Six Scouts Advance in Rank during Court of Honor Ceremony

October 5, 2018
By: Bill Conger

Six scouts from Smithville Troop 347 advanced in rank during a Court of Honor ceremony held October 4 at the Rotary Club building.

Life Scout Will Stevens cleared the final hurdle for Eagle Scout during a board of review meeting earlier in the afternoon. Friedrich Dodge will be moving up to Eagle Scout. Carter Dias and Kaleb Wildes both advanced from 2nd class to 1st class while Jaden Wildes earned his Tenderfoot rank. Brandon Sobotka is at the Scout level.

Other scouts receiving merit badges were Jonathan Birmingham—Citizenship in the Nation and Camping; Zackary Cantrell—Swimming, Archery, Fish & Wildlife Management, Geology, and Nature; Gavin Conger—Wilderness Survival; Carter Dias—Wood Carving and Fish & Wildlife Management; Friedrich Dodge—Citizenship in the Community, Citizenship in the World, and Personal Fitness; Cody Robinson—Swimming, Personal Fitness, and Fish & Wildlife Management; Brandon Sobotka—Electricity and Fish & Wildlife Management; Arthur Sullivan—American Heritage and American Cultures; Kaleb Wildes—Wilderness Survival and Archery; Jaden Wildes—First Aid, Wood Carving, and Indian Lore.

October 5, 2018
By: Dwayne Page

The case against a man accused of setting fire to the courthouse over two years ago has again been delayed.

56 year old Gary Wayne Ponder made an appearance in DeKalb County Criminal Court today (Friday) but Judge Gary McKenzie granted another continuance until November 26 to give state prosecutors an opportunity to review results of Ponder’s medical evaluation when they become available. The evaluation took place only two days ago and the District Attorney General’s Office has not yet been provided results of the tests.

The last trial date for Ponder was set for May 9th but was postponed after Assistant District Public Defender Scott Grissom, who is representing Ponder, filed a motion on April 25 asking for the continuance (postponement) of the trial in order for Ponder to undergo an evaluation by a clinical and forensic psychologist to determine if Ponder’s medical condition could be affecting his mental state.

The court granted the motion.

In the pleadings, Grissom states that “as grounds for this motion, the defendant (Ponder) would show that on April 2, 2018, a letter from Sherry Wright, ANP-BC of Vanderbilt University Medical Center, was received and it states that Mr. Ponder suffered from heptic encephalopathy as a result of cirrhosis. The defense would argue that the evaluation is essential to determine whether the defendant was suffering from a mental disease or defect at the time of the incident that could provide a defense pursuant to (state law)”.

Ponder was deemed to be competent after his first evaluation several weeks after the fire.

Smithville Police charged Ponder on Wednesday, June 15, 2016 after he was observed on the courthouse surveillance video system intentionally lighting fire in a newspaper recycling bin on the first floor vestibule. The video showed that on Tuesday, June 14, 2016 Ponder grabbed newspapers from the recycling bin and started the fire by lighting them with a cigarette lighter.

The fire damaged the wall behind the recycling bin and cracked a window in the vestibule near the first floor entrance of the courthouse.

October 5, 2018
By: Dwayne Page

After months of trying to reach a consensus, the Board of Education is finally ready to make a recommendation to the county commission on a new multi phase school building plan.

During Thursday night’s regular monthly meeting, the board voted unanimously to seek funding for the construction of a new elementary school for students in pre-kindergarten to 2^nd grade to replace Smithville Elementary School.

Smithville Elementary School, originally built in 1958, now is 70,557 square feet in size, and has a current enrollment of 556 students. A year ago a facilities study by the board’s architect, Upland Design Group, concluded that the school, which has mold and other concerns, should be replaced and repurposed for other uses.

The proposed new school, 98,000 square feet, would accommodate 800 students. The total estimated project cost is $19,464,500.

Plans are to build the new school (pre-k to 2^nd grade) adjacent to Northside Elementary School (grades 2-5) on the same property if it is feasible. According to the architect’s facilities study, 15-20 acres would be needed for the project. The Tennessee Department of Transportation also requires a traffic study be done anytime a new school is built near a state highway. Findings of that study as it relates to increased traffic flow and congestion will also be a consideration.

If the architect concludes that more land is needed to make the Northside site acceptable for a new school, the board is expected to try purchasing property from an adjoining landowner.

Members of the Board said having both Northside and the new elementary school on the same property would make it easier for students to transition from one to the other and it would free up space at Northside.

Northside Elementary was built for grades 3-5 but in recent years has had to accommodate three second grade classes due to overcrowding at Smithville Elementary, which is a pre-K to 2^nd grade school. With a new elementary school, all second graders would again be under one roof.

The plan will soon be presented to the county commission which will have to approve it and authorize funding to pay for it over a period of years through a note or bond issue. Should it be approved, the school board wants a plan in place, working with the county commission, to move toward building a new high school after the new elementary school is completed and paid for hopefully within 10 years. In fact, the school board wants the blessing of the county commission now to purchase property for a new high school once a suitable location is found so it will be available when the time comes to build.

“We are trying to do something on a shorter term payout, something that can be paid off in a 10 year period. During that 10 years we have a lot of bonds rolling off that will be maturing and paid off so it will free up some money for what we hope will be a multi-phase plan,” said Board Chairman W.J. (Dub) Evins, III.

The board had previously considered building one or more pre-K through 5^th grade or pre-k to 8^th grade schools but could not reach a consensus. Although it was not the sole reason for the board’s choice not to go forward with one of those options, either plan would have required zoning meaning students would have had to attend the elementary school within the zone where they reside. Those options were also more costly and would have perhaps delayed plans for a new high school by 20 to 30 years, making the already 55 year old DCHS school building (core facility), 75 to 85 years old before replacement.

The school board had paid Upland Design just for the facilities study and will now have to enter into a separate contract with the architect firm going forward during the construction phase of the project, should the county commission fund it.

In other business, Director Patrick Cripps updated the school board on personnel moves. Julie Vincent, Principal at Smithville Elementary School has resigned and Katie Haggard and Sara Halliburton have been granted a leave of absence as requested.

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