McMinnville Man Charged by Smithville Police with Solicitation and Contributing to Delinquency of Minor

August 8, 2024
By: Dwayne Page

A McMinnville man has been arrested by Smithville Police for contributing to the delinquency of a minor and solicitation of a person under age 18 as a result of an undercover investigation.

31-year-old Toby Denton Pack is under a $12,500 bond and his court date is August 22.

Police Chief Mark Collins said that during a recent investigation of a runaway detectives determined that Pack gave the juvenile a ride from Smithville to Warren County further preventing a safe return to her family or law enforcement.

“Also, Pack, through a “snap chat” solicited an undercover law enforcement officer posing as a 14-year-old female to come to his house for sexual favors”, said Chief Collins.

“During an interview, Pack admitted to these charges,” he concluded.

August 8, 2024
By: Dwayne Page

Is it time for the county to establish zoning regulations for oversight in the development of certain land uses such as quarries, cell towers, pallet yards, junk yards, chicken farms, etc?

A year ago, the county commission considered but failed to adopt a “County Powers Act” resolution as well as one to establish and enforce regulatory standards regarding health and safety conditions of residential and non-residential properties within the confines of DeKalb County outside the boundaries of the municipalities which already have codes and ordinances.

The idea was to prevent or eliminate dangerous and or unsanitary conditions resulting from overgrown vegetation, accumulation of debris, trash, litter, and garbage, or the presence of vacant dilapidated buildings or structures. Although DeKalb County currently has no zoning regulations in place, the “County Powers Act” gives counties, without establishing zoning, the authority to set and enforce standards for county property owners with respect to nuisances and other practices deemed detrimental to their neighbors.

The issue of the need for regulations is being raised again, at least by one concerned citizen in the Snow Hill community after discovering only a week ago, along with his neighbors, that a concrete company was conducting blasting operations near their homes in preparation for the development of a quarry.
Michael Antoniak told WJLE this week that he was surprised to learn after contacting state officials that oversight authority over issues such as this is left largely to the county government. In DeKalb County there is no such oversight authority or regulations.

“Right now if someone has a decent amount of land next to you they can do pretty much anything they want until they get up against a state regulation or a federal regulation! So, if you have moved here from somewhere else you might be shocked to know that there is nothing in place to protect the haven you have come here for,” said Antoniak. “We have no kind of zoning restrictions and no way of even knowing what or why something is there until we see for ourselves”.

“This should be a wake up call that our government is not doing it’s job by not instituting zoning, planning, or some sort of restrictions,” Antoniak continued. “In most places where people go to fight something like this (quarry) is the county planning commission. They don’t go to the company…. local governments should have things in place to at least be aware of and review what is coming in or being proposed and to alert the public of what’s happening,” he said.

Antoniak said the residents of DeKalb County should contact their county commissioners if they have concerns because the public should at least know what is moving into their neighborhoods and have an opportunity to have a voice.

“No one saw this coming (quarry) because no one had to know. Ask yourself what’s next? It shouldn’t be up to someone to discover something like this. The public should have a right to speak out and that power only comes from government,” said Antoniak. “We have freedom of speech as Americans and we must exercise that speech but the power of being alerted that something is coming in or being proposed can only be given to the people through government and we don’t have it in DeKalb County”.

“In this case, this seems to be a decent company (SRM) so we will appeal to their decency and see if we can get something done about the quarry but that’s our only option because we have no one else to turn to,” explained Antoniak.

“It’s time that the county wake up. If you are concerned about what might come near you, start letting your elected officials and representatives know because we have to come out of this Stone Age. This just can’t go on,” said Antoniak.

August 8, 2024
By: Dwayne Page

Less than a week after residents in the Snow Hill area were rocked by an explosion from a concrete company doing prep work for the development of a quarry on North Driver Road, the State Fire Marshal’s office has apparently concluded that no laws were violated in regard to the blast discharge.

The state opened an investigation after receiving complaints from those who felt the blast last Wednesday afternoon including Michael and his son Lucas Antoniak who live on the Old Snow Hill Road

Unaware that the company, Smyrna Ready Mix (SRM) had even moved into the neighborhood, the Antoniaks tracked down the source of the explosion and found work underway for a 100-acre rock quarry. According to the Antoniaks, some rock from the blast was also on the highway.

Michael Antoniak, who spoke with WJLE this week, said he has since learned from the State Fire Marshal’s office that the concrete company’s blast discharge was within the legal limits and he wanted the public to be updated.

“I think in fairness, since the complaint I filed with the state has appeared in the media, often times there is no follow up. I want to set things straight because I did talk to the fire marshal who is investigating my complaint and other complaints,” said Antoniak. “Everything about that explosion down there at what’s going to be a quarry we think was well within legal bounds. If anyone felt the shock you should be aware that it was only one quarter of what they are actually allowed to do so everything they did was legal as far as I can tell. The state fire marshal found no problems so, in fairness, we have to let that be known,” he said.

Antoniak also offered some advice for neighbors in the Snow Hill area who might yet again be affected by a blasting operation.

“It’s a good idea to know that if the quarry goes in you should document everything about your house including your foundation, your basement, your water source if you are relying on a spring or well”.

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