News - WJLE Radio

Memorial Service Scheduled for Jessica Stephens

November 15, 2018
By: Dwayne Page

As investigators continue to probe her cause of death, a memorial service for 28 year old Jessica Whitworth Stephens will be Saturday.

Visitation will be held at Smith Funeral Home in Woodbury on Saturday, November 17 from 12-2 pm. Funeral services will follow in the Smith Funeral Home chapel at 2 pm. James McDonald will officiate.

Stephens passed away unexpectedly on Monday, November 12. She was born in Murfreesboro on March 30, 1990 but had spent most of her life in Woodbury.

Her body was found in a backyard on Parkway Drive in Smithville near Federal Mogul Monday morning. Through fingerprints, investigators were able to identify her. The cause of death will be determined following the completion of the autopsy and toxicology report.

The case remains under investigation by the DeKalb County Sheriff’s Department and Tennessee Bureau of Investigation.

Stephens is survived by her father, Harold L. Whitworth of Woodbury and his special friend, Debbie Butrum of Murfreesboro; daughters, Khloey Stephens and her father, Zach Stephens of Lebanon, Lakelyn Mae Stephens and McKenzie Stephens and their father, George Holder of Shelbyville; brothers, Tyler Whitworth and Gary Whitworth both of Woodbury; a sister, Nikki Whitworth of Woodbury; and several nieces and nephews.

Jessica was a playful, fun-loving person, and a caring mother. She enjoyed taking her girls camping and fishing. She also loved to teach them how to cook and bake. Just being outdoors in nature gave her a lot of peace and joy. She was more at home playing in a creek than swimming in a pool. She had a caring spirit, which translated well into her training as a certified nurse’s assistant. She took classes while she was in high school, so she could start working. She graduated from Cannon County High School in the Class of 2008. Right after graduating she went to work for the Woodbury Health and Rehabilitation Center for a couple years. She loved helping elderly people and continued to work in other nursing homes.

She had a strong will and determination about things she wanted. She felt she could overcome or do anything. Her faith in God and belief in Jesus were very strong. As her family struggles to deal with the loss we ask for prayers for strength, peace, and comfort. Hold on to those memories no one can take away.

Hendrixson Remains Forecasters’ Fearless Leader (SHOW AIRS TODAY)

WJLE’s Fearless Forecasters Jeff James, Donny Green (guest),Will Graham, John Pryor, Ricky Atnip, Chad Kirby, Dewain Hendrixson, Grant James, and Scott Brown. Darrell Gill (not pictured)

November 15, 2018
By: Dwayne Page

WJLE Fearless Forecaster Dewain Hendrixson still has the lead going into the 12^th week of the college football season.

Hendrixson has an overall record of 108-56.

Darrell Gill is in second place at 105-59, three games back followed by Scott Brown at 100-64, eight games out. Grant James of the James Gang is nine games out of first place at 99-65. Will Graham is ten games back at 98-66. Chad Kirby is eleven games out of first place at 97-67 followed by Ricky Atnip 96-68, twelve games back. John Pryor is thirteen games back at 95-69 and the Guests are sixteen games back at 92-72.

Meanwhile Scott Brown, John Pryor, and Dewain Hendrixson each had the best record for the week at 11-4 followed by Grant James of the James Gang, Darrell Gill, and Chad Kirby each at 10-5. Ricky Atnip and the guest DCHS Lady Tiger Coach Danny Fish each went 9-6, and Will Graham was 8-7.

Two forecasters hit their underdog picks last week. Scott Brown picked Tennessee to upset Kentucky and got 6 points. John Pryor picked Northwestern to beat Iowa and got 10 points.

Overall Will Graham and Scott Brown each have the most underdog points at 41 followed by Grant James of the James Gang with 38 points, Ricky Atnip has 24.5, John Pryor 21.5, the guests 20, Darrell Gill 14, Dewain Hendrixson 11, and Chad Kirby 5.

Today (Thursday) the Forecasters will be picking winners in the following games:

Iowa State at Texas, Michigan State at Nebraska, West Virginia at Oklahoma State, USC at UCLA, Wisconsin at Purdue, Miami at Virginia Tech, Arizona State at Oregon, Stanford at California, Virginia at Georgia Tech, Cincinnati at UCF, Louisiana Tech at Southern Miss, Syracuse at Notre Dame, Ole Miss at Vanderbilt, Missouri at Tennessee, and in the NFL the Tennessee Titans at Indianapolis.

Today’s special guest is DCHS Tiger Football Coach Steve Trapp.

Catch the Fearless Forecasters on WJLE today (Thursday) at 4:30 p.m. on AM 1480/FM 101.7 and LIVE streaming at www.wjle.com.

The program is sponsored by the Charles D. Atnip Realty and Auction Company, Middle Tennessee Natural Gas, Liberty State Bank, DeKalb County Insurance, Gill Automotive, Love-Cantrell Funeral Home, and DeKalb County Ace Hardware.

Petitions circulating to relocate cell tower proposed for Dowelltown

A 200 foot cell tower overlooking Dowelltown is proposed the last sloping hill on left, in this valley which also contains the Snows Hill battlefield.

November 15, 2018
By:

Concerned residents of DeKalb County are circulating and signing petitions to relocate a proposed 200 foot cell tower beyond Dowelltown, away from the Snows Hill Battlefield, the county’s most historic site, and out of the valley from Snows Hill, a local scenic landmark.

The fact they can even exercise that right is a fluke. When an alert citizen was surprised to see sections of the Dowelltown tower on site, he inquired when and where the required public notice and invitation for comments had appeared. He learned the engineering firm had run that notice in the Carthage newspaper, rather than the Smithville Review, DeKalb County’s paper of record.

He immediately contacted the FCC, asserting citizens here were being denied their right to know and weigh in on a project which would impact their lives, as required in the application process. The agency agreed, put the project temporarily on hold and opened up the comment period. The public notice appeared in the the classified section of this week’s Smithville Review, page 5C and the delivery deadline for comments is November 28, 2018.

Anyone interested in signing or obtaining a paper petition can text Amy Potter for Dowelltown(615 418-6220), or Lucas Antoniak(754 227-3064) for the battlefield/scenic landmark petition. You can also sign a digital petition here (or visit http://www.tinyurl.com/savethevalley) It has already been signed by more than 200, including visitors to our area from around the nation and the world.

Unfortunately for those in the Alexandria area, the tower on Old Liberty Road was already up and operating before it was discovered the required public notice ran in Carthage, rather than the Smithville Review, thereby denying local citizens their right to know and comment .

And, public notice for a third tower from the same company, NTCH-West, appeared in this week’s paper. It is planned for Choctaw Ridge Road near the intersection of Highways 70 and 53 and Liberty’s Historic District, listed in the National Register of Historic Places.

Anyone concerned about these projects is encouraged to check the public notices and comment within the deadline period.

For additional photos of the valley, please visit http://www.instagram.com/snowshillvalley

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