Danielle Tyson Horton Named Head Coach of New Girls Volleyball Program at DCHS

February 15, 2024
By: Dwayne Page

Another first!

Almost two years ago DCHS teacher and coach Danielle Tyson Horton made history by becoming the first ever female head coach of the Tigerette softball program. Horton has done it again by being named the first ever coach of the newly created DCHS girls volleyball program which will launch its inaugural season this summer for the 2024-25 school year. In addition to volleyball, Coach Horton will continue to lead the girls softball program as well.

DCHS Principal Bruce Curtis made the formal announcement Wednesday. An assistant to Coach Horton will be named later.

The Board of Education last Thursday granted a request by the DCHS administration to bring girls volleyball to the high school.

Principal Curtis said interest for such a program has been growing in recent years.

“We had multiple students come to us about getting a volleyball team started. We have had a couple of girls over the last few years who had gone to Warren County and co-op with them (playing for Warren County under a cooperative agreement between the two schools) but we had more and more kids showing interest in that sport so we decided to propose to the Board of Education to start a program. We had probably 75-80 kids who had signed that they were interested in possibly playing so I thought that would be a good thing to give our kids another outlet in which to play an athletic sport,” said Principal Curtis.

Under TSSAA Classification, the DCHS Volleyball program will be in District 7AA with Livingston Academy, Cumberland County, Stone Memorial, Upperman, and Watertown. The schedule will follow the same as girls’ soccer. The season will officially begin on July 29, 2024 with the regular season to start August 19, 2024. All district matches must be completed by October 11, 2024. The playoffs and state championships will conclude on October 25, 2024.

Curtis explained that DCHS volleyball will be for girls only in that the TSSAA does not sanction a boys volleyball program.

All home games will be played at the DCHS gymnasium.

The estimated startup cost of the program is $12,460 which includes the expense of home and away jerseys and basic equipment such as volleyballs, etc. Principal Curtis said all those necessities will be addressed in preparation for the start of the season this summer.

“It’s a process of getting everything ready and getting the gym floor set up for volleyball. We will have to put in nets and things for the nets and stripe off the floor for a volleyball court to get it ready as soon as possible by the start of the season. We will also have to put in two metal inserts for the posts to go into in the floor,” said Principal Curtis.

Originally from South Louisiana, Horton and her family moved to Smithville during her Freshman year in high school and then she joined the DCHS softball program as a player. But she had also played volleyball before coming here and always longed for a program at DCHS.

“I played volleyball before we moved here. I moved here in high school. I remember them (DCHS) not having a team and as a student, that was something that was sad on my part because it was a sport I loved but I continued to watch games,” said Coach Horton.

After graduating high school in 2014, Horton furthered her education and softball career at Trevecca Nazarene University, but she still had a love for volleyball and in recent years has attended games involving family members.

“I went to school at Trevecca and a lot of times the softball team would go and support the volleyball team there. That was really fun to watch. There was a really high energy about the game of volleyball. All of my nieces play as well and we travel a lot and go watch games with them, so I have been around the game quite a bit and have seen how different travel and high school teams work,” she said.

After she returned to DCHS as a teacher, Horton said she was thrilled to have been named to head the Tigerette softball program after the departure of former Coach Danny Fish. Horton had competed in the program as a player under Coach Fish and former Coach Danny Bond before him and she had served as Coach Fish’s assistant his last year here.

After learning that DCHS would be starting a volleyball program, Horton did not have to be talked into taking the job as head coach. It was a position she sought. Coach Horton said she believes over time this program can be competitive although there are opponents in the district who have had great success over the years and will pose unique challenges.

“It’s a very competitive district. Stone Memorial, Livingston Academy, and Upperman have all made state appearances in volleyball so expecting us to come out of the gate and be exceptional would be unrealistic, but I think putting us in a district like this will cause us to be competitive and force us to know what we need to do to be competitive. I think we can get there but it may take three to four years,” said Coach Horton.

“I think we will have a good turnout for tryouts and with enough interest, heart and work ethic we can start building a solid program,” she continued.

“Typically, six players are on the court at a time during a game, but you are able to do substitutions. It seems pretty simple, but the way volleyball works is with three (players) in the front (court) and three in the back, but you have setters, a libero who is usually a smaller individual that is really good at digging things out, an inside and an outside hitter which is the right and left side, and a middle hitter. There are a lot of different aspects that go into the game so while six can play you really need probably 12 for substitutions of that nature just for a solid foundation. For junior varsity you probably want to go as far as 18. I don’t know if we will have that many this first year starting out but when it comes time for tryouts, we will see where we are at,” said Coach Horton.

When the season gets underway, Coach Horton said she hopes fans will come out and show their support.

“Volleyball is usually such a high energy game that a lot of people do like to come out and watch the girls play. It goes by quickly but its fun to watch them hustle and the crowd usually gets involved. I think the community will enjoy this sport,” said Coach Horton.

February 13, 2024
By: Dwayne Page

Its Election Time!

Early voting begins Wednesday, February 14 for the March 5 DeKalb County Republican and Democratic Primaries and the Tennessee Presidential Preference Primary.

Sample Ballot

Local parties are selecting nominees for local offices including DeKalb County Assessor of Property; Constables in district 1-7; Board of Education in districts 5 & 6, and Criminal Court Judge-Part III (13th Judicial District)

The early voting period will be Wednesday, February 14 through Tuesday, February 27 at the courthouse in Smithville. Two days have been set for early voting in Alexandria at the Fairgrounds Kenneth Sandlin Center building, Thursday, February 15 from 9 a.m. until 12 noon and Tuesday, February 20 from 3 p.m. until 6 p.m. The Absentee ballot request deadline is Tuesday, February 27.

The early voting hours for the March 5 primaries will be as follows at the courthouse in Smithville:

Wednesday February 14: (9 a.m. until 1 p.m.)

Thursday, February 15: (2 p.m. until 6 p.m.)

Friday, February 16: (9 a.m. until 1 p.m.)

Saturday, February 17: (9 a.m. until 12 noon)

Monday, February 19 (CLOSED) PRESIDENTS DAY

Tuesday, February 20: (9 a.m. until 1 p.m.)

Wednesday, February 21: (9 a.m. until 1 p.m.)

Thursday, February 22: (2 p.m. until 6 p.m.)

Friday, February 23: (9 a.m. until 1 p.m.)

Saturday, February 24: (9 a.m. until 12 noon)

Monday, February 26: (1 p.m. until 5 p.m.)

Tuesday, February 27: (9 a.m. until 1 p.m.)

The DeKalb County Assessor of Property race is contested. The candidates are Republican Incumbent Shannon Cantrell and GOP challenger Amy Clare Lockhart. The winner of the DeKalb Republican Primary in that race will be unopposed in the August 1, 2024 DeKalb County General Election.

The only other local race to be contested in March is in the 5th district for the Board of Education (School Board). The candidates are Republicans Megan Moore and Tom Walkup. Incumbent 5th district member Jamie Cripps is not seeking re-election.

Names of candidates for other local offices in the March 5 GOP primary are as follows:

Board of Education: District 5- Megan Moore and Tom Walkup

Board of Education: District 6- Jason Miller (Incumbent)- Unopposed

Constable: District 1-Tyler Cripps –Unopposed.

Constable: District 2-Danny Adamson- Unopposed.

Constable: District 3-Travis Bryant (Incumbent)-Unopposed.

Constable: District 4-Lane Ball (Incumbent)-Unopposed

Constable: District 5-Mark Milam (Incumbent)-Unopposed

Constable: District 6- No Candidate.

Constable: District 7-Jeremy Wayne Neal-Unopposed

Criminal Court Judge-Part III (13th Judicial District)- Shawn Fry of Cookeville- Unopposed

Party nominees for local offices on March 5 will run in the DeKalb County General Election on Thursday, August 1, 2024 and those elected will take office September 1, 2024.

The following candidates are on Tennessee’s March 5, 2024, ballot in the Super Tuesday Presidential Preference Primary:

Republican Primary Ballot:
•Ryan Binkley
•Chris Christie
•Ron DeSantis
•Nikki Haley
•Asa Hutchinson
•Vivek Ramaswamy
•David Stuckenberg
•Donald J. Trump

Most of the GOP candidates for President have already dropped out of the race but their names still appear on the ballot.

Democratic Primary Ballot:

•Joseph R. Biden

February 13, 2024
By: Dwayne Page

The DCHS Tigers and Lady Tigers will make their debut in the District 7AAA Tournament Friday, February 16 at Tennessee Tech.

Both the Tigers and Lady Tigers are the 6th seeds in their respective brackets of the tournament and will each face Livingston Academy, the 3rd seeds. The Lady Tigers will meet the Lady Wildcats Friday at 4 p.m. followed by the Tigers game with the Wildcats at 5:30 p.m.

The winner of the girls game will advance to the semi-finals against Upperman, the 2nd seed on Saturday at 4 p.m. The winner of the boys contest will take on Stone Memorial, the 2nd seed in the semi-finals on Saturday at 5:30 p.m.

On the other side of the girls bracket, Cumberland County, the 4th seed, will face Stone Memorial, the 5th seed on Friday at 7 p.m. with the winner to take on the number 1 seed White County in the semi-finals on Saturday at 7 p.m.

Meanwhile for the boys, White County, the 4th seed, will meet Cumberland County, the 5th seed at 8:30 p.m. Friday and the winner will advance to the semi-finals to face the number 1 seed Upperman Saturday at 8:30 p.m.

The girls consolation game will be Monday, February 19 at 7:30 p.m. followed by the championship game at 9 p.m.

The boys consolation game will be Tuesday, February 20 at 7:30 p.m. followed by the championship game at 9 p.m.

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