DeKalb County Has New TWRA Officer

July 2, 2020
By: Dwayne Page

DeKalb County has a new TWRA officer.

Matt Howard of Sparta has been assigned to DeKalb County after working as a TWRA officer in Washington and Cocke County.

“I went to high school in White County and then to Tennessee Tech and earned my Bachelor’s Degree in Wildlife Fisheries. After I got my degree I worked for the Tennessee Department of Transportation for a year and then got hired with the TWRA when a position opened up. I started in Washington County, which is Johnson City in East Tennessee. I worked there for about a year and then transferred to Cocke County and worked there until I got hired in DeKalb County earlier this year,” said Howard.

Matt and his wife Sara reside in White County.

Howard, who joins fellow TWRA Officer Tony Cross in working DeKalb County, takes over from Joe Fortner who still lives here but now works for the TWRA in another position.

Matt said he enjoys working in DeKalb County especially because it is close to home for him.

July 2, 2020
By: Dwayne Page

Members of the DeKalb County Sheriff’s Department are being treated to lunch.

As a way of showing support and appreciation to the department, John Flanders, President of Botanical Incorporated of McMinnville, and Tony Bess, owner of Smithville Marine, presented Sheriff Patrick Ray and Chief Deputy Robert Patrick certificates Wednesday for each sheriff’s department employee at Fireman One Barbeque in Smithville.

Flanders said others also supported the effort.

“A lot of people in the community have gotten together to buy the entire DeKalb County Sheriff’s Department lunch so we bought gift certificates to Fireman One Barbeque for every member of the DeKalb County Sheriff’s Department as a show of appreciation in support of everything they do to keep our communities safe and to protect and serve the citizens of DeKalb County,” said Flanders.

“We appreciate what they have done for us. This is a good gesture to have people in the community support law enforcement and show it like this and we want to thank them for doing this. Every employee wants to thank them,” said Sheriff Ray.

Flanders did a similar presentation to the Warren County Sheriff’s Department.

July 2, 2020
By: Dwayne Page

Names have now been released in a fatal shooting which occurred a week ago at a residence on Carter Drive.

The deceased has been identified as 24 year old Jeffery William Rigsby of Smithville and the shooter is 34 year old Ronald Joshua Carter of Smithville, the owner of the residence where the incident happened.

The case is under investigation by the TBI and no further details have been released.

Sheriff Patrick Ray issued the following statement about the case.

“On June 25 at 12:28 p.m. Central Dispatch received a call of a shooting on Carter Drive in Smithville. This residence is located just outside of the city limits, approximately 240 yards, in the county. The caller stated someone had been shot.

When units from the DeKalb County Sheriff’s Department and the Smithville Police Department arrived on the scene, they found one man lying on the front porch of a residence that had gunshot wounds. The man, Rigsby, was pronounced dead at the scene.

The District Attorney’s Office and the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation were notified and arrived on the scene a short time later.

Through the investigation, it appears the home owner, Carter and Rigsby exchanged gunfire and Rigsby was shot and died at the scene. Carter was not injured.

No arrests have been made.

Sheriff Ray wishes to thank Smithville Police Chief Mark Collins and his Department for their assistance and Smithville Fire Chief Charlie Parker for bringing water for the Officer’s on the scene” and to Constable Mark Milam.

« First ‹ Previous 1 1245 1335 1343 1344 13451346 1347 1355 1445 2407 Next › Last »