On June 17th, Deputy Levi Grigg observed a white vehicle traveling at a high rate of speed on Alexandria Highway. Once Dep. Grigg checked the vehicle’s speed with a radar, he caught the vehicle traveling at 72 mph in a 55 mph zone. Dep. Grigg initiated a traffic stop on the vehicle. The driver of the vehicle was identified as Andrew Jones. A passenger was identified as Christopher Redman.

Jones stated that he was coming back from Georgia after dropping a friend off and was going to Scottsville, Kentucky to see his dad who has cancer. During this time Dep. Grigg walked back to his unit and proceeded to process Jone’s licence and issued a warning citation for speeding. 

Dispatch advised that Jones was on supervised probation out of Indiana. K-9 Sgt. Junior Fields arrived on scene to help conduct a probation search of the vehicle. Sgt. Fields removed Jones from the vehicle. Jones stated the officers could search but he didn’t believe they would find anything. 

During the search the two officers recovered .59 grams of Meth, 3.58 grams of marijuana, a bottle of fake ur Jones was very adamant that the drugs and the paraphernalia was not his but he did claim the fake urine. 

Dep. Grigg removed Christopher Redman from his unit and Sgt. Fields tried to read him his Miranda Rights however he began to argue. Further investigation determined that the two parties’ story did not add up or match. Neither individual claimed the drugs or paraphernalia both parties were placed under arrest and transported for processing to the Smith County Justice Center.

Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency Wildlife Officer Hunter Daniels has received the honor of being named Mississippi Flyway Waterfowl Enforcement Officer of the Year. The Mississippi Flyway Council annually recognizes full-time law enforcement officers who make outstanding contributions to the protection of waterfowl the flyway states.

Daniels’s assigned work area is Wilson County which is one of the top waterfowl hunting destinations in Middle Tennessee. Currently there are 134 public duck blinds on Old Hickory Wildlife Management Area. Parts of Old Hickory WMA are located within Wilson County and are managed primarily for waterfowl hunting. Officer Daniels routinely assists other officers on Percy Priest Lake and Cheatham Reservoir with law enforcement efforts. In addition to waterfowl enforcement efforts, he patrols Old Hickory Lake during the summer, one of the top visited lakes in Tennessee.

Daniels is very active in public outreach and works with youth, school and adult organizations on waterfowl education and participation. Recently he led an effort to instruct wood duck natural biology at Lebanon High School. Students were able to learn about wood duck nesting habitat as well as efforts by TWRA to increase the much-needed habitat. The also constructed 250 wood duck boxes to be placed around Old Hickory Lake. Daniels taught on multiple occasions at the Andrew Jackson Fraternal Order of Police camp to reach inner city children on wildlife, hunting, fishing, and environmental issues.

Each of the last three years he coordinated youth hunts on Old Hickory WMA. In addition to the youth hunts he also led a group of military veterans on a duck hunt.

Daniels is in hist fifth year with the TWRA. He previously worked in Canada for Delta Waterfowl conducting diving duck nest surveys. He has a bachelor’s degree. in Wildlife Sciences from Tennessee Tech University. He will also be recognized at a future meeting of the Tennessee Fish and Wildlife Commission.

In addition to Tennessee, the Mississippi Flyway includes Alabama, Arkansas, Indiana, Illinois, Iowa, Kentucky, Louisiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Ohio, Wisconsin, and the Canadian provinces of Saskatchewan, Manitoba, and Ontario.

It is estimated about 40 percent of North America’s waterfowl spend at least part of their lives in the Mississippi Flyway. The flyway extends from Canada’s tundra to the southern end of South America.

On June 27th, Sgt. Junior Fields stopped a red Ford after checking the vehicle’s speed which was registered as traveling 71 mph in a 55 mph zone on Lebanon Highway near Flatt Rock Rd. Upon stopping the vehicle and speaking to the driver identified as Cody L. Pegram an odor of marijuana was observed. Pegram admitted that he had in fact smoked marijuana earlier in the day. 

Sgt. Fields had him step out and advised him that a search would be conducted on the vehicle. Pegram stated he had a firearm and a quarter ounce of shrooms. Upon searching the vehicle the following was located: a glock P80 40 cal. which had a fifty round magazine, a marijuana pipe, and a 1⁄2 ounce of psilocybin mushrooms. 

Pegram admitted that he had picked up the Psilocybin Mushrooms in Nashville for $160 and was selling them. He consented to a search of his phone which confirmed that he was in fact selling Psilocybin Mushrooms and using his vehicle to transport them. The messages consisted of him asking individuals about shrooms in particular and gave the price of 15 per gram. 

He was placed under arrest and transported to the Smith County Jail for processing. Pegram’s license is currently suspended out of Lebanon City Court for failure to pay fines. Pegram’s vehicle was seized in accordance with The State of Tennessee property seizure and asset forfeiture laws due to being used to transport drugs for resale.

By Gabe Harville, Smith County 4-H’er

Submitted by Katie Martin, Smith County Extension Agent

I have had the privilege of serving on the Tennessee State 4-H Council as the 2022-2023 Tennessee 4-H Congress Speaker of the House. Each year the youth and leaders of this group have taken an educational trip. Last year, council members enjoyed a trip to Hawaii, and when I was elected to the position, I wondered where our trip would take us. Word got out we were headed to the 49th state, and it seemed in no time at all we were flying out from Nashville.

On June 7th, early in the Alaskan morning, we landed in Anchorage. We hopped in our rental cars and drove north to Palmer. When we arrived, the sun was already beginning to rise! I knew then my sleep schedule would be nonexistent. The next day we went to the Alaska 4-H Rally Days, which is their equivalent to Tennessee’s 4-H Academic Conference, and interacted with youth in the Livestock, Horse, and Poultry projects. While in Palmer, we also painted buildings at the Alaska State Fairgrounds, ate breakfast with the Palmer Lions Club, and participated in the Palmer Heritage Days. I also had the chance to try my first reindeer sausage pizza! We then trekked down to Anchorage, where we visited the Alaskan Native Heritage Center, toured the Anchorage Botanical Gardens, and even connected with a past Tennessee 4-H member who now calls Alaska home.

The next few days would prove just how big Alaska is, seeing how we drove six hours north to Fairbanks, with a pit stop at the North Pole to visit Santa, of course! Once we got to our destination, we had a bonfire with Alaska 4-H members, where we taught them line dances and they fed us wonderful food, such as grilled halibut, reindeer hotdogs, and spruce tip jelly on sourdough; it was delicious! After a breakfast of pancakes and scrambled eggs the next morning, we visited the Museum of the North, where we learned about the northern lights. We then toured the Delta area, visiting Rika’s Roadhouse, which was a state historical park, Alaska’s only commercial dairy, and a yak farm. On our last full day in Alaska, we rode the Discovery Riverboat down the Chena River, and visited an old Native American village. Back at the boathouse, we went into a room that was -60 degrees. Surprisingly, it wasn’t as chilly as you’d think!

The beauty of Alaska was unrivaled; it’s no surprise why they call it the Last Frontier. The ruggedness and untouched landscape there was awesome. On our second day, we went fishing at Kepler Lake in the clearest water I’ve ever seen. I’m fortunate to say I caught four rainbow trout. The next day we climbed up to Hatcher’s Pass, where I fell in snow up to my waist. On Tuesday and Wednesday of our trip, we camped at Denali National Park and Preserve, where we not only enjoyed the spruce forests, but visited the sled dog kennels and watched a sled dog demonstration, as well. Throughout our trip, there were giant mosquitoes so big that, if enough got on you, they’d be able to carry you off! We didn’t see any bears, but we did see lots of moose on our travels. The last wild area we went to was Castner Glacier, where a raging river had formed an ice cave. Due to the summer melt, rockslides were a presence of danger, so we enjoyed it from a distance.

As much as I hated to leave this beautiful state, June 17th brought us back home. I enjoyed my time there and hope to return, but if I never do, I thank Tennessee 4-H for the opportunity to go and for my memories of traveling north to Alaska.

On July 2nd, Deputy Levi Grigg observed a gray vehicle traveling at 67 MPH in a 55 MPH on Dixon Springs Highway. Dep. Grigg stopped the vehicle and made contact with the driver of the vehicle, Terrie Neil. 

Upon making contact with Neil, Dep. Grigg detected a strong odor of Marijuana coming from her vehicle. As he was waiting for Sgt. Robbie Woodard to arrive. Dep. Grigg wrote Neil a warning citation for speeding. Neil was asked to exit the vehicle and how much Marijuana was in the vehicle.Neil stated that she had two one hitters in the front seat of her car. 

Neil was placed in the backseat of one of the police vehicles while a search was conducted. During the search the following was found: 2 items of drug paraphernalia, 9.7 grams of marijuana, and 0.9 grams of cocaine.

Neil was placed under arrest for Possession of Schedule II, Possession of Schedule VI, and Unlawful Possession of Drug Paraphernalia.

The 2023 Cornhole Tournament drew a field of 18 participants at the Smith County Fair. Participants were assigned teams by random draw. Nine teams played one another in a double elimination tournament.

Congratulations to all the participants and winners. For more pictures from the Smith County Fair events visit the Smith County Fair Facebook page.

On June 23rd, Sgt. Junior Fields along with Deputy Brady Dodson went to the Carthage Wine and Spirits for a drug investigation into the distribution of Schedule II (Hydrocodone). 

Upon arrival Sgt. Fields spoke to Mr. John David Holder Sr. who was the suspect under investigation. Investigators were acting on previous information that Holder was selling hydrocodone pills.Upon speaking to him he admitted to distributing Hydrocodone pills from the store and specifically stated that he had been getting rid of about half of the 120 pills he was prescribed per month. Mr. Holder also had two pistols inside the store which were a M&P Smith and Wesson Semi Auto 3 and a Ruger LCP. 

A third pistol which was a Colt 357 Magnum revolver along with a semi auto 12 Ga. Shotgun was located in Mr. Holder’s vehicle. Mr. Holder advised he had also been getting rid of some of his Gabapentin pills from the liquor store also. 

He was placed under arrest and transported to the Smith County Jail for processing. The firearms were seized due to being possessed during the commission of a felony and the drugs were placed into evidence.

The Dog and Cat Show at the Smith County Fair was held on Saturday morning, July 8th. Several dogs participated in the the show sponsored by Smith County Animal Clinic.

Congratulations to the winners listed below: (handler – dog)

Division 1

1st Grace McDonald. -Clark

2nd Steven Scalzo Jr. -Trump

Division 2

1st Allie Weaver. -Malcolm

2nd Melissa Thomson. -Clooney

3rd Lisa Perrone. -Tayla

Division 4

1st Richard Brooks. -Jack

2nd Crimson Hall. -Clover

3rd Jake Myers’s. – Charley Bob

Division 5

1st Daisy Pratt. -Cheyenne

Division 6

1st Samantha Bussell. -Willow

Best Of Show (pictured above) – Allie Weaver. -Malcom

One cat participated in the cat show. Cooper was shown by Evee Therriault (photo below) they won 1st place and Best of Show.

The Dog and Cat show was sponsored by Smith County Animal Clinic. To schedule an appointment call 615-735-3330. Many more pictures of the Dog and Cat Show and other Smith County Fair events visit the Smith County Fair Facebook page.

On June 26, Deputy Nathan Williams conducted a traffic stop after observing the driver of a green Ford fusion not wearing a seatbelt on interstate 40. It was explained to the driver identified as Jay Pierce that he was stopped for not wearing a seatbelt. In the process of confirming his identity it was discovered that Pierce had a driver’s license that was currently suspended due to not paying child support in Missouri.

Dep. Williams had the subject exit the vehicle. Since Pierce did not have any identification or a valid driver’s license. Dep. Williams requested K9 Sgt. Junior Fields to conduct a free air sniff of the vehicle. When he arrived a free air sniff was conducted and K9 UDO alerted on the vehicle..

Mr. Pierce stated he had a little bit of meth and marijuana inside the middle console along with paraphernalia glass pipe and marijuana pipe. During the search a loaded Smith and Wesson .380 pistol was located. 

Further investigation into his criminal history showed that Mr. Pierce had a felony conviction for possession of a controlled substance in Franklin County, Missouri. Pierce was also wanted in Franklin County for violation of probation and Jefferson County, Missouri on possession of a controlled substance. Pierce’s driving history also showed his license as revoked in Missouri for accumulation of convictions of traffic offenses.

Pierce was taken to the Smith County Justice Center for processing. Future court dates are pending.