Fallen Firefighter Memorial Bike Ride To Pass through Smithville Saturday Morning

September 10, 2020
By: Dwayne Page

From Sparta to Bell Buckle, motorcycle bikers will set out on a journey Saturday morning to raise funds and honor Tennessee Firefighters who have made the supreme sacrifice in the line of duty while protecting citizens.

Bikers in the 7th annual Shady Brady Tennessee Fallen Firefighter Memorial ride will pass through Smithville on Highway 70 from Sparta and then onto Highway 56 south toward McMinnville enroute to Bell Buckle on the campus of the Tennessee Fire Service and Codes Enforcement Academy where the memorial is located.

(Video below is from the 2019 Bike Ride through Smithville)

Motorcycle Ride through Smithville from dwayne page on Vimeo.

The bikers will get a law enforcement escort and members of the Smithville Volunteer Fire Department and others will greet them with waves while displaying a huge American flag near Food Lion as they pass through. Everyone is welcome to join the firefighters in greeting the bikers Saturday morning. Their anticipated arrival time in Smithville is around 9:15 to 9:30 a.m.

This year’s ride is dedicated to Barry Brady (Shady Brady) of the Sparta Fire Department, the founder of the Tennessee Fallen Firefighter Memorial ride who passed away last year and a Challenge Coin will honor Chief Jason Byrd of the Fayette County Fire Department. Challenge Coins are $10 each.

Bikers who would like to participate should register from 7:30 a.m. until 8:30 a.m. Kick stands up at 9:00 a.m. at the Sparta Fire Department, 715 North Spring Street in Sparta. The cost is $25 per rider/$20 per passenger.

For more information call Bradley Johnson at 615-967-6557, Kayla Williams at 615-948-7508, or Kenny Kilgore at 931-200-7380.

Beginning in 2002, the first Tennessee Fallen Firefighter Memorial Committee was founded with a mission to create a memorial to honor fallen firefighters in Tennessee. After earning its 501©3 not-for-profit status, the board of directors began to actively raise funds to build the memorial.
In 2005, the Tennessee General Assembly passed a resolution, which dedicated land on the Tennessee Fire Service and Codes Enforcement Academy property to be used for constructing a memorial.

Fundraising efforts began with the TUFF Challenge and by selling bricks in support of the memorial.

Construction of the memorial was broken up into two phases. The official ribbon cutting ceremony for phase one was held Sept. 11, 2009. Dedication of the completion of the second phase was held on Sept. 10, 2011.

The Tennessee Fallen Firefighter Memorial honors the fallen firefighters of Tennessee. Additionally, a section was added to the memorial that pays tribute to the lives lost during the terrorist attacks that occurred Sept. 11, 2001. As part of that memorial, a piece of a steel I-beam, which was recovered from “Ground Zero” in New York City, is also on display.

September 10, 2020
By:

County Mayor Tim Stribling and Chamber Director Suzanne Williams are excited to announce that the new Alexandria City Park Playground will soon become a reality. “Thanks to DeKalb County being awarded a Three Star Grant, new playground equipment will be in place within the next 3 to 4 months,” says Suzanne Williams, writer and administrator of the grant. “A big thank you to UT/TSU Extension Agent April Martin who headed up the Alexandria City Park Playground Committee, Alexandria Mayor Bennett Armstrong, Alexandria City Recorder Elizabeth Tetlow, Alexandria City Council, County Mayor Tim Stribling, DeKalb County Commission, as well as all the Alexandria moms and other local volunteers who provided valuable input on the playground design.”

After advertising an invitation to bid, sealed bids were received in the office of County Mayor Tim Stribling. On August 27th, the DeKalb County Purchasing Committee opened five sealed bids for the project. According to Williams, “It was a difficult decision on which playground proposal to accept. It was evident that a lot of thought and effort had been put into all the plans. Several people involved in the project spent hours carefully studying each design. But at the end of the day, only one could be chosen.”

The winning proposal came from GameTime c/o Cunningham Recreation – in business since 1929. In their proposal, Cunningham offered a beautiful 3D color rendering that highlighted a sky-blue plastic modular playground system featuring 2 slides, a rock-climbing wall, arch climber, straight crawl tube, pod climber, bongos, and driver’s panel with fun seat. Their other free-standing equipment pieces include a metal dome climber and a 4-seat spring-mounted rocking Buck-A-Bout. GameTime will also provide the recreation area with borders, engineered wood fiber surfacing, and an inground bench for the adults to enjoy. The fun and colorful playground will include many safety measures such as access/egress points for adults to quickly get to children, if necessary and will meet all current federal CPSC, ASTM, IPEMA standards and ADA requirements for playground safety and accessibility.

The Alexandria City Park Playground area is located at 102 Fairgrounds Road, Alexandria behind the DeKalb County Fairgrounds.

County Mayor Stribling says, “We are so grateful for the Tennessee ThreeStar program that support us as we work together to maximize our local assets. The new Alexandria City Park Playground will be a great enhancement for DeKalb County and a fun place for families to visit and enjoy for many years to come.”

September 10, 2020
By: Dwayne Page

Someone has been setting fires to abandoned houses, mailboxes, and a barn in the Lower Helton, Walker Creek, Jackson Hollow, Oakley Hollow, and Hickman Road areas and the DeKalb County Sheriff’s Department is asking for your help in solving the crimes.

Burning of Mailbox Walkers Creek Road Video from dwayne page on Vimeo.

Sheriff Patrick Ray said Detective Brian Williams is investigating with assistance of the Fire Investigation Unit of the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation.

Although witnesses and persons of interest have been interviewed during this investigation no one has yet been arrested but a grainy surveillance video (shown here) captured one of the mailbox arsons in progress at 10:51 p.m. September 7 on Walker Creek Road and a vehicle believed to be a light colored Nissan Altima can be seen in the video along with the suspect. Three other mailboxes were burned the same night, including another on Walker Creek Road, one on Hickman Highway, and one on Lower Helton Road along with a barn filled with rolls of hay and farm equipment on Lower Helton Road.

According to Sheriff Ray the 40’ x 60’ barn had an estimated value of $20,000 and sheltered 25 rolls of hay, a 6640 Ford tractor valued at $20,000, a 585 hayroller worth $10,000, and a 5408 New Idea disk mower valued at $2,500. All were destroyed.  The fire also damaged a 489 hay bine worth $2,000 and a hay rake valued at $2,000. The barn and farm equipment were owned by separate individuals.

The abandoned houses were burned on the night of August 27 or early morning August 28 on Oakley Hollow Road and the night of September 6 or early morning September 7 on Jackson Hollow Road. Neither home had anything of value within nor any electricity. The value of the home on Oakley Hollow Road was estimated at $15,000 and the value of the house on Jackson Hollow Road is unknown.

If you have knowledge of the person or persons who committed these crimes or can identify a suspect from the video shown here please call Detective Williams at 615-597-4935 extension 224.

“We ask the public, especially residents in the areas where these arsons have been committed, to be vigilant and report anything you see or hear that may seem suspicious or out of place. Contact us and we will send a deputy to check on it. If you should spot a suspect or his/her vehicle get the tag number but do not approach the individual. Do not put yourself in danger,” said Sheriff Ray.

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