(UPDATE) Courthouse Cleared After Bomb Threat

September 12, 2024
By: Dwayne Page

The DeKalb County Courthouse was evacuated this morning after a bomb threat was phoned into 911 and as a result the public square was closed for a few hours while investigators conducted a search of the building. No explosives were found and the courthouse will reopen Friday.

DeKalb County Sheriff Patrick Ray and Smithville Police Chief Mark Collins issued the following joint statement about the investigation:

“On September 12, 2024 at 9:46 AM Central Dispatch received a call from a male subject stating there was a bomb in the DeKalb County Courthouse. The caller also referenced additional bombs but did not give locations at the time. The DeKalb County Sheriff’s Department, Smithville Police Department, Smithville Fire Department, DeKalb EMS, Tennessee Highway Patrol, Tennessee Highway Patrol Special Operations Unit, Tennessee Homeland Security Agency, and a K-9 and handler from Lebanon Police Department were all summoned to the scene. The Courthouse was evacuated and searched by Officers and the K-9. A package of concern was found and was cleared. There are no more active threats at this time that we are aware of. Two people of interest were picked up and questioned. No arrests have been made thus far, but the investigation continues. Anyone having information on the caller, please contact central dispatch at 615-215-3000. Any and all bomb or school shooting threats will be prosecuted to the highest extent of the law,” according to the statement.

Charlie Parker, DeKalb County Emergency Management Agency Director said downtown businesses at the time were alerted to the courthouse threat.

“We went to all the downtown businesses and told them of the threat. We asked them to stay out of the front glass areas of their buildings. Some of the businesses decided to close,” said Parker.

“Every agency takes all threats as credible and we exhaust all means to ensure the safety of the public,” Parker added.

General Sessions Court was scheduled for this morning but had to be postponed due to the threat. Judge Brandon Cox said all cases set for today have been rescheduled for next Thursday, September 19.

Meanwhile, Director of Schools Patrick Cripps has issued the following statement about some misinformation about a perceived threat against DeKalb County Schools being circulated in the community which is not a threat but pertains to DeKalb County, Georgia.

“It has come to our attention that there has been some misunderstanding regarding a “list” being circulated among students and parents in our community. This list includes references to DeKalb County Schools. This list is from the state of Georgia and refers to Title I Schoolwide (SWP) and Targeted Assisted (TA) Schools, including the DeKalb County schools in Georgia”, said Director Cripps.

“Schoolwide Plans provide services for all students in an eligible school, which Targeted Assistance Plans provide services only to identified children. This is NOT any sort of targeted hit list,” Cripps explained.

“Please clarify to anyone referring to this list as something dangerous or harmful. It is not and it does not include our schools in DeKalb County, Tennessee. Thank you for your help in clearing up this misunderstanding,” said Director Cripps.

September 12, 2024
By: Dwayne Page

Thursday night football!

Due to forecasts of rain over the next couple of days from Hurricane Francine, DCHS has announced that the homecoming football game between the Tigers (3-0) and Watertown (0-3) will be played tonight (Thursday) instead of Friday night, as had been scheduled. Kick-off is at 7 p.m. in Smithville.

The DCHS homecoming parade is still set for Friday.

Although rain is predicted for both tonight and Friday, Tiger Coach Steve Trapp said field conditions would most likely be better tonight.

“Its frustrating. I don’t like doing that (rescheduling) but it seems like there may be more opportunity for lightning, storms, and possible tornadic activity on Friday night compared to tonight. That was a big part of this decision,” explained Coach Trapp. “ But also, there’s a lot of work that goes into field preparation as well. A lot of the work we put into it allows the field to take some of mother nature but playing on the field on day one of weather is a lot different than trying to play on the field of day two when its rained for two days in a row. That’s what weighed into the decision. I hate that this happened on homecoming but at the end of the day everything that takes place is because of the football game. We want everybody to have a good time and be safe but we are focused on playing great football,” said Coach Trapp.

Last week the Tigers gave up only one touchdown in beating the Livingston Academy Wildcats 42-8 on the road in the region opener.

After a slow start, Coach Trapp said the Tigers found their footing.

“For the first couple of minutes, they (Wildcats) ran it right down our face but our guys really responded well and they (Livingston Academy) didn’t get anything else after that. I thought we had a great week of preparation, and it showed up once we got everybody in tune. I feel really good, particularly about our offense, because last week was a little bit different from what we did the week before and a bit different from the week before that. We have different guys stepping up each week and other guys who are ready and willing to break out. It’s a good start to the season but at the end of the day while 3-0 is what was achieved last week, it’s trying to be 1-0 this week,” said Coach Trapp.

The Tigers enter tonight’s game at 3-0 with wins over Warren County (0-3) 28-14, Smith County (0-3) 35-6, and Livingston Academy (2-1) 42-8. Watertown is 0-3 with losses to Forrest (3-0) 40-34, Gordonsville (3-0) 26-19, and Sequatchie County (2-1) 33-28.

“Watertown is 0-3 but they have lost all three games by one score or less. They are probably one of the best 0-3 teams in the state. They have a tremendous coaching staff that does a lot of good things. It may be the best defense we have faced all year. Its usually a challenge to get things going against them so they have our full attention. Its up to our guys to go out and prove that we are ready to be 4-0 but we have to get our hearts and minds right,” added Coach Trapp.

WJLE’s Pre-Game shows begin with the “Fearless Forecasters” at 4:30 p.m. 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 Jon Hendrix, Aiden Turner, and Wyatt Carter.

Kick-off is at 7:00 p.m. with play-by-play coverage on WJLE from the Voice of the Tigers John Pryor and Luke Willoughby. Listen LIVE on WJLE AM 1480/FM 101.7 and LIVE Streaming at www.wjle.com.

“Coach to Coach” will air in its regular time slot on Friday at 5:00 p.m. and will repeat Saturday morning at 9 a.m. featuring former UT assistant coach Doug Matthews with Tennessee Titans Radio Broadcaster Dave McGinnis and broadcaster Larry Stone talking Tennessee and SEC football.

2024 DCHS Tiger Football Schedule:
September 12: Watertown (HOMECOMING) 7:00 p.m.
September 20: Gordonsville (AWAY) 7:00 p.m.
September 27: Stone Memorial* (HOME) 7:00 p.m.
October 4: Macon County* (AWAY) 7:00 p.m.
October 11: Cumberland County* (AWAY) 7:00 p.m.
October 18: BYE
October 25: White County* (HOME) 7:00 p.m.
October 31 (Thursday): Upperman* (HOME) 7:00 p.m.

September 12, 2024
By: Dwayne Page

John Pryor and Darrell Gill are co-leaders among WJLE’s Fearless Forecasters with the best record picking winners for the first two weeks of the college football season.

Pryor and Gill each have compiled records of 18-12 followed by Ricky Atnip, Scott Brown, Alex Woodward, Scott Goodwin, and Dewain Hendrixson each at 17-13. Grant James is 16-14 and Chad Kirby’s record is 15-15.

For the week, Darrell Gill and Dewain Hendrixson were each at 8-7. Grant James, Ricky Atnip, Chad Kirby, Scott Brown, Scott Goodwin, and John Pryor were each at 7-8 and Alex Woodward at 6-9.

Three of the forecasters hit their underdog picks last week including Darrell Gill who got 10.5 points with BYU’s win over SMU. Scott Brown got on the board with 4 points as Army defeated FAU and Dewain Hendrixson picked up 10 points with South Carolina’s victory over Kentucky.

Overall, Darrell Gill leads in underdog points with 23.5 followed by Dewain Hendrixson 15, Grant James 4.5 and Scott Brown with 4 points.

Today (Thursday) the Forecasters will be picking winners in the following games:

Arizona at Kansas State, Washington State at Washington, Appalachian State at East Carolina, Memphis at Florida State, Western Kentucky at MTSU, UCF at TCU, Indiana at UCLA, Maryland at Virginia, Notre Dame at Purdue, Alabama at Wisconsin, Texas A&M at Florida, LSU at South Carolina, Vanderbilt at Georgia State, Kent State at Tennessee and in the NFL the New York Jets at the Tennessee Titans.

Catch the Fearless Forecasters on WJLE today (Thursday) at 4:30 p.m. on AM 1480/FM 101.7 and the LIVE stream at www.wjle.com.

The program is sponsored by the Charles D. Atnip Realty and Auction Company, Middle Tennessee Natural Gas, FirstBank, DeKalb County Insurance, DeKalb County Ace Hardware, Gill Automotive, Love-Cantrell Funeral Home, Wilson Bank & Trust, and Domino’s Pizza.

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