Elderly Woman Charged with Assaulting Granddaughter

August 30, 2020
By: Dwayne Page

An elderly woman was recently arrested for assaulting her granddaughter.

78 year old Sarah Opal Atnip of Shady Drive, Smithville is charged with domestic assault. Her bond is $3,000 and she will be in court September 3.

Sheriff Patrick Ray said that on August 21 a deputy was dispatched to Shady Drive due to a physical domestic. Upon arrival the officer spoke with a woman who reported that she and her grandmother, Atnip had gotten into an argument. According the woman, Atnip started swinging at her and then grabbed her by the arms.

59 year old Sammy Gene Taylor of Snow Hill Road, Dowelltown is charged with public intoxication. His bond is $1,000 and he will be in court September 3. Sheriff Ray said that on August 19 a deputy was dispatched to Hale’s Lane in reference to an unwanted guest. Upon his arrival, the officer was informed that Taylor was highly intoxicated and was not supposed to be there. The deputy found Taylor near the road on Hale’s Lane. Taylor’s speech was slurred and he was very unsteady on his feet. He also smelled of alcohol. Taylor was then placed under arrest.

32 year old Stephanie Susanne Amanti of Earl Avenue, Smithville is charged in a recent grand jury sealed indictment with two counts of sale and delivery of a schedule drug. Her bond is $5,000 and she will be arraigned on September 8.

56 year old Aubrey Lee Kilgore of East Main Street, Dowelltown is charged with a second offense of driving under the influence and driving on a suspended license. He was further cited for driving on roadways laned for travel and possession of schedule II, IV, and V drugs. His bond is $4,000 and he will be in court September 10. Sheriff Ray said that on August 20 a deputy spotted a black Chevy S-10 traveling north on Brush Creek Highway leaving its lane of travel. The officer pulled over the truck and spoke with the driver, Kilgore who admitted to having consumed alcohol and taken xanax and suboxone. Kilgore submitted to but performed poorly on field sobriety tasks. Open, unopened, and empty containers of alcohol were found in the truck along with half a xanax pill and a bottle containing three Gabapentin pills. Kilgore tried to hide in his mouth approximately two grams of a crystal like substance believed to be methamphetamine. A computer check revealed that Kilgore’s license were revoked in Putnam County for DUI on July 23, 2019.

53 year old James Michael Turner of Tampa Drive, Nashville is charged with a third offense of driving under the influence and driving on a suspended license. His bond is $5,000 and he will be in court September 17. Sheriff Ray said that on August 21 a deputy was dispatched to Allen Ferry Road due to a possible wreck. Upon arrival the officer spoke with Turner and learned that he had been driving on Allen Ferry Road when he ran off the right side of the road and got stuck. Turner had a strong odor of alcohol on his person. His speech was slurred and he was very unsteady on his feet. Turner submitted to but performed poorly on field sobriety tasks. A computer check revealed that Turner’s license had been revoked for DUI on November 8, 2014 in Rutherford County.

August 29, 2020
By: Dwayne Page

The City of Smithville is eligible to apply for up to $72,000 in grant funding under a coronavirus relief effort called the Tennessee Local Government Reimbursement Program.

Last month Governor Bill Lee and the state’s bipartisan Financial Stimulus Accountability Group announced that an additional $115 million in coronavirus relief funds would be made available to local governments to offset costs incurred from responding to the COVID-19 pandemic.

This program comes in addition to the $210 million in grants for county and municipal governments approved by the General Assembly in the state’s 2021 budget. The City of Smithville’s portion from that grant is $135,000 and specific projects have already been identified and budgeted for this year.

During Thursday night’s special city council meeting, Mayor Josh Miller said the city could apply for this latest grant program and the money be used for things that meet the grant eligibility requirements. The city would have get pre-approval for the expenditures and then spend the money and be reimbursed.

For example, Mayor Miller said the city might be able to purchase vehicles to keep coworkers such as water and sewer employees from having to travel to job sites together in the same vehicle to reduce the threat of catching and spreading the coronavirus.

“This pandemic has required a high level of coordination and support across all levels of government to ensure local needs are met and the health and wellbeing of Tennesseans are protected,” Governor Lee said. “The Financial Stimulus Accountability Group has provided another round of funding as we work to reduce any financial barriers in COVID-19 response.”

“The COVID-19 pandemic has presented our local governments with unique challenges specific to the needs of their people. Giving local governments control over how to spend these dollars maximizes efficiency and ensures this money is deployed in the most effective way possible,” Lt. Gov. Randy McNally (R-Oak Ridge) said. “As we adjust to the new normal of living and working with COVID-19, it is important that local governments have the resources they need to attack the virus and address the issues it creates.”

Expenses paid for by the reimbursement program should fall within one of the following categories:
•Medical Expenses
•Public Health Expenses
•Payroll Expenses Related to COVID-19
•Public Health Compliance Expenses
•Other Reasonably Necessary Expenses Incurred in Response to the COVID-19 public
Health emergency.

The funding will be allocated from the Coronavirus Relief Fund to eligible local governments on a per capita basis.

“Directing additional funds to local governments will ensure they can continue to effectively meet the needs of their residents,” House Speaker Cameron Sexton (R-Crossville) said. “COVID-19 related decisions and expenses whether in health care, education, or in other areas will be with us for the foreseeable future.”

Funds from the CRF may not be used to replace lost government revenue. Funds also may not be used for expenses that have been or will be reimbursed under any other federal programs.

August 28, 2020
By: Dwayne Page

The unemployment situation in three-quarters of Tennessee’s 95 counties continued to improve in July following business closures earlier in the year due to the COVID-19 health emergency.

DeKalb County’s jobless rate for July was 10.3%, down from 11.5% in June but still higher than 4.8% in July, 2019.

The Labor Force in DeKalb County for July was 7,162 and 6,426 were employed. A total of 736 were unemployed.

Seventy-two counties had lower unemployment in July compared to the previous month. Rates in four counties mirrored their rates from June. Nineteen counties did experience a slight uptick in unemployment during the month.

Pickett County recorded the state’s lowest unemployment rate for the month. At 6.3%, the county’s rate dropped 0.7 of a percentage point compared to June’s rate.

Williamson and Moore counties had the second-lowest unemployment rates in July. Williamson County’s rate decreased 0.3 of a percentage point to 6.4%. In July 2019, its rate was 2.9%. Moore County’s June rate of 7.5% dropped to 6.4% in July. One year ago, it was 3.5%.

Shelby County continued to have the highest unemployment rate in Tennessee. The county’s number of jobless individuals in July jumped by 1.3 percentage points to 14.4%. In July 2019, Shelby County’s rate was 4.6%.

With a rate of 12.7%, Haywood County had the second-highest rate of unemployment in the state. The new rate increased 0.9 of a percentage point when compared to the previous month. One year ago, the rate was 5.3%. Hancock County’s unemployment jumped 1.8 percentage points to 12.5% in July. In July 2019 the county had a rate of 7.3%.

When surveying unemployment in Tennessee’s three largest cities, Knoxville had the lowest rate in July, which held steady at 9.4%. Nashville’s unemployment saw a slight uptick of 0.1 of a percentage point to 12.1%. Memphis experienced the biggest increase in July. Its unemployment rate grew by 1.6 percentage points to 16.9%. In July 2019, Knoxville had a rate of 3.8%%, Nashville was at 2.9%, and the Memphis rate one year ago was 5.1%

The statewide seasonally adjusted unemployment rate in Tennessee decreased for the third consecutive month in July from 9.6% to 9.5%.

Nationally, unemployment also decreased in July. The preliminary, seasonally adjusted national unemployment rate is 10.2%, a 0.9 of a percentage point drop from the previous month’s rate.
The Tennessee Department of Labor and Workforce Development has a comprehensive report detailing the unemployment situation in each of the state’s 95 counties. You can access that report by clicking here.

Unemployed Tennesseans can find free job search assistance and career development opportunities at any of the more than 80 American Job Centers across the state. You can find the center nearest to you through this interactive map. Online, more than 200,000 active job listings are currently available on the state’s workforce development website.

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