News
March 15, 2018
By: Dwayne Page
Smithville Mayor Jimmy Poss may be facing a censure by the Aldermen for hiring his son, Tony Poss last September to work at the golf course and swimming pool without the approval of the Board.
Members of the town council say Mayor Poss violated the city’s hiring and nepotism policies and should be held accountable. A workshop was held Thursday evening at city hall to discuss the matter but the mayor did not show up. All five aldermen were there including Jason Murphy, Shawn Jacobs, Gayla Hendrix, Danny Washer, and Josh Miller along with City Attorney Vester Parsley and City Administrator Hunter Hendrixson.
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City records show that from September 1 to March 2, Tony Poss earned $300 per week (gross) for a total of $8,100. When the issue came to light on March 5, Tony’s employment with the city ended.
Although Tony was supposedly hired to mow the grass at the golf course, Mayor Poss admitted at the March 5 city council meeting that he (Tony) actually did other things.
“We had a problem and what he (Tony) has done, he has taken care of that golf course with what Riverwatch wasn’t doing. He (Tony) has protected us from freezing up. The pool was running low with no water being put in it. It wasn’t being maintained by the city and that wasn’t Ken’s deal (Ken Lacy of Riverwatch). This is what Tony did. He took care of the city’s property. Now it wasn’t mowing. That’s an error there,” explained Mayor Poss.
The aldermen are not satisfied with the mayor’s explanation and question whether Tony actually did any work to earn his salary. They want to know specifically what work was done there on a daily basis during the six months between September and March when there was little or no activity at the golf course and pool, except for the work the Riverwatch team was already contracted to do in refurbishing the course. “The things they (Riverwatch) weren’t going to do we were having Kevin Robinson’s department (Public Works) to do which were already city employees handling those issues,” said Alderman Hendrix.
According to the city’s “Nepotism Policy” the City of Smithville shall not show favoritism in the recruitment or employment of municipal employees nor in their supervision. Immediate family members of City officials, Mayor, and Department Heads shall not be employed by the City unless a clear business reason exists and the hire is approved by the Mayor”.
Under the city’s charter, All officers and employees of the city, except as otherwise specifically provided by ordinance, shall be appointed and removed by the Mayor, but only with the approval of at least two-thirds majority vote of the council present voting upon the appointment or removal, and the employees shall be under the direction and control of the Mayor”.
“I think any employee needs to come before us (aldermen for hiring approval) because we are ultimately liable for the city employees and we need to know who they are,” said Alderman Hendrix.
While they are limited in their authority on punishing the mayor, the aldermen say members of the public are outraged by his actions and many want him to resign. Others say Mayor Poss should apologize and reimburse the city for the money paid to Tony during the six month period in which he was on the payroll.
“I have had phone calls from people who are not happy about this and want to know what we are going to do about it. That is one reason I thought we needed to have a workshop because this is a violation of what is supposed to be done,” said Alderman Hendrix.
“This is an ethics complaint and under the city’s personnel policy we could bring it to our city attorney to do an investigation and give us an advisory opinion or we could hire a separate attorney to do an investigation. An elected official is then subject to punishment or disciplinary action according to the municipality’s charter or other applicable law in addition to censure by the governing body,” Alderman Hendrix continued.
“Some people are asking for his head but I have told them I don’t think that is an option. But I think a little remorse and humbleness and an apology (from the mayor) would really go a long way. Most people are pretty forgiving,” said Alderman Murphy.
“If it can be shown what was done to earn any of this money, I would be fine with him paying back the difference and issuing an apology,” said Alderman Washer.
“I think a censure from the board would be in order and in that censure we could request that the money be paid back. I don’t know if we have the authority to enforce it but we could request it as a board,” said Alderman Jacobs.
“I also want an assurance that city government is going to be more transparent. I am looking for city government to be more responsive and for us (aldermen) to have a better idea of what is going on,” added Alderman Jacobs.
Although they apparently don’t plan to oust the mayor or force him to resign over this even if they could, the aldermen have called for a special meeting for Thursday, March 22 at 7 p.m. at city hall to officially decide whether to censure the mayor or go further.
TDOT Expects Bid Letting for Highway 56 Project by Fall
March 17, 2018
By: Dwayne Page
The Tennessee Department of Transportation still has plans to improve Highway 56 south in DeKalb County and into Warren County along the existing nine mile corridor but construction is months away and will be done in three phases instead of two once it gets started. Bids are to be let for the first two phases of the project by this fall.
Meanwhile plans are still in the works for expansion of Highway 70 (State Route 26) from Highway 53 in Alexandria to Highway 96 in Liberty but while right of way acquisition was long ago acquired for the project, the state has yet to allocate funding. It is included among the projects identified by TDOT to be addressed as part of the IMPROVE ACT adopted by the state legislature last year.
A public meeting was held Friday morning in Smithville with TDOT officials hosted by State Senator Mark Pody and State Representatives Terri Lynn Weaver and Clark Boyd.
According to TDOT, The first two phases of the Highway 56 project are from the Warren County line to Magness Road and then on to East Bryant Street in Smithville along the existing route. A new project from near State Highway 287 in Warren County to the DeKalb County line is still under review.
TDOT’s plans call for a new two-lane but the highway (2- 12 feet traffic lanes with turning lanes and wider shoulders along the route) could eventually be expanded to four-lanes in the future. The property has already been acquired to build a new two to four lane highway.
According to Wes Hughen, TDOT Director of Project Development for Region 2,construction would have already taken place had it not been for delays due to environmental issues. There are still stream mitigation concerns to be resolved both with the Highway 56 and Highway 70 projects.
“We have been trying to get the project to construction for some time but we had some issues with the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) document,” said Hughen.
“The first two sections we expect to have let to construction by late this fall or early winter. We have already acquired all the right of way for those two sections. We will start out building two lanes of a proposed four lane project. We will maintain traffic on the existing Highway 56 (alignment) while we build the new portion and then we will take the old part out. We’ve got connections to driveways to everybody,” said Hughen.
“Once it lets to construction and bids are found to be acceptable, it (contracts) will be awarded within four to six weeks and then sometime after that we would start work but while all the right of ways are available, we will still have to relocate utilities and things like that,” said Ken Flynn, TDOT Director of Operations for Region 2.
The entire Highway 56 project is expected to be completed within three years after construction begins.
TDOT will schedule a public information meeting in May or June to share more specifics about all three phases of the Highway 56 plans.
School District Sets Testing Dates for State Assessments
March 17, 2018
By: Dwayne Page
The DeKalb County School district has set the state assessment testing dates at each school for the remainder of March and April.
Director of Schools Patrick Cripps and other school administrators are asking parents to make sure their children are in the classrooms each day for the assessments.
“Our state testing provides feedback about students’ academic progress. The results help us to make informed decisions on how to better invest in our schools. All high school students will take the End of Course exams online this year,” said Director Cripps. For a preview of how your child will be tested at the high school level please visit this link: https://tn.nextera.questarai.com/tds/#practice
“All other students in our district, grades 2nd-8th, will take the paper version of the TNReady test. Additional information regarding TNReady and End of Course testing can be found on the Tennessee Department of Education website.”
https://www.tn.gov/education/assessment/tnready/tnready-parent-resources…
The following testing dates are specific for each school.
DeKalb County High School:
* March 20th ACT-11th Grade
* April 16th-26th-Grades 9-12
* April 30th-May 4th-Grades 9-12
* Make-up dates for TNReady: April 20th, May 4th
DeKalb Middle School- Grades 6-8
* April 17th-April 27th
* Make up dates: April 18th, April 26th
DeKalb West School-Grade 2 and Grades 3-8
* 2nd Grade Assessment -April 23rd-April 26th
* Make-up date: April 27th, April 30th
* 3rd-4th-April 17th-April 25th
* Make-up dates: April 26th, April 27th
5th-April 17th -April 26th
* Make-up dates: April 27th, April 30th
6th-8th -April 17th -April 27th
* Make-up dates: April 30th, May 1st
Northside Elementary School-Grade 2 and Grades 3-8
* April 18th
* April 23rd-May 1st
* Make-up dates: April 27th Grades 3-4; April 30th-May 1st-Grade 2-5
* 2nd Grade Assessment -April 24th-April 26th
*Make up date: April 26th, April 30th, May 1st
Smithville Elementary School Grade 2
* 2nd Grade Assessment-April 24th-April 26th
* Make-up date: April 27th
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