A step toward county zoning

September 17, 2024
By: Dwayne Page

A step toward county zoning.

Amid citizens’ complaints about quarry operations in their neighborhoods, members of the county’s health, education, and public welfare committee Monday night voted to recommend to the county commission that it authorize the regional planning commission to develop a plan of zoning regulations for DeKalb County outside the municipalities that already have zoning.

The county is currently powerless to prevent or regulate such operations as quarries and even with implementation of the County Powers Act, the county would still be limited in what it could do.

Several residents, particularly from the Snow Hill and Liberty areas, showed up at the meeting to vent their frustrations about the quarry operations under development and to ask the county to intervene.

With plans underway for a quarry by Smyrna Ready Mix Concrete Company at the foot of Snow Hill off Highway 70 on North Driver Road, another company, Jones Brothers Construction LLC is preparing for a quarry operation of its own, Jones Alexandria Quarry at 2159 Old Highway 53 between Liberty and Alexandria.

Committee Chairman Larry Green said that while the County Powers Act could be effective in addressing public grievances about garbage piled up, too many junked cars parked in yards and other nuisances affecting neighbor’s properties, it would not be the answer for citizens with quarry complaints.

“This information we got from the County Technical Assistance Service (CTAS) gives us the exclusions of what the County Powers Act can do,” said Green. “As far as a rock crusher coming in, the County Powers Act is not going to stop it. Even if we had it in effect when it (quarry) came in it still wouldn’t stop it. The state exempts from the County Powers Act surface mining, production of oil and gas, and activities covered by environmental protection regulations dealing with air pollution, atomic energy, and solid waste disposal and management. The county commission has to abide by state regulations and the things the state regulates, we cannot,” explained Green.

Zoning, Green said would be the more appropriate approach.

“If we adopted zoning it would do more to prevent things like that (quarries) from coming in than anything we could do with the County Powers Act. It would not stop anything here now. We could just prevent something undesirable from coming in the future. Cannon County and Smith County have already done it,” said Green.

According to Tommy Lee, UCDD staff planner and advisor to DeKalb County, Cannon County implemented zoning primarily to keep a landfill out. Green said Lee made mention of that during a recent planning commission meeting after the issue of zoning here was raised by member Beth Pafford.

“He said Cannon County did it because the landfill in Murfreesboro is always up for discussion on whether they want to close it or not and they don’t want it to come to Cannon County. Zoning would stop things like that from coming in,” said Green.

“He (Lee) said 95% of Cannon County is zoned agriculture or for single family residents,” added Green.

“We could make a recommendation to the county commission to authorize the planning commission to come up with zoning regulations,” he said.

“We could zone everything either agriculture, single family residential, commercial, or industrial, “said Green. “Lets say somebody came in and wanted to buy a big farm to put in an industry or anything else. It would have to go before the planning commission or zoning commission to be rezoned after public hearings,” said Green.

Committee member Mathias Anderson agreed with Chairman Green that a zoning plan would be a better option for DeKalb County over the County Powers Act and he made a motion to send a recommendation accordingly to the county commission. The committee adopted Anderson’s motion. There was no committee recommendation for the county to move forward with implementation of the County Power’s Act.

“I looked this up on CTAS and there is a list of industries that cannot be prohibited by the County Powers Act and surface mining, or rock quarries falls under that,” said Anderson. “The County Powers Act wouldn’t do anything to prevent what’s currently here or what might come in the future. If zoning is what can help us in the future that’s what we need to look at and then we can go from there,” said Anderson.

Max Knudsen, who lives near the SRM quarry on South Driver Road was among those who addressed the committee Monday night during the public comment period. Knudsen said because of this quarry neighbors for several miles will be affected by silica dust

“I don’t even know what nuisance you call that,” said Knudsen. “It affects your eyeballs. It affects your kidneys. It affects your lungs. It is sharp and jagged and its going to leave a mark in every soft tissue you have. I can’t farm anymore where I live. Forget about if I get sick. I will not subject my goats to that. I will not subject my clients in Nashville who come to cuddle my baby goats because they will be covered in silica dust. I am the closest neighbor to this very dangerous and toxic monstrosity, and this is damaging me,” said Knudsen.

Chris Tramel, who lives near the Jones Alexandria Quarry, implored the county to take action.

“I have a quarry trying to come in behind me,” said Tramel. “It used to be good fences made good neighbors but now quarries are coming in and companies are burning pallets in Dowelltown and Liberty. They are not our neighbors. They are not from here. Fences don’t stop smoke, dust, and poisoning your well. A few years ago, we had a chicken plant try to move in (DeKalb County). I don’t want a chicken plant next to me. I know where one is at and you don’t want to be within five miles of it. Right now, there is not anything to stop them from putting it right next to one of your houses. I don’t know about the County Powers Act, but zoning works yet its probably too late for me. These people are what my granddaddy would call carpetbaggers. They don’t live here. They come in and take advantage of us because we are letting them. Lets do something,” said Tramel.

If the county can’t prevent the quarries already here from operating, Doug Walter, a resident of Nashville Highway near the SRM location, suggested that a meeting be arranged between the companies and the county to find ways to lessen the impact on communities.

“I live 1,500 feet from the quarry,” said Walter. “What if we get the owner or a representative from SRM to come into town and meet with some of our county representatives or citizens and talk about what they can do to affect our community to be good neighbors. There’s a lot of things they can do at that quarry to knock down the dust. How about blasting mats or a sprinkler system? There are practical things they could do,” said Walter.

A resident of Old Mill Hill Road offered another suggestion. “I guess what I would like to maybe see is something to go forward that would require zoning for corporations and big business but something that does not affect regular citizens and small businesses”.

Lucas Antoniak, a resident of Old Snow Hill Road, said SRM cannot be trusted to be good neighbors. “SRM has a history of lying to the government and obfuscating to government regulators. Coincidentally, I was across from an SRM quarry in Woodbury doing a craft fair last weekend and there was a cloud of dust blowing all weekend coming of that quarry and in the creek, it was full of sediment, and they were not even operating. They are not making efforts. They do not care about us. They are just here to make money,” said Antoniak.

The committee’s recommendation will be presented to the county commission for consideration during its next regular monthly meeting Monday night, September 23 at 6:30 p.m. at the Mike Foster Multipurpose Center auditorium.

September 17, 2024
By: Dwayne Page

A woman is facing several charges including drug offenses after recent encounters with county law enforcement officers.

27 year old Keely Breanna Jacobs of Blue Springs Road, Smithville is charged with bringing contraband into a penal institution; possession of methamphetamine with intent to manufacture, sell, or deliver (2 counts); identity theft (3 counts); driving on a revoked or suspended license (3 counts); possession of a controlled substance with intent to manufacture, sell, or deliver; criminal impersonation; prescription drug fraud; and possession of drug paraphernalia. Bond for Jacobs totals $151,500 and her court date is September 26.

Sheriff Patrick Ray said that on August 27 a deputy pulled over a 2001 Ford F150 driven by Jacobs. During the traffic stop Jacobs identified herself as Leah Jacobs and gave a false date of her birth. Not knowing, the officer issued her citations in the name of Leah Jacobs. Later, a detective reviewed the officer’s body camera from the traffic stop and determined that the woman was actually Keely Jacobs. Officers learned that Jacobs’ driver license was suspended on August 15, 2023 in Cannon County for failure to appear.

Jacobs was pulled over again by a separate officer August 31 on Evins Mill Road when he saw a 2001 Ford F150 leave its lane of travel several times. Jacobs, the driver, gave her name as Leah Jacobs and a birth date which was not her own. The officer issued her citations in the name of Leah Jacobs but during the investigation, a detective reviewed this officer’s body cam from this traffic stop and found that Leah Jacobs was actually Keely Jacobs.

Four days later Jacobs was caught for the same offense. Sheriff Ray said that on September 4 a different deputy was patrolling Blue Springs Road when he spotted a 2001 Ford F150 leave its lane of travel several times. He pulled it over and spoke with the driver, Jacobs who again said she was Leah Jacobs. A background check on the license revealed it to be valid but later the deputy learned from a detective that her real name was Keely Jacobs and the license under that name came back suspended.

Five days after that incident, on September 9 a deputy went to Jacobs’ residence on Blue Springs Road to serve a warrant on her. Jacobs again stated that she was Leah Jacobs but after observing a picture of Jacobs with the warrant and knowing that she was not Leah Jacobs, the officer placed Keely under arrest. While placing Jacobs in custody on outstanding warrants, the officer noticed in plain view several items of drug paraphernalia. After advising Jacobs of her Miranda rights, she gave consent for him to search the residence and he found a small baggie containing a single white pill believed to be Buprenorphine along with three scales bearing a crystal-like residue, several pipes with residue, and several baggies. She admitted to having been selling narcotics. Also found during the search were two baggies with a crystal-like substance believed to be methamphetamine. One of the baggies weighed 7.78 grams and the other 10.59 grams (18.37 grams total). The search also turned up several pill bottles containing different types of pills in each with either the labels torn off or different names on the bottles.

At the jail on September 12, a female correctional officer conducted a strip search of Jacobs and found in the waistband of her shorts a baggie that held a crystal-like substance believed to be methamphetamine which weighed six grams.

September 16, 2024
By: Dwayne Page

Will the county commission uphold the 90-day suspension of medical examiner Dr. Denise Dingle resulting in her termination?

During a meeting Monday night, the county’s health, education, and public welfare committee discussed the issue and voted to recommend that the full county commission uphold County Mayor Matt Adcock’s 90-day suspension of Dr. Dingle due to alleged “uncooperative and unprofessional” conduct. The committee also voted to recommend that the county commission hire Dr. Caleb Cantrell at $2,000 per month  total as he (Dr. Cantrell) has requested to fill both positions, medical examiner and medical director and for him to take over from Dingle at the end of her suspension on October 30. When he suspended Dr. Dingle as medical examiner in July, County Mayor Adcock also terminated her as medical director, a separate position, and named Dr. Cantrell to succeed her in that role.

Dr. Dingle’s attorney Jon Slager attended the committee meeting Monday night but did not address it. However, he did make a statement to WJLE after the meeting in response to the committee’s recommendation.

“Its very unfortunate what the committee has done tonight but of course it has to go before the full county commission on Monday and we look forward to that,” said Slager. “I certainly hope that we can reach out to some of those commissioners between now and then and get them some information about Dr. Dingle. She has been a doctor longer than I have been alive. She has done a good job in her position as medical director and medical examiner. Our hope is the county commissioners will look at this and not just follow County Mayor Adcock who is the only one who has verbally said anything pushing this. My hope is that they would examine her record and the fact that there are zero disciplinary actions or write-ups and make an independent decision. If they do that I think she will keep her position with the county,” said Slager

According to Committee Chairman Larry Green, if approved by the county commission, Dr. Cantrell has offered to serve in the combined positions of medical director/medical examiner for a total of $2,000 per month as a contracted service instead of being hired as a county employee. Originally, Dr. Cantrell had only asked the county to provide him health insurance coverage but in order to do that, Dr. Cantrell had to be a county employee and draw at least a minimum salary which with benefits in the 2024-25 budget would be $41,000. The county has been paying Dr. Dingle, as a contracted service, $5,000 a year as medical director and $100 per body as medical examiner. According to statistics, the county averages 50-60 bodies per year in which a medical examiner/coroner’s report is needed.

Concerns about the medical examiner position were first raised several months ago during county commission workshops after complaints that the office, in some cases, was not providing a timely response to on scene deaths causing delays in investigations before the removal of a body.

In July Dr. Dingle was terminated by County Mayor Adcock in her role as medical director over county emergency medical services and he also suspended her for 90 days as the county medical examiner alleging Dingle to have been “uncooperative and unprofessional”.

Dr. Dingle retained Slager to represent her in this matter and last month he emailed letters to each of the 14 county commissioners asking them to take into consideration Dr. Dingle’s spotless record before making a determination. In his defense of Dr. Dingle, Slager pointed out in his letter to the county commission that her personnel file contains no write-ups.

Committee Chairman Green said County Attorney Hilton Conger was asked to offer some advice on the matter.

“I went through Hilton to get an opinion because I did not know exactly where we stood legally. In a nutshell (according to Conger) the medical examiner and medical director are not county employees, therefore there is no personnel file,” said Green. “They serve just like Hilton does, just like Steve Bates (fiscal agent) does. They give professional advice and services to the county commission therefore there is no personnel file,” explained Green.

“The main argument that I have heard is that nothing was documented (as cause for suspension/termination) but there really doesn’t have to be anything documented,” Green continued. “For example, if the county mayor decided today he wanted to terminate Hilton (county attorney) he could with the county commission then supporting him. That in a nutshell is where we are at,” he said.

The issue of whether the medical examiner can charge a fee to a family for a cremation certificate was also discussed. A practice allegedly conducted by Dr. Dingle.

“There is no statute that gives them (a medical examiner) permission to charge for a cremation certificate according to information provided by the County Technical Assistance Service (CTAS),” Green said.

According to Green, Dr. Cantrell has said he would not charge for cremation certificates.

“All we can do tonight is make a motion back to the county commission on what this committee recommends,” said Green. “There are only two choices. Either recommend upholding the suspension of Dr. Dingle which would result in her termination on October 30 or recommend lifting the suspension and then she would go back to being the medical examiner effective immediately”.

Committee member Glynn Merriman made a motion to recommend to the county commission that the suspension be upheld. Member Jeff Barnes offered a second to the motion which was approved. Members Mathias Anderson and Daniel Cripps also voted in favor. Members Tom Chandler and Myron Rhody were absent.

In a separate motion, the committee voted to recommend to the county commission that Dr. Cantrell be named as the county’s medical director and medical examiner for a total of $2,000 per month. Committee member Barnes made the motion and member Anderson offered a second to the motion. Members Merriman and Cripps also voted in favor.

The county commission will meet in regular monthly session Monday night, September 23 at 6:30 p.m. in the auditorium of the Mike Foster Multipurpose Center.

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