Incumbent Constable Paul Cantrell to Seek Re-election

October 29, 2019
By: Dwayne Page

A total of four constable candidates have now picked up qualifying petitions for the March 3 DeKalb County Democratic Primary.

The latest is Paul Cantrell, an incumbent constable in the 4^th district, who is seeking re-election.

The other three as WJLE has previously reported are Waylon Kyle in the 1^st district, Mark Milam in the 5^th district, and Johnny King in the 7^th district. Milam and King are incumbents seeking re-election.

All four men have already returned their petitions to the election commission in order to become a qualified candidate.

Meanwhile Tom Duggin, as WJLE previously reported, has picked up a petition to seek the Democratic nomination for Assessor of Property in the March 3 primary.

Local primaries will be held in conjunction with the Presidential Preference Primary on March 3.

“The DeKalb County Democratic Party will hold a primary for the office of Assessor of Property and Constable in all seven districts,” said Administrator of Elections Dennis Stanley. “The Republican Party will select their nominees for those offices by caucus.” In addition, both local parties will hold a primary for the office of Criminal Court Judge Part II in the 13^th Judicial District.

“I understand it can be a little confusing to the voters and candidates,” Stanley said, “but in simple terms Democratic candidates for Assessor of Property, Constable and Circuit Court Judge must qualify by petition and they are now available. Republican candidates for Circuit Court Judge only must qualify by petition. The other offices are chosen by another party method.”

He also reminded potential Independent candidates that they must qualify by the petition process and can obtain a petition beginning at the same time, even though they would not appear on the ballot until August.

Here are the key dates for the March 3, 2020 election:

Qualifying deadline—Noon December 12

Voter registration deadline—February 3, 2020

Early Voting period—Feb. 12 through February 25, 2020

October 29, 2019
By: Dwayne Page

Almost two months after learning that Omega Apparel would be closing its doors in Smithville, county and city leaders have reached a deal with a new apparel manufacturer to begin operations there. The transition could begin as early as this week.

During Monday night’s monthly meeting, County Mayor Tim Stribling announced to the county commission that the California based company has signed a two year lease including renewal options with the county industrial development board and City of Smithville which own the buildings located near downtown.

The parent company is a textile manufacturer with 30 plus years of experience and has operations in Mexico and Taiwan as well as the United States producing first quality sports apparel and other garments.

Stribling did not disclose the name of the manufacturer nor provide any further details about the operation saying the President of the company would make a statement about his plans at a later time. He did praise all those involved in helping him secure this deal.

“County Attorney Hilton Conger, Smithville Mayor Josh Miller, City Attorney Vester Parsley, and I have worked hard on this over the last month and I want to thank them for their help. This gentleman flew in here from California and initially met with me, Mr. Conger and representatives of the Upper Cumberland Development District to work out the details and draw up a lease. Things went quiet for a while and we didn’t hear back from him but on Thursday Mr. Conger got word that things were about to happen quickly and informed me that we needed to move on it so the lease was signed today (Monday). It’s a two year lease with two-2 year renewable options for a total of six years. This is good news for the county. It will keep people employed so the factory will not have to close completely and open back up,” said County Mayor Stribling.

In September, officials of Omega Apparel informed its employees that the company had decided to close its Smithville operation. After one worker asked why, a spokesman reportedly said the plant was closing due to a large previous debt too big to overcome.

Although Omega had contracts with the federal government to manufacture military apparel, it produced other product lines too according to an employee who spoke with WJLE but asked not to be identified.

“We had the contract for the Navy dress blues, the women’s white slacks and the last cut of the Armed Services uniform skirt,” he said. However, the plant was also under subcontract with an east Tennessee company to produce parkas, some for the military and some commercially.

Repeated phone call requests to talk with company officials in September went unanswered and WJLE was not able to confirm the allegation of a large debt.

Omega Apparel began operation here in 1994 and later changed ownership. It reportedly employed approximately 130 people.

October 28, 2019
By: Dwayne Page

The County Commission has taken the first step toward keeping the DeKalb County Jail and Annex from being decertified by the Tennessee Corrections Institute.

During its regular monthly meeting Monday night, the commission voted to authorize County Mayor Tim Stribling and Sheriff Patrick Ray to sign a letter requesting a partnership between the county, TCI, and the County Technical Advisory Service (CTAS) to develop a plan of action for addressing deficiencies found during a recent state inspection of the jail and annex.

In a meeting with the County Mayor and County Commission Thursday night, Sheriff Ray said TCI officials have given assurances that the jail and annex will continue to maintain certification, provided the county seeks a remedy through a “plan of action” in cooperation with TCI and CTAS.

However, County Mayor Stribling explained Monday night that entering into a partnership with TCI and CTAS to come up with plan of action does not commit the county to building a new jail.

“We (Sheriff and County Mayor) need to sign a letter or form more or less stating that DeKalb County will look at a plan of action concerning the DeKalb County Jail. Its not a plan of action to build a new jail. We don’t necessarily know what the plan of action is,” said County Mayor Stribling.

A “plan of action” allows a facility to maintain a certified status after failing to meet all minimum standards while demonstrating to the TCI Board of Control that the facility is making measurable progress over a period of time (months or years) to rectify deficiencies found during inspection.

Sheriff Ray must appear before the TCI Board of Control in Nashville on December 4 to announce the county commission’s decision on seeking a “plan of action”.

Although TCI wants to hear from the county, Stribling said there is no cause for concern.

“I will tell you that Friday morning I spoke to a gentleman named Bob Bass of the Tennessee Corrections Institute. He said don’t fret over this. He is coming down on November 18^th to take a look at the jail. He will meet with the Sheriff and me. I talked to him about the plan of action and he said ‘I will write you a plan of action. I will be with you every step of the way’. I also spoke with the Clay County Mayor and they are under a plan of action now and have been for about six years. This is just a step we have to take to satisfy TCI and CTAS,” said County Mayor Stribling.

Several findings were identified during a state inspection of the jail on August 22 and while a follow-up inspection on October 4 revealed some of the issues had been addressed, others remain which will require a longer term fix.  Although many of these same deficiencies have existed for years, both the jail and annex have consistently passed annual state inspections until this year.

Tennessee Corrections Institute (TCI) under the authority of T.C.A. 41-4-140, is required to establish minimum standards for adult local jails, lock-ups, workhouses and detention facilities in the state. The agency’s Board of Control establishes the standards to inspect and certify local correctional facilities. Inspections and re-inspections are conducted within the mandated timeframe to ensure compliance of all standards for the purpose of certification.

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