Candidates in County General and Smithville Municipal Elections Win Races Without Opposition

August 1, 2024
By: Dwayne Page

Assessor of Property Shannon Cantrell was re-elected unopposed in Thursday’s DeKalb County General Election.

Cantrell will begin his third-four-year term September 1. He received a total of 1,046 complimentary votes in the election.

A total of 1,404 voted in DeKalb County including 700 on election day, 100 paper absentees, and 604 walk-in early voting.   DeKalb County has 13,607 registered voters.

The Board of Education will get a new member next month. Megan Moore was unopposed in her bid for the fifth district position, currently held by Jamie Cripps who did not seek re-election. The term is for four years. Moore received 131 complimentary votes.

Meanwhile Incumbent sixth district school board member Jason Miller was re-elected unopposed to his second-four year term. Miller had 127 votes.

Constable candidates winning unopposed to four-year terms and their vote totals are as follows:

First District: Tyler Cripps- 243 votes

Second District: Danny Adamson-131 votes

Third District: Travis Bryant-133 votes

Fourth District: Lane Ball-160 votes

Fifth District: Mark Milam-153 votes

Sixth District: No candidate on the ballot but Keith Elkins won as a write-in candidate with 6 votes

Seventh District: Jeremy Neal-90 votes

Two county commission candidates won elections unopposed to fill unexpired terms including Andy Pack in the sixth district with 114 votes and Mathias Anderson with 82 votes in district seven. These unexpired terms will end in August 2026.

Shawn C. Fry, Criminal Court Judge, Part III in the 13th Judicial District won unopposed and in DeKalb County he received 919 votes.

In the Smithville Municipal Election, three incumbent aldermen were re-elected unopposed to four-year terms including Shawn Jacobs with 203 votes, Jessica L. Higgins 191 votes, and Danny Washer 186 votes.

A mayor and two aldermen were to have been elected in the Dowelltown Municipal Election but there were no qualified candidates, either on the ballot or write-ins

August 1, 2024
By: Dwayne Page

Alexandria has a new mayor

Beth Tripp was elected to fill an unexpired term during Thursday’s Alexandria Municipal Election. She received a total of 88 votes to win the seat. Tripp’s name was the only one on the ballot for mayor, but an active write-in campaign was staged by two others, Rodney Allen Lawson, who received 64 votes and Russell “Rusty” Allen Bradshaw who had 18 write-in votes.

Meanwhile Jonathon Tripp was elected to a full four-year term as aldermen with 92 votes. Tripp’s name was the only one on the ballot for the position. Two others, Lucas “Luke” Dylan Prichard and Robert “Bobby” Alex Simpson were elected to a full four-year aldermen term through a write-in effort. Prichard received 74 write-in votes and Simpson garnered 73. Two other write-in candidates were unsuccessful in their quest for a full four-year term as alderman including Bobbie Jo Ford who received 24 votes and Curtis James Rutter who had 32 write-in votes.

Jeff Ford was elected to fill an unexpired alderman term with 79 votes. His was the only name on the ballot to fill the vacancy. There were no write-in candidates for the unexpired term.

August 1, 2024
By: Dwayne Page

Smithville Police have charged a former employee of Regions Bank in Smithville for allegedly stealing a large sum of money from the bank account of another.

45-year-old Brenda Fuson of Old Highway 53, Liberty is charged with theft over $250,000.

Police Chief Mark Collins said that on July 30 detectives began investigating the theft of $331,499 from a customer’s savings account at Regions Bank in Smithville. During that probe, Fuson became a person of interest and while interviewing her, Fuson allegedly admitted to police that she took the money out of the account and deposited it into her own. Fuson is under a $100,000 bond and her court date is August 15.

In response to this story, a Regions Bank spokesperson issued the following statement:

“Our teams are working closely with law enforcement in support of the investigation. We have zero tolerance for the type of behavior that is alleged in this case. Rest assured; we will take all appropriate steps to resolve this matter based on the results of the investigation.”

35-year-old Terry Ray Barnes of Rock Island and 25-year-old Gabriel James Hesson of Murfreesboro are charged with aggravated assault, illegal possession of a weapon and drug paraphernalia. Bond for each is $21,500 and they will be in court August 8.

Chief Collins said that on July 21 police were summoned to 149 Village Place due to a burglary and an aggravated assault involving firearms According to the complaint, the suspects had left the scene in a black vehicle. Police spotted the automobile traveling north on Riley Avenue, pulled it over, and confronted Barnes and Hesson. While searching the vehicle, the officers found two loaded firearms along with several items of drug paraphernalia. Both men were taken into custody.

20-year-old Brooklyn Taylor Green of Shady Rest Drive is cited for simple possession and possession of drug paraphernalia. Her court date is August 8. During a routine traffic stop, Chief Collins said an officer spoke with the driver, Green and detected an odor of marijuana coming from the vehicle. He conducted a search and found 9 grams of a green leafy substance along with a large pipe. Green admitted the items found by police in the automobile belonged to her.

20-year-old Anderson Burnett of Sparta is cited for vandalism and his court date is August 8. According to Chief Collins, police were called to investigate a vandalism which occurred at Spring Street The Baptist Church on July 14 in which someone used a vehicle to do donuts in the graveled parking lot, resulting in gravel being thrown into the siding of the building causing damage in excess of $700. During the investigation, Burnett was identified as a person of interest, and he was issued a citation.

36-year-old Candice Chitwood of Knoxville is charged with public intoxication. Her bond is $1,500 and she will be in court August 15. Chief Collins said that police were summoned to a residence on South College Street after receiving several calls about an intoxicated woman causing a disturbance. Upon arrival, officers spoke with the woman, Chitwood who smelled of alcohol and appeared to be intoxicated.

54-year-old James Crawford of Michigan is charged with driving under the influence and leaving the scene of an accident. His bond was set at $7,000. Chief Collins said that on July 19 officers responded to an accident at Liberty State Bank where a vehicle had left the scene. While enroute, central dispatch provided police a description of the vehicle and one of the responding officers spotted it on West Broad Street and made a traffic stop. Upon speaking with the driver, Crawford, the officer observed that he appeared to be impaired and smelled of alcohol. Crawford admitted to having consumed alcohol earlier and he submitted to but performed poorly on field sobriety tasks.

20-year-old Gregory Scott Smith of Wade Street is charged with public intoxication. His bond is $1,500 and he will be in court August 8. Chief Collins said that on July 19 police were summoned to Mapco Express due to a physical altercation between persons inside the store. Police spoke with one of the suspects, Smith who appeared to be intoxicated. Smith admitted to having consumed alcohol prior to the altercation.

34-year-old Dustin Williamson of Oak Drive, Smithville is charged with driving under the influence. His bond is $2,500 and he will make a court appearance on August 8. According to Chief Collins, police conducted a traffic stop on East Main Street July 21 after spotting a vehicle failing to maintain its lane of travel. The officer pulled over the automobile and spoke with the driver, Williamson who appeared to have red, watery eyes, and he seemed to be drowsy. Williamson said he had purchased a five pack of THC gummies and had consumed three of them prior to driving. He submitted to but performed poorly on field sobriety tasks. He also consented to implied consent for a blood draw.

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