County May Fund Two Shared Part Time Firefighter Positions

May 10, 2019
By: Dwayne Page

Since its beginnings in 1975, the DeKalb County Fire Department has been completely staffed with volunteers but times have changed and fewer people are stepping up to volunteer.

For that reason, County Fire Chief Donny Green asked the budget committee of the county commission in March for funds to be included in next year’s budget (fiscal year 2019-20) for two shared part-time positions. No two specific individuals would get the jobs. Available firefighters, who are trained and certified, would rotate in and out of the positions as needed.

Chief Green had sought $68,640 per year for the fire department to fund the two shared positions at 40 hours each per week but he will be getting less.

“We are extremely short on manpower if we have calls. I am telling you as a fire chief what I think we need in order to address emergency response in the county but it’s up to you to decide if we need that or not. I’ll take whatever you give me. I have told you what I need but I am not going to be foolish enough to say its that or nothing because anything you give me is going to be an improvement over what we have today,” said Chief Green.

During Wednesday night’s meeting, the budget committee voted to fund two shared positions at 20 hours each per week at $10 per hour for a total of $20,800 subject to approval of the county commission later this summer. The total budget for the fire department comes to $268,473.

“There is no guarantee I will get people to do it for that. Availability is still an issue. These people have jobs and work so they are sacrificing something to come and do this even for pay. In talking with and surveying our volunteers, I am concerned about us being able to find enough people to even do this (original plan) but we have to do something to make sure we have some response during the day time Monday through Friday. I will fill the positions as best I can,” added Chief Green.

The two fire fighters would be assigned to work out of the main station on King Ridge Road, which serves as the hub of the county fire department.

May 10, 2019
By: Dwayne Page

The Smithville office of Wilson Bank & Trust celebrated the academic success of DeKalb County High School’s top students by honoring them at a recent luncheon.

Late last month, Office Manager Chad Colwell and the rest of the WB&T staff hosted a special meal for the academic top 10 from the 2019 class at DCHS.

Students honored at the luncheon were (front row L to R) Callie Mulloy, Madison Cantrell, Shaunta Koegler, Megan Redmon, Robin Pafford, Maddison Parsley, (back row L to R) Justin Trapp, Andrew Fuson, Macy Hedge and Trey Fuston. They were pictured with Wilson Bank & Trust employees Chad Colwell (front row, far left), Chad Driver (back row, far left), Zach Roberts (back row, second from right) and Cynthia Agee (back row, fourth from right), as well as DCHS Principal Randy Jennings (back row, second from left) and Superintendent Patrick Cripps (far right).

Wilson Bank & Trust (www.wilsonbank.com), a member of the FDIC and an Equal Housing Lender, is an independent, locally owned bank established in 1987 to provide personal and professional service in a hometown setting. One of the top banks in the South in stability, products, technology, growth and earnings, WB&T currently operates 28 full-service offices in nine Middle Tennessee counties, offering a full range of financial products that include secondary market mortgage loans and mobile and online banking services.

May 10, 2019
By: Dwayne Page

The Smithville-DeKalb County Chamber of Commerce and the DeKalb County Mayor’s office would like to invite residents across the county to participate in the DeKalb County Clean Up on Saturday, May 18th. The DeKalb Clean Up event will be held in conjunction with the Keep America Beautiful initiative going on across the country.

The event had been scheduled for Saturday, May 11 but has been postponed due to the weather.

Keep America Beautiful’s Great American Cleanup the nation’s largest annual community improvement program that harnesses the power of over 4 million volunteers to build vibrant communities. Each year over 1,200 affiliates and participating organizations engage volunteers to take action in their communities through programs that deliver positive and lasting impact through events focused on waste reduction, recycling, beautification and community greening.

County Mayor Tim Stribling says, “We invite people to come out and help clean up around our communities and highways. Folks are welcome to pick up litter at places of their choice, or we will be glad to assign a safe place for you.”

Suzanne Williams, Executive Director of the Chamber of Commerce, would like to remind everyone that DeKalb County’s peak tourism season is about to begin, so now is a great time to start getting things spruced up for our coming visitors. According to Williams, “I think we are all aware of the value and importance of beautification in our communities to attract newcomers and tourists to our area and to maintain a stable and growing economy.”

To get a head start on clean up, dumpsters will be set up at highly visible and convenient locations a few days prior to the main event. Dumpster locations will be at the Dowelltown Community Center, Liberty Community Center, Alexandria City Parking Lot (behind square), and the County Complex parking lot.

DeKalb Clean Up volunteers are asked to stop by the DeKalb County Complex on May 18th between 9 AM and 10 AM to sign-in and pick up the provided trash bags, rubber gloves, and bottles of water. We will be taking a group picture at 9:30 AM for the media if you like to participate in that.

For early sign-up, you can stop by the Chamber, located in the Courthouse, Room 201, anytime during regular office hours by May 17th to pick up supplies. Or if stopping by is not convenient, call the Chamber office at 615-597-4163 to be counted as a DeKalb Clean Up volunteer — just give your name and the general area where you will be working. Whether you’re cleaning up around a street, a highway, park, ball field, stream, or your own home, what a difference we can make through working together to make our communities safer, healthier and more livable! Don’t Just Sit There…Do Something Beautiful!

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