DeKalb Fire Dept Reminds You to Change Your Clock and Change Your Battery

October 29, 2018
By: Dwayne Page

Daylight Saving Time ends Sunday, November 4 and while you are changing your clocks, the DeKalb County Fire Department wants to remind you to change your batteries in your smoke and carbon monoxide alarms also. The message is simple and it’s easy to do. Please take a few minutes to make sure life-saving alarms have fresh batteries so you, your family, and your home are protected.

 Lieutenant Dustin Johnson, the DeKalb County Fire Department’s Fire Prevention and Safety Officer, reminds DeKalb County residents that after batteries are changed in alarms, take a few extra minutes to test your alarms and remind family, friends, and neighbors to do the same. Not all smoke alarms have batteries that have to be replaced each year. Some newer model alarms have batteries that last up to 10 years. However, it is still very important to test and clean your alarms. You can clean and maintain them simply by using compressed air to remove dust residue that accumulates on alarms that can cause the alarm’s sensor to not operate properly.

Eighty percent of child fire fatalities occur in homes without working smoke alarms. It’s a tragic statistic that can be prevented. Changing smoke alarm batteries at least once a year, testing those alarms, and reminding others to do the same are some of the simplest, most effective ways to reduce these tragic deaths and injuries. “The vast majority of our house fires happen between 11 p.m. and 7 a.m. when most families are sleeping,” said Lt. Johnson. “Smoke alarm installation and maintenance is a simple, effective way to reduce home fire deaths. Children and senior citizens are most at risk, and a working smoke alarm can give them the extra seconds they need to get out safely.”

“A working smoke detector doubles your chance of surviving a home fire. So, why would you not want you and your family to have this protection?” For more information about fire safety, visit the DeKalb County Fire Department’s FaceBook Group page or the department’s website at www.dekalbfire.com.

October 28, 2018
By: Bill Conger

DeKalb West School’s Junior Beta Club traveled to Lebanon Saturday (Oct. 27) to volunteer at Joseph’s Storehouse. 7^th graders Karson Smallwood and Kolton Slager and 6^th grader Chloe Dies donated their time to help with the monthly food distribution.

“I enjoyed volunteering,” Smallwood said. “I want to do it again.”

The three DWS Junior Beta students spent three hours handing out food to the people who came to the food pantry for assistance.  Joseph’s Storehouse serves an average of 400 to 500 families in need with a wheelbarrow full of food each month.  35% of people served are single parents living below poverty level, and 45% are elderly and/or disabled.

The DWS Jr. Beta Club also helps with the God’s Food Pantry in Smithville when the opportunities become available as well as many other local service projects.  The National Junior Beta Club organization focuses on the theme, “Let us Lead By Serving Others.” Beta members are invited to join the club based on their academic honors and exemplary character.

October 28, 2018
By: Bill Conger

Our band series ends today on Hunter Davis, a senior flute and piccolo player with the D-C-H-S Fighting Tiger Band.  Davis, the daughter of Chad and Danielle Troyer, is part of the woodwind section that performs music from “The Phantom of the Opera” this marching season.

“It’s my favorite musical, so I was really excited about it,” says Davis.

Hunter started the marching band as a freshman student at Smith County High School and then transferred to DeKalb County her sophomore year.

Hunter was one of three band seniors recognized at the final home football game of the season Friday night.

“My mom and grandparents are here,” Davis told WJLE during halftime. “My dad woke up. It’s actually 3 a.m. in Kuwait.  He woke up to watch us.”

Hunter first started in music when she was in sixth grade.

“I didn’t know what I wanted to play, and I thought the flute sounded really pretty.  A lady at my grandparents’ church actually played it. I liked how it sounded. During my freshman year, my best friend was a junior. She got band queen and made me march piccolo to have that sound.”

What does Davis enjoy about being a member of the high school band?

“The sense of family, going to different places that I never knew existed, and I really like the football games, making new friends, and seeing kids start when they’re in sixth grade and watching them mature as they go through.”

After graduating in May, Hunter plans to major in Chemistry as part of her pre-med pathway at Tennessee Tech. One day she wants to be a Pediatrician. In the meantime, she doesn’t want her interest in music to end. She wants to either do marching or concert band at Tech.

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