DeKalb West School Hosts 4th Annual Family Literacy Night

February 25, 2019
By: Bill Conger

Reading takes center stage this Thursday night (Feb. 28) at DeKalb West School. Doors open for the 4^th Annual Family Literacy Night at 5:15. Popular children’s author Michael Shoulders will return to inform and entertain the crowd starting at 5:30, and the rest of the evening until 7:30 will continue with a host of fun activities including the appearance of some favorite book characters like The Cat in the Hat, Willy Wonka and Charlie.

D.W.S. Librarian and Family Literacy Night Coordinator Amanda Mullinax says the school puts the spotlight on family involvement with reading each year.

“Like many things in life, parents and caregivers help shape children’s thoughts on education in general, especially reading,” Mullinax says. “When an adult finds value in the act of reading, many times a child will too. When an adult demonstrates the importance of making time each day to read, many times a child will follow. When an adult holds learning to a high degree, its usefulness is typically internalized by that child and will stick with them always! All these things not only alter children’s lives as readers but also as future adults who will hopefully start the cycle again with their own families someday. My hope is that the cycle they continue is one that contains a respect (if not a love) for reading, for learning, and for growing.”

Four families at DWS were selected to talk about the love of reading instilled in their children. (Interview below)

Joe and Sinead Finocchiaro are the parents of Presley, Caleb, and Jacob. Presley had the distinction of earning the Mrs. Sabrina Farler Principal’s Award for 2017-2018 for most yearly AR points – 474.2 points. From 1^st grade to present in 7^th, Presley has taken 787 book quizzes with a 90% accuracy. Her brother Caleb, a 6^th grader, persistently scores among the top readers in his class while brother, Jacob, a 1^st grader is following strongly in his sibling’s footsteps.

Brad and Cassie Brown have two young girls, Hannah and Hailey, who have a passion for reading. Kandis and Kenny Moss are raising a family of five strong readers— Bralin, Kenson, Hudson, Averly, and Declan. Mark and Galen Brown have nurtured along two stronger readers in their sons, Isaac and Ethan.

WJLE: What do you say or do to encourage your children to read?

Cassie Brown: The encouragement that is provided by the parents has always been picking out books that are fun and interesting to the girls. They love going to the library or book shelf to pick out something that each of them like and is their choice.

Sinead Finocchiaro: To encourage my children to read I try to get them excited about the stories and adventures they will encounter. I first got them interested in books by reading to them, and when reading, I put a lot of emotion and action into the reading to make the stories come to life.

Kandis Moss:  I believe having them see their Dad and I read at home on our own free time has been an influence for them to see the value in reading. I also try to consider each of my child’s interests and try to research and find books that I know they would enjoy reading and would want to engage in. Finding a book series they can get into also helps since it continues that desire to keep reading. I also try to encourage them to always have a book with them in the car especially for those longer drives. My favorite response I give them when they come and tell me they are bored is, “Go read a book or clean the house!” Which would you rather do?

Galen Brown: Reading is a part of who we are in our home. Everyone reads, even if it is just a car magazine or a daily devotional. Both of our boys really love books! Isaac seems to not have a lot of free time right now and will usually just read the required amount for his AR assignments. We don’t push him to read more since he plays a sport, and his classes are a little more challenging this year. Ethan, however, loves to get his hands on a good series and read all the way through. He is at an age where he really gets into the story! I believe it is the pure enjoyment of reading that keeps him going, so we have to say very little about it to him.

WJLE: Once they started reading in the early grades, did their desire to read catch on, or did you have to continue to nudge it along?

Cassie Brown: The girls have always loved books. Even before they could read on their own, they desired to be read to, and when they began to read on their own, it was even more fun for them to say that they are “reading” a particular book.

Finocchiaro: Once they started reading it was different with each child, Presley never really needed much encouragement. She is still to this day rarely without a book. Caleb did need more encouragement, but then, he found an author and genre he loved and didn’t need much nudging after that. Jacob is a new reader who doesn’t need much assistance with reading now and is very excited about his new talent.

Moss: Every child is different. I have some that once they find a series they really enjoy they take it upon themselves to continue reading those books. I also have some that I have to constantly encourage and find good reads for them. The teachers at West do a great job with giving the students recommendations on new books to check out.

Galen Brown: One of my children loved reading from the start. He loved facts and would read books about dinosaurs, bugs and other boy topics until he had them memorized. The librarian at DWS, Mrs. Amanda, was also extremely helpful in pointing him toward books that she knew he would enjoy. My other son did not always enjoy reading. As a child, he would only want to read the week’s reading story and not much else. We worried that this would affect his vocabulary and overall school success, given the fact that reading is so pivotal to both of these areas. However, about the middle of second grade reading caught on with him, and he has since passed the rest of the family with his passion for it.

WJLE: Do you read together as a family?

Cassie Brown: We began reading as a family when the girls were babies. Several times a day, we would read a book and always before bed the girls would pick out a book for us to read.

Finocchiaro: We do spend time together as a family reading books out loud, not as much as earlier years when learning to read. Now we curl up more with our individual books.

Galen Brown: Honestly, we do not read together anymore. When our children were younger we read to them every day. They would pick a book they wanted to read, and then we would read the Bible as a family. My husband actually read the Bible to them straight through for about 5 years. We now mostly go different directions in a bookstore, and everyone gets to purchase what they like. Quite a few extended family members love to read also, and we recommend and share books with them.

WJLE: How much importance do you place in reading for yourself now as an adult? How much importance did you place in reading as a child?

Cassie Brown: I go to the library one to two times a week for a new book. As a child I loved to read just as much. It was always fun to get lost in the characters of the book and enjoy the suspense.  

Finocchiaro: I still regard reading with high importance. I am the type of person who always has to have a current book I’m reading though I wish I had more time to do so. Reading in my childhood was by far one of my favorite pastimes, and I was always submerged in a book ready to tear through it in a day. Reading was a very important part of my childhood and one of the reasons it means so much to me to have children who love reading also!

Moss: As a child I probably didn’t enjoy reading as much as I do now
as an adult.  I try to read now as often as I can, not only to set an example for my children but because I know just how beneficial it is for me. Whether it’s to escape, to further my knowledge, to learn new things, or just be entertained reading offers so many benefits.  Reading opens up doors to imagination, to better career choices, to expanding your mind, improves vocabulary, reduces stress, stimulates your mind, and helps develop better writing skills.

Galen Brown: Reading is so important for all ages. I still remember my dad reading to us when we were small. He read books by C.S. Lewis and E.B. White with such inflection in his voice that it created pictures in my head like a movie. At the time, I thought that was what every parent did; they read to their child! Our children have too many electronic options in front of them that seem much more exciting than a book. I want our youth to know that reading is exciting! Reading broadens our experiences without ever leaving home, and it builds a strong vocabulary that our children are sometimes missing in this media driven society. And yes, I still love to read and probably have no less than four books by my bed at the moment. You never get too old for books!

February 25, 2019
By: Dwayne Page

The DCHS Lady Tigers will face 3rd ranked Upperman for the fourth time this season tonight (Monday) in the semi-finals of the Region 4AA basketball tournament at Crossville.

The winner not only advances to the Region Tournament Championship game Wednesday night but also earns a spot in the sub-state or sectionals.

IMG_4388 from dwayne page on Vimeo.

Game time is 7:30 p.m. from Cumberland County High School and WJLE will have LIVE coverage with the Voice of the Lady Tigers John Pryor.

WJLE’s Tiger talk will air at 7:15 p.m. as Pryor interviews Lady Tiger Coach Danny Fish and Lady Tiger seniors Lydia Brown, Maddison Parsley, and Joni Robinson.

DeKalb County (21-10) has yet to defeat Upperman (26-5) this season. In the previous meetings, DC lost to the Lady Bees 46 to 29 in Smithville on January 8, 62 to 40 at Baxter on February 1, and 36 to 28 in the District Tournament at Cookeville on February  15.

Lady Tiger Coach Fish explained what the recipe is for beating Upperman. “We have to make shots. I believe we need to come out and play aggressively and take the game to them offensively and defensively. We know to be the best you have to beat the best. Beating Cumberland County was a good start for us and now we get to play Upperman again so I know our girls are going to come out fighting. They gained a tremendous amount of confidence after the last game with Upperman,” said Coach Fish.

The Lady Tigers earned the right to face Upperman again after upsetting the 11^th ranked Cumberland County Lady Jets (23-7) on their home court in overtime Friday night 67 to 66 in the quarterfinals.

Lady Tiger Joni Robinson’s buzzer beating three pointer at the end of regulation sent the game into overtime and from there DC outscored the Lady Jets 7 to 6 for the thrilling victory.

“It was a huge win for our program. I thought our kids were really focused that night and super aggressive defensively and offensively which boded well for us during the entire game. They stuck to the game plan and constantly worked hard. I thought we really made it tough on Gracee Dishman the entire game. Our kids were well prepared. They were prepared for the press. We knew what they (Lady Jets) were going to do and they did it but we found a way to make it work in our favor. The biggest thing is we knocked down shots. We would like to ride that momentum into tonight (Monday),” said Lady Tiger Coach Fish.

In the DC game Friday night, the Lady Tigers led 17 to 16 after the 1^st period and 33 to 30 at halftime. Cumberland County grabbed a 43 to 41 lead after the 3^rd period but the game was tied at 60 by the end of regulation. The Lady Tigers went on to win 67 to 66.

Lydia Brown led the Lady Tigers in scoring with 22, Kadee Ferrell 17, Emme Colwell 11, Mya Ruch 10, Joni Robinson 3,  and Maddison Parsley and Kenzie France  each with 2 points.

Miss Basketball finalist Gracee Dishman led the Lady Jets with 32 points, Addy Wilson 13, Jessica Hedgecoth 14, Alli Smith 5, and Sophie Smith 2.

In addition to DeKalb County’s win over Cumberland County, all other District 8 girls teams prevailed in the Region Tournament Friday as Upperman defeated Sequatchie County 69 to 30, Macon County upended Grundy County 83 to 35, and York Institute beat Bledsoe County 54 to 41.

Girls Region Tournament Schedule Monday, February 25:

Macon County vs York Institute: 6:00 p.m.

DeKalb County vs Upperman: 7:30 p.m.

The Region Tournament Championship game will be Wednesday, February 27 at 7 p.m.

February 24, 2019
By: Dwayne Page

A Liberty man charged in a rash of October burglaries, thefts, and vandalisms at Liberty Mini Storage appeared for sentencing Friday in DeKalb County Criminal Court.

49 year old Randall Eugene Tittle of Tubb Street, Liberty entered a plea to three counts of burglary other than a habitation and received a four year sentence in two counts and a two year term in a third case to run consecutively for a total of ten years but concurrently with a violation of probation he is already serving. Tittle was ordered to serve 365 days of the sentence in the county jail and then he will be released to TDOC probation. He has been given jail credit from December 31, 2018 to February 22, 2019. Tittle must also make restitution to his victims.

Altogether, Tittle faced three counts of vandalism, six counts of burglary, and six counts of theft. All the crimes, affecting seven victims, occurred on October 15 as follows:

*Tittle broke into a storage building at Liberty Mini-Storage and stole a black Huskee tool box and tools valued at $15,000. The case was investigated by a sheriff’s department detective. Some of the tools have been recovered.

*Tittle cut two locks off the doors at Liberty Mini Storage valued at $20.

*Tittle cut two locks off the doors of a storage building and entered. He stole from the victim multiple items such as gas top stove, air conditioner, generator, and NASCAR Christmas collector items, all valued at $7,600.

*Tittle cut one lock off the doors of a storage building and entered. He stole from the victim multiple items such as 2 window air conditioner units, two tents, plastic totes, etc, all valued at $832.

*Tittle entered a storage building and stole from his victim multiple items such as an Oak dining room set, pool table, pool sticks, etc. all valued at $1750.

* Tittle entered a storage building and stole from his victim multiple items such as Maytag washer, 60 inch TV, miscellaneous tools, and two saddles, all valued at $1875.

* Tittle entered a storage building and took from his victim two Honda generators, coin proof sets, a pair of binoculars, and a Honda gas tank all valued at $3,575.

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