An October House Fire Claims Another Life

November 25, 2024
By: Dwayne Page

Another person has succumbed to burns and injuries suffered in a fire at their home last month at 1232 Roy Foster Road between Greenhill and Dibrell in Warren County.

82-year-old Nancy Jane Pinegar passed away at Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Saturday November 23
The fire, on Saturday, October 26, claimed her husband 89-year-old Percy Pinegar, Sr.

Firefighters from the North Warren, Campaign-Rock Island, and Centertown Fire Departments quickly responded to the scene, found the residence partially ablaze, and learned that the bedridden Mr. Pinegar and his wife Nancy were still inside the home. Firefighters removed Mr. Pinegar but he died at the scene. Mrs. Pinegar and her grandson and great grandson got out of the residence although she suffered burns trying to help Mr. Pinegar.

The cause of the fire remains under investigation but is thought to have been accidental.

Mrs. Pinegar was born July 31, 1942, to her parents the late Lester and Lori Roller Smith. In addition to her parents, she was preceded in death by her husband, Percy Pinegar, Sr.; son, David Wayne Pinegar; daughter, Debra Dunn; daughter-in-law, Rhodessa Pinegar; son-in-law, Jimmy Beacham; grandson, Percy Lee Pinegar,III; granddaughter, Layla Pinegar; sister, Ann Puckett. She is survived by her children, Percy Pinegar, Jr., Charles (Melissa) Pinegar, Cindy Beacham, Johnny Lee Pinegar; son-in-law, Jimmy Dunn; special granddaughter, Kayla (Greg) Hooper; grandchildren, Jimmie Lynn (Kenneth) Wolfe, Billy (Lashonda) Dunn, Jessica Steinback, Rebecca Steele, Jason (Misti) Parsley, Chris Pinegar, Jessie Pinegar, and Dillon Lee; several great and great-great grandchildren; 1 special great-great grandson, Issiac Pinegar; 2 sisters, Dean Pinegar of McMinnville and Evelyn Crawford of Ohio.

Graveside Services and interment will be 1PM Tuesday, November 26 at Webb Cemetery at Bluff Springs with Matthew Johannsen officiating. Visitation with the family will be on Tuesday 9:AM until 12:30 PM, at which time Mrs. Pinegar will be taken to the cemetery for the graveside service.

Funeral arrangements are being handled by DeKalb Funeral Chapel.

November 25, 2024
By: Bill Conger

DeKalb West School third grader Kye Carter knows how to have a “wheely” good time. The son of drift car racer Derek Carter and wife, Kelley, is an award-winning dirt bike racer who developed “an interest in anything with wheels at a young age.”

“As a family, we spend quite a bit of time at various race tracks for motorsports events—anything from car shows to drifting to drag racing,” mom Kelley Carter said. “So, we knew at some point Kye would be racing something; we just didn’t know it would be dirt bikes.”

The Carters bought Kye, a student in Mrs. Jessica Antoniak’s class, a Strider balance bike for his second birthday, and in no time he learned how to ride on two wheels.

“Once we saw him riding down hills with his feet on the bike and hitting some small jumps, we knew he was ready for the transition to a dirt bike.”

A year later the 3-year-old was the proud owner of a Honda CRF 50.

“It was nerve racking the first time he got on it. We had to chase him all over the yard. If he stopped, he would just fall over. The more he rode it, the better he got, and the less he needed our assistance. He has literally ridden that bike almost every day since he was 3.”

Then, in the winter of 2023, the competitive bug bit Kye to enter races.

“I asked them if I could do a race,” Kye remembers. “We’ll let you try one race. I did one race and then they let me keep doing some more. I got better and better and started winning money.”

“I believe his words were, “I wanna win some trophies!”

“That first race was fun,” Kye said. “It was just a learning experience. I didn’t win because I didn’t practice. I like fast things and dirt bikes are fast.”

“We started running the Race TN series,” Kye’s mom said. “It was a learning experience for sure, for him and us. We had to practice, practice, practice, and replay different scenarios and make sure Kye knew what he did wrong or could do better for the next race.”

To be faster for a few of the class competitions, he needed a faster set of wheels. His parents bought him a new KTM 50SX.

“Now, Kye had to make the transition from a 4 stroke bike to a really fast 2 stroke with a pretty angry power band. He made the transition faster than we thought, and with the combination of practice and the new fast bike, we started winning races.”

Kye ended the season, leading the points in the 50mc Shaft class with his CRF 50, and leading the points in 50mc Intermediate and 50mc Open with his new KTM 50sx. He was also second in points in the 65mc class running his KTM 50sx.

November 24, 2024
By: Dwayne Page

A 69-year-old Nashville businessman accused of financially exploiting a 74-year-old Smithville woman appeared for sentencing in DeKalb County Criminal Court on Tuesday, November 19. He was previously charged with similar offenses in Williamson and Rutherford counties.

Michael David Verble, a native of Livingston raised in Hot Springs Arkansas, was indicted in July 2023 for financial exploitation of an elderly adult. Verble’s professional background was listed as having experience in the health care, financial services and insurance industries. On Tuesday Verble entered a guilty plea to the charge and received a four-year sentence to serve concurrently with cases in Rutherford and Williamson counties. He must make restitution of $3,500 to the victim by March 31. 2025. Verble was given jail credit of 419 days.

Assistant District Attorney General Greg Strong told WJLE last October that Verble took $3,500 from the Smithville woman to set up a trust account and never followed through.

The indictment alleges that “on or about October 2019, Verble did unlawfully and knowingly through the use of deception financially exploit an elderly DeKalb County woman in violation of state law.”

30-year-old Sonni Michael Fullilove entered a plea to possession with intent to sell a schedule II drug (methamphetamine) over 0.5 grams. He received an eight-year TDOC sentence to serve with a furlough to a treatment program. The sentence is to run concurrently with another case against him. He was fined $2,000.

32-year-old Joshua McAllen Beckham entered a plea to two counts of possession with intent to sell a schedule II drug (methamphetamine) over 0.5 grams and received an eight-year TDOC sentence in each case to run concurrently and suspended to supervised probation. He was fined $2,000 in each case and given 97 days jail credit.

37-year-old Troy Allen Cunningham entered a plea to two counts of sale of methamphetamine over 0.5 grams and received an eight-year sentence suspended to supervised probation and fined $2,000 in each case.

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