DeKalb Saints Kickoff Football Season Thursday Night

August 1, 2022
By: Dwayne Page

The DeKalb Saints will open the 2022 football season at home Thursday, August 4 hosting Overton County. Kick-off is at 6:30 p.m.

Coach Justin Poteete sizes up this year’s Saints. “We have the possibility of being pretty good this year. We have a lot of athletes and many of them are new kids who either haven’t played before or haven’t played in several years. We will be looking to get them the ball in the open field. That may be a little bit of a challenge, but it is something we will try to do. We have some decent size and a little more physicality this year, but they will have to show up and work hard each day and give it everything they have,” he said.

Eighth grader and Captain Jesse Foutch will be the starting quarterback. “He is a kid who comes in and does everything the right way. You never have to ask him for effort. He is a good leader although he has to work on his communication a little bit. He gets a little nervous at times, but he is a kid who is always going to do the right thing. He has a pretty good arm although his throwing motion is a little weird. He throws the ball pretty, but his throwing motion doesn’t look the best,” said Coach Poteete.

“Receivers Foutch will be looking to throw to include eighth grader Carmello Davis (WR/DB) who is a first-year guy and eighth grader Kiece Hannah (WR/FS) also a first-year guy, but both are very athletic. Seventh grader J.T. Summers (RB/OLB) is going to play H for us this year. He is a very physical kid. He reminds me a lot of Josh May when he was here. Seventh grader Cooper Odom (WR/DB) will play for us this year. He is a little bit undersized, but he works hard every day and that’s all we can ask for as coaches,” added Coach Poteete.

As for size overall, “We have a little size this year. Eighth grader Hunter Ballew(G/DE) is a good-sized kid. He is learning some things. He will play guard for us this year. Chase Young, another eighth grader and Captain (T-DE), has good size and motor. He really came into his own this spring. We are looking for big things from him. Eighth grader Victor Locklear (G/NT) is a first-year player. He is a good physical player. Seventh grader Eli Jones (T/NT) will give us some reps this year at tackle. He has decent size. We are looking for big things from all of them,” he said.

“Defensively we looked pretty good in the spring. We are pretty physical. We just have to sustain that and get to the ball quick. We have some athletes out there. We just have to make sure we are disciplined especially inside with our linebackers and that each one of these kids does their job,” Coach Poteete concluded.

The DeKalb Saints Football Schedule is as follows:

August 4: Overton County-Home 6:30 p.m.

August 11: Macon County*-Away 6:30 p.m.

August 18: Gladeville Middle- Away 6:30 p.m.

August 25: Smith County (Homecoming)- Home 6:30 p.m.

September 1: White County*-Away 6:30 p.m.

September 8: Upperman Middle* (8th grade night)-Home 6:30 p.m.

September 15: OPEN

September 20: Prescott Middle* Away 6:30 p.m.

Post Season: September 24: (Conference Play-offs) TBA

September 29: Conference Championship/ Consolation : TBA

July 30, 2022
By: Dwayne Page

Smithville Police have charged a man with assaulting a woman while trying to pull her from an automobile

27-year-old Ronald Deshon Reeder of Smith Road was arrested on July 3 for domestic assault and aggravated burglary. Police responded to a complaint of an unwanted guest and upon arrival heard a woman screaming as Reeder was leaning in her car. According to police it appeared as if Reeder was trying to pull her from the car. The left side of the victim’s face was bleeding and she had red marks on her cheek. According to police, the victim had awakened to find Reeder standing in the house and she went outside to lock herself in the car to get away from him. Bond for Reeder is $35,000.

53-year-old Michael Lynn Vance of Andrews Street was arrested on July 6 for violation of an order of protection. According to police, Vance was trying to make contact with his victim through Facebook which is a violation of the order against him.

29-year-old Julio Cesar Sanchez Bernardo of Big Woods Road was arrested on July 10 for two counts of theft and he was cited for a driver license violation and financial responsibility. According to police, Bernardo was observed on Wal-Mart surveillance July 1 stealing three (3) TV’s and an electronic scooter. Nine days later on July 10, Bernardo was spotted leaving Wal-Mart with a Hoover board and a scooter. Police said Bernardo had swapped the price label from two cheaper items and placed them on the Hoover board and scooter. An officer pulled over Bernardo’s vehicle on Anthony Avenue and found the stolen Hoover board and scooter inside the automobile. Bond for Bernardo is $7,500.

40-year-old Melisa Elaine Edmund of Big Woods Road was cited by police on July 13 for fraudulent use of a debit card. According to police, Edmund took a debit card and used it at an ATM machine to withdraw $40.

32-year-old Wesley Aaron Thomas of East Broad Street was arrested on July 14 for public intoxication. Police responded to the Magnolia Inn and spoke with Thomas outside of his motel room. He was unsteady on his feet. His speech was slurred and he smelled of an alcoholic beverage. The officer admonished Thomas several times to return to his room but he kept coming back out in a threatening manner. For his safety and that of the public, Thomas was taken into custody. His bond is $500.

27-year-old Michael Allen Johnson was cited for criminal trespass on July 19. Police responded to a fire on Lincoln Street where Johnson was found on the property. He was previously ordered to keep off this property on February 21. His court date is August 11.

28-year-old Robin Amber Gifford of South College Street was arrested on July 22 for public intoxication. Officers were summoned to Walgreens due to a bomb threat and spoke with Gifford who stated that her boyfriend was going to blow up several places. Gifford was very fidgety and talking really fast. She submitted to an eye movement (nystagmus) which revealed max deviation. For her safety, she was taken into custody without incident. Bond for Gifford is $1,500 and her court date is August 18.

41-year-old Noe R Perales Vite of Ginger Drive was arrested on July 24 for domestic assault. Police were called to the residence where they spoke with the parties involved and viewed video from a camera inside the home. They determined that Vite assaulted the victim by punching and rubbing a dirty diaper in her face leaving an open wound on her chin. Vite’s bond is $3,500 and the court date is September 1.

50-year-old Marina Gae Skinner of Fisher Avenue was cited July 26 for possession of drug paraphernalia. Skinner was a passenger in a vehicle that was stopped for a traffic violation. Skinner had in her possession a clear crystal pipe with residue. Skinner’s court date is August 18.

41-year-old Jason Gary McCown of Alexandria was arrested on July 27 for public intoxication. Police observed McCown stumbling, trying to walk down East Main Street. As the officer tried talking to him, McCown couldn’t keep his eyes open and he tripped and fell several times. Police learned that McCown had used drugs two days prior to this incident. Due to his safety and that of the public, he was taken into custody. Bond for McCown is $1,500 and his court date is August 11.

July 30, 2022
By: Dwayne Page

The early voting turnout for the August 4 elections eclipsed that of August 2018 and 2014 but not by much.

For the 14-day period from July 15-30, a total of 2,489 cast ballots in this election compared to the early voting turnout of 2,361 in August 2018 and 2,399 in August 2014. In May of this year a total of 3,579 voted in the primaries combined including 1,661 on election day, 1,815 during early voting, and 103 by absentee.

According to the DeKalb County Election Commission, a total of 1,933 cast ballots in the Tennessee Republican Primary and 417 in the State Democratic Primary while 138 voted only in the DeKalb County General Election without participating in either state primary during the 14 day early voting period.

The early voting turnout for the Municipal elections is as follows: Smithville-644, Alexandria-65, Liberty 44, and Dowelltown-29.

During the last day of early voting Saturday, July 30 a total of 209 voted including 201 in person and 8 by absentee. In the state primaries, 161 voted Republican and 34 Democrat with 14 voting only in the General Election. Forty-one cast ballots in the Smithville Municipal Election, 2 in Alexandria, 3 in Dowelltown, and 1 in the Liberty Municipal Election.

Here is the early voting turnout by precinct:

Alexandria-174

Temperance Hall-86

Liberty-200

Snow Hill-126

Church of God-495

Rock Castle-2

Courthouse-459

Johnson Chapel-70

County Complex-290

Keltonburg-150

Blue Springs-100

Church of Christ Annex-337

Total-2489

Election Day voting (August 4) will be at all 12 precincts in DeKalb County from 8 a.m. until 7 p.m. WJLE will have LIVE election return coverage and LIVE interviews with candidates when the polls close at 7 p.m.

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