Qualifying Deadline Six Weeks Away for Elections to County Offices

January 4, 2018
By: Dwayne Page

The qualifying deadline is six weeks away for candidates planning to run for county wide offices or positions on the county commission in 2018.

The last day candidates may qualify to run is NOON February 15, 2018. That applies to Democrats, Republicans, and Independents.

DeKalb County Democrats will be nominating candidates in a primary set for May 1. Republicans will nominate candidates by caucus (date not yet announced). Nominees of both parties and any independents will run in the August General Election. Winners will take office September 1 and serve for four years.

Thursday, February 1 is the deadline for sheriff candidates to file an affidavit of qualification with the Peace Officer Standards and Training Commission (POST) and for county road superintendent candidates to file an affidavit of qualification with the Tennessee Highway Officials Certification Board.

The following county offices are up for election in 2018: Road Supervisor, County Mayor, Circuit Court Clerk, Sheriff, Register of Deeds, County Clerk, and Trustee and for the county commission in each of the seven districts (two per district for a total of 14).

Those positions are currently held by the following:
Road Supervisor: Butch Agee- Republican (not seeking re-election)

County Mayor: Tim Stribling-Democrat

Circuit Court Clerk: Katherine Pack- Democrat

Sheriff: Patrick Ray-Republican

Register of Deeds: Jeff McMillen-Democrat

County Clerk: James L. (Jimmy) Poss-Democrat

Trustee: Sean Driver-Republican

Current County Commissioners:
First District:
Mason Carter-Republican
Julie Young-Democrat

Second District:
Jimmy Midgett-Independent
Joe Johnson-Democrat

Third District:
Jack Barton-Democrat
Bradley Hendrix-Democrat

Fourth District:
Wayne Cantrell-Democrat
Jonathan Norris-Democrat

Fifth District:
Anita Puckett-Democrat
Jerry Adcock-Republican

Sixth District:
Jeff Barnes-Democrat
Betty Atnip—Democrat

Seventh District:
Kevin Robinson-Democrat
Larry Summers-Democrat

Those who have obtained petitions to date are as follows:

• Bobby Johnson-County Commissioner, 3rd District (petition returned and verified)
• Beth Pafford-County Commissioner, 7th District
• Wayne Cantrell-County Commissioner, 4th District, Incumbent
• Joe Johnson-County Commissioner, 2nd District, Incumbent
• Larry Summers-County Commissioner, 7th District, Incumbent
• Mike Foster-County Mayor
• Tim Stribling-County Mayor, Incumbent
• Bradley Hendrix-County Mayor
• Kevin Robinson-County Commissioner 7th District, Incumbent
• Nora Harvey-County Commissioner 2nd District
• Jack Barton-County Commissioner 3rd District, Incumbent
• Scott Little-County Commissioner 4th District
• Jeff Barnes-County Commissioner 6th District, Incumbent
• Betty Atnip-County Commissioner 6th District, Incumbent (petition returned and verified)
• James L. (Jimmy) Poss-County Clerk, Incumbent (petition returned and verified)
• Jimmy Sprague-Road Supervisor (petition returned and verified)
• Jeff McMillen-Register of Deeds, Incumbent
• Nicole Wright-Circuit Court Clerk
• Mark Milam-Circuit Court Clerk (petition returned and verified)
• Julie Young-County Commissioner 1st District, Incumbent
• Bobby R. Taylor-County Commissioner 4th District

Republicans who plan to seek their party’s nomination include:

• Trustee Sean Driver, Incumbent
• Sheriff Patrick Ray, Incumbent
• Danny Hale for Road Supervisor
• Reed Edge for Road Supervisor
• Susan Martin for Circuit Court Clerk

January 4, 2018
By: Dwayne Page

Governor Bill Haslam has declared January 21-28, 2018 as School Board Appreciation Week in Tennessee.

“This week helps build awareness and understanding of the vital functions our locally elected boards of education play in our community,” said Haslam.

The DeKalb County School System is joining public school districts from across the state to celebrate School Board Appreciation Week and honor local board members for their commitment to DeKalb County and its children.

“The school system is the backbone of our community, and these men and women devote countless hours to making sure our schools are helping every child”, said Director of Schools Patrick Cripps.

“There is no greater honor that can be bestowed upon a citizen than membership on a local board of education. They spend countless hours studying the issues and regulations and make the tough decisions when called upon to ensure the type of accountability people expect,” he said.

Director Cripps said the key work of school boards is to raise student achievement by: Creating a vision for what the community wants the school district to be and for making student achievement the top priority; Establishing standards for what students will be expected to learn and be able to do; Ensuring progress is measured to be sure the district’s goals are achieved and students are learning at expected levels; Being accountable for their decisions and actions by continually tracking and reporting results; Creating a safe, orderly climate where students can learn and teachers can teach; Forming partnerships with others in the community to solve common problems; and Focusing attention on the need for continuous improvement by questioning, refining and revising issues related to student achievement.

͞”Our local school board shapes the future of education in DeKalb County by influencing the high-quality of education that our children and youth receive. The DeKalb County school board shows its commitment to educational excellence and equity and for that we are very grateful for their attitude of service,” said Cripps

The members serving our district are as follow
First District: Danny Parkerson
Second District: Jerry Wayne Johnson
Third District: Jim Beshearse
Fourth District: Kate Miller
Fifth District: W.J. (Dub) Evins, III
Sixth District: Doug Stephens
Seventh District: Shaun Tubbs

January 4, 2018
By: Dwayne Page

The Tennessee Department of Transportation still has plans to improve Highway 56 south in DeKalb County and into Warren County but construction is months away and will be done in three phases instead of two once it gets underway.

Plans for this overall project have been in the making for more than ten years.

Originally, TDOT planned to build a new four- lane highway from south of the Warren County line (in Warren County) to near Magness Road in DeKalb County but later changed the plans to a new two-lane road (typical section) with twelve foot lanes and ten foot paved shoulders and passing lanes along the 3.30 mile existing alignment.

TDOT’s plans still call for a new two-lane but the highway could eventually be expanded to four-lanes in the future.

“In the 3.3 mile section from south of the Warren County line to Magness Road TDOT will build two lanes of the future four-lane. We already acquired the property necessary to construct the four-lane road, and as future traffic warrants, TDOT will construct the remaining two lanes. As soon as the new Environmental Document is complete, we can let this section to contract,” Jennifer Flynn, TDOT Community Relations Officer told WJLE Thursday.

The second phase of the project is tentatively scheduled for a bid letting later this year.

“State Route 56 from near Magness Road to East Bryant Street in Smithville has property already acquired for a four-lane divided highway. We will build two lanes and as we approach town, tie to the existing five-lane. This project will have stream mitigation issues that we are trying to resolve now. This project is scheduled for a late 2018 construction letting,” said Flynn.

Meanwhile, a new section has been added to the project.

“We will add a new section south of the first project that will be a 1.3 mile widening project from near State Route 287 to south of the Warren County line. This will be included in the new Environmental Document. We will need to update survey data and start the preliminary plans. This section will have 30 to 35 tracts of property to acquire, and our Project Development Director said that it will likely be a stand alone project due to time to acquire the property and develop plans,” Flynn said.

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