City Asked to Create and Fund Two New Police Officer Positions

April 26, 2023
By: Dwayne Page

More police officers

Smithville Police Chief Mark Collins is asking the Mayor and Aldermen to create two new police officer positions within the department.

Chief Collins addressed the city leaders Monday evening during a budget workshop meeting.

The city currently has 15 police department positions filled by 14 officers and an administrative assistant (records clerk). Chief Collins said the city is growing and there is a need for more officers and if the mayor and aldermen grant his request, the 2 additional officers would be assigned to night shifts. Currently there are only 2 nighttime officers and a nighttime sergeant.

“During the daytime I have 2 detectives, who do investigations, along with myself, Captain Steven Leffew, a daytime sergeant, and 2 daytime patrol officers so I don’t need any extra people on days. Nighttime is when I need them and both of these new employees would go straight to the night shift and if that is what we do (hire 2 more officers) only but 2 days a week, I would have 4 employees on all the time at nighttime which would allow us to do more,” said Chief Collins.

“We work 12-hour shifts with an “A” and “B” shift. I have a daytime sergeant and a nighttime sergeant. They work 8 hours, 5 days a week. The patrol officers work 12 hours. I have 2 on “A” shift days and 2 on “A” shift nights. I also have 2 on “B” shift days and 2 on “B” shift nights. When one crew is not working, the other one is working. They rotate where they are off every other weekend. I have 4 people actually assigned to the night shift plus the sergeant, but the 2-night shift groups never work together. When one group is working, the other is off. At night, I never have more than 3 officers working. I have the sergeant and the 2 shift officers,” he said.

In the 7 years he has been police chief, Collins said the city has grown and so has the number of calls and many of them have become more violent in nature.

“When I started (police chief) in 2015, the 911 dispatch center generated 5,143 calls to the Smithville Police Department. Last year in 2022, the 911 center generated 6,648 calls which doesn’t count traffic stops, extra patrols, or people who walk into the police department and want reports. That’s not a great increase in number over 7 years but Smithville is growing, and we (police officers) are busy all the time,” said Chief Collins.

“The nature of the calls we get are not just going to unlock a car door for someone. Nowadays, its more of a domestic here or a fight there and I don’t have enough people to go around (answering calls),” Chief Collins continued. “Two more officers, one on each shift at nighttime would really alleviate a lot of the stress on other officers and with more people there would be more production. We would be able to do more. Right now if we have 2 officers tied up on a domestic, the city has no one else to answer a call. I think 2 more employees would make the city and all the officers safer, and it would not burn them (officers already on staff) out by working them all the time. It would also save the city money because when I have to swap people around from shift to shift when someone is out, I have to pay time and a half to fill it. If I had extra people, I wouldn’t have to replace that person (someone out). I would still be a man short but I would still have enough officers to cover the city and do it efficiently,” he said.

Although the police department got a new police car this past year with another one coming soon after having been ordered almost a year ago, Chief Collins is asking that two more new police cars be funded in the new budget. The cost of the cars is expected to be $36,451 plus the city will have to include funds of up to $11,000 for each vehicle to equip them.

Chief Collins is also asking the city to set aside funds to eventually replace the police department’s 10-year-old tasers.

“We have replaced and fixed some of them but it cost about $475 to repair one, A new one is $995. The officers carry the tasers with them every day and we have had several of them (tasers) go down. None of them are down right now and I am not asking for money to replace them all I just want you to be aware of this and maybe put aside some money because if they do go down, I want to be able to order a new one and trash the old one. The tasers we have are really good and dependable but like everything else, they do wear out,” said Chief Collins.

The mayor and aldermen have not yet acted on the request.

April 26, 2023
By: Dwayne Page

Watch your speed!

Smithville Police Chief Mark Collins is asking the city to budget funds for radar speed indicator signs. Collins addressed the mayor and aldermen during a budget workshop Monday night.

These are portable digital devices which can be moved from place to place to show motorists how fast they are traveling. Chief Collins said it’s a great tool to warn speeders to slow down.

“These are electronic speed radar signs. We could hang them anywhere in the city. Lets say you have a problem with speeding on West Main Street, you could hang this sign out. It won’t issue a ticket or record a license plate but it shows people who may not be paying attention just how fast they are going,” said Chief Collins.

“I had these when I was police chief in Alexandria, and they really worked well. For 2023, we can buy 2 of these signs for $6,199. It might cost a little more to get extra brackets, but it won’t be much extra,” he said.

“These signs will show your speed and if you go over the speed limit the signs will start flashing to get your attention to slow down. These signs can be hung on light poles, street signs, or other places. They are very mobile but very effective,” he said

“If I were to put one on West Main Street for example and leave it there for a week, I’ll be able to go in, look at this, and see how big of a speeding problem we have there. If there is a problem I’ll send the officers out there with pencils (citations) and we will really be able to deal with it,” said Chief Collins.

The mayor and aldermen have not yet acted on Chief Collins’ request.

April 25, 2023
By: Dwayne Page

A DCHS champion high jumper is about to take a big leap to the college ranks.

Ally Beneke, 19-year-old senior and daughter of Jerry and Kim Beneke, made her commitment to Tennessee Tech official during a brief signing event Tuesday at DCHS.

Beneke became a State Champion last year on May 26th at the TSSAA-DI AAA track meet. During that competition Beneke jumped a height of 5 feet 6 inches to claim the title. Beneke had the number one seed going into the competition of 5 feet 7 inches and that still remains a personal record for her.

In fact, she repeated that high jump feat just this week according to her coach, Jeremy Wilhelm.

“Ally is magnificent. Yesterday (Monday) she jumped 5 feet 7 inches and that tied her school record which she set last year and that has put her in the top 25 in the country with that distance. She will only get better as the season goes along,” said Coach Wilhelm.

Since DCHS doesn’t have enough players for a program of its own, eight players from DeKalb County compete in the Warren County High School Track and Field program under a cooperative agreement between the two schools. Wilhelm is the Track and Field Head Coach and Kristen VanVranken of DeKalb County is the assistant Coach.

Beneke and her family moved to DeKalb County only two years ago from Michigan when she was a sophomore. Even as a young child, Beneke said she discovered her talent for the high jump and grew to love it.

“I have been jumping since elementary school. They had an event called a field day and that’s when I first jumped 4 feet and got the school record so ever since I have been doing it and I have loved it and succeeded in it,” said Beneke.

As far as her future, Beneke said while she hasn’t settled on it yet she plans to study something in the medical field or maybe computer science while at Tennessee Tech.

In the meantime, Beneke is high jumping with excitement about heading off to college to compete. “I can’t wait. I am really looking forward to joining the track team. They have already shown so much support to me and I can’t wait to get started,” she said.

Until then, Beneke will be looking to earn more honors before her high school career comes to a close.

“We are preparing for our sub-sectionals and sectionals and Ally has a big meet on Thursday at the 23rd Annual Great 8 Track & Field High School Invitational in Nashville,” said Coach Wilhelm.

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