Arrest made in missing Dixie Youth funds case
A Hartselle woman has been arrested in the case of missing funds from the Hartselle Dixie Youth Baseball program.
Casie Chittam Kimbrell, 40, was arrested Dec. 18 and charged with Theft of Property in the second degree and booked in the Morgan County Jail, according to Hartselle Police Chief Justin Barley. Her bond was set at $2,500. Kimbrell is a first-grade teacher at Crestline Elementary School.
This is not the first time funds have gone missing from the league. In 2014, a former board member was charged with theft in the first degree and arrested for misappropriating more than $20,000.
According to authorities, Robert Irwin, who serves as the vice president of Dixie Youth Baseball, filed a formal complaint Dec. 5 after an audit showed questionable expenditures that totaled between $3,000 and $30,000.
Dixie Youth Baseball is now under the oversight of the Hartselle Parks and Recreation Department.
Hartselle mayor Randy Garrison said the city has certain checks and balances that will help avoid similar situations in the future.
“We have policies and procedures in place that will ensure that Dixie Youth registration fees and concession stand monies stay in the organization and benefit those children,” Garrison said. “So many people have given their time and money to the program and it’s time it stays where it’s supposed to be.”