The State Comptroller of the Treasury’s Division of County Audit has released the annual Financial Report of DeKalb County for the year ended June 30, 2011
The audit resulted in fifteen findings and recommendations which have been reviewed with DeKalb County Management.
(CLICK THE FOLLOWING LINK TO VIEW THE ENTIRE STATE AUDIT OF DEKALB COUNTY GOVERNMENT)http://www.comptroller1.state.tn.us/repository/CA/2011/dekalb.pdf
Six of the findings were in Road Supervisor Kenny Edge’s department.
The findings were as follows:
The office did not maintain adequate controls over consumable assets
The office had deficiencies in payroll procedures
Competitive bids were not solicited for crushed stone
A property owner erected a gate on a county road
A complete county road list was not submitted to the County Commission for approval
The Highway Department performed work and provided materials on roads to private cemeteries without authorization.
When contacted by WJLE Thursday afternoon, Edge said there is no truth to the finding that competitive bids were not solicited for crushed stone. While Edge apparently could not provide sufficient proof to satisfy the state, he said the notices were clearly published in the local newspaper during the summer. “There were bids. You can go back and get the Smithville Review in June of this year and see where I bid on them and we got bids,” said Edge.
Edge doesn’t deny that a property owner erected a gate on a county road, as found in the audit. In fact, he said there are gates on county roads in several places across the county. “The one they’re talking about here is a gate across the Love Valley Road. There’s a graveyard there but they let anybody go to the graveyard who wants to. There are gates all over this county on county roads. There are two or three in Wilder Hollow. There’s one at the head of Dry Creek. They are all over the county on the end of these roads, on Hurricane Ridge and everywhere. I’ve always worked with the landowners,” said Edge.
Edge also denies that he has failed to provide the county commission a complete road list for approval, as found in the audit. Edge insists that he submits road lists to the commission each year.
As for performing work and providing materials on roads to private cemeteries, Edge said he has done that throughout his years as road supervisor and that the county commission is well aware of it even though a resolution either has never been adopted by the commission or is currently unavailable acknowledging the practice. “They’re saying the county needs to pass a resolution and the county may have but they said I couldn’t produce it for them,”
Edge said its frustrating how that the state has such a problem with him putting gravel or a tile in a driveway, but sees nothing wrong with the state putting down hot mix and installing guardrails to a dead end on private property in the midst of a cedar thicket on the side of a hill along side a state highway (referring to property at the foot of Snow Hill on Highway 70)
Concerning the finding about deficiencies in the payroll procedures, Edge said ” You’re supposed to have one (employee) to receipt the money and another employee to write the checks to the employees. But we don’t have the money to hire two people for that. Its always been done this way ever since we’ve had a road department,” he said.
As far as the finding concerning maintaining adequate controls over consumable assets, Edge said “they write me up every year on the road tiles. I furnish everybody in the county a road tile that wants a driveway to build a new house. We don’t write down every tile for every particular location. We overlook them along. But if you miss one they (state) write you up just like you missed them all. They want you to put down every tile that you buy and then write down every location that you put it in. You know, you could have another employee over there doing nothing but trying to keep up with every nail, what bridge it was drove in, what gully every tile was put in, and what gully you put every gravel in. You can’t keep up with everything the auditors want you to and then they write you up for it,” said Edge.
WJLE will have a follow up story on other state audit findings soon.

Should businesses licensed to sell beer in DeKalb County be permitted to sell on Sunday?
Armando Bolanco, manager of the Midnight Express Gentleman’s Club on the Sparta Highway, believes they should and he briefly addressed the DeKalb County Beer Board concerning this issue Thursday night.
Bolanco said if beer sales were to be allowed on Sunday, not only would he be able to make more money, but he and other establishments that sell beer would be generating more tax money to support local government. ‘With that income that I lose, I also gain by not giving any more sales tax to the county and state. Personally, I think it would be very beneficial for the county if my place of business and the rest of the people in the county who sell beer were able to contribute more taxes by selling on Sundays. The county could use that money, whether its for the sheriff’s department or for the school system,” said Bolanco.
Jim Stagi, a member of the beer board, informed Bolanco that existing laws would first have to be changed and the beer board does not have that authority. “We’re following the recommendations of the county, which adopted the recommendations of the state. So its got to be done (changed) legislatively for us to change our rules. We cannot change the rules for you,” said Stagi.
Bolanco also asked for clarification on the law regarding beer sales after midnight during the week. Bolanco said he was under the impression that his business could not have any customers present after midnight, even though he is not serving alcohol. “We’ve been doing business in the county for coming up on eight years shortly. I don’t believe we have caused the county any troubles. I have run it myself from day one. We cut off people (from buying beer) when they start talking crazy or are wobling a little bit. As a manager, I believe that’s one of my duties. This is my case. I was told we have to clear out the building at 12:15 a.m. A good chunk of our profit on the weekends is made from 12 until 1 or 1:15 a.m. We don’t sell beer past midnight. We let things cool down. But I see that small hour (12 until 1 a.m.) as a time for people to sober up a little bit before they hit the roads,” said Bolanco.
Robert Rowe, beer board member, explained to Bolanco that while the law requires that no beer sales be made after midnight, the customers do not necessarily have to leave at that time. “The law doesn’t say they have to leave. But at 12:15 their beer has to go. They can spend the night with you if they want to. That’s the way I understand it. At 12:15 a.m. they can get the coffee pot out and say okay let’s have some coffee. All we do is enforce the law that they (county) gave us. This is the law they gave us to go by,” said Rowe.
The law states that “No beer or like beverages shall be sold between the hours of 12 midnight and 6:00 a.m. Monday through Saturday. No beer or like beverages shall be sold between the hours of 12 midnight on Saturday and 11:59 p.m. on Sunday. No such beverage shall be consumed or opened for consumption on or about any licensed premises in either bottle, glass, or other container after 12:15 a.m.”
Meanwhile, the beer board voted to receive an application for a new on and off premises permit for the VFW Howard Gill POST on the Sparta Highway under the name of the quartermaster. Tom Skelenka appeared before the board on behalf of the VFW.
The board will take final action on the application at the next meeting on Thursday, December 1 at 6:00 p.m. at the courthouse.

Tennessee State Fire Marshal Julie Mix McPeak is reminding Tennesseans to change their smoke alarms’ batteries this weekend when they set back their clocks late Saturday night for daylight saving time.
“Smoke alarms, even those that are hard-wired, should have their batteries replaced regularly and should be tested monthly to ensure they’re providing the proper protection,” McPeak says. “Use the extra hour we gain this weekend to make sure your home and family are fire-safe.”
Most home fires occur at night when people are sleeping. The smoke and toxic gases generated by a fire can cause people to sleep more deeply, narrowing the chances of surviving a fire. A working smoke alarm can double the chances of survival by increasing the amount of time a person has to escape a fire in their home.
Nationally, more than 90 percent of all homes have smoke alarms, but it is estimated that one-third of them don’t work because of old or missing batteries. It is critical to replace batteries regularly – even if alarms appear to be working fine. Twice a year is recommended. This reduces the chance of alarms chirping to indicate low batteries. All too often, a battery is removed and not replaced, putting a home’s occupants at risk. There’s no way to predict when a fire will occur, so even one night without an operational smoke alarm can be dangerous.
Here are some other helpful hints on the importance of smoke alarms:
• Smoke alarms should be installed in every room where an occupant sleeps, outside every sleeping area and on each level of the home. Make sure everyone can hear the alarm and knows what it sounds like.
• Smoke alarms need to be cleaned and maintained according to the manufacturer’s instructions.
• Devise a fire escape plan with two ways out of every room, and be sure to teach it to any children who live in the home.
• When a smoke alarm sounds, get out of the home immediately and go to your pre-planned meeting place.
The Department of Commerce and Insurance works to protect consumers while ensuring fair competition for industries and professionals who do business in Tennessee. www.tn.gov/commerce/

Voters interested in learning more about the Voter Photo I.D. law that goes into effect January 1 can now view an online video about the topic.

The Tennessee Division of Elections has created a special web site devoted entirely to the Photo I.D. law and the site includes a video that was shown at the recent “Town Hall” meetings held across the state on November
1.
“The state office and local election offices are looking at every opportunity to inform voters of the new requirements to vote at the polls beginning with elections held in 2012,” said Dennis Stanley, DeKalb County Administrator of Elections. “This site explains the new law and provides examples of the photo identification cards that will be accepted and links to what voters will need to do to obtain an acceptable photo i.d. card for voting purposes.”
Voters can visit http://www.state.tn.us/sos/election/photoID.htm and click on the video link to view a video presentation by State Coordinator of Elections Mark Goins or click on the “Power Point Presentation” link for a simple page by page explanation of the law along with color photographs of acceptable forms of photo identification. Voters can also access the web site by logging on to http://www.state.tn.us/sos/election/ and selecting the 2012 Voter Identification Requirements link.
More information about the new law can also be obtained by calling the DeKalb County Election Commission at 597-4146 or visiting the local commission’s web site at http://www.dekalbelections.com/.

The Tennessee Department of Transportation has announced that Hurricane Bridge will be closed to all traffic on Tuesday night, November 8 between the hours of 8:00 p.m. and 6:00 a.m. CST to pour a portion of the new concrete deck.
TDOT’s weekly construction report released Thursday, November 3 states, ” While the bridge is closed, all traffic will be redirected to the currently posted truck detour that utilizes I-40 at Exit 254 to SR-53. Message boards will be posted. The bridge will be reopened to normal one-lane signal-controlled traffic the following morning by 6:00 a.m. If the contractor is unable to perform this work, it will be rescheduled to take place on either the evening of Wednesday, November 9 or Thursday, November 10 between 8:00 p.m. and 6:00 a.m. Further temporary lane shifts may be implemented by flaggers on an “as needed” basis to facilitate work as it progresses”.
The bridge currently is down to only one lane of traffic, and it is being maintained and controlled by a temporary signal for the safety of the traveling public. The current weight postings of 10 tons for two-axle vehicles and 18 tons for vehicles with three or more axles will remain in effect and will be strictly enforced. This will allow for work adjacent to the north side of the bridge to continue.
Estimated project completion date is October 2013.

Alexandria Alderman Darrell Dixon was officially sworn into office Tuesday night to begin his new four year term during a special meeting of the Alexandria Board of Mayor and Aldermen.
The meeting was held at the Alexandria Senior Citizens Center.
Dixon was re-elected unopposed in September. He was sworn into office by Alexandria City Attorney Vester Parsley, Jr.
Other members of the board are Aldermen Pat Jackson, Tony Tarpley, and Addie Farley. The Mayor is Ria Baker. Two aldermen positions on the council still remain vacant.
Meanwhile, in other business the aldermen adopted a measure giving a refund to a few land owners whose property had been annexed into the city limits two years ago and then later de-annexed. The refund is for property taxes they paid during the time their land had been annexed into the city. It involves about thirty three property owners and totals almost $8,000.

The Civil War was trying, bloody and hard-fought combat for both sides. What was it, then, that sustained soldiers low on supplies and morale? For the Army of Tennessee, it was religion. Onward Southern Soldiers: Religion and the Army of Tennessee in the Civil War explores the significant impact of religion on every rank, from generals to chaplains to common soldiers. It took faith to endure overwhelming adversity. Religion unified troops, informing both why and how they fought and providing the rationale for enduring great hardship for the Confederate cause. Using primary source material such as diaries, letters, journals and sermons of the Army of Tennessee, Traci Nichols-Belt, along with Gordon T. Belt, presents the history of the vital role of the army’s religious practices.
Traci and Gordon of Kingston Springs will be selling and signing copies of their new book on Saturday, November 5 from noon until 4:00 p.m. at F.Z. Webb & Sons Gifts on the Public Square in Smithville.
CLICK THE FOLLOWING LINK TO HEAR TRACI TALK ABOUT THE BOOK ON WJLE
Traci Nichols-Belt is an ordained and licensed minister and holds a master’s degree in history from Middle Tennessee State University and a bachelor’s degree in political science from Anderson University. During her academic career at MTSU, Traci worked for the Tennessee State Museum and wrote two National Register nominations for the Johnsonville Historic District in New Johnsonville, Tennessee, and the Historical AME Church and Cemeteries in Alexandria, Tennessee. Traci has also worked as a historical consultant and grant writer for the Clement Railroad Hotel and Museum in Dickson, Tennessee. Traci’s article “Chaplains in the Army of Tennessee, CSA: Warring Disciples Carrying the Gospel” was published in the Winter 2004 issue of the Tennessee Historical Quarterly. Additionally, she wrote a review of Sam Davis Elliot’s book, Doctor Quintard Chaplain CSA and Second Bishop of Tennessee for the Spring 2004 issue of the Tennessee Historical Quarterly.
Gordon T. Belt is an information professional specializing in local archives, historical research and government and public policy. He currently works as the library manager for the First Amendment Center at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee, and has written several articles for the First Amendment Center on legislative issues and history. Gordon holds a master’s degree in history from Middle Tennessee State University and a bachelor’s degree in political science from the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga. He is an active member in the Society of Tennessee Archivists and holds memberships in the Society of American Archivists, Special Libraries Association, National Council on Public History and the Tennessee Historical Society. Gordon is also the founding editor and publisher of The Posterity Project, an award-winning blog devoted to issues related to archives, history, civic responsibility and open access to public records in his home state of Tennessee

The City of Smithville’s engineering firm will be asked to determine the cost of treating landfill leachate at the waste water treatment plant. Once the board of aldermen has that information it will determine whether or not the city should starting charging the county again for this service.
Although no vote could be taken, Mayor Taft Hendrixson said during a brief workshop Thursday night that city officials would contact the J.R. Wauford Company to conduct the cost study.
The workshop was held between city and county leaders in an effort to come to terms on an agreement on the treatment and disposal of landfill leachate in the city waste water treatment plant. County Mayor Mike Foster said if the county has to pay, it could be a costly venture, and if Smithville were to refuse to accept the leachate, the county could be forced to shut down the landfill until an arrangement could be worked out with another city or county. “The landfill is a nasty place. I’ll acknowledge that. But without being able to haul leachate, we would have to close the landfill that minute,” said Foster.
The City of Smithville, since August 2008, has not been paying the county for the disposal of city garbage in the landfill and the county, since March 2009, has not been paying for the treatment of landfill leachate being hauled to the city’s waste water treatment plant.
County Mayor Foster has said that this non-payment verbal agreement between he and Smithville Mayor Taft Hendrixson was reached months ago. But according to Mayor Hendrixson, there was no such deal. He said the city’s refusal to pay is based on the principle that the county should not be charging Smithville a fee to dump city garbage in the county landfill since city residents are already supporting the operation of the landfill as county taxpayers.
Although some landfill leachate has been hauled to and treated at the city sewer plant for several years, the leachate issue became more of a concern after the county opened a new five acre cell at the landfill in 2009. Heavy rains caused a great amount of leachate (storm water) to run through the new cell and that water, according to Foster had to be removed, treated and disposed of properly according to state and federal environmental regulations.
Mayor Hendrixson said it was during that time that County Mayor Foster contacted him. ” Mr. Foster had come to me to discuss the new landfill. He said until it got enough garbage in there to soak up most of the leachate (he wanted to haul the leachate to the sewer plant). I told him to go ahead and put it in our sewer system. We did and it has continued on since then. So that’s where we are,” said Mayor Hendrixson.
County Mayor Foster said he sent a letter to Mayor Hendrixson during the summer asking that the original two year verbal agreement be renewed in writing, but that so far nothing has been done.
During a city council meeting last month, Alderman Shawn Jacobs asked that a workshop be held with Foster to discuss his request. Alderman Jacobs, during the workshop, said he felt the issue should be brought out in the open. “I think there was some question on the city’s part if we truly did have an arrangement. This issue seemed to keep brewing. To keep it from turning into a political football, we ought to bring it out in the open and deal with it publicly the way it should be dealt with,” said Jacobs.
Alderman Jacobs also asked city attorney Vester Parsley, Jr. whether it was legal for the city to treat the leachate.
In response, Parsley said the city’s current sewer use ordinance does give the city that authority.” In looking at the ordinance that we passed in 2002, we have the capability of treating things that are brought in under certain circumstances as long as it is not contaminated with something that would cause problems to our sewer system. Its not an issue about something we couldn’t treat,” he said
“We can’t give water away. Are we legally required to charge?. Can we legally treat leachate without charging for it?,” asked Jacobs.
“Under section 7.1 of the (ordinance) surcharges, it says that the city council may adjust or vary the various rates and or formulas at its discretion,” said Parsley. “So the city council has the discretion of what charge you make. There is a formula in here about the treatment but the city council can adjust that or say we’re not going to charge anything if they chose to,” he said.
“My concern is the water and sewer fund has to be self supporting,” said Jacobs. ” It has nothing to do with city taxes. Any money that the city might pay as a tipping fee at the landfill. That’s city tax money. But the water and sewer fund comes out of a different pot. My concern is that we’re being fair to our ratepayers. Are we making them subsidize the landfill?,” asked Alderman Jacobs.
Sewer plant operator Bobby Pinegar said that the city treats about one million gallons of waste water per day. Foster pointed out that the amount of landfill leachate being hauled to the sewer plant in a year’s time is relatively small and has been decreasing compared to what the city treats overall in a year. He said it should not be a significant expense. “Your total amount of chemicals to treat 365 million gallons (for the year’s sewer plant operation) is $35,000 budgeted and actual expense. We’re (county) hauling 3.88 million gallons,” said Foster. “Last year, we probably hauled maybe 25% or 30% of what we hauled the year before. It was much less. Its going down as the landfill gets full. But there’s always going to be some leachate. I think we brought you all 3.88 million gallons last year which was roughly 700 truck loads. There’s been months when we first opened that when we probably hauled 700 truck loads that month. If we’re hauling 2% of what you’ll haul (treat) that would be $700 worth of chemicals. If we’re hauling 10% it’d be $3,500. But your total amount of chemicals to treat 365 million gallons is $35,000,” said Foster
Mayor Hendrixson said according to city records, “In 2009, I think you had 1,667 truck loads. In 2010 you had 798. This year so far through September you’ve had 795. I think it’ll be up this year over last year, but not as much as 2009,” said Mayor Hendrixson.
County attorney Hilton Conger inquired about the city’s treatment costs at the waste water plant.
Hunter Hendrixson, the city’s secretary/treasurer, said while no up to date figures are available, the city’s engineering firm provided a formula to go by in 2006.” Our engineering company, Wauford gave us a formula on what it costs per thousand gallons. In 2006, it was around 78.8 cents per thousand gallons. If you round it up, for ten million gallons, that would be eight thousand dollars. It may be more now. We may need them to come in and have them re-do that and see what it is today,” said Hendrixson.
Mayor Hendrixson said Wauford would be contacted to figure what the city’s costs are today. “What our board needs to do is come up with a solution, whether to charge nothing or charge so much, or charge for chemicals or whatever you want to do. It’d be my suggestion to ask our engineering company to determine what is our cost now per one thousand gallons to treat that, and then for the board to make its decision,” said Mayor Hendrixson.
Meanwhile, the issue of whether the city should pay the county for the disposal of city garbage in the landfill also remains unresolved.
Up until August 2008, the city paid the fees ($25.00 per ton) but neither city nor county officials have been able to locate a written agreement on the arrangement. County Mayor Foster said the city and county should go about “finding an arrangement about garbage, since its been done (city paying fees to county) since the 1970’s”.
Mayor Hendrixson disagreed saying “I still have a problem with the city having to pay anything as county residents to put their household garbage in that landfill”.
Foster pointed out that the county receives no property tax money for the operation of the landfill. It’s an enterprise fund, he said, made up of revenues derived from payment-in-lieu of taxes, local option sales taxes, hotel-motel tax, bank excise tax, and the wholesale beer tax, etc.
Mayor Hendrixson responded that those funds were also county monies.
The new landfill cell, Foster said, is expected to last less than two more years. In the meantime, the county is looking at going to a transfer station in the future, he added.
(NOTE: The top picture shows the newest landfill cell shortly after it opened in 2009. The water seen in the photo is leachate. According to County Mayor Foster, at the base of the cell is five feet of compacted clay with a geo-technical cloth on top, then another foot of clay, pipes which are used to catch the leachate, and at the top is a foot of septic tank gravel. The water that drains into the pipes is pumped to a tank (storage facility) at the top of the hill and from there, tanker trucks are loaded with the water (leachate) and hauled to the Smithville wastewater treatment plant)

A new law that will require voters to show a valid photo ID at the polls won’t go into effect until next year, but in preparation for this new requirement, the DeKalb County Election Commission will hold a town hall meeting to inform the public of the change in the law.
The meeting is scheduled for 6:00 p.m. Tuesday, November 1, on the first floor of the DeKalb County Courthouse. The purpose of the meeting is to present information regarding the new law, which goes into effect January 1, 2012. The town hall meeting will include a presentation, followed by a question and answer period.
The major points of the law include:
•A voter is required to produce a federal or state government-issued photo ID before being allowed to vote. Some examples of a valid photo ID, even if expired, are a Tennessee driver license, U.S. passport, Department of Safety photo ID card, state or federal employee photo identification card, or a U.S. military photo ID. Student college IDs will not be accepted for voting purposes.
Free photo IDs may be obtained from any Department of Safety driver license testing station. Registered voters must sign an affidavit stating that the photo ID is for voting purposes, that they are a registered voter, and that they do not have any other valid government-issued photo ID. The Department of Safety will not issue a free photo ID if the person already has a valid government-issued photo ID
•Voters who are unable to produce a valid photo ID will be allowed to vote a provisional ballot, which is a paper ballot, at the polls. Voters casting a provisional ballot will have until two (2) business days after Election Day to return to the election commission office to show a valid photo ID.
•Voters with a religious objection to being photographed, or voters who are indigent and unable to obtain a photo ID without paying a fee – for example, the voter cannot pay for a birth certificate for proof of citizenship – may sign an oath affirming to the information and will be allowed to vote on the machines.
•Voters who vote absentee by mail, voters who are hospitalized, and voters who live in licensed nursing homes or assisted living centers and vote at the facilities are not required to show photo IDs. Registered voters over the age of 65 may request an absentee ballot and vote by mail.
“The goal of the town hall meeting is to educate the public and prepare voters for the upcoming 2012 elections,” Dennis Stanley, administrator of elections said. “We want voters to have plenty of time to obtain a valid photo ID if they do not already possess one. We encourage everyone to attend the November 1 meeting.”
Starting November 5 Driver License Stations in 15 counties, including Putnam and Rutherford will be open on the first Saturday in each month to make photo driver licenses or Ids for voting purposes only. No other business will be conducted in the centers on Saturdays. The hours of operation will be 8:30 a.m. until 5:00 p.m. in Cookeville at 4600 South Jefferson Avenue (phone 931-528-5669) or in Murfreesboro at 1035 Samsonite Boulevard (phone 615-898-8036)
The following centers will be open for weekday visits:
McMinnville at 594 Vervilla Road (phone 931-668-9304
Lebanon at 725 Elkins Drive ( phone 615-443-2757
There are a number of safeguards in the law to ensure eligible voters are not disenfranchised. The photo ID requirement does not apply to:
.People who vote absentee by mail
.People who vote in licensed nursing homes or assisted living facilities
.People who are hospitalized
.People who have religious objections to being photographed
.People who are indigent and cannot obtain photo IDs without paying fees
Voters who forget to bring photo identification to the polls may cast provisional ballots and return to their local election offices with proof of their identities within two business days after elections.
For more information about the new voting requirements, contact Mark Goins, coordinator of elections, or Andrew Dodd, elections specialist, in the state Division of Elections at 1-877-850-4959 or your local county election commission at 597-4146, Room 104 of the DeKalb County Courthouse in Smithville.