A new Dollar General Store will be opening soon in DeKalb County.
Construction is underway on the building, located on Highway 70 at Snow Hill. With the new store, Dollar General will have three locations in DeKalb County. The other two are in Smithville and Alexandria.
Dollar General has not yet announced a specific date for the opening of the new store here.
Dollar General recently announced plans to add 635 new stores and 550 relocations or remodels throughout the country in 2013 creating 6,000 new jobs. “Throughout 2013, we plan to expand throughout the 40 states we serve based on how we can best meet our customers’ needs,” said Crystal W. Chassemi, Public Relations Manager for the Dollar General Corporation.
“We look for locations where we can offer customers an easy and convenient shopping choice. We also take demographic trends, competitive factors and traffic patterns into consideration. We know convenience is a major factor in our customers’ shopping decisions as we generally serve customers within a 3-5 mile radius, or 10 minute drive. We determine new store and remodel/relocations based on this criteria,” said Chassemi.
With the addition of these 6,000 jobs in 2013, Dollar General will have created approximately 30,000 jobs in the last six years.
“Dollar General’s continued growth reflects our customers’ increasing satisfaction with our everyday low prices and convenience,” said Rick Dreiling, Dollar General’s chairman and CEO. “Further, 2013 will mark another growth milestone as we plan to open the organization’s 11,000th store before the year’s end when we will begin our 75th anniversary in 2014.”
In order to generate a high caliber candidate pool, Dollar General also participates in proactive hiring initiatives such as Paychecks for Patriots that demonstrate the company’s commitment to an employee base including veterans. The Paychecks for Patriots program helps resolve the challenges of unemployment facing veterans by equipping the military community with the resources to better access available job opportunities at committed companies.
“Dollar General is a thriving organization looking to attract new employees that embody our mission of ‘Serving Others,’ which complements the company’s efforts to promote from within. We are excited to welcome new talent with a passion for the retail business,” said Bob Ravener, executive vice president and chief people officer.
Dollar General’s commitment to employee development will also continue in 2013 by using training as an instrumental tool in the company’s overall success. Recently, Training magazine recognized the company among its Training Top 125 for the second consecutive year.

Smithville Alderman Danny Washer has picked up his qualifying petition from the election commission to seek re-election this summer.
Washer, who was first elected two years ago, will be running for his second two year term.
He is owner and operator of Doc’s Detail or Custom on East Bryant Street.
The Smithville Municipal Election is set for Tuesday, June 18. Three aldermen are to be elected. The positions are currently held by Aldermen Gayla Hendrix, Shawn Jacobs, and Danny Washer.
All three have now picked up their petitions and are planning to seek re-election.
Anthony Scott of Riley Avenue also plans to be a candidate.

A 42 year old woman is charged with domestic assault for allegedly hitting her 20 year old son during an argument at their home on Young Ridge Road.
Glenda Madonna Bogle is under a $2,500 bond and she will be in court on February 28. Sheriff Patrick Ray said that on Saturday, February 2 the sheriff’s office received a call of a fight in progress at a residence on Young Ridge Road. Upon arrival, a deputy spoke with Glenda Bogle and her son, 20 year old Brent J. Bogle. According to Sheriff Ray, Brent had been drinking alcohol and wanted to leave the residence but his mother would not let him. The two got into an argument and Glenda allegedly hit Brent in the face with her fist. She was arrested and brought to the jail for booking. Brent Bogle was cited for underage consumption. He will also be in court on February 28.
23 year old Felicia Ann Moore of Rosewood Lane, Smithville is cited for possession of a schedule III drug. Sheriff Ray said that on Saturday, January 26 a sheriff’s department drug detective found Moore to be a passenger of a vehicle which was stopped for a light law violation. Moore told the detective that she had pills inside her body cavity. Moore was brought to the jail where the pills were retrieved. Moore had eight Lortab (10 milligram) and thirteen Vicodin, which are both schedule III drugs. She will be in court on February 14.
32 year old Jared Scott Atnip of Allen Ferry Road is charged with public intoxication. His bond is $2,500 and he will be in court on March 11. Sheriff Ray said that on Monday, January 28 Atnip was in the courtroom of the courthouse. He was very unsteady on his feet and he had problems standing. His speech was slurred. Atnip was found to be under the influence and he was brought to the jail for booking.
26 year old Corey Robert Winchester of Roy Womack Road, Smithville was charged three times within five days last week for driving on a suspended license. His total bond is $7,500 and he will be in court on all the charges February 28. Winchester was first arrested on Monday, January 28.. Sheriff Ray said that a deputy spotted a vehicle on Sink Creek Road traveling in the middle of the road moving back and forth, left to right. The officer tried to stop the vehicle near the intersection of Sink Creek Road, Haley Road, and Roy Womack Road. The driver of the automobile did not stop for the officer, but instead pulled up to a residence and drove behind the house. The deputy followed the vehicle with his blue lights still activated and shown his spotlight into the passenger side window. The officer saw Winchester, the driver, swapping seats with a female passenger. The deputy knew that Winchester’s license were suspended, having already given him a warning on a previous occasion. A computer check confirmed that Winchester’s license were still suspended for failure to pay child support on November 6, 2010.
Five days later on Saturday, February 2, Winchester was caught twice driving on a suspended license. Sheriff Ray said that a deputy saw Winchester operating a vehicle at the intersection of Miller Road and Highway 146. Winchester had stopped in the street, got out of the car, and started walking. The officer had prior knowledge that Winchester’s license were suspended due to the offense on January 28. The officer obtained a warrant against Winchester. In the second offense that day, a sheriff’s department drug detective saw Winchester coming out of Walmart, getting into an automobile, and driving away. The detective followed Winchester from Walmart to Greenwood Drive and pulled him over, having knowledge that his license were suspended. He was transported to jail for booking.
34 year old Terra Elizabeth Taylor of Williams Lane, Alexandria is cited for possession of a schedule II drug (oxycodone), a suspended drivers license, violation of the financial responsibility law (no insurance), and failure to maintain a lane of travel following a February 3 traffic accident on Brush Creek Road at Alexandria in which her vehicle left the roadway, striking a mile marker sign. She will be in court February 21. Sheriff Ray said that Taylor, following the accident, could not provide a valid drivers license or proof of insurance. She was in possession of seven small round blue tablets, believed to be oxycodone. The tablets were in a pill container. Taylor removed the pill container from her pocket and handed it to the officer. Her drivers license were suspended in Wilson County in 2005.
38 year old Autumn Danielle White of Chapman Hollow Road, Dowelltown is charged with public intoxication. Her bond is $1,500 and she will be in court on February 28. Sheriff Ray said that on Sunday, February 3 a deputy found a vehicle parked in the roadway on Vandergriff Road. He stopped to check the automobile and found White passed out in the passenger seat. She had an odor of an alcoholic beverage on her person. She was unsteady on her feet and her speech was very slurred. White told the officer that she had been around where methamphetamine was being cooked that day. For the safety of the public and herself, White was brought to the jail for booking.

A 23 year old man, who was injured in a one vehicle wreck on Bethel Road Sunday night, left the scene but was found hiding in a ditch over three hours later on Underhill Road.
Trooper Craig Wilkerson of the Tennessee Highway Patrol told WJLE that Casimiro Silva, an undocumented immigrant who lives at 1579 Bethel Road, was taken by DeKalb EMS to DeKalb Community Hospital where he was treated for head trauma, including a laceration to the head.
Central dispatch received the call about the accident at 8:34 p.m.
According to Trooper Wilkerson, Silva was driving north on Bethel Road in a 1994 Chevy Astro van when he failed to negotiate a curve, went off the right shoulder, overcorrected, crossed the center line, and then ran off the left shoulder of the road and struck a tree. Upon impact, the van turned counter clockwise and came to rest facing south just off the road. Silva, whose head struck the windshield, climbed out of the van after the wreck and fled on foot before anyone arrived on the scene. After officers got there and saw blood, they began a search.
Members of the DeKalb County Rescue Squad, deputies of the DeKalb County Sheriff’s Department, the Putnam County Sheriff’s Department K-9 unit, DeKalb County Volunteer Fire Department, and others came to the scene. Some searched on foot through the woods near the crash scene. Others used all terrain vehicles. According to Trooper Wilkerson, the THP provided aviation support with a helicopter. Thermal imaging was used by ground and from the air to aid in the search. Before midnight, Trooper Wilkerson said someone spotted Silva lying in a ditch on Underhill Road.
Silva has been charged with driving under the influence, leaving the scene of an accident, no seatbelt, failing to maintain his lane of travel, failing to give immediate notice of an accident, violation of the financial responsibility law (no insurance), and no drivers license. He will be in court on April 25th.

DeKalb County students in fifth, eighth, and eleventh grades will be taking the Tennessee Comprehensive Assessment Program (TCAP) Writing Assessment this week.
The TCAP Writing Assessment requires students to write a rough draft essay in response to an assigned prompt (topic) within a limited time period. Fifth-grade students are asked to write a narrative essay; eighth-grade students an expository essay; and 11th-grade students a persuasive essay. Historically, the TCAP Writing Assessment has been scored holistically using one rubric across all grade levels. A new scoring instrument is being developed to better accommodate the new design of the 2012-13 prompts.
Several aspects of the test are being changed this year to meet the expectations of the new Common Core Standards. All eighth and eleventh graders will take the test only online. Since these middle school and high school students are testing on line, the test administration can be taken within a window time frame from Feb. 4 – 8. Locally, fifth graders will continue to take the test by paper and pencil on one specific date, Tuesday, February 5 with a makeup day on Wednesday, February 6. “It is changed from being a one day test and a makeup day to a complete week window,” said Michelle Burklow, Supervisor of Instruction for Pre-K to 6th grade. “The reason for this change is that grades eight and eleven are going to be testing on the computer. The test is going to be on line. We’ll have to move students in and out of computer labs so the state is giving us a one week window to get this completed. Students will be taking the tests, typing the tests into a site that is provided by Measurement Incorporated. It’s a secure site. Once the student has typed in his essay, it will be submitted and scored by Measurement Inc. Normally, we test grades five, eight, and eleven. Grades eight and eleven will be computer tested this year. We had an option whether or not we wanted to do paper-pencil or computer tests for the fifth grade. This year we opted to continue with the paper-pencil test for the fifth graders. There are so many changes coming with the writing assessment that we thought too many changes would be very difficult for them as young writers,” said Burklow.
The design of the prompts has changed, according to Burklow. “All of these changes are coming from the state due to the fact that we are moving, transitioning to Common Core. The tests this year have changed drastically from what it has been in the past,” she said. “Normally students have been given a prompt and they would write to that prompt. Fifth grade would write narratively. Eighth grade would write an explanatory. Eleventh grade would write a persuasive. That is the same for this year. However, there are a few changes to that,” said Burklow
Students will now encounter a reading stimulus and prompt that they are required to read before they begin to write. “The state department has looked at the Common Core and some of the things we need to change in order to implement the Common Core state standards. Looking at the English Language Art classes, Reading, Science, and Social Studies classes, there has been some major changes in all of these academic areas to have more of a focus on literacy. These changes have been made across the board in grades three through twelve,” said Burklow. “This year as we have trained our English Language Arts teachers, we have also had our Science, Social Studies, and Career Technical teachers at these training sessions too because we know that every teacher is a Reading teacher and the Common Core standards are emphasizing this by bringing literacy into all of our academic areas. Teachers have been using content rich non fiction throughout the year. We started at the very beginning implementing these new changes. Students have now been introduced to a higher percentage of non fiction texts, informational texts. The reason for this change is because this is tied directly to the writing assessment,” she said.
A reading stimulus can be a work of fiction or an informational piece. Speeches, poems, charts, graphs, letters, legal decisions, or timelines may also be considered as reading stimulus. The prompt will appear in a text box at the end of the reading stimulus. The students will have to utilize information from the reading stimulus to write their response. In some cases, students may encounter two paired passages. They may even encounter two different types of reading stimulus.
The new prompts have a new time limit of one hour. “Students will now be given an informational text, a stimulus to read prior to answering a prompt. The writing assessment has gone from a thirty five minute period to a sixty minute test where they will be asked to read a passage or passages, analyze informational texts and write to that,” said Burklow. “Its very important that students are reading on grade level for this writing assessment. Parents, I want to encourage you. If you have concerns about your child’s academics, please contact the teacher. Make an appointment to go see that teacher and working together we will help your child move academically. The rigor that we are moving to is going to require such a partnership between parents and schools. We are moving to preparing these children for college and career readiness,” she said.
For the February 2013 Assessment Only:
•Fifth graders will encounter a reading stimulus and a narrative prompt
•Eighth graders will encounter a reading stimulus and an expository prompt
•Eleventh graders will encounter a reading stimulus and a persuasive prompt
In future test administrations, students on any of the tested grade levels may encounter a narrative, expository or persuasive type of prompt.
Burklow urges parents to make sure their children are rested and ready for the writing assessments. “Parents please have your children to school rested. Make sure they have eaten breakfast because we know that students can concentrate much better if they are not hungry. Have them to school on time, relaxed and ready to go,” said Burklow.