presswood. When he was 16 years old in the year 1870 he brutally murdered with an axe Rachel Billings in the presence of her three children. That crime led him to the gallows. On May 24, 1872 at only age 17 he was hanged on the east side of the courthouse between the city hall and courthouse,” said Cripps.

“Another crime we are going to cover is the lynching of Charlie Davis that occurred on August 2,1901. This was a blood thirsty mob that lynched a middle-aged dapper white man for dating a younger and extremely beautiful white woman. The lynching party was led by the family of Katie Hughes whom Charlie was courting at the time. It was a very brutal event involving a lot of townspeople who lived here at the time,” she said.

“Visit the Victorian Home on West Main Street, where two separate murders occurred, only four years apart”.

“We will also cover some more recent murders as well. These murders occurred as the result of all kinds of motives including passion, revenge, greed, financial gain, the use of drugs by the perpetrators, etc. We will cover the gamut with multiple actors telling the stories of these people whose lives were cut short unjustly and prematurely,” added Cripps.

September 30, 2023
By: Dwayne Page

The DCHS Tigers suffered another setback Friday night as they lost to the visiting Macon County Tigers 32 to 20 in a battle between these two region rivals.

https://www.wjle.com/tiger-talk/

With the loss, the DC Tigers drop to 3-4 overall and 1-2 in region 4 while Macon County improves to 6-1 and 3-1 in region play. Next week the DC Tigers will play their final home game of the regular season against Cumberland County (2-5, 0-4).

In the game Friday night, Macon County scored on the opening kickoff as Braylon Flowers fielded the ball and then found Gabe Borders across the field on a lateral who then raced 80 yards for a touchdown. The extra point attempt by Eli Gammons was no good but Macon County took an early 6-0 lead.

DeKalb County got its first lead of the game with 11:49 left in the 2nd period on a 42-yard pass play from quarterback Briz Trapp to Marquez Chalfant capping a 59-yard drive. Adrian Prater booted the extra point and DC led 7-6.

Macon County grabbed the lead again on a 2-yard touchdown run by Luke Gammons with 8:13 left in the 2nd period completing a 63-yard drive. Eli Gammons tacked on the extra point and Macon County held a 13-7 advantage.

Malachi Trapp put the DC Tigers back on top with 7:52 left in the 2nd period on a 67-yard touchdown sprint. Prater nailed the extra point and DeKalb County led 14-13.

Macon County then mounted a 72-yard drive and scored on a 9-yard quarterback keeper by Luke Gammons. The two point try failed but Macon County had taken a 19-14 lead with 4:03 left in the half.

DeKalb County got into scoring position again and with 15 seconds left before halftime, Adrian Prater was called on and delivered a 25-yard field goal for DeKalb County to cut the Macon County lead to 19-17 by halftime.

The only score of the second half for DeKalb County was on a 36-yard field goal by Prater with 2:59 in the 3rd period completing a drive that began at the DC 26-yard line. With the kick, DeKalb County led 20-19.

Macon County took the lead for good with 55 seconds left in the 3rd period on a 51-yard touchdown pass play from Luke Gammons to Gabe Borders completing a 62-yard drive. The 2-point conversion attempt failed but Macon County held a 25-20 advantage.

The last score of the game came on a 4-yard touchdown run by Bradon Warren capping a 71-yard drive. Eli Gammons came on for the PAT and with 2:57 left in the 4th period Macon County extended its lead and went onto claim a 32-20 victory.

Here’s how the Region race is taking shape after seven weeks into the season. The top four teams at the end of the year earn a state play-off berth.

Upperman: 7-0: Overall, 4-0-Region

Stone Memorial: 6-1 Overall, 4-0 Region

Macon County: 6-1 Overall, 3-1 Region

DeKalb County: 3-4 Overall, 1-2 Region

White County: 3-4, 1-3 Region

Livingston Academy:2-5 Overall, 0-3 Region

Cumberland County: 2-5 Overall, 0-4 Region

September 29, 2023
By: Dwayne Page

The 3-3 DeKalb County Tigers are hoping to get back in the win column tonight (Friday) but they will have to knock off the 5-1 Macon County Tigers to do it.

This Regional showdown will kick off at 7 p.m. at DCHS in Smithville and WJLE will have LIVE coverage with the Voice of the Tigers John Pryor and Luke Willoughby.

DeKalb County suffered a close loss at Stone Memorial last week for their first Region defeat of the season. With three region games left in the campaign, the Tigers will need a good performance tonight to remain in the hunt for the regular season Region crown. Macon County enters the game with a region loss of their own to Upperman.

For the season to date, the DC Tigers have defeated Livingston Academy 31-9, Watertown 20-10, and Gordonsville 21-7. DC losses have been to Warren County 34 to 27, Smith County 21-0, and Stone Memorial 27-24.

Macon County has defeated Westmoreland 33 to 13, Trousdale County 42-0, Smith County 6 to 3 in overtime, Cumberland County 35 to 10, and White County 41 to 28. The only Macon County loss has been to Upperman 14 to 7.

Speaking on WJLE’s Tiger Talk program, Coach Steve Trapp said inconsistent play contributed to the Tiger’s loss last week at Stone Memorial.

“I think we were inconsistent. Execution was not where it should have been. When you are playing football games within this region you have to be as clean as possible. You will never play a perfect football game but we have to make sure we play a lot better. We had some mental mistakes last week running things right and fitting things correctly but there were also a lot of positive things we did too. I liked how urgent we were especially in the second half. We have to be able to start games that way. I’m still looking for this team to play a complete four quarters. We either play a good half and then a bad one or vice versa. We really need to put it all together from start to finish in all three phases. It will still be a challenge with the schedule we have left but that is our mind set moving forward,” said Coach Trapp.

Keeping Macon County’s offense off the field as much as possible will be a goal of the DC Tigers in tonight’s game.

“We have to play clean and be effective offensively on first downs so our efficiency is good on third downs. We have to be able to create plays. We have to move the chains and get first downs to keep their offense off the field. They have a dynamic player and do a great job with the scheme they do. They seem to multiply it when they play us and that goes for offense and defense. Defensively we have to make sure we we are prepared for all the looks they can give us and fit it right. We have to be aggressive. When we see the ball and its not on the ground we can’t have people looking around. We have to go get the ball. We have to make sure we are ready for their passing game. They don’t do it a whole lot but when they do they get chunk plays out of it and we tend to give up some chunk plays especially last week in the passing game. We understand the challenge and the quality opponent we have but I think they (Macon County) feel the same way about us. Its going to be one of those types of football games,” said Coach Trapp.

WJLE’s Pre-Game shows begin with “Coach to Coach” at 5:00 p.m. featuring former UT assistant coach Doug Matthews with Tennessee Titans Radio Broadcaster Dave McGinnis and broadcaster Larry Stone talking Tennessee and SEC football.

“Coach to Coach” is followed by “Murphy’s Matchups at 6:00 p.m., a look at Tennessee High School Football from Murphy Fair with commentary on games and coaches’ interviews.

“Tiger Talk” airs at 6:30 p.m. with the Voice of the Tigers John Pryor interviewing Coach Steve Trapp and Tiger football players Briz Trapp, Malachi Trapp, and Ryon Lyons.

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