Cracking down on unsightly and unsanitary neighborhood nuisances

August 23, 2023
By: Dwayne Page

Cracking down on unsightly and unsanitary neighborhood nuisances

The DeKalb County Commission next week will be asked to adopt a “County Powers Act” resolution and to establish and enforce regulatory standards regarding health and safety conditions of residential and non-residential properties within the confines of DeKalb County outside the boundaries of the municipalities which already have codes and ordinances.

The idea is to prevent or eliminate dangerous and or unsanitary conditions resulting from overgrown vegetation, accumulation of debris, trash, litter, and garbage, or the presence of vacant dilapidated buildings or structures. Although DeKalb County currently has no zoning regulations in place, the “County Powers Act” gives counties, without establishing zoning, the authority to set and enforce standards for county property owners with respect to nuisances and other practices deemed detrimental to their neighbors.

The recommendation for passage of the “County Powers Act” resolution is being made by the Government Services Committee of the County Commission which met Tuesday night and voted to send it on to the full commission for consideration. The commissioners will discuss it during Thursday night’s committee meeting of the whole and then take a vote on it Monday night, August 28 during the regular monthly meeting of the county commission.

According to CTAS (County Technical Assistance Service), counties in Tennessee may adopt a “County Powers Act” but must also adopt enforcement regulations to go with it. Both actions require two thirds vote of the county commission.

The proposed resolution by the county government services committee is modeled after one adopted by Putnam County in 2015.

Regulations governing the Standards are to be enforced by a hearing board and an enforcement officer appointed by the county mayor subject to confirmation by the county commission. In Putnam County, seven members make up the hearing board and they serve for four years in staggered terms. They receive no compensation or reimbursement for expenses, and all are residents of Putnam County.

According to the Putnam County regulations, whenever a complaint is filed with the Enforcement Officer or he can observe the violation from a public road, he is to investigate and then notify the property owner by personal service or certified mail. The notice of the violation must be in writing and state that the property owner is entitled to a hearing but if no hearing is requested, the violation must be remedied within 30 days of the receipt of notice. After a hearing, if the property owner is found in violation, he is subject to a civil penalty of $50 per day per offense assessed by the General Sessions Court.

The hearing board also has the authority to recruit or coordinate efforts of community organizations, neighbors, religious institutions, and or other agencies to provide assistance to persons who are not financially or physically able to comply on their own with the requirements of these regulations.

Commissioners got the idea for establishing standards after a resident on Nikki Lane off Highway 70 east in the Midway Community came before the county commission during a workshop in June to complain about the stinky, unsightly and unsanitary condition of a neighbor’s unkempt property, a problem that had persisted for months up until that time.

That complaint came on the heels of another incident in June involving a major fire of wooden pallets from a business on Highway 53 at Liberty which sent plumes of smoke into the air for hours as firefighters fought the blaze. Heat from the fire damaged utility lines and the thick smoke spread throughout the community affecting residents and livestock. Although this call may have been the largest one from this location, the county fire department has had to respond to other fires there in the past. Neither the state nor the county has been able to do anything to stop the business owner from burning the pallets.

August 23, 2023
By: Dwayne Page

A motorcycle operator was injured after his bike collided with a city John Deere Tractor & mower Monday morning on West Broad Street near Anthony Avenue.

According to the Tennessee Highway Patrol, 47-year-old Jeremy W. Whited was traveling in an eastbound lane on a 2012 Harley Davidson motorcycle as 65-year-old Eddie D. McGuire was in the other eastbound lane operating a 2008 John Deere Tractor & mower for the city. As McGuire was changing lanes, his tractor was hit by the motorcycle in the left rear tire. After impact the motorcycle skidded into the westbound lanes before coming to a final rest.

Whited was injured in the accident, but McGuire was not hurt. No charges were filed.

Members of the Smithville Police and Fire Departments were on the scene along with DeKalb EMS.

August 22, 2023
By: Dwayne Page

The DeKalb County Tigers will host the Smith County Owls in the season home opener Friday night, August 25 but the start time has been changed because of the excessive heat this week.

The kick-off time has been moved from 7 p.m. until 7:30 p.m. Friday.

The Tiger football team lost their season opener at Warren County last Friday night 34 to 27 while the Owls defeated their in-county rival at Gordonsville Thursday 25 to 19.

WJLE’s Pre-Game shows begin with “Coach to Coach” at 5:00 p.m. featuring former UT assistant coach Doug Matthews with Tennessee Titans Radio Broadcaster Dave McGinnis and broadcaster Larry Stone talking Tennessee and SEC football.

“Coach to Coach” is followed by “Murphy’s Matchups at a special time this week at 6:30 p.m., a look at Tennessee High School Football from Murphy Fair with commentary on games and coaches’ interviews.

“Tiger Talk” airs at a special time this week at 7:00 p.m. with the Voice of the Tigers John Pryor interviewing Coach Steve Trapp and Tiger football players.

Kick-off is at 7:30 p.m. with play-by-play coverage on WJLE from the Voice of the Tigers John Pryor and Luke Willoughby. Listen LIVE on WJLE AM 1480/FM 101.7 and LIVE Streaming at www.wjle.com.

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