Man Arrested in McMinnville After Stealing Pickup Truck Belonging to Smithville Fire Department

March 24, 2021
By: Dwayne Page

A 42 year old man is facing a burglary/theft charge after he stole a 2006 Dodge Ram pickup truck belonging to the City of Smithville Fire Department Tuesday morning.

Mark Beall drove off in the truck which was parked at the fire station downtown. Beall was later pulled over in the truck and arrested in McMinnville.

The truck was easy to spot as it is decaled “Smithville Fire Rescue” on both sides. Equipment was mounted on the pickup and it had $2,000 worth of extrication tools in the back of the truck.

A report filed by Smithville Police Officer Travis Bryant states that “On Tuesday, March 23 at approximately 6:59 am I received a call from (Fire Chief) Charlie Parker and was asked if the 2006 Dodge Ram fire truck was in the fire department bay. I walked next door and observed the bay door open and the side door to the fire hall open. I notified Charlie Parker that the truck was missing and immediately issued a “Be on the lookout” or BOLO with central dispatch for a stolen truck.

Charlie stated that he received a call from one of his firemen that had seen the truck on Keltonburg Road, A short time later he (Beall) was stopped in the vehicle by McMinnville Police and Warren County Sheriff’s Department officers. The truck with mounted equipment was valued at $8,000 and there was approximately $2,000 worth of extrication equipment in the back of the truck. The truck and equipment were recovered ” the report stated.

Officer Bryant further stated in his report that “During the course of the investigation, camera footage was recovered which showed the outside of the City Hall/ Smithville Police Department building for several hours. During that time he (Beall) was observed looking in windows and possibly tampering with a police car. Camera footage recovered shows him (Beall) outside from around 11:00 p.m. until about shift change at 6:00 a.m. When an officer pulled up he (Beall) is seen going around the rear of the building to avoid police. It was a short time later that the truck was observed on Keltonburg Road,” the report concluded.

March 23, 2021
By: Dwayne Page

The Smithville-DeKalb County Rescue Squad is getting the financial help it needs from the county to organize a Swift Water Rescue Task Force.

During Monday night’s regular monthly meeting, the county commission voted unanimously to appropriate $18,000 from the general fund balance as an extra contribution to the Rescue Squad to train and equip up to fifteen volunteers for the task force. That comes to a little less than $1,200 per person.

The task force is being created due to an increase in DeKalb County swift water rescues in recent years, including two just last month.

The task force, to be led by the Rescue Squad, will also include volunteers from the DeKalb County, Smithville and Alexandria Volunteer Fire Departments and possibly local law enforcement officers and others who would be specially trained and equipped for swift water rescues.

“We would have fifteen sets of gear but I would like to have more than  fifteen personnel on this team but to start off with I want the equipment for fifteen. We will probably have more people on the list and they can go to school too but they will use the gear we will have. We won’t have to buy gear for every single person (more than fifteen). They can use each other’s gear. I think fifteen sets of gear will be significant to keep on hand although the gear will need to be replaced over time as it wears out,” said Rescue Squad Captain Dusty Johnson.

Second District Commissioner Myron Rhody pointed out that more volunteers might be needed to ensure enough people are available to answer a call when a swift water emergency occurs.

“You may have fifteen members but there might only be six or seven show up on a call or if you had thirty members you might not have but eight or ten respond so you will have enough gear to equip up to fifteen if they show up,” said Rhody.

The Rescue Squad, made up of volunteers, is a non-profit organization and not an entity of county government. It receives an annual contribution from the county of $26,000 for its services which includes searching for drowning victims, cave/rope rescues and searches for missing persons, etc. But in most cases, neither the rescue squad members nor volunteer firefighters and other emergency first responders locally are specially trained in water rescues. This additional $18,000 contribution from the county to the rescue squad will be earmarked just for this special training and equipment.

March 23, 2021
By: Dwayne Page

The county commission is on the verge of striking a deal with the owner of a local business to lease the old Cherry Hill Community Center building which is no longer in use by the county.

County Commission looks to lease the Cherry Hill Community Center Building from dwayne page on Vimeo.

During Monday night’s regular monthly meeting, County Mayor Tim Stribling informed the commission that the owner of JBeez Watercraft near Silver Point on Highway 56 wants to lease the Cherry Hill Community Center building for five years at $500 per month with a five year renewal option.

Although the commissioners have signaled their support of the move they want to see the deal in writing and voted have the county mayor direct the county attorney to prepare a lease for them to vote on next month.

Seventh District Commissioner Bruce Malone made that motion and it received a second by Second District Commissioner Myron Rhody. The vote was unanimous.

Before the vote County Mayor Stribling outlined terms of the lease to be drawn up as recommended by the county public works committee.

“I was approached by the JBEEZ and Canoe the Caney business that is next door to the Cherry Hill Community Center about renting it. Up until about two or three  years ago the Cherry Hill Community Center was a voting precinct but it is no longer  a voting precinct. The community hasn’t been active with that community center for quite a while,” said County Mayor Stribling.

“The owner of JBEEZ, Jason Carver and I had some conversations and he would like to rent the community center for five years at $500 per month with a five year renewable option. He would do all renovations inside. The bathrooms and kitchen will have to be redone. He would like to do it as an extension of his business and possibly put in a restaurant and serve barbeque and whatever else. The county would be responsible like most leases for the roof, walls, and floors. It had a new roof put on it through insurance about three or four years ago. In the lease we (county) would basically say that the tenant would rent for $500 a month for five years with possibly a five year renewable option. You could increase the rent at that time. We would be responsible for the roof and the outside structure of the building while the tenant would be responsible for any kind of repairs on the inside of the building, the parking lot, utilities, mowing the lawn, and general upkeep,” said County Mayor Stribling.

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