New Permanent Drug Take Back Box Now Available in Alexandria

January 5, 2018
By: Dwayne Page

There’s a safe place for old prescription drugs, and it’s not in the medicine cabinet.

Thanks to the DeKalb Prevention Coalition, two permanent drop boxes are now available in DeKalb County for you to dispose of old or unwanted prescription medications in order to keep potentially unsafe medicine from hurting children, fueling drug abuse or polluting the environment.

The newest drop box location is inside the Alexandria City Hall building. It’s available to anyone during normal business hours at city hall but especially to residents in the Alexandria, Liberty, and Dowelltown communities. The other drop box is at the Smithville Police Department inside the City Hall building. It has been available to the public for over four years.

The drop-off points are part of the DeKalb Prevention Coalition’s effort to bring more awareness to safe medication storage and help citizens dispose of pills or other medications they don’t need anymore.

“The first step is to make people, especially parents, aware of the problem. If we’re able to help one family through education, awareness and the practical solution these drop boxes offer, it’s absolutely worth doing this program,” Lisa Cripps, Coordinator of the DeKalb Prevention Coalition told WJLE Thursday.

“Last fall we met with Alexandria Police Chief Chris Russell and asked if he would be interested in having a drop box for medications in the western end of our county. He said he would love to have that so we started the paperwork in the fall and we got approval of it by October. The drop box has been mounted at city hall and became ready for use in December. We deposited our first medications Thursday. I’m thrilled to have it there for the people of Alexandria, Liberty, and Dowelltown and even surrounding counties,” said Cripps.

According to Cripps, DeKalb County is fortunate to receive a second drop box.

“The state gets so much money every year for the drop boxes and you have to apply for those. They only awarded five or six this year across the state so we were really lucky to get one of those. We put our application in early and felt like we had a good chance for it,” she said.

“Having two drop box locations in this county is going to be wonderful. We have the one at the Smithville City Hall and its great. We have used it a whole lot and we will continue to use it a lot. But its really good to have one in the western part of the county close to where people in the rural areas don’t have to travel longer distances,” Cripps said.

“If anyone has a loved one who has passed away and they don’t know what to do with their prescriptions bag it up and bring it in to the Smithville City Hall or the Alexandria City Hall and dispose of that medication. We know that prescription medications are a part of everybody’s life but if it is unused or out of date, drop it off at one of our drop boxes to keep it environmentally safe,” Cripps concluded.

The DeKalb Prevention Coalition also helps sponsor a local effort on National Prescription Drug Take Back Day every April and October to encourage residents on those days to come out and drop off any unwanted, unneeded, or expired prescription medication for safe disposal at city hall in downtown Smithville.

January 5, 2018
By: Dwayne Page

Until recently, the purchase of a new boat in Tennessee required the owner to take the bill of sale to the local courthouse to account for taxes. After having made that trip, another was required to complete the registration process required for new boats.

Using technology provided by the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency’s license vendor, boat owners can now complete the second step, registering their new boat, using home computers or smart phones.

“You could always mail in your new boat registration paperwork, but so many people are anxious about getting everything done at once, “ said Susie Spriggs, TWRA License Division chief. “ Now a new boat owner can complete the process without having to visit a second office or wait for the mail.”

Once taxes have been taken care of, completing a new boat registration requires visiting www.tnwildlife.org and clicking on the “Boat Registration” menu atop the agency’s website.

“It’s a simple process,” she said. “Just follow the application prompts and in a few minutes you will have your boat registered. A registration card and decal will be in the mail two business days following approval.”

“Once those taxes have been taken care of, you can register a boat online for up to three years,” said Spriggs. She also noted that boat registrations could be set up to automatically renew, further removing any time spent on the renewal process.

The TWRA is the agency that enforces boating laws in Tennessee, which includes checking that boats are properly registered when on the water. While new boat registrations have also required several steps to finalize, boat registration renewals have been easier to complete.

She did point out that registration and hull identification numbers (HINs) are important in the application procedure. The agency has been updating thousands of incorrect hull numbers, which could create an online issue for some boaters attempting to register boats. If a hull number has not been updated, the registration cannot be completed. However, the agency will receive a message to contact the boater.

“Applicants should make sure to add a telephone number and email address to the customer profile,” urged Spriggs. “We will provide as much help as possible.”

January 4, 2018
By: Dwayne Page

Petitions for five school board seats and spots in all the county’s four cities will be available beginning Friday, January 5. That’s according to Dennis Stanley, DeKalb County Administrator of Elections.

“The school board and all city office holders run as non-partisan candidates so the qualifying deadline is different than the other county offices,” Stanley said. “Those candidates will not be on the ballot until August and no primary elections are held for those seats.”

Up for election will be school board seats in Districts 1, 2, 3, 4 and 7. Those positions are currently held by Danny Parkerson in the 1st district, Jerry Wayne Johnson in the 2nd district, Jim Beshearse in the 3rd district, Kate Miller in the 4th district, and Shaun Tubbs in the 7th district.

City seats up for grabs, pending any resignations/vacancies, are: In Smithville the Mayor and two aldermen seats currently held by Mayor Jimmy Poss and Aldermen Jason Murphy and Gayla Hendrix; in Dowelltown three aldermen seats (Brad Driver, Keith Farler, and Ron Griffith were elected to those positions in 2014); in Liberty the Mayor and five aldermen seats currently held by Mayor Dwight Mathis and Aldermen Dwayne Blair, Jason Ray, Howard Reynolds, Jr., J.D. Bratten, and Todd Dodd and in Alexandria the Mayor and three aldermen seats now held by Mayor Bennett Armstrong and Aldermen Matt Boss, Danny Parkerson, and Eddie Blair. Another alderman will be elected to fill a two year unexpired term. Mac Willoughby currently holds that position after the recent resignation of Kelly Pyburn.

Qualifying petitions for these races must be returned by Noon April 5.

In addition, candidates interested in running for the 17th Tennessee Senatorial District and State Houses 40 and 46 have the same qualifying deadline. Those positions are currently held by State Senator Mark Pody and State Representative Terri Lynn Weaver in district 40. The Wilson County Commission will convene January 10 to appoint a successor to Pody as State Representative of district 46 who will serve until the general election in November.

Following is a list of key dates related to the first two elections in 2018:
DeKalb County Democratic Primary, May 1, 2018
Petition date—Available now
Qualifying deadline—Noon February 15
Voter registration deadline—April 2
Early voting period—April 11 through April 26

County General Election, Municipal Elections, and Tennessee Primary August 2, 2018
Petition date—Available January 5
Qualifying deadline—Noon April 5
Voter registration deadline—July 3
Early voting period—July 13 through July 28

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