A DeKalb County man is beginning his law practice after recently passing the Tennessee Bar Exam.

Luke Willoughby of Alexandria took the oath Thursday, April 19 administered by Circuit Court Judge Randy Kennedy of the 20th Judicial District.

Willoughby, a lifelong resident of DeKalb County, is the son of Mark and Marilyn Willoughby of Alexandria. He graduated from DeKalb County High School in 2009 and furthered his education at Carson-Newman University in Jefferson City. After graduating in 2013, Willoughby attended the Nashville School of Law where he earned his Doctorate of Jurisprudence.

He will be associated with attorneys Michael Castellarin, Chris Hofstetter, and Michelle Poss in Nashville at 95 White Bridge Road, Suite 509.

“I am very honored to be associating with such well regarded attorneys. All three of them are top notch in their respective fields. Working with Michelle has been a wonderful experience especially with us both being from DeKalb County. She is a 1987 graduate of DeKalb County High School and I have worked with her throughout law school over the past 4 years. Even though our practice is based in Nashville we would both love to assist the folks of DeKalb County with their legal matters,” said Willoughby.

“Becoming a lawyer is an exciting time in my life, but I could not have made if it were not for others who helped me out along the way. Both the DeKalb County 4-H program and FBLA at DeKalb County High School shaped me into the person I am today. I am very thankful that Ron Rogers, Steve Officer and Amanda Brown saw that a loud mouth kid from Alexandria needed to compete in public speaking contests. It is because of them I found my passion for advocating for people and their rights,” he concluded.

Two persons have filed the necessary paperwork to run as a write-in candidate for Mayor of Alexandria in the Municipal Election on Thursday, August 2.

Incumbent Mayor Bennett Armstrong will be a write-in candidate for re-election but he will face a challenge from write-in candidate Donna Davis.

No one qualified by the April 5 filing date to get their name on the ballot to run for Mayor.

Meanwhile only one candidate qualified to run for alderman in Alexandria, Lloyd Dyer. Three full term alderman seats are to be filled along with two unexpired vacant alderman positions in the August 2 election.

“In order for write-in ballots to be counted, a form must be filed no later than noon on the 50th day before the election with the local election commission office,” said Administrator of Elections Dennis Stanley.

The DeKalb County Jail and Jail Annex have again met minimum standards for certification by the Tennessee Corrections Institute.

Sheriff Patrick Ray said the TCI recently performed an inspection of the Jail and the Annex.

(CLICK PDF LINK BELOW TO READ INSPECTION REPORT)

News Release.pdf (458 KB)

In a letter to Sheriff Ray, TCI Executive Director Beth Ashe, wrote ” the TCI recently inspected the facilities. The inspection revealed that this facility meets all applicable minimum standards. This status shall be reported to the board of control at its next meeting. After approval from the board of control, you will receive a certificate of certification. You are to be congratulated for attaining this degree of professionalism in your organization,” wrote Ashe.

Detention Facility Specialist Joe Ferguson, in the report wrote that the jail was not overcrowded and no deficiencies were found.

The DeKalb County Jail and Annex have a certified capacity of 102 beds including 78 for men and 24 for women. The average daily population is 91 (3 months). There were 70 inmates incarcerated on the day of the inspection.

Sheriff Ray says the jail has maintained certification each year of his terms as sheriff and he gives credit to members of his staff for helping him achieve this accomplishment.