County Expected to Allocate More APR Funds to Cover Costs of Building New Liberty/Dowelltown Fire Hall

November 25, 2022
By: Dwayne Page

The county will have to up the ante from available ARP funds for the construction of the proposed new three bay Liberty/Dowelltown fire hall.

During Tuesday night’s county commission committee meeting of the whole, County Mayor Matt Adcock said that the purchasing committee met November 17 and opened bids on building the new firehall. Tim Pedigo’s bid of $359,540 was the cheapest of the two bids submitted by $59,000 but it’s more than the $350,000 the county had allocated for the project.

County Mayor Adcock said the committee voted to award the bid to Pedigo provided he met all the specifications. Since $13,832 has already been spent for surveying and engineering services, Adcock explained that the county will have to allocate an additional $23,372 in ARP funding to cover the costs in building the new fire hall.

The county commission will consider taking that action Monday night, November 28 when it meets in regular monthly session at 6:30 p.m. in the auditorium of the Mike Foster Multi-Purpose Center.

Proponents say the proposed new fire hall would improve firefighting and EMS services in the western portion of the county. Under the plan the current Liberty Fire Hall located in downtown Liberty would be replaced by the new Liberty/Dowelltown Fire Hall to be constructed on an 8.65-acre site formerly known as the old Liberty/Dowelltown Park off Highway 70 on West Main Street, owned by both municipalities, which is no longer in use. The new Liberty/Dowelltown Fire Hall could also serve as an EMS satellite station.

November 25, 2022
By: Dwayne Page

Road Supervisor Danny Hale is asking the county commission to adopt a resolution establishing a requirement for those building new driveways to their properties off county roads to first obtain a permit.

During Monday night’s monthly meeting, County Mayor Matt Adcock plans to submit such a resolution for passage by the county commission. If approved, Road Supervisor Hale would be allowed to start a permitting process requiring new driveways to have a leveled five-foot buffer from county roads. This would not apply to any existing driveways or any along state highways. There would be no cost to obtain a permit.

Hale said the idea is to keep gravel on inclined driveways from washing off onto county roads after heavy rains causing safety hazards.

“We have so many driveways that are right into the side of the road that head up hill and its dangerous because after every big rain you have two or three feet of gravel out in the road. At night if you’re coming down that road and its washed that gravel out there and you’re meeting another car on that side it’s a safety hazard,” said Road Supervisor Hale during the county commission meeting last month.

In a prepared statement, Hale said “The DeKalb County Highway Department hereby requests the County Commission adopt a resolution requiring all residents installing a new driveway to get a driveway permit. The permit will state that all new driveways must have a minimum of 5-foot level when finished from the side of the road when the grade is higher than the road. There will be no charge for the permit, but the specs must be met when installing the new driveway. This will eliminate the washing of aggregate or debris onto a main road causing a safety hazard. The permits can be acquired at the DeKalb County Highway Department, 720 Smith Road, Smithville”.

The proposed resolution to be considered by the county commission Monday night states as follows:

“Whereas, in order to eliminate safety hazards on county roads caused by the washing of aggregate and or debris from driveways connecting to county roads, and whereas in order to establish a minimum standard for the construction of driveways connecting to county roads in DeKalb County, now therefore be it resolved that from this day forward all property owners desiring to install a driveway connecting to a county road in DeKalb County must first obtain a permit from the DeKalb County Highway Department located at 720 Smith Road. Any new driveway entrance constructed onto the property with a grade higher than the existing roadway shall be a minimum of five feet level with the roadway measured from the edge of the existing roadway”.

The county commission meeting will be Monday night, November 28 at 6:30 p.m. in the auditorium of the Mike Foster Multi-Purpose Center.

November 25, 2022
By: Dwayne Page

Thanksgiving Day has arrived!

This annual national holiday provides an opportunity for all to celebrate the best kind of giving, Thanksgiving for all the blessings of the past year.

Each year the Smithville-DeKalb County Chamber of Commerce hosts a prayer breakfast, which has become a long-standing tradition to commemorate the season of thanksgiving.

In his remarks as keynote speaker for this year’s prayer breakfast last week, State Representative Michael Hale said our community, state, and nation have much for which to be thankful and we as a people are always in need of prayer.

“Today, as we should every day, we pause to show appreciation for the opportunity that we have to pray, and the freedom we have to pray,” said Hale, who is also a local minister.

“The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much,” said Hale quoting from the scriptures James 5:16.

“When we ran our campaign, there were three things that were our foundation, faith, family, and freedom because its all about our families, it’s about our freedoms, it’s about our leaders, it’s about our community, it’s about our churches. These things matter,” Hale continued.

“How do we fight our battles? In Prayer”

“How do we overcome? In Prayer”

“How do we find strength? In Prayer”

“I have said this many times, I may never be able to call the President, a Senator, Governor, but I can come boldly before the throne of God and talk to the King of Kings and Lord of Lords, I can call on the one that said I will give you houses you didn’t build, vineyards you didn’t plant, and wells you didn’t dig,” he said.

“II Chronicles 7:14 says if my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land,” added Hale.

The prayer breakfast, held at the Smithville First Baptist Church Life Enrichment Center, featured music by Susan Hinton, a welcome from Chamber Director Suzanne Williams, Pledge of Allegiance led by Don Rigsby, National Anthem by Suzanne Slager, Opening Prayer by Chad Ramsey, Scripture reading by Sadie Moore, prayer for military and emergency responders by Dwayne Cornelius, prayer for children and schools by Daniel Leslie, prayer for the community by Larry Green, prayer for the state and country by Don Rigsby, and prayer for the lost by Chris Moore.

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