Two Men Including County Solid Waste Department Truck Driver Indicted for Theft of Scrap Metal

July 8, 2024
By: Dwayne Page

Two men including a former DeKalb County Solid Waste Department truck driver accused of stealing and selling for personal gain scrap metal collected at the county’s convenience sites and transfer station were named in a sealed indictment returned by the grand jury last week.

50-year-old Johnny Moore Eschman of Church Road, Lancaster and 46-year-old Derek Russell Fann of Gunter Hollow Road, Woodbury were indicted on charges of theft of property over $2,500 and Eschman for official misconduct. Bond for Eschman is $50,000 and $25,000 for Fann. They were arrested on July 2.

Eschman, who worked for DeKalb County, and Fann, an employee for Capital Waste, a company contracted to operate the county’s transfer station will be arraigned in DeKalb County Criminal Court on July 23.

Counts 1 & 3 of the indictment allege that between the dates of September 1, 2022 and May 15, 2024 Eschman did unlawfully and knowingly, while acting as a public servant, commit an offense with intent to obtain a benefit by theft and did obtain or exercise control over property, including but not limited to scrap materials valued at over $2,500 belonging to DeKalb County with intent to deprive the owner thereof and without the owner’s effective consent.

Count 2 of the indictment alleges that between the dates of November 29, 2023 and May 15, 2024 Fann did unlawfully and knowingly obtain or exercise control over property, including but not limited to scrap materials valued at over $2,500 belonging to DeKalb County with intent to deprive the owner thereof and without the owner’s effective consent.

County Mayor Matt Adcock, in a prepared statement, said Eschman has been terminated and Fann no longer works at the solid waste transfer station

“There was a report that a DeKalb County Solid Waste Employee and an employee of Capital Waste had been stealing metal materials from the County convenience sites and Transfer Station. The District Attorney’s Office was notified of the possible violation. During the investigation the District Attorney’s Office found reasonable suspicion of the accounts that were reported. One of the men was an employee of DeKalb County Solid Waste and the other was an employee of Capital Waste, which is the company that DeKalb County contracts with to operate the Transfer Station,” said County Mayor Adcock.

“Capital Waste is responsible for the waste that is collected and removed from the Transfer Station to another landfill outside of DeKalb County. The DeKalb County Government is responsible for collecting the trash in the county and bringing it to the Transfer Station. The DeKalb County employee was a truck driver for the Solid Waste Department. The Capital Waste employee was a loader operator that loaded trash into a shipping trailer,” County Mayor Adcock explained

“After the investigation was completed, the DeKalb County employee was questioned on the accounts that had been made against him. The employee confessed that he did indeed steal the metal for personal gain. After thoroughly reviewing evidence in the investigation and the confession of the employee himself, the employee was immediately terminated. The Capital Waste employee no longer works at the DeKalb County Transfer Station. DeKalb County does recycle metal for profit to offset the cost of the operation. DeKalb County profited $82,885 from the sale of recyclable metal in 2023, our last audited number. As you can see this is a significant area of funding for the County Government,” said County Mayor Adcock.

“The DeKalb County Government holds a high standard of expectation and accountability. Theft is something that is not now nor ever will be tolerated in or by DeKalb County. We must be good stewards of the county’s money and assets,” Adcock concluded.

July 8, 2024
By: Dwayne Page

Keeping the embers glowing!

Continuing a tradition started several years ago honoring an individual performer or group each year for helping keep the embers of bluegrass music glowing for future generations, the Smithville Fiddlers Jamboree Saturday evening presented the 2024 “Blue Blaze Award” to Sister Sadie right after this talented and popular all-female band put on an exciting mini concert which left the crowd wanting more.

Originally formed as a pickup band in December of 2012, Sister Sadie has reached heights beyond any of their dreams. In 2019, they won their first IBMA award as a band, Vocal Group of the Year. They debuted on the Grand Ole Opry. Their album “Sister Sadie II” was nominated for a GRAMMY. And it’s only picked up steam since then. 2020 brought with it another wave of IBMA Awards including Fiddle Player, Vocal Group & Entertainer of the Year. In 2021, The same year, the band took home a third consecutive IBMA Vocal Group of the Year award, and new member Jaelee Roberts was awarded the IBMA Momentum Vocalist of the Year award.

Now, entering their second decade as a band, the spark that they felt all those years ago burns brighter than ever before.

Sister Sadie is comprised of original members Deanie Richardson (fiddle), Gena Britt (banjo & vocals) and newcomers Jaelee Roberts (guitar & vocals), Dani Flowers (guitar & vocals), and Maddie Dalton (acoustic bass & vocals).

This dynamic bluegrass supergroup joins a long list of Smithville Fiddlers Jamboree “Blue Blaze” Award winners which reads like a who’s who with names like Dailey & Vincent, Sierra Hull, Danny Roberts of the Grascals, the Tennessee Mafia Jug Band, Ronnie Reno, and Michael Cleveland among others.

Sister Sadie band member Deanie Richardson competed at the Fiddler’s Jamboree as a child and was one of the first winners in the Jamboree’s National Championship for Country Musician Beginners in the 1980s.

Jamboree Photo Gallery

July 8, 2024
By: Dwayne Page

The Grand Champion Fiddle Off brought to a close the 53rd annual Smithville Fiddlers Jamboree and Crafts Festival Saturday night just before 11:00 p.m.

View the fiddle off (here) between Junior Fiddler Tylar Andal of Nashville and Senior Fiddler Heather Brown Curry of Springfield. Andal won the fiddle off and received the Berry C. Williams Memorial Award for being the Grand Champion fiddler of the festival.

The videos below feature each Andal and Curry performing one of three songs in the fiddle off to determine the winner

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