Alexandria Police Apprehend Two Believed Responsible for Church Burglary

September 19, 2022
By: Dwayne Page

An alert Alexandria Police officer discovered a break-in at a church there Saturday evening and later caught the two people believed responsible for the crime.

18-year-old Nickoli Delmerovich-Nunes Dagrella of Alepna, Michigan is charged with burglary, vandalism, and contributing to the delinquency of a minor. His court date is September 29. A 16-year-old was also taken into custody and will make an appearance in DeKalb County Juvenile Court.

In a prepared statement, Alexandria Police Chief Chris Russell explained how the events unfolded leading to the arrests.

“On September 17, 2022, Sergeant Josh Arnold of the Alexandria Police Department was on patrol on Cemetery Street and observed an open door and a window air conditioner unit that had been tampered with at the historic Seay Church. Upon further investigation it was determined that someone had forced entry by breaking open a side door causing damage. Sergeant Arnold had noticed a vehicle leaving the area prior to discovering the burglary.”

“A few hours later, Sergeant Arnold again went back to the church and noticed the same vehicle unoccupied parked by the side of the church. While waiting for additional law enforcement, Sergeant Arnold located and detained Dagrella and then arrested the juvenile after spotting him in the woods. Further investigation revealed that the pair was responsible for the earlier burglary at the church. A computer check through NCIC revealed that the juvenile was reported as a missing person out of Georgia,” said Chief Russell.

The DeKalb County Sheriff’s Department responded to assist the Alexandria Police Department in the case.

September 19, 2022
By:

The DeKalb County Farm Bureau Young Farmers and Ranchers remind everyone to stay safe on the farm and roadways. The third week of September is National Farm Safety & Health Week. It is slated for this week because it’s about the same time that farmers take to the fields working tirelessly to get their crops in for the year. It is also the season when many farm accidents happen. Sometimes they occur in the grain bin, on the highway, or in the field. This year’s theme is “Protecting Agriculture’s Future.”

Among the safety topics that are stressed this week include the deadliest subject: tractor safety & rural roadway safety. Half the farm fatalities reported each year are from transportation incidents. In the field, be visible with bright colored and reflective clothing. On the road, equipment should have sufficient lighting, reflectors, and a slow-moving vehicle sign. Motorists are encouraged to slow down when they encounter farm equipment on the road, allow for plenty of space, and only pass when safe to do so.

Other topics stressed this week include safety and health for youth on farms, and women working on farms. The week also reminds farmers to take care of themselves and not neglect food, sleep, or regular medication they may take. Children should only be assigned to age-appropriate tasks and be kept away from moving machinery and other hazards. They should be constantly supervised.

Another essential reminder focuses on farmers with large amounts of acreage requiring more travel. It’s crucial farmers know the physical 911 address for each location. One solution is to keep a list of farm addresses in each farm vehicle. This tool speeds up the response time of an ambulance or fire truck.

In an average year, between 400 and 500 farmers will be killed. Nonfatal injuries happen to about a third of the farm population annually. Initiated in 1944 by the National Safety Council, the annual promotion has been proclaimed by each sitting U.S. President.

The National Farm Safety & Health Week campaign is now promoted by the National Education Center for Agricultural Safety. It is the agricultural partner of the National Safety Council and has been serving families and businesses in agriculture since 1997. More information and tips may be found at necasag.org.
Visit the DeKalb County Farmers and Ranchers on Facebook for more information and to get involved.

September 19, 2022
By: Dwayne Page

DeKalb West School has earned the distinction of being a “Reward School” for high levels of performance and or improvement under Tennessee’s school accountability system.

The Tennessee Department of Education last week announced the schools and district designations for 2021-22.

“The Reward school status for DeKalb West School is a credit to the students as well as the faculty and staff for the work they have done. They have met and gone above the standards the state has set forth. They have worked hard and done a really good job,” said Director of Schools Patrick Cripps.

Schools are recognized as a Reward school when they demonstrate high levels of performance and/or improvement by meeting their annual measurable objectives across performance indicators and student groups, and the Reward school distinction places significant emphasis on improvement from the prior school year. From the 2020-21 TCAP administration, a significant number of schools saw improvement and increased participation in this year’s assessments to qualify for the distinction.

Northside Elementary School was identified by the state department as a Focus or “Targeted Support and Improvement” School, a designation for schools with overall accountability scores in the bottom five percent statewide for the performance of a given student group.

“To make improvements at Northside Elementary and across the district, basically what we have to do, and we have already started this process, is look at our test data and the areas of concern and then put in place a plan to meet the needs,” said Director Cripps. “We all have to be on a consistent plan district-wide because needs will not just go away when students leave Northside and transfer over to the middle school and later the high school so we must have a universal plan in place,” Cripps continued.

“It is a constant adjustment. We use data from where kids test three times a year to see where they are progressing and where we need to give additional support. We have All Core tutoring that we will start in schools to give math and literacy support. We have a team in place as part of the (textbook selection) committee to choose the right instructional materials and they will be trained to make sure that the materials selected will meet our needs. Other professional development will also be part of the plan for our teachers so that we can better support our students to get them to the level where they need to be,” added Director Cripps.

The DeKalb County School District as a whole earned “Satisfactory” status. Districts designated as Satisfactory received an overall score equal to or greater than 1.1 but less than 2.1.

Each year, schools are eligible for four types of designation by the Tennessee Department of Education based on their overall performance across indicators that are considered essential to student success, including how the school prepared students to be proficient (Achievement), accelerated student learning (Growth), encouraged students to attend school regularly (Chronically out of School), prepared students for postsecondary success (Graduation Rate and Ready Graduate), and supported English learners acquiring language skills.

Based on their performance and or demonstration of improvement on the same set of school benchmarks, Districts can earn Exemplary, Advancing, Marginal, or In Need of Improvement designations by the state.

Director Cripps said he believes the state should take other test data into consideration before making school and district designations for the year and not just base them on one TCAP test taken by students on one day.

“It shouldn’t be on one test done over the course of a school year. If you are going to judge somebody (student) do it more than just one time because everybody has a bad day. We don’t know what goes on the night before (a test) in a kid’s life. If we could get some flexibility that would be great. I think it’s unfair to our teachers and our students to put them in a box based on one day of testing,” said Director Cripps.

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