Road Supervisor Asks County to Fund Six New Work Pickup Trucks for his Department

May 3, 2023
By: Dwayne Page

Six new pickup trucks!

DeKalb County Road Supervisor Danny Hale is asking the county to fund six new pickup work trucks to replace aging high mileage, high maintenance trucks in the fleet currently used for daily operation. All but one of the trucks are gas burners. The other is a diesel.

Hale addressed the county budget committee with his request Tuesday night at the courthouse.

The cost to purchase six new trucks with safety lights is figured to be $247,776 and that is the amount Road Supervisor Hale is asking the county to appropriate.

The budget committee took no action Tuesday night. If budgeted, the money would most likely have to come from the county’s capital projects fund.

To support his request, Road Supervisor Hale provided committee members with paper copies of photos showing the odometer on eight of the trucks he currently has in the fleet with the highest mileage including a 2004 Chevy truck with 308,200 miles; a 2003 Chevy truck with 255,199 miles; a 2005 Chevy truck with 211,679 miles; a 2002 Chevy truck with 252,158 miles; a 2000 Chevy truck with 347,965 miles; a 1998 Diesel truck with 287,526 miles; a 1999 Chevy truck with 223,768 miles; and a 1995 Chevy truck showing 196,232 although Hale said the odometer on this truck is wrong and that it actually has many more miles on it.

“For us to get six new trucks, it would be around $223,776 and for them to have safety lights added on would be another $24,000. Each truck is roughly $37,296 and the safety lights for each truck is about $4,000. A total for the trucks and safety lights would be roughly $247,776,” said Road Supervisor Hale.

“What I am asking for is plain 2 door, single cab, work bed, 4-wheel drive pickup work trucks,” said Hale.

Even if the county were to approve the request, Hale said it might be 2024 before he could take delivery on them.

“Wilson County gets state bid trucks every year and they can’t give me 2024 prices yet and it will be 2024 before we can get any of the vehicles. I can order them when they know they have the state bid, but they will take names this month. They told me for 2023 prices add 20% but the actual prices may be less or more,” said Hale.

“I would also like to add the safety lights on the trucks because we have never had anything on trucks for safety whatsoever and we are on the roads every day. I would like a light bar put across the top of each truck like LEDs so we can see better when we are cutting trees at night around electric lines with an amber light on the back of it for safety reasons,” said Hale.

May 3, 2023
By: Dwayne Page

A local observance for the National Day of Prayer will be Thursday, May 4 at 6 p.m. at the Northside Elementary School Gym.

Isaac Gray, minister at the Smithville Cumberland Presbyterian Church, said everyone is invited to attend the event which is non-denominational.

“I want to invite you to join us on Thursday, May 4 for an observance of our country’s National Day of Prayer. On this day, May 4 at 6 p.m. at Northside Elementary School Gym, our community will join with people from all across our nation by gathering and praying. The National Day of Prayer was instituted in 1952 and it has continued every year since. This event is an incredible opportunity to join people from our community and around our nation as we plead for God’s mercy and guidance in our country. The National Day of Prayer is not about any church organization. It’s about God’s people coming together with a purpose of pleading, asking, and imploring God to move in a great way. Come join with local pastors and churches Thursday, May 4 at 6 p.m. at the Northside Elementary School Gym. We hope to see you there as we seek God together,” said Gray.

The National Day of Prayer is an annual observance held on the first Thursday of May, inviting people of all faiths to pray for the nation. It was created in 1952 by a joint resolution of the United States Congress and signed into law by President Harry S. Truman. The Task Force is a privately funded organization whose purpose is to encourage participation on the National Day of Prayer. It exists to communicate with every individual the need for personal repentance and prayer, to create appropriate materials, and to mobilize the Christian community to intercede for America’s leaders and its families. The Task Force represents a Judeo-Christian expression of the national observance, based on the understanding that this country was birthed in prayer and in reverence for the God of the Bible.

May 2, 2023
By: Dwayne Page

May is National Treatment Court Month and the perfect opportunity to celebrate graduates from the local treatment court, DeKalb County Recovery Court (DCRC). DCRC represents a compassionate approach with much accountability. This program is an intense one-year-plus treatment program that ensures each person in our program receives an individualized, evidence-based treatment plan. The DCRC team identifies and meets individual needs beyond clinical treatment such as education, employment, housing, family reunification, and health care.

The DeKalb County Recovery Court is commemorating the month by recognizing graduates of the program.

Today’s feature is on Darnell Gurley, a 2021 graduate of the DeKalb County Recovery Court who is now a case worker in the program. He shared his story in a recent question and answer discussion with WJLE.

Q. “Introduce yourself and what you do?”

“My name is Darnell Gurley. I am 44 years old and the newest member of the Recovery Court Team. I am the new case manager. I am very new at this position going on my third week”.

Q. “What led you to the DeKalb County Recovery Court?”

“I had struggled from addiction at an early age. In my late teenage years I had dealt with a lot of mental health issues and I had hit a pretty low point where I wasn’t for sure where I wanted to be in the world anymore. As I was in jail, the only thing I hadn’t done before was ask for help”

Q. What happened when you decided to seek help through the treatment court program?

“They taught me to be a better version of myself. They laid out structure for me. It caused me not to isolate myself so much. They gave me the tools with counseling, classes, and anything I had an issue with they were willing to talk to me and work things out. They were very interested in what was going on in my life and although they helped it was totally on me to put the work in”.

Q. What happened after your completed the treatment court program?

“I graduated on March 24, 2021 and I continued to stay in contact with my sponsor and I still do NA meetings and I try to do anything asked of me such as public speaking to share my story and volunteer work”.

Q. How has the DeKalb County Recovery Court made a difference in your life?

“It has taught me to be a better person and more responsible. I have learned to hold myself accountable. I think its important as someone with a history of addiction who went through the program to be able to help other people struggling with addiction. Because of my experience, I feel they can relate to me knowing I understand what they are going through. Recovery Court or any type of treatment that betters yourself, I would encourage others to seek that help because there are programs and opportunities out there such as this to help you treat this disease”

This story is just one powerful reminder of when one person rises out of addiction and finds recovery, we all rise. And it is just one of many stories that demonstrate why treatment courts like the DCRC are so critical in the effort to address addiction and related crime.

DeKalb County Recovery Court Team includes Judge Brandon Cox, Kate Arnold (Coordinator), Rhonda Tiefenauer (case manager), Darnell Gurley (case manager), Lary Latzman (Certified Peer Support Specialist/Volunteer Behavior Health), Jackie Vickers (treatment provider, Buffalo Valley), Abigail Wood (DeKalb County Sheriff’s Department), James Cornelius (Smithville Police Department), Clara Knowles (probation), John & Kay Quintero (mental health provider, Haven of Hope), Greg Strong (District Attorney Office), and Allison West (Public Defender Office).

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