Lauren Ferrell Named Teacher of the Month for September at DCHS

October 11, 2024
By: Dwayne Page

The September Teacher of the Month award at DeKalb County High School goes to Lauren Ferrell.

For winning the honor, Ferrell received a certificate from the school and a gift card for a meal at Twisted Oaks.

Ferrell, a physical science teacher, was selected by the administration as Teacher of the Month.

“I feel very flattered, appreciated and I am really excited,” said Ferrell. “In the past I taught biology but this year I am teaching physical science. This is my 6th year teaching at DCHS,” said Ferrell

Lauren is married to Travis Ferrell and they have a one-year-old child, Wyatt. Her parents are Richard and Betty Lewis.

A 2014 graduate of DCHS, Ferrell furthered her education at Motlow State Community College and at Tennessee Tech University.

Ferrell said she enjoys teaching. “My students and staff make it an enjoyable place to be,” she said.

October 11, 2024
By: Dwayne Page

After riding a five-game win streak to open the football season, the DCHS Tigers have lost the last two games, both of them to region opponents in Stone Memorial and Macon County. With the window of opportunity closing for the Tigers to make the state-playoffs, a win tonight at Cumberland County is huge.

DeKalb County (5-2, 1-2) will face a Cumberland County team with a record of 2-5 overall and 0-4 in the region. Kick-off tonight (Friday) will be at 7 p.m. from Crossville and WJLE will have LIVE coverage.

Last week, the Tigers watched a 27-14 lead in the third period evaporate into a 49-27 Macon County victory.

“We knew what kind of game it was going to be going into it,” said Tiger Coach Steve Trapp. “Macon County is a really good football team and we feel like we are really a good football team. It was a tale of two halves again last week. It was the second week in a row that we took a lead in at halftime. We really did a good job in the first half of taking advantage of some of their miscues. That’s part of the game. That all turned around on us in the second half where they took big advantage of some of our miscues but then we also were not able to bend our backs defensively to get them off the field. Its been disappointing the last two weeks. We definitely believe we have a quality football team and we understand we can play better,” said Coach Trapp.

Although the Tigers have had success with Cumberland County in recent years, they can’t just count on history to repeat itself tonight.

“For them it’s a team record wise in the last few years, where they don’t want to be but we have had some battles with them even with that,” said Coach Trapp “They are setting there at 2-5 and if you look at and compare scores people can get perceptions but for us there’s a way we have to do things and prepare. It’s called the process of work. That’s on the practice field, film review, and its in our hearts and minds as well and it doesn’t matter who we are playing. We can’t look at records and think we are playing a team that’s won a bunch of games and be shaking in our boots or look at a team that has not won a bunch of games and feel over confident. We have been telling our guys all year that our confidence should not come from our record but with how we do things. This group has done a good job with that. We have good leadership, great hearts, and great minds but I think everybody in this program would say we have to play better football than we have the last two weeks,” said Coach Trapp.

With three games left on the schedule, the Tigers probably have to win out to make the playoffs and DC still have to face two of the region’s best teams against White County (5-2, 3-1) on October 25 and Upperman (7-0, 4-0) on October 31. Both games will be played in Smithville.

“This is a seven-team region and there are five really good football teams in it and we are one of those that deserves the right to be in the playoffs but unfortunately there will be one left out,” said Coach Trapp. “We have to win out. I have said since the beginning of the season there’s going to be a really good football team that does not make the playoffs from this region and we really hope that is not us,” he said.

WJLE’s Pre-Game shows begin with “Coach to Coach” at 5:00 p.m. to repeat Saturday morning at 9 a.m. featuring former UT assistant coach Doug Matthews with Tennessee Titans Radio Broadcaster Dave McGinnis and broadcaster Larry Stone talking Tennessee and SEC football.

Coach to Coach is followed by Murphy’s Matchups at 6:00 p.m., a look at Tennessee High School Football from Murphy Fair with commentary on games and coaches’ interviews.

“Tiger Talk” airs at 6:30 p.m. featuring Coach Steve Trapp and Tiger football Captains Jordan Parker, Ty Webb, and Andrew Dakas.

Kick-off is at 7:00 p.m. with play-by-play coverage on WJLE from the Voice of the Tigers John Pryor and Luke Willoughby. Listen LIVE on WJLE AM 1480/FM 101.7 and LIVE Streaming at www.wjle.com.

October 10, 2024
By:

Sometimes, the greatest (and only) thing we can offer is ourselves. When Larry Cripps, a DeKalb County native, was drafted into the U.S. Army during the Vietnam War, he had little idea of what lay in store for him and his future comrades, both on and off the battlefield.

Cripps has authored his first book called “The Hope of War” a Chaplain’s Journey to Abiding Faith, Enduring Hope and Love Under Fire and he appeared on WJLE Thursday morning in a video interview to talk about the book and his family and military background.

Larry will make an appearance at a Freedom Celebration/Charity Event in collaboration with the Wounded Warriors Project and the Mighty Oaks Foundation on Saturday, November 9 from 11 a.m. until 4 p.m. at the DeKalb Community Complex in Smithville right before Veterans Day. Copies of his book will be available for purchase during the program. You may also visit https://thehopeofwar.com/ to purchase a copy of the book

At the risk of his own life, in exchange for a future he couldn’t imagine, Larry began a journey that would go much further than the jungles of Southeast Asia, the deserts of the Middle East, or anywhere else he deployed in service of his country. Progressing from armored cavalry to the Navy Chaplain Corps, Larry discovered that the wildest war zones of all were the hearts and minds of the service members he counseled and cared for.

They were men and women who desperately sought healing. Frustrated troops who demanded truth from leaders. People wounded and haunted by the savagery of warfare, who longed to regain a healthy sense of perspective and self-image. Fellow veterans who risked life and limb, and sidestepped death – only to spend the rest of their lives wondering what it all meant. Family members trying to stay ahead of life’s demands, civilian or military, and facing the challenges of relating to their loved ones in uniform. Larry’s journey would take him to a place of rare distinction – serving and praying for warriors and their families through every US military conflict and front, from 1965 through to the present day.

The Hope of War offers a way out of madness to anyone blindsided by hardship, trauma, tragedy or transition. In a manner both uplifting and raw, Larry’s journey reminds readers to dig deep beneath the “surface issues” of politics, history, current events and public opinion, to look for the real gold of growth and maturity under fire, according to a timeless, Biblical model.

Amidst the raucous backdrop of competing visions and interpretations of a dark time in American history, The Hope of War cuts through the noise and invites young readers to take their first step toward uncharted destiny, through a mysterious path they don’t yet understand. It reminds older readers of the status they earned by responding to the challenge, and how crucial their experience and wisdom are in this hour of history.

The Hope of War is a quintessential, timeless and real-life tale of an average person, forged into an extraordinary leader, trusted by senior commanders, shaped by forces and events far beyond his comprehension or control – who found life-changing moments, simply by saying “Yes.”

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Larry D. Cripps grew up surrounded by the nurturing influence of Christian parents whose early beginnings emerged from the shadows of the Great Depression and the Second World War. He spent his formative years in Blue Springs, a small farming community in DeKalb County near Smithville, TN, which is an hour’s drive southeast of Nashville.

Larry was drafted into the US Army in August 1969 and later joined the ranks of over 25,000 young men who served in the 11th Armored Cavalry Regiment during combat operations in South Vietnam and Cambodia. After the Army, he attended Lee University in Cleveland, Tennessee, graduating with a B. A. in Biblical Education and History in January 1975.

While enrolled at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Fort Worth, TX, Larry was commissioned as a 2nd Lieutenant in the Army Reserve with the ultimate goal of returning to active duty as a chaplain. However, due to the massive reductions the Army underwent in the post-Vietnam years, Larry accepted the Navy’s invitation to attend Naval Chaplain School in Newport, RI, following seminary.

During his 32 years of naval service, Larry served in various assignments, including the U. S. Marine Corps, Combatant Commands, Naval Expeditionary Combat Command, and Naval Special Warfare Command. Larry’s military career and ministry as a chaplain spans three wars—Vietnam, Desert Shield and Desert Storm, the 9/11 Terrorist attacks, and the War on Terror.

Larry and his wife, Charlene, reside in Hendersonville, TN.

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