Early Voting Begins Wednesday (View Sample Ballot Here)

October 17, 2022
By: Dwayne Page

Early voting begins Wednesday, October 19 and runs through November 3 for the State and Federal November 8 elections.

Early voting will be at the DeKalb County Courthouse in Smithville and for one day at the Fairgrounds in Alexandria.

Sample Ballot

Times for early voting are as follows: Mondays 1 p.m. to 5 p.m.; Tuesdays 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.; Wednesdays 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.; Thursdays 2 p.m. to 6 p.m.; Fridays 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. and Saturdays 9 a.m. until Noon.

The early voting date at the Fairgrounds is Thursday, Oct. 27 from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m..

The hours for voting at the 12 precincts on Election Day, November 8th are 8 a.m. until 7 p.m.
Voters will be making their selections for Governor, Congressman and State Representative and voters in the 4th district only will have a candidate for Constable to fill an unexpired term. In addition, voters will be making their choices on four constitutional amendments.

Candidates for Governor are: Republican incumbent Bill Lee, Democratic nominee Jason Brantley Martin and Independents Constance M. Every, John Gentry, Basil Marceaux, Charles Van Morgan, Alfred O’Neil, Deborah Rouse, Michael E. Scantland and Rick Tyler.

Candidates for U.S House of Representatives District 6 are Republican incumbent John Rose and Democratic challenger Randal Cooper.

Candidates for Tennessee House of Representatives District 40 are Republican Michael Hale and Democrat Tom Cook, both from DeKalb County.

The lone candidate for Constable in the 4th District is Republican Lane Ball.

The amendments deal with issues ranging from employment rights to a process for the temporary exercise of power of the governor to forever prohibiting slavery to deleting a section which prohibits ministers from holding a seat in the legislature.

In general terms, Constitutional Amendment #1 would add a new section to article XI to make it illegal for any person, corporation, association or the State of Tennessee or its political subdivisions to deny or attempt to deny employment to any person because of the person’s membership in, affiliation with, resignation from, or refusal to join or affiliate with any labor union or employee organization.

Constitutional Amendment #2 would add to Article III, Section 12 of the current constitution a process for the temporary exercise of powers and duties of the governor by the Speaker of the Senate (or the Speaker of the House if there is no Speaker of the Senate in office) when the governor is unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office.

Constitutional Amendment #3 would change the language in article I, section 33 of the current constitution with “slavery and involuntary servitude are forever prohibited. Nothing in this section shall prohibit an inmate from working when the inmate has been duly convicted of a crime.”

Constitutional Amendment #4 simply deletes article IX, section I of the current constitution which prohibits ministers of the gospel and priests of any denomination from holding a seat in either House of the legislature.

“Voters should note that the Amendments will be placed on the ballot directly after the Governor’s race,” Stanley said. “Amendments are presented as yes or no questions. A “yes” vote is a vote to amend the Constitution and adopt the proposed language in the amendment. A “no” vote is a vote to NOT amend the constitution and keep the current language in the Constitution unchanged,” he added.

For any amendment to pass, it must get more “yes” votes than “no” votes; and the number of “yes” votes must be a majority of the total votes in the gubernatorial election.

The hours for voting at the 12 precincts on Election Day, November 8, are 8 a.m. until 7 p.m.

October 16, 2022
By: Dwayne Page

The next term of the DeKalb County Grand Jury will meet on Monday, November 14.

“It is the duty of your grand jurors to investigate any public offense which they know or have reason to believe has been committed and which is triable or indictable in the county. Any person having knowledge or proof that an offense has been committed may apply to testify before the grand jury subject to the provisions of Tennessee Code Annotated 40-12-105. The foreman in this county is presently Ms. Katherine Pack, 1 Public Square, Room 303, Smithville, Tennessee, 37166.” said DeKalb Circuit Court Clerk Susan Martin.

“The grand jury will next meet on Monday, the 14th day of November, 2022, at 8:30 a.m.. You may be prosecuted for perjury for any oral or written statement which you make under oath to the grand jury, when you know the statement to be false, and when the statement touches on a matter material to the point in question,” she said.

October 15, 2022
By:

The Tennessee Department of Agriculture’s Division of Forestry reminds citizens that the state is heading into fall fire season. Dry conditions and trees that shed their leaves heighten fire danger and a debris burn permit is now required for leaf and brush piles as of Oct. 15.

“Careless debris burning is a primary cause of wildland fires every year in Tennessee,” State Forester David Arnold said. “Burning leaf and brush piles can be an effective tool to remove collected debris from your yard but the tool needs to be used safely with cooperative weather and under constant supervision.

Practice safe debris burning and remember that state permits are required starting this Saturday in areas where local governments do not have established outdoor burning ordinances.”

Debris Burn Permits for leaf and brush piles are available at no charge via the MyTN mobile app or online at www.BurnSafeTN.org. Apply the same day you plan to burn. Online permits can be obtained daily from 8 a.m. to 11 p.m. Central Time for any size leaf and brush burn pile. Each pile should be completely extinguished by the permit expiration.

For larger broadcast burning, such as forestry, agricultural, and land clearing, call the Division of Forestry burn permit phone number at 877-350-BURN (2876) Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. – 4:30 p.m. This phone line will open Friday, Oct. 14. Callers may experience lengthy wait times when call volume is high.

Permits are issued only when conditions are conducive to safe burning. If you live inside city limits, check with your municipality for additional restrictions before you burn.

In DeKalb County to obtain a burn permit call (615) 597-4015 if you live west of the Caney Fork River or (931) 839-2328 if you are east of the Caney Fork River. In the City of Smithville call 615-215-3000.

A list of materials that are not allowed to be burned can be found from the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation at www.tn.gov/environment/program-areas/apc-air-pollution-control-home/apc/open-burning.html. Call 1-888-891-TDEC to report illegal burning.

Burning without a permit is a class C misdemeanor and punishable by up to 30 days in jail and/or a fine. Individuals are legally required to stay with their fire until extinguished.

The following tips should be followed when it is safe to conduct a debris burn:

• Check with local authorities to make sure there are no local restrictions on burning currently in place, especially in cities and towns that have their own burning permit system.

• GET A PERMIT. A permit is required from the Tennessee Division of Forestry between October 15 to May 15 where local restrictions do not supersede.

• Notify your local fire department and neighbors to let them know your plans to burn.

• Do not burn on windy days.

• Stay abreast of changing weather conditions.

• Establish wide control lines down to bare mineral soil at least five feet wide around burn piles.

• Keep fire containment equipment on hand during the fire (e.g. rake, shovel, water).

• Stay with the fire until it is completely out.

Visit www.BurnSafeTN.org for additional tips to burn safely and to protect your community.

The Division of Forestry protects and promotes the responsible use of forest resources in Tennessee. Focus areas include assisting landowners with a variety of services, providing quality tree seedlings, supporting forest health programs, collecting forest inventory data, assisting forest industries, and fighting wildland fires. Visit www.tn.gov/agriculture/forests for more information

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