County Commission Recognizes Election Administrator Upon Retirement

August 29, 2023
By: Dwayne Page

The DeKalb County Commission Monday night adopted a resolution recognizing Administrator of Elections Dennis Stanley on his fourteen years of service to the county in that position. Stanley is stepping down in a few days to begin retirement.

The resolution as follows was read during the meeting by the Chairman of the DeKalb County Election Commission, Brandon Gay.

“A Resolution to recognize Dennis Stanley on the occasion of his retirement.

“Whereas, it is appropriate that we should honor those citizens of DeKalb County who have performed with uncommon devotion and enthusiasm throughout their years of service; and

Whereas, Dennis Stanley is one such estimable person, who has taken his much-deserved retirement after more than fourteen years of service as the DeKalb County Administrator of Elections, and;

Whereas, Mr. Stanley served honorably by leading his office in conducting free and fair elections in DeKalb County, including numerous local, state, and federal elections, and through the challenging times of the COVID Public Health Emergency, and;

Whereas, during his time as Administrator of Elections, Mr. Stanley was committed to improving technology in the elections process, by understanding the importance of cyber security, purchasing poll pads for electronic voter sign-in on election day, routinely updating office computers, and overseeing the recent purchase of new voting machines, and;

Whereas, an active and important part of his profession, Mr. Stanley served two separate two year terms on the legislative Committee of the Tennessee Association of County Election Officials (TACEO). He also twice served as the Middle Tennessee (TACEO) Vice President and attended numerous seminars and conducted media relations training for other Administrators of Elections, and;

Whereas, Mr. Stanley became a Certified Administrator of Elections in August 2009, and;

Whereas, Mr. Stanley previously worked for the Smithville Review, and had been a consistent voice on WJLE Radio for years, and;

Whereas, Mr. Stanley enjoys the companionship of his wife, Donna; and is the proud father of one son, Daniel, and two stepdaughters, Cissie and Christie.

Whereas, Dennis Stanley exemplifies the spirit and allegiance to family and community that are characteristic of a true Tennessean, and;

Whereas, throughout his estimable career as DeKalb County Administrator of Elections, Dennis Stanley demonstrated the utmost professionalism, ability, and integrity, earning the respect and admiration of his colleagues and his community, and;

Now, therefore, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE DEKALB COUNTY COMMISSION that we extend to Dennis Stanley our heartfelt wishes for a happy and fulfilling retirement and every continued success in his future endeavors”.

August 28, 2023
By: Dwayne Page

Proponents of new regulations to keep landowners in DeKalb County from creating health and safety concerns for their neighbors suffered a setback Monday night as the county commission voted 8-6 to remove the issue from the agenda. Proposed standards may be revised or revisited by the commission in a later workshop or perhaps by the government services committee from where the proposals originated, or they may not resurface at all in the foreseeable future.

(VIEW THE ACTUAL RESOLUTION AT LINK BELOW)

Resolution County powers Act

During the regular monthly meeting Monday night, the commission was expected to consider passage of a resolution adopting the State’s “County Powers Act” which authorizes a county to enact a resolution establishing, in this case, regulatory standards regarding health and safety conditions of residential and non-residential properties within the confines of DeKalb County outside the boundaries of the municipalities which already have codes and ordinances. In order to establish the health and safety regulations, the commission must first adopt a County Powers Act resolution.

The Government Services Committee of the County Commission met last Tuesday night and voted to recommend passage of both resolutions to the full commission. A two thirds vote of the 14-member commission was required had the commission voted to pass either or both resolutions.

The commissioners were clearly divided on whether the county should move forward on this controversial issue and a large public gathering attended Monday night’s meeting with differing views and a keen interest in how the commission would act.

The concept of the resolutions was to primarily address neighbor complaints of dangerous and or unsanitary conditions on private properties next to them caused by overgrown vegetation, accumulation of debris, trash, litter, and garbage, or the presence of vacant dilapidated buildings or structures.

Had both resolutions been approved, a five-member hearing board with staggered terms (consisting of county commissioners) would have been established as well as an enforcement officer position, all appointed by the county mayor with the concurrence of the full commission. DeKalb County’s Safety Officer, which is a paid position and already established, would most likely have been assigned to take on this new Enforcement Officer responsibility along with his regular duties. When a resident filed a complaint, the enforcement officer would have investigated and if he found a violation, he would have been required to notify the landowner in person or by certified mail. The property owner would then have had 30 days to remedy the issue or request a hearing before the hearing board which would have had to meet and act within 30 days. If the board were to uphold the enforcement officer’s findings, the violator would have been fined $50 per day per occurrence. Violators could also have been taken to General Sessions Court if they didn’t comply.

The hearing board would also have had the authority to recruit or coordinate efforts of community organizations, neighbors, religious institutions, and or other agencies to provide assistance to persons not financially or physically able to comply on their own with the requirements of these regulations.

At the beginning of each monthly meeting, one of the commission’s first actions is to adopt the agenda for the night and then proceed to discuss and take action on each issue on the agenda. Normally the agenda is approved without dissent but not this time.

Commissioner Myron Rhody, who is opposed to these proposed regulations, made a motion Monday night to remove from the agenda consideration of both the “County Powers Act” resolution and the resolution governing the “Health and Safety” standards for residential and non-residential properties. Rhody’s thinking was that by taking the issue off the agenda, it would effectively kill it. “I just want to remove it and be done with it,” said Rhody. Others insisted that the issue might still be resurrected at some later meeting.

Commissioner Tom Chandler, who is also opposed to establishing these regulations, initially offered a second to Rhody’s motion but later withdrew his second, preferring instead to let the resolutions come to the floor for a vote where they were apparently doomed to fail without the needed two thirds support of the full commission for passage. “I would rather be part of a commission that said no to this than be part of a commission that kicks it down the road or part of a commission that’s party to enacting this and unleashing the enforcement,” said Chandler. That was the view of several others on the commission, like Tim Reynolds and Glynn Merriman who were among the six who voted against Rhody’s motion after it ultimately received a second from Commissioner Tony (Cully) Culwell.

“Do we really want to kick this can down the road and push it back to a committee again because we will be back in the same boat again later. We all know that. We are just wasting time kicking it back to a committee,” said Commissioner Reynolds who added “After raising taxes on folks this year, I have a real problem with us potentially telling them what they can and can’t do and I am not going to,” he said.

Commissioner Chandler, who recently returned from a trip, said constituents have been very vocal with him about their feelings on this issue.

“My phone has been going crazy, text messages, emails, not a single one supports either one of these resolutions,” said Chandler. “The (public) input I have gotten is not only “no” but a hard “no” and that’s not the “H” word they used. Not a single person wants to see the landscaping and property beautification (enforcement officer) coming around telling them what they can and cannot put in their front yard. We should kill this and put this to bed. If this were to pass in my opinion this would cause a fury of controversy like this county has not seen in a long time. I’m prepared to kill this, “said Commissioner Chandler.

Commissioner Larry Green, a supporter of the regulations, said a lot of misinformation has spread throughout the community in recent days about the proposed health and safety standards and many who do understand them are in favor.

“We had a group of people here Thursday night (during a county commission workshop) who were overwhelmingly in favor of this. The phone calls I got Thursday, Friday, and Saturday were all in favor of it. The phone calls I got today (Monday) were totally negative. I think a lot of misinformation has been put out there about it. Tom (Chandler) just referred to some misinformation about it. It is not about landscaping. Its not about beautification. It’s about health and safety. So let’s just refer it back to committee and clean up some things some of you don’t agree with,” said Commissioner Green.

“I don’t think there is any misinformation in what I said,” Chandler replied. “I looked at the second resolution and its pretty clear the enforcement officer with his five-person committee can determine what you can and cannot have in your front yard. That is the interpretation people have of this and that is why they are opposed to it,” Chandler continued.

Commissioner Tony Luna, another supporter of the standards, said the public view of this proposal is not all negative.

“I have had the opposite of what Tom has had,” said Luna. “I have had multiple calls and emails from people who are for this. I do think it needs to be fine-tuned but I think it’s a good idea that needs to be worked on,” he added.

Commissioner Justin Adcock is vehemently opposed to the standards and said he believes outsiders moving into DeKalb County around the lake are the ones making the strongest push for this.

“From the phone calls I have got, its the people who live on the lake in my district who want it. The farmers don’t want it. Its mainly people around the lake. I even had people from Holmes Creek calling me. Its everybody around the lake that has a problem with this. They want it cleaned up. They need to go back to Nashville,” said Commissioner Adcock.

Commissioner Luna said that he has not had the same public response as Commissioner Adcock.

“The majority of the people who called me (who support this) do not live on the lake. They live close to the lake but live here full time,” said Luna.

Commissioner Chandler said he believes the County Powers Act and the health and safety standards that follow could cause problems for landowners, not only now, but also in the future should later county commissions add to the regulations.

“This opens a Pandora’s Box”, said Commissioner Chandler. “That box is closed at the moment. If we open that box now we’re going to be the ones tagged as having opened it for other commissions later. I know people came to this commission recently who had issues with a neighbor that had a bunch of trash in their yard. I sympathize with those people and I would like to be able to prevent that but it appears we cannot do that without opening this Pandora’s Box and once you do, it also opens it up to not just stopping trash but possibly from stopping me from parking my old blue tractor in my front yard as a symbol of the loved one I’ve lost,” said Chandler.

County Mayor Matt Adcock reminded the commissioners that while county commissions, now or later could make changes by either adding to or removing regulations outlined in the proposed health and safety resolution, it could not change the County Powers Act because it was enacted by the Tennessee Legislature for all counties who wish to adopt it.

Commissioner Greg Matthews asked if the issue could be put before the voters to let them decide in the form of a referendum next year during the elections.

“I don’t think we can do that,” answered County Mayor Adcock.

“So that decision has to be made by 14 people (county commission) for everyone in the county,” asked Commissioner Matthews.

“I think it would be fine for our commission to talk about this again at our next workshop. That’s what our workshops are for to discuss what we want to do with certain topics and whether they get on the agenda or not at the formal meetings,” added County Mayor Adcock.

August 27, 2023
By: Dwayne Page

A man accused of nearly starving a dog to death was in General Sessions Court Thursday on a criminal summons for cruelty to animals.

34-year-old Richard Smith Wade of Frosty Point, Dowelltown entered a plea to the offense and received a sentence from Judge Brandon Cox of 11 months and 29 days all suspended to CPS supervised probation. He must pay a $10 fine and court costs.

The affidavit of complaint alleged that “On or about July 27, 2023 the DeKalb Animal Shelter responded with deputies from the Sheriff’s Department to a dog being neglected. Upon making contact with the animal at 171 Frosty Point, Dowelltown, they found a dog that was severely emaciated, no food, and yellow discharge coming from the dog’s eyes. The dog was very unstable when she tried to walk. The owner could not be contacted at that time. The dog was removed from the property”.

Emmaly Bennett, Shelter Director and Animal Control Officer, explained for WJLE how this story unfolded.

“I was contacted by a deputy stating that he had gotten a welfare call at 171 Frosty Point for a dog and he responded to the call. He then immediately let me know that the dog he found there that night was in poor condition and he sent me some photos,” said Bennett.

“I followed up the following morning and some deputies went with me, but the owner was not there. We checked on the dog and found it was a pretty bad situation, and we left a note before leaving. Later in the day after receiving no response from the owner, I asked an officer to go out with me again to this property and again we could not make contact with the owner. I then asked the officer if we could remove the dog from the property because the animal could not walk very well and was very unstable. There was no food or water present and I know the dog needed medical attention right away. The officer reached out to someone who gave approval for me to take the dog from the property. I took the dog to a veterinarian to get a professional evaluation and then placed her at the shelter,” Bennett explained.

“The following day I heard from the owner who said he had been on vacation for a week but had left the dog unattended. I informed him that he would face charges because of the neglect. I asked him if he had reached out for help with the dog. He said he had not done so,” Bennett continued.

“The man said he was a single dad with children and explained that the dog had been given to him several months prior by his brother and that his children liked the dog. I asked him why the dog had not been fed. He said he fed her when he thought about it, maybe three times a week. He claims he would throw out scraps or chicken bones and that the kids would throw out scraps here and there, but he wasn’t feeding the dog regularly. He said the dog didn’t really like him,” said Bennett.

According to Bennett, it was obvious that this dog had not been fed regularly for a long period of time, perhaps months, because of its emaciated condition.

Bennett said the dog is getting healthier each day now thanks to the antibiotics and the strict feeding schedule she is on.

“She is making a huge turnaround. She weighs 37 pounds today. She weighed 20 pounds upon intake. She is playing with toys and getting stronger every day. We want her to put on a little more weight and gain more strength. Probably in about two more weeks we will take her back to the vet and get a good checkup done on her and then schedule her surgery so she can be spayed, get her up on vaccines, the whole works so we can prepare her for adoption,” said Bennett.

The dog will not be returned to Wade.

“I want to express my thanks to all the law enforcement officers who went out there with me to the Wade property and especially to the deputy who called me after hours to let me know of this dog’s condition otherwise we would have never known about it. They were very helpful through all of this especially with advice on how I needed to go about pressing charges,” added Bennett.

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