Army Sergeant Surprises His Children At School With Homecoming (View Video Here)

September 18, 2019
By: Dwayne Page

After spending ten months on deployment in Iraq, it was finally time for U.S. Army Guard Sergeant Jake Merriman to return home and he decided to make it extra special this morning (Wednesday) by surprising his children at school.  

US Army Guard Sergeant Jake Merriman surprises his son from dwayne page on Vimeo.

The homecoming surprise was actually arranged by Sergeant Merriman’s wife Joyce who knew in advance that he would be arriving today but had not told their kids. 

Still dressed in uniform, Sergeant Merriman made his first visit to his 12 year old daughter Hailee, a sixth grader at DeKalb Middle School. He arrived in a pickup truck escorted in parade fashion from DeKalb Market by the Smithville Police and Fire Departments. Hailee stood outside with other students as the motorcade pulled up in front of the school, unaware of the surprise awaiting her. After spotting her father, Hailee ran toward the truck to greet him. 

Hailee later said in the beginning she  wasn’t sure why the police and fire departments had  come to school  and speculated that it was to put on a safety education program.

About an hour later, Sergeant Merriman went to Northside Elementary School dressed as the school’s Eagle mascot to surprise his 10 year old son Austin, a fifth grader as he and other students were eating lunch in the cafeteria. After sitting down at the table beside Austin, Sergeant Merriman removed the Eagle mascot head and then father and son embraced with Austin’s mother and sister looking on. 

An eleven year veteran of the service, Merriman began his military career in the US Marine Corps and later the U.S. Army.  

During this deployment in Taji, Iraq, Sergeant Merriman was a Transportation NCO for the Area of Operations. His duties included overseeing the movement of equipment in and out of Iraq, Kuwait, and Syria. 

Sergeant Merriman said it is great to be home again and especially with his family after ten months of being away from them.

September 18, 2019
By: Dwayne Page

DeKalb County High School senior Daniel J. Puckett has been named a Commended Student in the 2020 National Merit Scholarship Program.

Principal Randy Jennings made the announcement Tuesday.

A Letter of Commendation from the school and National Merit Scholarship Corporation, which conducts the program, will be presented by the principal to Puckett

Puckett is one of about 34,000 Commended Students in the nation who are being recognized for their exceptional academic promise. Although they will not continue in the 2020 competition for National Merit Awards, Commended Students placed among the top 50,000 scorers of more than 1.5 million students who entered the 2020 competition by taking the 2018 Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test.

“Those being named Commended Students have demonstrated outstanding potential for academic success,” a National Merit spokesperson said in a statement. “These students represent a valuable national resource; recognizing their accomplishments, as well as the key role their schools play in their academic development, is vital to the advancement of educational excellence in our nation. We hope that this recognition will help broaden their educational opportunities and encourage them as they continue their pursuit of academic success.”

September 18, 2019
By: Dwayne Page

Smithville Police recently arrested a man after he was caught on camera trying to break into a car.

30 year old Allen Robert Lester of 2155 Students Home Road is charged with burglary. On August 25, Police were called to a residence on Foster Road where a car alarm that had gone off earlier in the morning.  Video from a security camera showed Lester putting his arm in through the window of the car and unlocking the door trying to open it but he ran off after the car alarm sounded. His bond is $4,500.

24 year old Randy Lee Beechler of 259 Wildwood Road was cited on August 21 for a violation of the open container law. Employees of KFC/Taco Bell called central dispatch after spotting Beechler with an open beer in his lap  as he stopped at the drive-thru. Upon arrival, the officer walked up to Beechler’s vehicle and saw an open bottle of Corona on the driver’s side floor board. His city court date is October 1

50 year old Aaron John Moore of Florida and 33 year old Dyanne E. Rose of Arizona were arrested on September 6 for simple possession of methamphetamine. While on routine patrol early that morning, police spotted Moore and Rose sitting in a vehicle on Martin Street. With this being a suspected a high drug trafficking area, the officer stopped to investigate but the driver, Moore was not cooperative and would not give his name when asked for identification. Moore’s identity was established as the officer verified the vehicle tag through central dispatch. The officer learned that Rose, seated in the back seat, was getting a ride from Moore. When she stepped out of the vehicle, the officer noticed a hypodermic needle laying in the back seat. A search of the vehicle revealed a small black bag in the middle console which contained a small baggie which contained 1 gram of methamphetamine and two hypodermic needles. A search of Rose’s purse revealed 1.5 grams of a clear crystal-like substance believed to be meth. Bond for both Moore and Rose is $5,000 and their court date is September 26.

40 year old Amy Beth Lankford of Carthage was arrested on September 1 for simple possession of a schedule II and two counts of simple possession of a schedule IV drug. During a routine traffic stop Lankford was found to have 0.3 grams of Methamphetamine, a blue pill believed to be Xanax and a yellow pill believed to be Diazepam that she tried to hide in her pants. While speaking with the officer, a white bottle containing the pills fell from her pants. Lankford could not produce a prescription for the medication. Her bond is $6,500 and she will make a court appearance on September 26.

37 year old Eric Daniel Fish was arrested for DUI on August 30. Police were called to a crash that day on Bright Hill Road and upon arrival spoke with Fish, who had been driving one of the vehicles involved in the accident. The officer noticed his pupils were constricted. Fish submitted to field sobriety tasks but performed poorly. He was then taken into custody. Bond for Fish is $1,500 and his court date is September 26.

26 year old Andrew Jordan Elmore was arrested on September 1 for DUI and cited for speeding. Police spotted a vehicle traveling 63 miles per hour in a 40 mph zone before making a left turn at an intersection without being in the turning lane. The officer initiated a traffic stop and spoke with the driver, Elmore. He observed an odor of alcohol coming from inside the vehicle. Elmore’s eyes were red and bloodshot and his speech was slurred. Elmore submitted to but performed poorly on field sobriety tasks. Police learned that Elmore had consumed a couple of drinks at the Midnight Express prior to this incident. Bond for Elmore is $1,500 and his court date is September 26.

57 year old William Doyle Flarity of 9107 Holmes Creek Road was arrested on August 17 for a second offense of DUI. While traveling on East Broad Street a white truck driven by Flarity veered into the oncoming lane of a police officer. The officer then turned around and followed the vehicle and noticed that it failed to maintain its lane of travel by crossing the line several times. After pulling the vehicle over, the officer spoke with Flarity and detected an odor of alcohol coming from inside the vehicle. As Flarity got out of the vehicle the officer could also smell the odor of alcohol on his person. Police learned that Flarity had just left Turtle’s Bar & Grill. Flarity submitted to but performed poorly on field sobriety tasks. His bond is $3,000.

60 year old Ricky Tramel was arrested on August 19 for Resisting Stop, Frisk, Halt, Arrest, or Search. Police were called to Wal-Mart in reference to a shoplifter. Upon arrival the officer confronted the suspect, Tramel and ordered him to sit down and wait while he spoke with the Wal-Mart employee about the incident. Tramel then took off running and would not heed commands to stop. The officer got back in his patrol car and followed Tramel to a residence on Anthony Avenue where Tramel had to be forcefully placed in custody. Bond for Tramel is $3,500.

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