Police Charge Vance with Assault and Resisting After Investigating Noise Complaint

September 23, 2018
By: Dwayne Page

A Smithville man accused of threatening an officer with a knife has been charged with assault and resisting arrest.

According to Smithville Police Chief Mark Collins, 49 year old Michael Lynn Vance of 632 Crestlawn Avenue was arrested on Friday, September 14 after police were dispatched to Vance’s residence due to a noise complaint. Upon arrival the officer found Vance intoxicated. Vance was ordered to go inside his residence or risk being arrested but he became aggressive and advanced toward the officer holding a knife.  After refusing to heed the officer’s commands, Vance  was taken to the ground. He continued to resist but was subdued and taken into custody.  Bond for Vance is $8,500 and his court date is October 4.

Meanwhile, two people were cited for several drug offenses after they were found passed out with narcotics on them in a vehicle at Green Brook Park

49 year old Eva Dover of 214 Rolling Acres Road and 39 year old Paul Willingham of 107 East Webb Street were cited for possession of methamphetamine,  12 counts of simple possession, and possession of drug paraphernalia. Police were called to Green Brook Park where two people were observed passed out in a parked vehicle.  Upon arrival the officer found and awoke Dover, who was on the passenger side, and Willingham who was in the driver’s seat. After obtaining consent to search the officer found in a Hardees bag on the passenger floor board, a pill bottle that contained a crystal-like substance believed to be approximately 2 grams of methamphetamine. In the passenger car door were 1.5 pills and in Dover’s purse were 27 pills, all believed to be Amphetamine, Dextroamphetamine, Acetaminophen, and Oxycodone Hydrochloride.  Dover was issued a citation for possession of methamphetamine and three citations for simple possession.  In the driver’s side door was a cigarette filled with a green leafy substance believed to be marijuana and in Willingham’s front left pocket were a plastic bag containing a green leafy substance believed to be marijuana with a total approximate weight of 9 grams and a glass pipe and 2 ink pen shells containing residue.  In Willingham’s front right pocket were 21 pills believed to be Amphetamine, Dextroamphetamine, Acetaminophen, Oxycodone Hydrochloride, Alprazolam,  and an Oxymorphone Hydrochloride extender release. Willingham was issued a citation for possession of drug paraphernalia and 8 citations for simple possession.  Neither Dover nor Willingham could produce a prescription for the pills.

65 year old Charles Owen Blanchfield Jr. of Dowelltown was arrested on Thursday, August 23 for driving under the influence and he was cited for implied consent. Blanchfield was involved in a motor vehicle accident at 505 South Congress Boulevard. He appeared to be unsteady on his feet with slurred speech, and he had an odor of alcohol on his person.  It was discovered that Blanchfield had consumed about 3 beers. He submitted to but performed poorly on field sobriety tasks. Blanchfield was arrested without incident.  After Blanchfield refused to submit to implied consent  for a blood test, police obtained a search warrant for a blood sample.  Bond for Blanchfield is $1,500.

23 year old Ruben Alavez Mejia of 117 Meadow Brook Drive was cited on Monday, August 27 for driving under the influence, no driver license, failure to exercise due care, and violation of financial responsibility. Police responded to the bridge at the intersection of Broad and South Mountain Street where Mejia had crashed his vehicle head on into the bridge.  Mejia was passed out at the scene. After being awakened, Mejia was unable to stand on his own. His eyes were blood shot and he had a strong odor of an alcoholic beverage on his person. He was transported to the emergency room of the hospital.

43 year old Steven R Halcomb of McMinnville was arrested on Friday, August 31 for public intoxication. Police received a call concerning a possible intoxicated individual in the parking lot of Mapco Express.  Officers  spoke with the suspect, Halcomb who appeared to be under the influence.  His  speech was slurred. He had an odor of alcohol on his person and he was unsteady on his feet.  It was discovered that he had been drinking beer a couple of hours prior to this incident.  He was taken into custody without incident.  His bond is $1,500.

55 year old Davey Wayne Fox of 633 Cill Street was arrested on Sunday, September 2 for driving under the influence.  Police found Fox passed out at the wheel of his vehicle while parked half way in the travel lane at Wal-Mart.  Fox was awakened and asked to step out of the vehicle. Fox was unsteady on his feet. His eyes were glossy and he had an odor of an alcoholic beverage about his person and breath.  Fox submitted to but performed poorly on field sobriety tasks. He was taken into custody without incident.  His bond is $2,500.

35 year old Jackie Blake Sanders of 627 Highland Street was cited for shoplifting on Thursday, September 6. Sanders allegedly concealed a knife in his pocket with the intent to deprive O’Reilly Auto Parts of its merchandise.

26 year old Micah Gabrille Heckman of Lutts, Tennessee was cited for simple possession and drug paraphernalia on Friday, September 7. While on routine patrol, police spotted a man with a flash light looking in a truck. The officer stopped and spoke with the man, Heckman.  As the officer asked if he had anything illegal on him, Heckman tried to hide a syringe in a blanket.   He was also found to have in his possession a marijuana grinder, and a folding gold mirror with a crystal-like substance on it which field tested positive for methamphetamine (approximately 0.2 grams).

23 year old Lindsey Hunter King of McMinnville was arrested on Saturday, September 8 for driving under the influence and she was cited for simple possession,  a driver license violation,  financial responsibility, and failure to maintain lane of travel.  Police observed a vehicle operated by King make an illegal u-turn in the middle of West Broad Street and it failed to maintain its lane of travel by turning from the west bound to the east bound lane.  The officer stopped the vehicle and spoke with the driver, King, whose speech was slurred and she appeared to be slightly disoriented.  King submitted to and performed poorly on field sobriety tasks.  King had an odor of alcohol coming from her person from three shots of whiskey she had consumed a short time earlier.  A search of  her person incident to arrest revealed a baggie containing approximately 0.35 ounces of a green leafy substance believed to be marijuana.  King’s bond is $1,500.

49 year old Michael Edmiston of Rockvale was arrested on Saturday, September 8 for driving under the influence, possession of a handgun while under the influence, and he was cited for implied consent. Police were called to check on a possible drunk driver on West Broad Street and spotted the vehicle weaving in the roadway.  By the time the officer caught up with the automobile, it had turned into the parking lot of a business on West Broad Street.  Before the officer pulled up to the vehicle, Edmiston had already got out of the automobile to urinate.  Edmiston had an odor of alcohol on his person. He was unsteady on his feet, and  his speech was slurred. Edmiston  submitted to and performed poorly on field sobriety tasks but he refused to give blood for testing. A loaded Ruger .380 caliber handgun was found in his vehicle.  Bond for Edmiston is $6,500 and his court date is September 27.

42 year old Larry Kevin Murphy of 429 Jackson Street was arrested on Monday, September 10 for a third offense of driving on a suspended license and he was cited for violation of financial responsibility. After Murphy hit a parked vehicle in the parking lot of McDonalds, he was found to be driving on a suspended license although he did have auto insurance.  Murphy was arrested instead of being given a citation because he had been involved in another accident previously on August 18 resulting in major vehicle damage.  Murphy had been warned at that time not to be driving. Murphy’s bond is $4,500 and his court date is September 27.

49 year old Randall Eugene Tittle and 44 year old Randall Tittle of 1105 Earl Avenue and 34 year old Brandi Renee Beckham of 3291 Sparta Highway were cited for simple possession. Police  spotted a  suspicious vehicle with its headlights off parked behind a closed business and stopped to conduct a welfare check.  Inside the vehicle were two males and a female After receiving consent to search, police found Eugene Tittle in possession of a plastic bottle which contained 5 tan colored capsules believed to be Gabapentin.  Randall Tittle had in his possession a plastic bag with a white pill identified as Methadone. Beckham was found to have in her possession 9 tan colored capsules believed to be Gabapentin.  Neither of them could produce a prescription for the pills.  Their court date is September 27.

42 year old Larry Kevin Murphy of 429 Jackson Street was arrested on Sunday, September 16 for driving while suspended.  Police observed Murphy operating a motor vehicle on West Broad Street.  Knowing that Murphy did not have a license, the officer pulled him over.  Murphy’s license were suspended for failure to pay fines for an original violation on October 29, 2012 in Cannon County.  Murphy was taken into custody  due to the likelihood that he would continue to drive without a license. Murphy’s bond is $6,500 and his court date is October 4.

September 22, 2018
By: Dwayne Page

Federal-Mogul celebrated its 40th Anniversary in Smithville with a company picnic Saturday on the grounds of the facility at Grizzly Lane.

Hundreds of employees and their families turned out for the celebration to enjoy food and to participate in a health fair, games and children’s activities, along with a car, truck, and motorcycle show

“We are celebrating our 40 year anniversary manufacturing brake pads in Smithville. We hope for at least 40 more years. We currently have just under 500 employees working for us on a total of three shifts, five days a week and we do some Saturday work. We make automotive brake pads for Ford, Chrysler, and GM,” said Jeff Simons, Plant Manager for Federal Mogul Motor Parts, Smithville.

IMG_1388 from dwayne page on Vimeo.

September 22, 2018
By: Dwayne Page

If you can imagine it, you can achieve it.

Students at DeKalb County High School are putting that often quoted inspirational maxim by writer William Arthur Ward into practice these days with the addition of a Makerspace at the school library or what is now known as the media center.

Funded by a $10,000 grant, the Makerspace transitions the school library from a traditional setting to a more modern learning environment providing students the opportunity to explore creativity and enhance critical thinking skills and problem solving through Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) disciplines. In the Makerspace, students have the ability to create things using 3D printers, Robotics, virtual reality technology, and more. A multitude of materials are available for students to explore and innovate on their own terms expanding the library’s reach beyond being merely a place where books are housed to a full-service learning, research, and project space.

Students can make things from key chains to musical instruments through the technology. The Makerspace provides hands-on, creative ways to encourage students to design, experiment, build and invent as they deeply engage in science, engineering and tinkering.   It is truly an environment where students are only limited by their imagination. It mixes all aspects of STEM–Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math–and sprinkles it with imagination for creation and exploration and may help influence and inspire students for a future career path based on their interests.

School administrators hosted a luncheon and Ribbon Cutting Thursday at DCHS to make the formal announcement of the new Makerspace and to show it off to business, government, and civic leaders of the community.

Dr. Kathy Bryant, Supervisor of Instruction, said the idea for a Makerspace at DCHS came from math teacher Amy Fricks. The concept was pitched to fellow members of the School District’s 19 member STEM Leadership Team but it was during a STEM conference in May when the dream started to become a reality after Fricks and fellow math teacher Cody Burton were made aware of grant funding.

(VIDEO BELOW SHOWS School Board member Shaun Tubbs observing students in the DCHS media center/library/ makerspace operating robots “Linda” and “Terry” from Ipads. The robots can be made to talk, move their heads, and move across the floor. The demonstrations show students how robotics can be used for fun as well as for industrial use in factories.

IMG_1290 from dwayne page on Vimeo.

“We went to a STEM conference this past spring in Nashville and over lunch with a couple of people there, Ms Fricks and I talked to them about our ideas of what we wanted to do here. They  asked us how much money we would need. We said any amount would be appreciated.  They said what about $5,000? But right before we left Mr. Jim Russell suggested that we write a proposal for a $10,000 grant, funded through Bicentennial Volunteers Incorporated (BVI), a TVA retiree non-profit organization. We worked with Dr. Bryant and got a fully comprehensive grant application sent within a couple of days and learned soon afterward that the grant had been approved,” said Burton, member of the STEM Leadership Team

“You are so lucky to get this grant. The reason we perked up when we heard from you is because you have young people who are teaching with a passion in a rural community that have a dream,” said Rachel Crickmar, TVA STEM Education Program Manager. Mr. Russell, BVI President, met with a couple of your teachers (Burton and Fricks) at a conference and was real impressed with their innovation and ideas and future thinking. This was a grant BVI gave the school based on their proposal (for the Makerspace), said Crickmar.

After receiving the grant, Fricks said the school began obtaining the equipment for the Makerspace and located it in a portion of the library. Although some books were removed to make room, the library still has an ample supply.

“When they came up with this idea, I thought it was great. We were going to make more use of the room (library). I found a man we were able to donate some of the books to. He was able to recycle those books and send them to other school districts that could actually better utilize them. Those books were antiquated and it was time they found a new home. We have kept and made a special place for the memorial books to honor those who have donated books to us,” said Lisa Craig, Library and Media Center Specialist.

Burton said the Makerspace is intended to help prepare students for their future careers.

“We are supplying these students with skills they can use post secondary. That is not just including the future collegiate students. We are prepping students for the workforce. We are trying to make sure they are exposed to the technology and have the creativity, self sufficiency, and reliancy to do these things on their own. We want them to come in here and explore these things which will prep them for whatever post secondary they decide to do. It is really a continuation of what our Career and Technical Education program has already been doing for our students. We are preparing them for the workforce,” he said.

“We identified the major sectors our students typically go into (careers) and we tried to add equipment and technology (for Makerspace) to start training them in those basic skills and expose them to things they are going to see in those industries,” said Fricks, member of the STEM Leadership Team.

“One our largest industries in Tennessee is automotive manufacturing. That industry is moving more toward 3D printing of parts for vehicles. If you can imagine assembling a car that took 18 parts previously there may have been up to 18 different manufacturing subcontractors. Now those parts can be printed as one piece. In order for us to survive in these small communities with automotive manufacturing we have to get on board with what the technology is because the fact is a lot of these manufacturing facilities are moving toward having a bunch of 3D printers so if they are going into that field, our students need to be exposed to that. We are now on the cutting edge of technology at DCHS and our kids are getting to see a lot of things that students in other schools are not seeing. They can now carry those skills with them and make an informed decision after they graduate what they might want to do next,” Fricks said.

Assessments through the Makerspace will also be helpful to students in choosing a future career path.

“I received a work based learning grant last year and we had some industries that helped us with it and those who donated money to us. We were able to establish a career center within the Makerspace. The career center has 12 computers with 24 inch monitors that we use. We will be doing career assessments on students. Where they are and need to be and what classes they need to take. It will be a good tool for the kids especially coming in as a freshman to assess and get them on the right path for a career especially a STEM Career. STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics)  covers about every career you can think of. I want to be here for businesses and industries and I need their input and what they can do for our programs to better help us send out students ready and prepared,” said Brad Leach, Career and Technical Education Director at DCHS.

Since its launch with the start of the school year, the Makerspace has been a big hit and students and teachers are making good use of it.

“Students come in here all the time now. They love the 3D printers and robots. They even come in here during their lunch time so they can use the sound recording. Everything is technology based. We needed to get on board the technology train and that’s what we have done with this Makerspace. It’s pretty awesome,” added Craig.

“We have several teachers now who bring their classes in here and take advantage of the technology we have. We want the Makerspace to be a central hub in this school where students in all areas can come together,” said Fricks.

Jenny Norris, Assistant DCHS Principal said she is grateful to all those who helped bring this new technology to the school.

“This has been a big collaborative effort not only from the teachers and staff in the building but district and county wide. The school coordinated health program got some flexible seating for students to use while they are in here (library). Ms Fricks, Mr. Burton, Dr. Bryant, and Ms. Craig have worked really hard alongside Mr. Leach to get this equipment. They have been really dedicated to this. It has come along very quickly and its going to be a really good thing for our students. We’re now exposing them to music recording software, virtual reality, robotics,  and other things that they were before not being exposed to in the classroom,” she said.

Dr. Bryant said plans are now to expand the opportunities provided by the Makerspace and STEM to other students in the school system.

“We are hosting Stem Nights. We have two this year. One is coming up very soon on October 2 from 6-8 p.m. for Pre-K through 8^th grade students. We are not limiting STEM or the Makerspace to high school students. We are making it available to all students in the district. One way is through the STEM Night and we hope to have many community members come out and bring their children but they can even come if they don’t have children,” she said.

“We are also implementing After School STEM Programs. Mr. Burton will travel to each school once a week doing After School programs conducting STEM activities with all students in grades K-12.  Ms. Fricks will  host an After School STEM Makerspace Club on Thursdays every month. We will be hosting field trips to the Makerspace busing students from each school over here for visits and those field trips will be designed based on their (students) standards. This next year we will be hosting six field trips but we would like to increase that and build the capacity  of our teachers to come into the Makerspace and become familiar with all the technology and how to use it and teach the students how to use it at all grade levels, ” Dr. Bryant continued.

“We have a five year vision for STEM in DeKalb County and have applied for a $100,000 STEM designation grant for DCHS. We have passed our first self assessment and we have an interview next week. They will come and interview us to see what we already have implemented for STEM”.

“We are also looking to partner with NHC Health Care Center and the Webb House Retirement Center to implement an IGEM Classroom partnership where we would take students to these facilities. The students could interview some of the residents there and talk about some of their needs. The students could then create technology to take back  and show the residents. We feel that would be a fulfilling project for both the residents of the facilities and for our students,” she said.

Dr. Bryant said DCHS has taken a giant step forward in technology in a short time and she couldn’t be more pleased.

“This all started with one small dream and it has evolved into a reality for us with a lot of hard work. Three months ago Ms. Fricks said I would love to put a Makerspace in the high school one day. Three months later it happened,” said Dr. Bryant.

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