Keneth Whitehead Announces Candidacy for Sheriff

November 2, 2021
By: Dwayne Page

A former employee at the DeKalb County Sheriff’s Department has announced his intention to run for Sheriff in 2022.

Keneth Whitehead will be seeking the Republican nomination. The DeKalb County Republican Party will be meeting soon to decide whether GOP nominees for local offices in 2022 are to be selected by caucus or at the ballot box through the primary process which would be in May, 2022. The DeKalb County General Election is in August, 2022.

Whitehead’s complete announcement is as follows:

“After much consideration and many prayers, I am excited to announce my candidacy for DeKalb County Sheriff. I am a resident of DeKalb County, Tn. I am the son of Hilda Whitehead and the late Matthew Marshall Whitehead of Baxter, Tn. I am happily married to my best friend Tina Lackey Whitehead for 26 years, who is the daughter of the late Billy and Carolyn Lackey and granddaughter of the late James and Helen Driver Hendrixson of Smithville, Tn. She is a Medical Assistant at Family Medical Center in Smithville, Tn. We have two children, Ashlee Rankhorn and Madison Whitehead. Ashlee Rankhorn is happily married to Jacob Rankhorn for 4 years and between them both have given us two beautiful granddaughters. She is a licensed Surgical Technician. Madison Whitehead is in college at Tennessee Tech University and will graduate in May of 2022 with a degree in Elementary Education and is recently engaged to Blane Elkins of McMinnville, Tn.”.

“I am a member of the Elizabeth Chapel Baptist Church. I have a passion for law enforcement, and I have been in law enforcement for 21 years. I graduated Tennessee Law Enforcement Training Academy in 2003 in the top 5 of my class. During my time, through my hard work and dedication to the DeKalb County Sheriffs Department,I have advanced from Correctional Officer, to Deputy, to Patrol Supervisor, to School Resource Officer at the DeKalb County High School, and to School Resource Officer Supervisor. I have several certifications throughout my career including firearm instructor, DUI standardized field sobriety testing training, domestic violence training, basic clandestine laboratory training, drug investigation training, national association of school resource officer training, recipient of state school resource officer of the year, and more. I am very grateful for my years at the DeKalb County Sheriffs Department”.

“I am now currently employed at Warren County Sheriffs Department as the school resource officer at Dibrell Elementary. In my spare time, I enjoy hunting, golfing, playing and coaching softball, and spending time with my family. My family and I are very blessed to have this opportunity to run for sheriff of DeKalb County”.

“If elected, I promise to be a man of integrity, honesty, dedication, and professionalism. I ask for your support and prayers throughout this journey. I am thankful for the ones who have supported me thus far, and I am looking forward to meeting you all in the upcoming months. If anyone would like to contact me, please contact me through Facebook messenger or my email at Kwhitehead7170@yahoo.com.

November 1, 2021
By: Dwayne Page

The City of Smithville is paying tribute to a long time local aviator who passed away in July.

During Monday night’s regular monthly meeting, the Smithville Aldermen voted unanimously to name the field at the Smithville Municipal Airport in memory of Wayne Hubbs. The name of the airport itself will not be changed.

Former airport manager Joe Johnson formally made the request on behalf of Roth Terrell, Chairman of the Smithville Airport Advisory Board who was unable to attend the meeting Monday night. Johnson said the airport board had gone on record to make this recommendation to the mayor and aldermen.

“We are not asking you to change the name of the airport. We are only asking that you name the field for Wayne Hubbs just like the field at the Nashville International Airport is named Berry Field,” said Johnson.

Hubbs, who had been a resident of Smithville for four decades, was not only a local pilot himself but a friend to other aviators and members of this community and a great supporter of the Smithville Municipal Airport. Flying was Wayne’s greatest passion. He could be seen regularly soaring through the skies of Smithville and beyond in “Big Red”, his beloved Magni Gyro.

“He was the nicest person you could ever meet. He served on the airport board and was active in his church and community. He did things for a lot of people,” said Johnson. “ I was airport manager for two years and he helped me in many ways. I remember he would mow around the taxiway and runway weekly. That’s three trips around at 2.1 miles each or six miles on a lawnmower not counting the rest of the yard. When something tore up at the airport he fixed it. He helped repair planes and he worked with me on getting new t-hangars built, pulling wire and putting up doors. He worked on those hangars everyday so that people could have a place to put their airplanes. He did so much for the airport that we would like to ask the city council to name the airport field the Wayne Hubbs Field,” said Johnson.

Hubbs’ daughter Sheryl May of Heimbuchenthal, Germany, who was present for the meeting Monday night, told the local media later that she is proud of this moment and her father would have been too. She added that since her father’s body had been cremated and his ashes scattered over the airport field this tribute would serve as a lasting memorial to him.

“This is my proudest moment. I know if he were here it would be his proudest moment too because that airport and the people there, like Joe Johnson and Roth Terrell, and all the others meant more to him than anything. He would do anything for anybody. You won’t hear a bad story about him,” said May.

“My dad’s body was cremated. We felt that this is what he would have wanted because before his death he had just planned his friend Jim Dorroh’s funeral. Dad planned all his financial things for my sister and me to know what to do but none of the private part such as how he would want his memorial service to be or any of those things so I had watched what he had done for his friend and thought that must be what he wanted for himself so he was cremated and his ashes were spread over the airport that he loved. He has no marker anywhere so the airport field being named after him is his marker and that is where my heart will be,” added May.

November 1, 2021
By: Dwayne Page

Four prisoners at the DeKalb County Jail have been charged with assaulting fellow inmates.

44 year old Jermaine Derperise McCoy of Smith Road, Smithville; 30 year old Jeremiah Daniel Martin of Martin Lane, Smithville; 27 year old Ronald Deshon Reeder of Smith Road, Smithville, and 40 year old Michael Chad Owens of Shady Drive, Smithville are each charged with assault. Bond for each is $5,000 and they will make a court appearance on November 18.

Sheriff Patrick Ray said that on October 22 while bringing inmates to the jail, a correctional officer heard banging on the cell door of the jail annex as he was walking through the hallway. When he opened the window flap on the cell door, the officer saw an inmate pointing toward the opposite side of the annex. Officers entered and found an inmate who had been assaulted struggling to stand against the wall as other inmates were yelling at him. After reviewing jail video surveillance footage, the correctional officer saw that McCoy, Martin, and Reeder were all involved in the assault by striking and kicking the injured inmate several times.

The charge against Owens was for a separate inmate assault on the same day.

Sheriff Ray said that on October 22 while passing lunch to inmates at the annex door, a correctional officer noticed that several prisoners in the cell had formed a circle. The officer entered the annex and found an inmate bleeding from his mouth, nose, and elbow. Owens was yelling at the injured inmate. After reviewing jail video surveillance, the correctional officer saw that Owens had been the aggressor by striking the inmate several times.

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