Turnout for early voting has been light so far for the DeKalb County Democratic Primary compared to four years ago.

As of Monday, April 23, a total of 786 people had cast ballots during the first 11 days of early voting with three days left. On Monday, 75 voted including 69 in person and 6 by absentee. Four years ago a total of 1,612 voted either during the 14 day early voting period or by absentee for the election and 1,701 cast ballots on election day for a total turnout of 3,313 in the 2014 May Democratic Primary.

This year voters are making their choices as to who will represent the Democratic party as nominees in the August General Election for the offices of Road Supervisor, County Mayor, Circuit Court Clerk, Sheriff, Register of Deeds, County Clerk, and for the county commission in each of the seven districts. There is no Democratic candidate for Trustee.

The primary will feature two county wide contested races for County Mayor and Circuit Court Clerk. There are four contested county commission district primary races including in the 2nd, 3rd, 4th, and 7th districts.

Early voting runs through April 26 on the first floor of the DeKalb County Courthouse

Early voting days and times are as follows:
Tuesday—9 a.m. to 1 p.m.
Wednesday—9 a.m. to 1 p.m.
Thursday—2 p.m. to 6 p.m.

Election day voting at all 15 precincts in the county will be from 8 a.m. until 7 p.m. on Tuesday, May 1.

WJLE will have exclusive LIVE coverage of the local election returns starting at 7 p.m. on AM 1480/FM 101.7 and LIVE streaming at www.wjle.com.

Senior Marshal Evins was named the DCHS Tiger basketball Most Valuable Player Friday night at the annual team banquet, while sophomore Emme Colwell received the Lady Tiger MVP honor. Senior Hannah Evans is the Most Valuable Cheerleader. The awards were sponsored by Love-Cantrell Funeral Home. The MVP and MVC awards are named in memory of Allen D. Hooper.

In addition to being named MVP, Evins received the team’s Best Defender, Hustle, and Smartest Player award. He was also named to District 8AA All Defensive Team and made 3rd team All-District. Colwell was named Best Shooter for the Lady Tigers, made the 2nd Team All-District and was named the District’s Most Improved Player in addition to the Team MVP honor.

The season for the DeKalb County Tigers ended with a loss to Watertown in the District 8AA Tournament at Cookeville. The Tigers finished with an overall record of 13-14. The DeKalb County Lady Tigers wrapped up their season losing to Cumberland County in the Region 4AA basketball tournament. They closed out the campaign with a record of 12-19.

Other individual cheerleading awards included:
MVC: Hannah Evans
Most Spirited: Olivia Winter
Best Stunts: Zoe Maynard
Best Jumps: Malia Stanley
Best Dancer: Holly Evans
Best Cheer: Amelia Patterson
STAR Award (Spirit, Team, Attitude, Respect): Madison Mick

Other Lady Tiger basketball awards were as follows:
MVP: Emme Colwell
Best Shooter: Emme Colwell
Best Defensive Player: Mya Ruch
Best 6th Man: Mallori Hart
Best Free Throw Shooter: Lydia Brown
Smartest Player: Maddison Parsley
Best Rebounder: Megan Walker
Most Improved: Kenzie France
Best Passer: Maddison Parsley
Best Ball Handler: Mya Ruch
Best Practice Player: Mallori Hart
Best Attitude: Sophie Cripps
Best Athlete: Mya Ruch
Toughest Player: Megan Walker
Mya Ruch also earned a spot on the District 8AA’s All Defensive Team and she received All District Honorable Mention
Lydia Brown also received All-District Honorable Mention.

For the Tigers,
MVP: Marshal Evins
Best Offensive Player: Tanner Poss
Best Defensive Player: Marshal Evins
Best Athlete: Tanner Poss
Best Rebounder: Trey Jones
Most Improved: Dallas Cook
Best Free Throw Shooter: Colter Norris
Best Ball Handler: Colter Norris
Smartest Player: Marshal Evins
Best Practice Player: Alan Munoz
Hustle Award: Marshal Evins
Best Passer: Colter Norris
Best Sixth Man: Austin Johnson
Best Attitude: Trey Jones
Best Playmaker: Nathan Atkins
Tanner Poss was named to the 1st Team All-District 8AA.
Marshal Evins was selected to the All District Defensive Team and made the 3rd Team All-District.
Trey Jones earned All District Honorable Mention.

The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration’s National Prescription Drug Take-Back Day is set for Saturday, April 28th. As part of this major health and safety initiative, the DeKalb Prevention Coalition will host this take-back event at Smithville City Hall around the Town Square from 10am till 2pm.

According to the DEA’s Atlanta Division, formerly Tennessee’s field division, a record 34 tons (68,053 pounds) of drugs were collected in Tennessee during the October 2017 Take-Back Day. On that one day, Tennesseans turned in more drugs than Kentucky, Michigan and Ohio combined.

“Fifty-three percent of Americans who use prescription drugs recreationally got them from a friend or relative according to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention,” said Lisa Cripps, local Coordinator of the DeKalb Prevention Coalition. “Take-Back Days are a safe and easy way to protect your loved ones and to get these drugs out of your home.”

“With 64 percent of Tennesseans’ knowing someone who has become addicted to prescription pain medication, we want to provide more opportunities for people to safely dispose of their medications,” said Dr. Andrea Willis, senior vice president and chief medical officer at BlueCross BlueShield of Tennessee. “National Prescription Drug Take-Back Day occurs twice a year, so we can better prevent these addictive drugs from getting into the wrong hands.”

If you can’t make it to this take-back event, our county has two drop boxes in the following locations: City Hall in Alexandria and City Hall in Smithville.

We hope to see you on Saturday, April 28th from 10am -2pm to help you dispose of any unused, out of date, or unwanted medication. We will have FREE t-shirts, pens, and lock boxes for those bringing medication to this event.

Thank you for your continued support of Count It! Lock It! Drop It!