The Tennessee Department of Commerce and Insurance (TDCI), in a prepared news release, has announced punishments including civil penalties totaling $12,000 and license revocations/surrender related to three former Tennessee insurance producers including one from DeKalb County who violated provisions of state insurance law.

As a result of the Department’s investigations, former insurance producers Orvil E. Hendrix, Dallas Edwin Love, and Charles Holman Phelps must pay civil penalties and are no longer allowed to sell insurance in the State of Tennessee. The sanctions were the result of the work of TDCI’s Insurance Fraud Investigations team and the Office of General Counsel who ensure the protection of Tennesseans by holding accountable insurance producers who are engaged in unlawful activity.

“I congratulate the fine work of our team who has helped stop three bad actors from preying upon unassuming Tennessee consumers any further,” said TDCI Assistant Commissioner for Insurance Michael Humphreys. “The conclusion of these cases once again demonstrates the importance of upholding the law in order to protect consumers from wrongdoing. Our team will continue to work diligently to investigate and bring to justice those who would seek to line their pockets at the expense of consumers.”

Details of the cases include:

https://www.tn.gov/content/dam/tn/commerce/documents/insurance/agentprod…

·Orvil E. Hendrix (Dowelltown, TN): A Consent Order, effective March 28, 2018, found Hendrix in violation of several insurance laws including forging another’s name to a document related to an insurance transaction and intentionally misrepresenting the terms of an insurance contract. Hendrix agreed to the surrender of his insurance producer license and the payment of a civil penalty in the amount of $5,000.

·Dallas Edwin Love (Knoxville, TN): A Final Order issued by an Administrative Law Judge (ALJ), effective April 4, 2018, found Love in violation of numerous insurance laws failing to inform the Department’s Insurance Division of his felony conviction. The violations stemmed from Love’s felony aggravated assault conviction issued by the Knox County, Tennessee, Criminal Court in May 2015. As a result of Love’s wrongdoing, the ALJ revoked Love’s insurance producer license and imposed a $4,000 civil penalty.

·Charles Holman Phelps (Oviedo, FL): A Final Order, effective April 2, 2018, found Phelps in violation of several insurance laws including forging the signatures of others to insurance applications. In the action brought by the TDCI Insurance Division, the ALJ revoked Phelps’ Tennessee insurance producer license and imposed a $3,000 civil penalty.

An elderly woman was involved in a one car crash Monday afternoon on Students Home Road.

Trooper Sean Tramel of the Tennessee Highway Patrol said Jo Ann Bradford was traveling north in a 2012 Ford Focus when her car went off the road and struck a utility pole. She was taken by DeKalb EMS to St. Thomas DeKalb Hospital for observation .

Members of the DeKalb County Sheriff’s Department were also on the scene.

Plans are moving forward toward development of a fire hall in the Four Seasons community.

Members of the county budget committee met Monday night and voted to recommend to the county commission that the project be funded using $100,000 already allocated plus an additional $100,000 from the capital projects fund.

County Mayor Tim Stribling said bids were opened for the fire hall on March 29 and two were received including one for $284,000 from Preston Brothers of Woodbury and $197,000 from FTM Contracting of Cookeville.

According to County Mayor Stribling, plans call for the fire hall to be 40’ x 55’ in size consisting of two bays, a restroom, shower, and a small meeting room. He said while the plans do not include any frills it will be a turnkey project with all the work including construction, concrete pad, septic tank, etc all to be done under one contract.

The budget committee voted 4 to 1 to recommend to the county commission that the project move forward with the lowest bidder. Joe Johnson, Jack Barton, Wayne Cantrell, and Jerry Adcock voted in favor, Jimmy Midgett voted no apparently because he thought the bids came in too high.

County Mayor Stribling said if the county commission gives its blessing, the low bidder will be notified and the project will shortly thereafter get underway.

A new fire station at Four Seasons would be the 12th station in the county operated by the DeKalb County Volunteer Fire Department. The other fire halls are on Short Mountain Highway, Midway Community, Belk, Keltonburg, Cookeville Highway, Austin Bottom Community, Liberty, Temperance Hall, Main Station, Johnson Chapel, and Blue Springs.