DeKalb Fire Department Awards More of Its Own

January 22, 2024
By: Dwayne Page

The Temperance Hall Fire Station can claim bragging rights after being awarded the DeKalb County Fire Department’s FirstBank “Station of the Year” during Saturday night’s annual awards banquet. The headlining sponsor of the banquet was Wilson Bank & Trust. Awards were also presented to the DTC Communications “Rookie Firefighter of the Year” Clayton Anstis and to Town & Lake Realty Honorary Lifetime Membership award recipients, Belk Station Commander Andy Pack, Firefighter Matt Boss of the Liberty Station and the Clyde Thomas family. The DCFD also announced the promotion of three firefighters to the officer position rank of Lieutenant, including Andrew Harvey, Luke Green, and Justin Bass.

Temperance Hall Station Commander Frank Rodegeb accepted the “Station of the Year” award from Lieutenant Matt Adcock.

Alex Woodward was the program emcee and made the award announcement.

“This station has come a long way over the past year,” said Woodward. “They have bonded as a group that not only demonstrates cares about their station but the community as a whole. When you go to this station, it is always clean, and the truck is shining. This station is staffed by a well-rounded group of firefighters who are always wanting to help any time anything arises. Many of its members are always helping with other projects such as marina committee, recruiting and retention, and at any of the scheduled work sessions of the department. This station was nominated for the upbeat spirits of its members and for always wanting to see the DeKalb County Fire Department do its best for the citizens of DeKalb County,” said Woodward.

Firefighter Clayton Anstis of the Temperance Hall Station was named the recipient of the 2023 DeKalb Telephone Cooperative (DTC) Rookie of the Year Award.

Anstis was unable to attend the banquet. Temperance Hall Station Commander Frank Rodegeb accepted the award on behalf of Anstis Saturday night. Anstis was presented his award on Monday, January 22.

This award is exclusively based on hours of training completed by a rookie firefighter who completed his/her basic recruit training during 2023.

Program emcee Alex Woodward made the announcement of the winner and the award was presented by Captain Brian Williams.

“The DeKalb County Fire Department has a rich legacy of being recognized for its excellent training programs. For the 15th consecutive year, the DeKalb County Fire Department has received statewide recognition for being an elite training department. The department’s leadership feels basic and continuous training are the best tools to give rookies when they enter the fire service. Consequently, training is the sole criteria used for selecting the “Rookie of the Year”.

“We certainly want to recognize all members who have demonstrated an outstanding level of commitment to training. Today, we especially want to recognize this recruit for completing 147.5 hours of training during his 12-month rookie period.”

“DTC Communications is honored to announce that Clayton Anstis, firefighter with the Temperance Hall Station, is the 2023 DTC Rookie of the Year”, said Woodward.

Meanwhile, the 2023 Town and Lake Realty Honorary Lifetime Membership honorees were recognized including Belk Station Commander Andy Pack, firefighter Matt Boss of the Liberty Station and the Clyde Thomas family.

Program emcee Alex Woodward made the announcements.

“Station Commander Andy Pack has served as a firefighter, station commander, and Lieutenant for a cumulative total of 18 years. He has provided the following significant contributions during his time on the Department:

*Station Commander for 11 years, Lieutenant for 2 years.
*Active with planning, organizing and working at the department fundraisers,
*Served on many committees including: Banquet Committee, Recruitment & Retention Committee, Special Events Committee, and Marina Committee,
*Conducted and assisted in multiple station improvement projects including: drainage, heating & cooling, addition to the Main Station, and other various projects,
*Long-time Member of the Extrication & Wildland Teams and Certified Emergency Medical Responder

In December 2023, the DeKalb County Fire Department’s Executive Committee reviewed and approved Station Commander Pack’s application for Honorary Lifetime Membership”.

“We are honored to officially present Station Commander Andy Pack with his DeKalb County Fire Department Honorary Lifetime Membership, sponsored by Town & Lake Realty”, said Woodward.

“The second honoree, Matt Boss has served as a firefighter for a cumulative total of 10 years & 10 months. He has provided the following significant contributions during his time on the Department:

*Leadership in the establishment of DeKalb Fire, Inc., the operating body of the DeKalb County Volunteer Fire Department,
*Donated countless hours in legal work to assist with the planning, organization, and setup of DeKalb Fire, Inc, a 501(c)(3) non-profit entity,
*Active with planning, organizing, and working for the DeKalb County Fire Department’s fundraising efforts at the DeKalb County Fair

“In December 2023, the DeKalb County Fire Department’s Executive Committee reviewed and approved Firefighter Boss for Honorary Lifetime Membership”.

“We are honored to officially present Firefighter Matt Boss with his DeKalb County Fire Department Honorary Lifetime Membership, sponsored by Town & Lake Realty,” Woodward said.

“The third honoree, the Clyde Thomas family has been a supporter of the DeKalb County Fire Department’s Awards Banquet for the past two years and their generous donation will allow a significant upgrade to the DeKalb County Fire Department’s training program”.

“This donation will allow an update to the department’s training field in addition to adding props that will allow for a more-in-depth training atmosphere to better prepare firefighters with situational scenarios.”

“Due to the support and confidence provided through the generous efforts afforded to the department, the DeKalb County Fire Department’s Executive Committee reviewed and approved the Clyde Thomas Family for Honorary Lifetime Membership”.

“We are honored to officially recognize Jan Thomas and the Clyde Thomas Family with this DeKalb County Fire Department Honorary Lifetime Membership, sponsored by Town & Lake Realty”.

The DeKalb County Volunteer Fire Department announced the promotion of three firefighters to the officer position rank of Lieutenant, including Andrew Harvey, Justin Bass, and Luke Green. They join other longtime county fire department officers Lieutenant Dusty Johnson, Lieutenant Matt Adcock, Captain Brian Williams, Chief Donny Green, Assistant Chief Anthony Boyd, Captain Blake Cantrell, and Lieutenant Kristie Johnson.

January 22, 2024
By: Dwayne Page

God’s Food Pantry has announced a special pickup Tuesday, January 23.

Since the pantry was not open on its regular schedule last week due to the wintry weather, the pantry will be open Tuesday from 9 a.m. until 12 noon. They ask that you not begin forming the car pickup line until 8 a.m. The home deliveries will begin Tuesday afternoon.

Food is normally distributed on the first Friday after the first Thursday and on the third Friday of every month from 9:00 a.m. – 12:00 noon from the pantry at 430 East Broad, Smithville in a drive through pickup line.

January 21, 2024
By: Dwayne Page

The DeKalb County Fire Department introduced a new award during Saturday night’s annual banquet to honor one of the twelve station commanders.

The first ever Smithville Marine Station Commander award was presented to Andy Pack, Station Commander at the Belk Station. Wilson Bank & Trust was the program headlining sponsor.

Meanwhile, Lieutenant Dusty Johnson repeated as the Liberty State Bank Officer of the Year, and Justin Bass was honored with the “Git R Done” Award.

The Station Commander award recipient is chosen by the fire department’s officers. Considerations for this honor include meeting or exceeding the following standard responsibilities of the Station Commander position:

*Leadership at the station level – setting the example for members
*Oversight and accountability of the station and equipment maintenance
*Loss Prevention
*Membership communication and engagement &Community Involvement
*Participation and attendance at monthly officers’ meetings
*Understanding and communicating department guidelines and policies, and
*Timely submission of incident reports and monthly maintenance checklists and mileage logs

Based upon these measures, the officers selected Belk Station Commander Andy Pack as the recipient of the first ever DeKalb County Fire Department Station Commander of the Year award.

For the second year in a row, Lieutenant Dusty Johnson has earned the Liberty State Bank Officer of the Year Award.

This honor goes to a recipient exclusively selected from officers of the department who serve at the rank of lieutenant or above and for achievements in training attendance, incident response, and community service.

“Lieutenant Dusty Johnson attended 100% of the trainings for 2023. He is in charge of the smoke alarm program for the fire department and installs most of them himself. Lieutenant Johnson is the head of the DeKalb County Rescue Squad and under his leadership the Rescue Squad has been well trained and very dependable, thanks to him. Lieutenant Johnson is always helpful when it comes to preparing Thanksgiving and Christmas meals with the DeKalb Emergency Services Association. He helps with so many different activities and is an effective leader with the fire department,” said program emcee Alex Woodward.

The 2023 “Git R Done” Award went to Justin Bass of the Main Station.

“Justin is the type of guy who gives up a lot of his time for the fire department,” said program emcee Alex Woodward in making the announcement. “He not only has one of the top call volumes for firefighters but does many things in the department that makes it what it is today. Bass assists in many things such as training and he became a role model for all new rookies at the beginning of their career at the fire department. Justin teaches the 16-hour Introduction to Fire & Emergency Services course and has a great niche for winning over new rookies. He has a good attitude toward helping new rookies pass their first class and welcoming them to the department and his influence has turned many good rookies into great firefighters. Justin also helps the training officer to ensure quality training is provided to students in the classes they teach outside of the 16-hour introduction course. He helps with any work sessions the fire department conducts and worked the fire booth at the DeKalb County Fair for several days helping raise money for the organization. Justin spends a lot of time making sure different aspects of the department run smoothly. Anytime he is asked to take on a project Justin is always willing to help with a smile on his face. He also volunteered for the DeKalb Emergency Services Association in helping serve over 700 meals during Thanksgiving & Christmas for the needy in the community. DeKalb County should be proud to have Justin’s Get R Done attitude that helps make the DeKalb County Fire Department run smoothly,” said Wooward.

Safe Industries sponsored 100% training awards which were  or will be presented to the following 29 DeKalb County Firefighters (some were absent from the banquet Saturday night to receive their award):

Justin Bass, Anthony Boyd, Triston Brandon, Luis Caceres, Blake Cantrell, Joshua Davis, Keith Elkins, Donny Green, Luke Green, Christina Hovey, Dustin Johnson, Heather Lader, Jordan Lader, Steven Lawrence, Cindy Nixon, Will Odom, Matt Olson, Andy Pack, Billy Parker, Robert Patrick, Cheyenne Phalin, Terry Phillips, Shawn Puckett, Blake Reffue, Frank Rodegeb, Robert Sartin, Eric Snow, Brian Williams, and Alex Woodward.

Meanwhile, B&B Emergency Equipment sponsored 75% training awards which were or will be presented to the following 13 DeKalb County Firefighters (some were absent from the banquet Saturday night to receive their award):

Clayton Anstis, Bill Brown, Sandra Caffee, Kim Cantrell, Alyssa Harvey, Andrew Harvey, Kyle Hovey, Donnie Johnson, Tony Moore, Steven Phalin, Steve Repasy, Calvin Tramel, and Parker Vantrease.

(Other stories from the banquet will be posted later)