Members of DCFD Citizens Fire Academy get hands on firefighter experience

October 25, 2022
By: Dwayne Page

A group of people from the community including several county commissioners have been participating in a free 6-week course to get first-hand knowledge and experience of what it’s like to be a county volunteer firefighter and to learn more about how the department and supporting agencies operate.

The DeKalb County Volunteer Fire Department’s Citizens’ Fall Fire Academy began September 20 and will end with a graduation ceremony for the participants (tonight) October 25. The 2-hour classes meet each Tuesday evening at the department’s Main Station on King Ridge Road.

“ When we started several years ago we had two fire academy events per year but now they are annually. The purpose of this academy is to provide a behind-the-scenes look, from a citizens’ perspective, at the organizational structure, administration, operation, and response capabilities of the DeKalb County Fire Department and supporting agencies,” said DeKalb County Fire Chief Donny Green.

Participants may observe or actually get some hands-on experience by putting on firefighter turnout gear and operating department equipment, including the jaws of life extrication tools under the supervision of the county firefighters.

“We are not trying to train people to be firefighters. This is more of an educational type venture and, while participants have the opportunity to cut up a car using the jaws of life and use a fire hose to spray some water, it’s not a physically demanding program,” said Chief Green

Although the course is not intended to recruit future volunteer firefighters, the department has picked up a few over the years because of the academy. “We have had people go through the program and their level of interest was high enough that they did later apply and become active members of the county fire department,” added Chief Green.

Members of the current academy are Pam Redmon, Myron Rhody, Daniel Cripps, Susannah Cripps-Daughtry, Greg Matthews, Larry Green, Glynn Merriman, Justin Adcock, Ashby Woodward, and Rhonda Merriman.

The next session of the DCFD Citizens’ Fire Academy will be in the spring of 2023. If you are interested in enrolling, please text your name, email address, and phone number to Chief Donny Green at 615-464-7176

October 24, 2022
By: Dwayne Page

For years the DeKalb Utility District has had to purchase water from the City of Baxter to serve its own customers in the Cherry Hill and Silver Point areas in DeKalb County because there is no water line across Hurricane Bridge over Center Hill Lake to connect them. That may change thanks to available American Rescue Plan Funds through the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation.

During Monday night’s regular monthly meeting, the County Commission adopted a resolution to make application for the funds on behalf of the DeKalb Utility District as well as the DeWhite Utility District and the City of Baxter which all serve portions of DeKalb County and who are looking to meet their own water improvement needs. The Upper Cumberland Development District is to administer the grants.

Under the program, DeKalb County is eligible for a maximum grant of $3,730,767 through TDEC’s American Recovery Plan which can only be used for critical water needs as identified by local utility districts. The local grant match is to be funded half by the county using its own available ARP funds and half by the utilities for their specific projects.

DeKalb Utility District has identified as its most critical need extending a water line across Hurricane Bridge to directly serve its own customers (approximately 200 meters) there which is expected to bring down costs to the utility. The total project is two million dollars with a $300,000 local grant match to be funded half by DUD and half from DeKalb County ARP funds.

According to DUD Manager Jon Foutch, this TDEC ARP grant program can only be used by the utility to address prioritized critical needs and not to extend water lines to new customers.

“Its not to do just anything we want to. If we have critical needs in our system, we are supposed to address those first because we had to fill out a score card. It’s a requirement,” said Foutch in an interview with WJLE.

Extending a water line across Hurricane Bridge to serve existing customers topped the list as the most critical need for the DUD.

“We (DUD) had to give them (county) a list of what we thought we needed to spend money on and we have been talking about this (Hurricane Bridge) project since 2010. We didn’t know how we were going to be able to do this project without putting a burden on our existing customers. We have been kind of kicking it down the road. For a while we even looked at doing it in phases just so we could get it in,” Foutch said.

The reason this project is so critical according to Foutch is that the DUD and its consumers are having to bear the costs of purchasing this water from the City of Baxter, who has to buy its supply from the City of Cookeville, which produces it and all that pass through inflates the cost of getting the water to consumers in DeKalb County.

Foutch said the DUD has learned that those costs may go even higher in the near future.

“The reason we call this a critical need is we have been told over there (Baxter) that we (DUD) will start paying $12.18 per thousand wholesale. We have a wholesale customer that we produce water for, and we charge them $3.20 per thousand which we think is a reasonable rate but $12.18 is one of the highest rates in the state. That is why this (project) is high on our list because those customers across that bridge are really being taken advantage of and its currently out of our control,” said Foutch

Foutch said If DUD is able to provide water across the bridge it would be a benefit to both DUD and the City of Baxter especially in the event of an emergency. “The master meter where we buy from Baxter would be an emergency connection back to Baxter to serve them or if something happens, we could buy from them again,” said Foutch.

In addition to this project, Foutch said the grant program requires the DUD to produce an asset management plan and a water model.

“If a big subdivision or factory came in we could look at our model and tell them how much water is available at that point. We don’t have that now. We have always wanted to do that but haven’t had the funds to get it done so that is also part of our critical needs,” Foutch said.

If the grant is approved, the DUD would also need approval from the state to actually extend the water line across Hurricane Bridge.

Meanwhile, DeWhite Utility District has identified as its critical need the rehabilitation of the Smithville Highway Waterline in DeKalb County. The total project is $1,453,684 with a $218,052 local grant match to be funded half by DeWhite Utility District and half from DeKalb County ARP funds.

The City of Baxter has identified as its critical need a waterline rehabilitation serving the Wolf Creek Community of DeKalb County. The total project cost is $777,778 with a local grant match of $77,778 to be funded half by the City of Baxter and half from DeKalb County ARP funds.

The UCDD project administration costs total $111,923 with a local match of $16,788 from DeKalb County ARP funds.

October 24, 2022
By: Dwayne Page

A 34-year-old man who assaulted his ex-girlfriend while she was holding her newborn baby has been charged with domestic assault, child abuse and neglect, and public intoxication.

Randall Christopher Evans of Highland Drive, Smithville is under a $19,000 bond and he will make a court appearance November 3.

Sheriff Patrick Ray said that on October 19 a deputy was summoned to a residence on Old Snow Hill Road where Evans’ ex-girlfriend reported that he had hit her several times in the face and on the back of the head as she was holding her baby, which was born in September. The woman was found to have marks, bruises, blood, and knots about her head. According to Sheriff Ray, Evans’ assault on the woman adversely affected the health and welfare of the child placing the infant in danger. Evans had fled the scene before the officer’s arrival, but he was later spotted walking on Nashville Highway near Old Snow Hill Road. The arresting officer stopped and spoke with Evans and detected an odor of alcohol on him. Evans admitted to having been drinking. He was placed under arrest.

51-year-old Vickie Lenae Alvis of High Street, Alexandria is charged with a fifth offense of driving on a revoked license. Her bond is $5,000 and she will be in court November 10. Sheriff Ray said that on October 22 Alvis was spotted driving on Broad Street in Smithville. Knowing that she did not have a driver license, a deputy conducted a traffic stop and central dispatch confirmed that Alvis had four prior convictions for driving on a revoked license.

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