State Representative Michael Hale Seeks to Have Two Bridges and Portion of Highway 70 at Liberty Named in Memory of Three Public Servants

February 23, 2024
By: Dwayne Page

Honoring the memory of three local dedicated public servants.

During Monday night’s monthly meeting, the County Commission will consider adopting a resolution in support of State Representative Michael Hale’s efforts in the Tennessee General Assembly to pay tribute to former Liberty Mayor J. Edward Hale, Jr., former Sligo Marina manager and employee Darwin Gard, and Joseph Bowen, former DeKalb County Sheriff’s deputy and at the time of his death member of the Lebanon Police Department. Representative Hale’s plan is for the state to name Sligo bridge in memory of Gard; to name the unnamed bridge on Highway 70 near Dowelltown for Bowen; and to name the stretch of Highway 70 within the town limits of Liberty in honor of the late Mayor Hale.

Bowen, age 28, lost his life in a crash in the predawn hours of March 1, 2018 on Highway 70 at Dowelltown while returning home from work. The bridge to be named is near where Bowen died. Again, this bridge is currently unnamed and is not to be confused with the Dry Creek Bridge on Highway 70 which is named for the late PFC Billy Gene Anderson who was killed in May 2010 while serving in Afghanistan.

From the early 1970s until his death in December 2017 at the age of 85, the name Darwin Gard and Sligo Marina were synonymous. For many years Gard was manager of the boat dock and later stayed on as an employee until his retirement in July, 2015. Mr. Gard was a retired veteran of the Air Force, serving from 1950-1971, he served in the Korean and Vietnam War. Darwin was a professional fisherman for Hydra Sport and Winner Boats. He was a well-known and respected fishing guide on Center Hill Lake lovingly known as “The King of Center Hill.”

From the time of his first election in 1971 until his passing in May, 2013, J. Edward Hale, Jr., age 95, served as mayor of Liberty. At 42 years, Mayor Hale held the distinction at the time of having been the longest serving public official in DeKalb County. During his time in office Hale was credited with having worked to improve streets and sidewalks, restore local landmarks, and preserve history for future generations. Even before his time as mayor, Hale found other ways of serving the public. Hale spent many years as an educator in the school system and he once held a rural carrier position in the postal service. It was for his years of leadership and devotion to his community and county that in 2013 Hale was presented the Leadership DeKalb “Legacy Award” during the annual membership banquet of the Smithville-DeKalb County Chamber of Commerce.

Although the county commission no longer names county roads and bridges in memory of others, County Mayor Matt Adcock said it doesn’t preclude the commission from giving support for the naming of state highways and bridges by the Tennessee General Assembly if requested by state lawmakers.

“I know we have talked about not naming roads and bridges but State Representative Michael Hale reached out to me because these are state bridges and highways. The state does have the authority to name bridges and highways. When he (Hale) got to the chairman of the committee at the state level, he (committee chairman) wanted to see at least some community support for this (request) and that is the reason they are asking us (county) to adopt a resolution in support of the state naming these bridges and Highway 70 at Liberty,” said Adcock.

February 23, 2024
By: Dwayne Page

The county’s three judicial commissioner positions are up for re-appointment.

During Monday night’s monthly meeting, the county commission is expected to re-appoint Tammy Ashburn, Joy Whitman, and Gerald Bailiff to new one-year terms.

Duties of the Judicial commissioners include processing the following: Criminal summons for the general public; Orders of protections; signing all arrest warrants for the Smithville, Alexandria, and DeKalb County Sheriff’s Departments, Tennessee Highway Patrol, Edgar Evins State Park Rangers, and TWRA Officers; signing search warrants and search warrants for blood draws; signing Mittimus; setting bonds; speaking with every person who has been arrested; answering any and all calls from the public; and attending certification classes three days each year with no pay for hours attended.

Judicial Commissioners are subject to call at all hours of the day and night when on duty. Only one judicial commissioner works at a time during a one-week period on call for 168 hours. They rotate their weeks one week on duty and two weeks off.

The county commission has the sole authority in appointing judicial commissioners and terms may be from one to four years according to state law. For several years the county has had a judicial committee to vet and recommend applicants for appointment to the county commission. The committee is made up of Sheriff Patrick Ray, County Mayor Matt Adcock, Circuit Court Clerk Susan Martin, General Sessions/Juvenile Court Judge Brandon Cox, and Assistant District Attorney General Greg Strong.

Each judicial commissioner is paid $14,900 per year.

February 22, 2024
By: Dwayne Page

A 25-year-old woman and former unlicensed daycare operator originally indicted in 2023 by the DeKalb County Grand Jury on charges of child abuse and aggravated child abuse of children ages 9 months and 13 months appeared for sentencing today (Thursday) in Putnam County Criminal Court.

Karlee Madison Dickens, also known as Karlee Madison Wagner of Smithville entered a plea to two counts of child abuse and received a total sentence of six years to serve at 100%. She was given a four-year sentence in one case and two years in the other. The two cases are to run consecutively for a total of six years.

Dickens had originally been indicted on one count of aggravated child abuse and two counts of child abuse.

The case against Dickens was recently transferred to Putnam County on a change of venue motion and had been scheduled for trial next week. Judge Wesley Bray took the plea Thursday.

In a statement to WJLE in April 2023 at the time of the indictment, District Attorney General Bryant Dunaway stated that “The DeKalb County Grand Jury met on April 3, 2023 and heard testimony regarding allegations of child abuse. The Grand Jury found probable cause that the criminal offenses were committed and issued a True Bill of Indictment charging Karlee Madison Dickens (also known as Karlee Madison Wagner), age 24 with the following offenses: Aggravated Child Abuse, a Class A felony by causing serious bodily injury to a child under the age of 8. And two (2) Counts of Child Abuse, each count being a Class D felony by causing injury to a child under 8 years of age. Karlee Madison Dickens (also known as Karlee Madison Wagner) was arrested on April 4, 2023 and booked into the DeKalb County Jail,” said DA Dunaway.

In the aggravated child abuse case, the indictment alleges that Dickens, AKA Wagner abused a nine-month-old child resulting in serious bodily injury on or about May 19, 2022 thereby committing the offense of aggravated child abuse. The child’s date of birth is July, 27, 2021.

In the two-count indictment for child abuse, Dickens AKA Wagner is alleged to have inflicted injury on a 13-month-old child between the dates of August 8-12, 2022 and on or about August 17, 2022 thereby committing the offense of child abuse. The child’s date of birth is July 2, 2021.

The prosecutor in the case was Assistant District Attorney General Jessica J. Krebs and Brandon S. Griffin was the defense attorney for Dickens.

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