Who will it be? (View video here)

February 23, 2024
By: Dwayne Page

Who will it be?

See video on our youtube channel

Three men wanting to fill a county commission vacancy in the 6th district made their intentions known during a commission committee meeting of the whole Thursday night at the county complex.

Each of the candidates, Danny McGinnis, Bruce Parsley, and Andy Pack were given three minutes to address the commission. Another name, Cindy Childers had been expected to be in the running, but she did not attend Thursday nights meeting.

“I have been a resident of the 6^th district all my life,” said McGinnis. “I was elected (county commissioner) in 1998 and served until 2002. I was where each of you are now. During that time we elected a new county mayor and a new commissioner in the 6^th district. During my tenure we built a school (Northside Elementary) and the jail (Jail Annex) and never raised property taxes. We also borrowed one million dollars to help (former Road Supervisor Kenny Edge) put the roads in better shape. Also during my tenure as commissioner, I pretty well circled the district and checked on the dumpsters and got both dumpsites or convenience centers at Keltonburg and Belk, and we got a fire department at Belk during my tenure. In closing I want to say I hope the commission can put politics aside and go with experience,” said McGinnis

“I live in the Jefferson community in the 6^th district,” said Parsley. “I have been a lifelong resident of DeKalb County and in the 6^th district for 40 out of 52 years. My wife and I have five kids and five grandkids, soon to be six grandkids. Most of you already know me and know where I stand on things. I just appreciate your vote,” Parsley said.

“I live at 1685 Corinth Church Road,” said Pack. “I have lived there all my life. I actually built a home behind my mom and dad’s place there now. I work at Middle Tennessee Natural Gas. I have been there 23 years. I have always wanted to give something back to my community, so I volunteer my time as a volunteer firefighter. I have done that for 18 years. I operate a cattle farm. We started out with three acres and are blessed to now have a 120-acre farm that my family and I operate. My wife and I have been married for 22 years. We have three children. One of them is a senior in high school. Another is a sophomore, and we have one in kindergarten. Throughout my career and the businesses on my cattle farm I operate, I have found you have to be in tune with loss prevention and planning. I have taken pride in that at my employment. I am on the safety committee. We try to recognize issues and before it becomes a bigger issue, we try to resolve those. I think my whole life and through the positions I have found myself in with my careers has somewhat prepared me for this. I try to let my faith guide me in my decisions. I didn’t act on instinct or impulse for this position. I discussed it with my family and on President’s Day it hit me that this is a role I could fill and be productive for the county especially for my district. I come here to ask for your nomination and your vote,” said Pack.

The county commission is expected to appoint someone to fill the vacancy at the next regular monthly meeting on Monday, February 26th at the Mike Foster Multipurpose Center Auditorium at 6:30pm. The vacancy was created last month with the resignation of Justin Adcock, who was elected to this four-year position in August, 2022.

The appointee will be sworn into office and serve for six months until the August County General Election in which someone will be elected to complete Adcock’s unexpired term which ends August 31, 2026.

Administrator of Elections Dustin Estes has announced that the office of County Commission District 6 will be on the August 1, 2024 ballot to fill the unexpired term. This election will be held in conjunction with the 2024 DeKalb County General Election.

County parties may certify a candidate by caucus by the qualifying deadline 12 NOON April 4, 2024.

Independents may now pick up petitions.

February 23, 2024
By: Dwayne Page

Honoring the memory of three local dedicated public servants.

During Monday night’s monthly meeting, the County Commission will consider adopting a resolution in support of State Representative Michael Hale’s efforts in the Tennessee General Assembly to pay tribute to former Liberty Mayor J. Edward Hale, Jr., former Sligo Marina manager and employee Darwin Gard, and Joseph Bowen, former DeKalb County Sheriff’s deputy and at the time of his death member of the Lebanon Police Department. Representative Hale’s plan is for the state to name Sligo bridge in memory of Gard; to name the unnamed bridge on Highway 70 near Dowelltown for Bowen; and to name the stretch of Highway 70 within the town limits of Liberty in honor of the late Mayor Hale.

Bowen, age 28, lost his life in a crash in the predawn hours of March 1, 2018 on Highway 70 at Dowelltown while returning home from work. The bridge to be named is near where Bowen died. Again, this bridge is currently unnamed and is not to be confused with the Dry Creek Bridge on Highway 70 which is named for the late PFC Billy Gene Anderson who was killed in May 2010 while serving in Afghanistan.

From the early 1970s until his death in December 2017 at the age of 85, the name Darwin Gard and Sligo Marina were synonymous. For many years Gard was manager of the boat dock and later stayed on as an employee until his retirement in July, 2015. Mr. Gard was a retired veteran of the Air Force, serving from 1950-1971, he served in the Korean and Vietnam War. Darwin was a professional fisherman for Hydra Sport and Winner Boats. He was a well-known and respected fishing guide on Center Hill Lake lovingly known as “The King of Center Hill.”

From the time of his first election in 1971 until his passing in May, 2013, J. Edward Hale, Jr., age 95, served as mayor of Liberty. At 42 years, Mayor Hale held the distinction at the time of having been the longest serving public official in DeKalb County. During his time in office Hale was credited with having worked to improve streets and sidewalks, restore local landmarks, and preserve history for future generations. Even before his time as mayor, Hale found other ways of serving the public. Hale spent many years as an educator in the school system and he once held a rural carrier position in the postal service. It was for his years of leadership and devotion to his community and county that in 2013 Hale was presented the Leadership DeKalb “Legacy Award” during the annual membership banquet of the Smithville-DeKalb County Chamber of Commerce.

Although the county commission no longer names county roads and bridges in memory of others, County Mayor Matt Adcock said it doesn’t preclude the commission from giving support for the naming of state highways and bridges by the Tennessee General Assembly if requested by state lawmakers.

“I know we have talked about not naming roads and bridges but State Representative Michael Hale reached out to me because these are state bridges and highways. The state does have the authority to name bridges and highways. When he (Hale) got to the chairman of the committee at the state level, he (committee chairman) wanted to see at least some community support for this (request) and that is the reason they are asking us (county) to adopt a resolution in support of the state naming these bridges and Highway 70 at Liberty,” said Adcock.

February 23, 2024
By: Dwayne Page

The county’s three judicial commissioner positions are up for re-appointment.

During Monday night’s monthly meeting, the county commission is expected to re-appoint Tammy Ashburn, Joy Whitman, and Gerald Bailiff to new one-year terms.

Duties of the Judicial commissioners include processing the following: Criminal summons for the general public; Orders of protections; signing all arrest warrants for the Smithville, Alexandria, and DeKalb County Sheriff’s Departments, Tennessee Highway Patrol, Edgar Evins State Park Rangers, and TWRA Officers; signing search warrants and search warrants for blood draws; signing Mittimus; setting bonds; speaking with every person who has been arrested; answering any and all calls from the public; and attending certification classes three days each year with no pay for hours attended.

Judicial Commissioners are subject to call at all hours of the day and night when on duty. Only one judicial commissioner works at a time during a one-week period on call for 168 hours. They rotate their weeks one week on duty and two weeks off.

The county commission has the sole authority in appointing judicial commissioners and terms may be from one to four years according to state law. For several years the county has had a judicial committee to vet and recommend applicants for appointment to the county commission. The committee is made up of Sheriff Patrick Ray, County Mayor Matt Adcock, Circuit Court Clerk Susan Martin, General Sessions/Juvenile Court Judge Brandon Cox, and Assistant District Attorney General Greg Strong.

Each judicial commissioner is paid $14,900 per year.

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