Democratic State Representative Rob Briley of Nashville, the chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, has been charged with DUI, evading arrest, and vandalism, among other traffic offenses as the result of incidents in DeKalb and Wilson Counties on Saturday afternoon.
The first involved a “hit and run” in DeKalb County around 4:31 p.m.
Trooper Allen England of the Tennessee Highway Patrol told WJLE Monday that the 40 year old Briley was eastbound on Highway 70 at Dowelltown in a 2005 Nissan Xterra SUV when he rear-ended an eastbound 2007 Chevy Colorado pickup truck, driven by 56 year old John P. Mitchell of McMinnville.
Passengers with Mitchell were 50 year old Janice Mitchell and 9 year old Sabrina Flanagan both of McMinnville.
Briley was traveling alone.
No one was injured in the accident.
According to Mitchell and another witness, Briley made a U-turn in the highway after the collision and fled the scene going west toward Watertown.
Mitchell said he pulled into the turning lane after the accident, but when he saw the driver of the other vehicle was not going to stop, he drove to the shoulder of the road, where he parked and called 911 to report the hit and run.
Trooper England says a plastic cover over the front bumper came off of Briley’s vehicle during the crash and clung to the ball of the trailer hitch on Mitchell’s truck.
After Trooper England learned that Briley was arrested in Watertown and that his vehicle fit the description of the one involved in the hit and run, he took the bumper cover found at the crash scene to Watertown and matched it with Briley’s Xterra.
Trooper England says he went to the Wilson County Jail, where Briley was taken after his arrest in Watertown, and issued him citations for failure to give immediate notice of an accident, leaving the scene of an accident, a separate citation for leaving the scene of an accident with property damage, and following to closely.
Briley will appear in DeKalb County General Sessions Court on the citations December 5th.
After the hit and run in Dowelltown, Briley was pulled over by Watertown Police Officer Ricky Lucy, Jr. for traveling 72 mph in a 45 mph zone
In addition to being charged with evading arrest, Briley allegedly failed three field sobriety tests and was charged with DUI. He also allegedly refused to take a blood or breathalyzer test and was charged with violation of the implied consent law.
Watertown Police say they found a bottle of Maker’s Mark whiskey as well as various prescription drugs inside Briley’s SUV.
In Lucy’s report, Briley listed taking anti-depressants as a medical reason for not being able to perform the field sobriety tests, saying they made him “dizzy.”
The state lawmaker was later charged with vandalism by Wilson County authorities after he allegedly damaged a door to a patrol car by repeatedly kicking the door and window frame as he was being taken to jail.

An independent team of engineers has reviewed planned repairs to Center Hill Dam and made key recommendations to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, according to U.S. Representative Bart Gordon.
The recommendations made by the peer review panel include an immediate reduction in the water level at Center Hill Lake to reduce pressure on the dam.
“The Corps should take every reasonable precaution to protect the lives and property of those who live downstream of Center Hill Dam,” said Gordon. “While the Corps tells me a dam break is unlikely, the results would be devastating.”
Last month, Gordon went to the dam and met with Corps officials regarding the planned repairs. The $240 million, six-year rehabilitation will involve the addition of grouting to voids where seepage is occurring in the earthen dam. Installation of a concrete cut-off wall into the rock foundation of the dam will provide another level of defense against future seepage.
Problems with seepage have been a problem at Center Hill Dam since its completion in 1951. The most recent rehabilitation to the dam occurred in 1992, when grouting was added to combact seepage.
“Addressing the seepage problems will greatly enhance safety for the Middle Tennesseans who live downstream, as well as for the many people who visit the lake each year,” said Gordon. “While the rehabilitation will cause temporary headaches, the end result will be a safer place for recreation and residence.”
While Corps officials say there is no immediate danger of the dam failing, they are monitoring the seepage so that emergency actions could be taken to lessen the possibility of a catastrophic breach occurring.
A catastrophic dam failure could result in significant damage and loss of life if water from Center Hill Lake were to flood downstream communities.
The Corps is planning to hold public meetings later this year in downstream communities and is working with the Department of Homeland Security to provide residents with maps depicting potential flooding in the event of a failure at the dam.
A copy of the full peer review report is available at the Corps’ web site at www.Irn.usace.army.mil/CenterHill.

Derrick Baker, Shelia Clayborn, and Maureen Tubbs were elected Aldermen during the Alexandria Municipal Election Thursday.
Clayborn led the ticket with 74 votes (31.6%) followed by Baker with 72 votes (30.7%) and Tubbs with 52 votes (22.2%).
Barbara (Bobbie) Crawford, a write-in candidate, received 17 write-in votes on the machine and one vote by paper ballot.
James R. Walker received 15 votes.
A total of 91 people voted in the election including 86 on election day and five during early voting.

The DeKalb County Volunteer Fire Department has been awarded a $241,410 U.S. Department of Homeland Security Operations and Safety Grant, U.S. Representative Bart Gordon announced.
“Many communities struggle to maintain EMS and firefighting services,” said Gordon, a member of the Congressional Fire Services Caucus. “Even though demands of EMS providers and firefighters have increased tremendously over the years, the resources they depend on to provide their life-saving services have not.
That’s why Congress initiated the Assistance to Firefighters Grant Program, which is similar to the highly successful COPS program that put more than 100,000 new police officers on the nation’s streets.”
Chief Donny Green said the DeKalb County Volunteer Fire Department will use this federal funding award to purchase 44 new self-contained breathing apparatuses (SCBA’s), or commonly referred to as “air packs”, which will allow for four SCBA?s at each of the 11 stations across the county. These SCBA’s cost a little more than $5,000 each.
Green added “Our county budget simply could not afford us to buy this essential safety equipment. The SCBA’s currently used by the department’s 77 volunteer firefighters are not NFPA compliant and do not offer the most up-to-date safety features that our volunteers deserve. The delivery of these SCBA’s will allow our department to be in compliance and provide a higher degree of safety for our 77 volunteer firefighters.”

A fire Wednesday burned a hay field belonging to Grady Ray on Wright Bend Road in the Belk Community.
County Fire Chief Donny Green says firefighters received a call around 2:30 p.m. Wednesday that a hay field was on fire and that the blaze was getting dangerously close to structures in the area.
Members of the Keltonburg and Belk Stations of the DeKalb County Volunteer Fire Department responded along with the brush truck and the Tennessee Division of Forestry.
The hay had been cut and mowed but had not yet been raked.
The fire burned the entire twelve acre hay field as well as an acre of an adjoining pasture.
The blaze got close to a barn and house but fire fighters were able to put it out before causing any damage to them.
Green says the fire may have started from the heat or a spark created by the using of the mowing equipment.
No one was injured.

Three applicants to fill vacancies in the Smithville Police Department were interviewed Tuesday afternoon at city hall by Mayor Taft Hendrixson, Vice Mayor/Alderman Steve White, and Smithville Police Department Officer in Charge, Steven Leffew.
Randy King, Joey Jones, and Steve Cowan have expressed an interest in being hired by the city as a police officer.
King, originally from Grundy County, now lives in Warren County and is currently out of law enforcement, working for a company in Jasper. He began his law enforcement career in Tracy City, where he became certified. For financial reasons, King left law enforcement and went into business for himself, before taking a job in Jasper. King was among the top ten in his class when he completed the Tennessee Law Enforcement Training Academy.
Jones, a resident of White County, is also a certified officer and has worked for thirteen years for the White County Sheriff’s Department.
Cowan, who lives at Brush Creek, is a certified officer and is currently employed as a security officer for UMC Medical Center in Lebanon. He formerly worked for over 18 years in security at Tennessee State University, and spent a year and a half working for the Smith County Sheriff’s Department, before becoming employed at UMC.
Mayor Hendrixson says a decision on hiring some new officers could come soon and would have to be approved by the aldermen at the next regular meeting.
Meanwhile, Mayor Hendrixson says the police department is planning to change the working schedule of it’s officers to twelve hour shifts.

Three Aldermen will be elected Thursday, September 6th in the Alexandria City Election.
Voting will be held from 8:00 a.m. until 7:00 p.m. at the Kenneth Sandlin Center at the DeKalb County Fairgrounds.
The official slate of candidates for this election, in addition to the write-in candidacy of Barbara (Bobbie) Crawford include Derrick Baker, Sheila Clayborn, Maureen Tubbs, and James R. Walker.
Crawford’s name will not be printed on the ballot. Anyone who wants to vote for her will have to “write in” her name. The voting machines that will be used allow the voter to do this on the machine rather than requesting a paper ballot. According to Tennessee Election Laws paper ballots are only to be used in an emergency situation when voting machines are not available for use.
A total of four people voted early for this election including three by personal appearance and one by mail.

Student Enrollment in the DeKalb County School System, after the first month of school, is down by 21 students compared to this same time last year.
Clay Farler, Attendance Supervisor, told WJLE Tuesday that system-wide, DeKalb County has an enrollment to date of 2,945, compared to 2,966 after the first month of school last year.
Enrollment is down by 13 students at Smithville Elementary School, down by one student at DeKalb Middle School, down by 16 students at Northside Elementary School, and down by 6 students at DeKalb County High School. Enrollment at DeKalb West School is up by 15 students.
Farler says one reason the enrollment number may be down at DCHS is because of the addition of the adult high school. Those attending the adult high school are not counted in the enrollment at DCHS.
The enrollment numbers include students in the four Pre-K classes at Smithville Elementary and one Pre-K class at DeKalb West School, all of which are not yet filled.
The enrollment numbers after the first month of school for 2007 and 2006 at each school are as follows:
DeKalb County High School-
Year 2007- 819
Year 2006- 825
DeKalb Middle School-
Year 2007- 527
Year 2006-528
Northside Elementary-
Year 2007-527
Year 2006-543
Smithville Elementary School-
Year 2007-645
Year 2006-658
DeKalb West School-
Year 2007-427
Year 2006-412

Early voting will be held Monday through Wednesday, September 10th-12th for the DTC Communications Director Election.
The annual meeting will be held on Saturday, September 15th at the DeKalb County Fairgrounds in Alexandria.
Directors will be elected in four exchanges, including the Auburntown (464), Gordonsville (683), Temperance Hall (548), and Woodland (765) exchanges.
Incumbents Roy N. Pugh, Robert Don Malone, and David Parker are running unopposed in the Auburntown, Temperance Hall, and Woodland exchanges, respectively.
The Gordonsville exchange is represented by two candidates: Incumbent James H. Dillard, Jr. and David A. Watson who qualified by petition.
Voting for directors will take place at the cooperative’s annual meeting on Saturday, Sept. 15 and during early voting Monday-Wednesday, Sept. 10-12.
Hours and locations for early voting include:
Early Voting Hours
Mon., Sept. 10 – Noon to 7 p.m.
Tues., Sept. 11 – Noon to 7 p.m.
Wed., Sept. 12 – 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Early Voting Locations
Kenneth Sandlin Building, DeKalb County Fairgrounds, Alexandria
Gordonsville Clinic/DTC Conference Room, 126 JMZ Drive, Gordonsville
DeKalb County Courthouse, Room 100, 1 Public Square, Smithville
DTC Training Center (former Woodbury phone store), located beside the DTC Customer Service Center, Woodbury
On Saturday, Sept. 15, gates to the DeKalb County Fairgrounds in Alexandria will open at 11:45 a.m., with voting from noon until 4 p.m. The business meeting will begin at 4 p.m. or once the last person in line at that time has voted.
Only DTC members may vote, and each member must present identification. For a single membership, only that individual may vote. Either member of a joint membership may vote, but not both. In the case of a business membership, a business affidavit is required.
For questions regarding membership and voting guidelines, refer to the by-laws section included in the current DTC phone directory, or call DTC at 615-529-2955.

A week after being involved in a serious traffic accident on Banks Pisgah Road, three persons have been released from the hospital and are making a recovery.
Lieutenant Brian Lawson of the Tennessee Highway Patrol says 18 year old Kerrie Neal of Lee Braswell Road, Smithville was traveling south on Banks Pisgah Road last Tuesday evening in a 1994 Chevy pickup truck when she crossed the double yellow line and struck a northbound 1993 Nissan pickup, driven by 39 year old Lisa Evon Crowe of Parkhurst Road, McMinnville. Lieutenant Lawson says the crash occurred as both drivers were trying to negotiate a curve in front of the Banks Cumberland Presbyterian Church near Bethel Road.
According to Lieutenant Lawson, both Crowe and Neal were airlifted along with a passenger of Neal’s vehicle, 17 year old Billy Gene Anderson of Page Drive, Smithville.
Two were flown to Erlanger Hospital in Chattanooga and one to Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville.
All three have since been released.
Lieutenant Lawson says Crowe, who was the most seriously injured, suffered a broken finger, broken bones in her hand and two broken ribs.
Neal was cited for failure to keep the proper lane of travel and Anderson was cited for not wearing a seatbelt.