WJLE’s Fearless Forecasters College Football Talk Show Airs Today at 4:30 p.m.

October 10, 2024
By: Dwayne Page

Ricky Atnip has taken the lead among WJLE’s Fearless Forecasters with the best record picking winners for the first six weeks of the college football season.

Ricky has compiled a record of 57-33 followed by Dewain Hendrixson at 56-34, Scott Brown and Scott Goodwin each at 54-36, Darrell Gill 53-37, Alex Woodward 52-38, Grant James 51-39, John Pryor 50-40, and Chad Kirby 49-41.

For the week, Ricky Atnip had the best record at 9-6 followed by Grant James, Scott Brown, and Dewain Hendrixson each at 7-8, Chad Kirby and Scott Goodwin each at 6-9, and Darrell Gill, Alex Woodward, and John Pryor each at 5-10.

Three of the forecasters hit their underdog picks last week including Scott Brown who picked up 7 points with SMU’s win over Louisville. Scott Goodwin got on the board with 6.5 points as Syracuse knocked off UNLV and Dewain Hendrixson added to his total as West Virginia upended Oklahoma State.

Overall, Dewain Hendrixson has pulled ahead in underdog points with 26.5 followed by Darrell Gill with 23.5, Chad Kirby 19.5, Ricky Atnip 15, Scott Brown 11, John Pryor with 9.5, Grant James 7.5, Scott Goodwin 6.5, and Alex Woodward with 4.5.

Today (Thursday) the Forecasters will be picking winners in the following games:

Utah at Arizona State, Georgia Tech at North Carolina, Wisconsin at Rutgers, Washington at Iowa, California at Pittsburgh, Penn State at USC, Texas at Oklahoma, Ole Miss at LSU, Ohio State at Oregon, Arizona at BYU, Kansas State at Colorado, Iowa State at West Virginia, Vanderbilt at Kentucky, Florida at Tennessee and in the NFL the Indianapolis Colts at the Tennessee Titans.

Catch the Fearless Forecasters on WJLE today (Thursday) at 4:30 p.m. on AM 1480/FM 101.7 and the LIVE stream at www.wjle.com.

The program is sponsored by the Charles D. Atnip Realty and Auction Company, Middle Tennessee Natural Gas, FirstBank, DeKalb County Insurance, DeKalb County Ace Hardware, Gill Automotive, Love-Cantrell Funeral Home, Wilson Bank & Trust, and Domino’s Pizza.

October 10, 2024
By: Dwayne Page

The Smithville Police Department is warning residents to beware of donation scams claiming to support hurricane victims.

“We are seeing more and more good, honest people being scammed out of the money they work hard for, sometimes in the thousands, right here in Smithville. We should help our neighbors out, but the police department also wants people to be aware that there are crooks that prey on good hearted people. We see it regularly,” said Captain Steven Leffew.

After Storms, Watch Out for Scams,

Natural disasters and severe weather can create opportunities for fraud in their wake, occurring at a time when people may be especially vulnerable, or targeting charitable intentions. Scammers use phone, text, mail, email, and even go door to door to target residents of affected areas following hurricanes and damaging storms.

Watch Out for Red Flags

First, know that officials with government disaster assistance agencies do not call or text asking for financial account information, and that there is no fee required to apply for or get disaster assistance from FEMA or the Small Business Administration. Anyone claiming to be a federal official who asks for money is an imposter.

Remember that phone scams often use spoofing techniques to deliberately falsify the information transmitted to your caller ID display to disguise their identity or make the call appear to be official.

If someone calls claiming to be a government official, hang up and call the number listed on that government agency’s official website. Never reveal any personal information unless you’ve confirmed you’re dealing with a legitimate official. Workers and agents who knock on doors of residences are required to carry official identification and show it upon request, and they may not ask for or accept money.

Steps for Avoiding Post-Disaster Insurance Scams

If you get a phone call about an insurance claim or policy, don’t give out any personal information or agree to any payment until you can independently verify that the call is legitimate. If the caller says they’re from your insurance company, hang up and contact your agent or the company directly using the number on your account statement. Policyholders with the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP Direct) can call 1-800-638-6620.

Contractors and home improvement companies may also call claiming to be partners with your insurance provider. Never give policy numbers, coverage details, or other personal information out to companies with whom you have not entered into a contract. If your state requires licensing, verify that any contractor you are considering is licensed and carries adequate insurance. Many states have online databases you can check.

Disaster Relief Charity Scams
Consumers should also be aware of scammers posing as representatives of charities seeking donations for disaster relief. There are several steps you can take to protect yourself from this type of fraud:
▪ Donate to trusted, well-known charities. Beware of scammers who create fake charities during natural disasters. Always verify a charity’s legitimacy through its official website. If you have doubts, you can check with Better Business Bureau’s Wise Giving Alliance, Charity Navigator, Charity Watch, or GuideStar. You can also check with the National Association of State Charity Officials whether charities must be registered in your state and if the charity contacting you is on file with your state.

▪ Verify all phone numbers for charities. If you need to contact a charity by phone, check the charity’s official website to see if the number you have is legitimate. If you’re using text-to-donate, check with the charity to ensure the number is legitimate before donating.

▪ Do not open suspicious emails. If you receive a suspicious email requesting donations or other assistance, do not click on any links or open any attachments. Scammers regularly use email for phishing attacks and to spread malware.

▪ Verify information in social media posts. Double-check any solicitation for charitable donations before you give. Crowd-funding websites often host individual requests for help but they are not always vetted by the site or other sources.

To report suspected fraud, call the FEMA Disaster Fraud Hotline toll free at 1-866-720-5721. If you need to report other fraudulent activities during or following a natural disaster, please notify FEMA at 1-866-720-5721 or disaster@leo.gov.

You can also file a complaint with the FCC about phone scams, or with the FTC about fraud.
Consumer Help Center.

FCC consumer guides provide tips on avoiding caller ID spoofing and robocalls that may help you avoid being scammed. To learn more about scams and how to avoid them, check out the FCC Scam Glossary or visit the FCC Consumer Help Center at fcc.gov/consumers.

October 9, 2024
By: Dwayne Page

Democrats and Republicans don’t agree on much but when it comes to the theft of political signs they are on the same page. It must be stopped.

Both parties have recently been victims of theft or vandalism of political signs.

Each of the local party leaders has spoken out about the concern.

“Every single one of the large signs we put up in DeKalb County has been vandalized in less than a week,” said Jonathan Bradley, Chairman of the DeKalb County Democratic Party.

“It is unfortunate that some folks have decided that theft and vandalism are their response to other people’s free speech. I believe that most of the members of our community are willing to freely discuss ideas, and that only a small, misguided minority are responsible for these acts. If their goal was to intimidate or silence us, they have failed,” said Bradley.

“Unfortunately, we’ve had a number of our signs stolen or vandalized this year, many just in the last few days,” said Ryan Mollinet, Chairman of the DeKalb County Republican Party. “It’s one thing to show support for your candidate, but it’s never acceptable to destroy or steal an opponent’s sign. We encourage anyone who witnesses theft or vandalism of campaign signs to report it immediately to the local Police or Sherriff’s Office. It’s wrong, and illegal.”

Any information regarding the removal and destruction of candidates’ signs, should be reported to the Smithville Police Department, Alexandria Police Department, DeKalb County Sheriff’s Department, or the Tennessee Highway Patrol office.

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