Nursery and Livestock Assistance Program Deadline is Friday, September 11

September 10, 2020
By: Dwayne Page

If you have commercial nursery or floriculture crops, 2019 corn or soybean production, or livestock inventory and have not signed up in the Coronavirus Food Assistance Program (CFAP), the signup deadline is Friday, September 11, 2020.

Additionally, the following recent commodity eligibility changes affect producers in our counties:1) all sheep are now eligible (previously, only sheep less than two years old were eligible) and, 2) nursery and floriculture crops are now eligible.

The application process is very simple and takes less than 10 minutes. To clarify, both sold and unsold livestock are eligible for payment under this program. There is no minimum number of livestock required to be owned to receive benefits under this program.

USDA Service Centers currently are not permitted to have customers in the building. You can telephone the office at 615-597-8225, Ext. 2, email the office at donald.green@usda.gov, or apply online at www.farmers.gov/cfap.

September 10, 2020
By: Dwayne Page

A man accused of assaulting his 5 year old step son appeared in DeKalb County Criminal Court Tuesday.

29 year old Jarrod Thomas Reither entered a plea to child abuse and is facing a 3 year sentence. A sentencing hearing will be held later to determine the manner of the sentence to be served. He has been given jail credit of 181 days.

Sheriff Patrick Ray said that on February 19 Reither assaulted his 5 year old step son by slapping his head and then picking the child up and slamming him down causing bruises on his arm.

A caregiver charged with stealing a debit card from a dementia patient she had been caring for and then using it to make purchases for herself at Walmart was sentenced in DeKalb County Criminal Court Tuesday.

48 year old Natasha Judkins entered a plea to fraudulent use of a credit card and theft over $2,500. She received a sentence of 3 years for the theft case and 11 months and 29 days in the fraud case to run concurrently but she will be on probation subject to diversion. Judkins must make restitution of $2,605. She is to pay $200 per month toward the restitution.

Her husband, 52 year old Shayne Allen Judkins was a co-defendant with her but the charges against him were dropped.

According to the warrants at the time, Natasha Judkins used a stolen debit card from June 29 to November 4, 2019 at Wal-Mart where she purchased merchandise and received cash back totaling $2,605.06.

39 year old John Paul Rowe entered a plea to possession of a schedule II drug (oxycodone) with intent to sell. He received a 6 year sentence all suspended to supervised probation. Rowe was fined $2,000. The case is to run consecutively with a Davidson County sentence against him.

Sheriff Ray said that on Sunday, May 12, 2019 a deputy was patrolling on McMinnville Highway when he noticed a vehicle with the passenger side headlight out. The driver also failed to dim the high beams. The officer stopped the vehicle and spoke with the driver, Rowe. A further check through central dispatch revealed that Rowe’s license were revoked for a DUI in Rutherford County on June 8, 2017 with two prior offenses, August 9, 2015 and March 11, 2017.

After Rowe consented to a search, the deputy found 4.7 grams of a crystal like substance believed to be methamphetamine and 7.3 grams of a white powdery substance thought to be cocaine in 12 individual packages for distribution. Fifteen clear baggies were also found along with 11 white pills believed to be oxycodone. Rowe informed the officer that he was on probation.

46 year old James Lynn Owen entered a plea to driving under the influence and received a sentence of 11 months and 29 days all suspended except 48 hours to serve. He must submit to an alcohol and drug assessment and victim impact panel and his license has been suspended for one year. Owen was fined $350 and he was given jail credit of 70 days.

27 year old Katie Kathleen Lee entered a plea to reckless endangerment and received a sentence of 11 months and 29 days all suspended to CPS Probation.

63 year old Neil Keenan entered a plea to a second offense of driving under the influence and received a sentence of 11 months and 29 days all suspended except 45 days to serve. He will lose his driver license for 2 years and he must pay a $600 fine. He was given jail credit of 106 days.

September 8, 2020
By: Dwayne Page

A Monday night motorcycle crash claimed the life of a 50 year old Smithville man.

Dead is Mark Anthony Graham

According to Trooper Jonathan Burke of the Tennessee Highway Patrol, Graham was traveling east on Jefferson Road on a 1999 Honda JH2 Sport Bike at around 10 p.m. when he went off the right side of the road and crashed. The accident report states that Graham was “traveling at a speed in excess of the speed limit. At the crest of the hill on Jefferson Road, Graham ran off the right side of the roadway, went into a ditch, and struck a fence”. Graham, who was not wearing a helmet, was thrown from the bike and landed in a ditch. The bike came to rest in the oncoming traffic lane.

Graham was taken by DeKalb EMS to Ascension St Thomas DeKalb Hospital where he was pronounced dead.

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