Tornado Alert False Alarm

February 26, 2021
By: Dwayne Page

False alarm!

In making preparations for a scheduled tornado warning alert test for next week, at least one of Smithville’s tornado sirens was inadvertently activated today (Friday, February 26).

There is currently no severe weather threat in DeKalb County

February 25, 2021
By:

The DeKalb Prevention Coalition joins the Tennessee Department of Health and partners across the state in celebrating the sixth annual Tennessee Quit Week February 21 – 26, 2021.

This year’s theme is “Surviving….2021 Tobacco-Free,” and the goal is to inspire Tennesseans to live healthier lives by taking advantage of the state’s free Tennessee Tobacco QuitLine resource to stop using tobacco products.

“In Tennessee, 31 lives are lost each day as a direct result of smoking,” said DPC spokesperson Lisa Cripps. “In addition to these tragic early deaths, tobacco use costs our state upward of six billion dollars each year in lost productivity and health care costs, preventable losses that hurt the prosperity of our state and those who live and work here.”

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, being a current or former cigarette smoker increases your risk of severe illness from COVID-19. Tobacco use is a risk factor for heart disease, stroke, diabetes, cancer and other chronic diseases. Tennessee Quit Week aims to increase partnerships across the public and private sectors to educate people on the harms of tobacco use and how Tennesseans can work together to help people improve their health and their lives by beating nicotine addiction.

Quitting is hard, but help is available! Tennesseans who use tobacco and are ready to quit can call the Tennessee Tobacco QuitLine at 1-800-QUIT-NOW or access web-based services at www.tnquitline.com for free coaching and nicotine replacement patches (if eligible). All services are free to Tennesseans and can double a tobacco user’s chance of quitting successfully.

Pregnant women who smoke are encouraged to contact their local health department to learn about the Baby and Me – Tobacco Free™ Program. This program provides education and support to help pregnant women quit smoking, and participants can earn free diapers each month for up to one year. Learn more and find a location near you by visiting www.tn.gov/health/health-programareas/fhw/baby-me-tobacco-free.html. Find resources and learn how you can be part of Tennessee Quit Week 2021 at www.tn.gov/health/health-program-areas/tennessee-tobacco-program

Visit the DeKalb Prevention Coalition’s facebook page for daily posts.

February 25, 2021
By: Dwayne Page

The DeKalb County Fire Department has taken out of service 51 Self-contained Breathing Apparatus (SCBA’s) and replaced the 12 year old units with new ones funded by a Federal grant.

During Monday night’s regular monthly meeting, County Fire Chief Donny Green requested that the county commission declare the old units as surplus property and allow him to sell 39 of them either by sealed bid or through other means such as govdeals.com which is a government surplus auction platform. The other 12 SCBA units (4 each) will go to the Smithville and Alexandria Fire Department and to the Smithville-DeKalb County Rescue Squad. The county commission granted the request.

Chief Green said the old units still work but no longer meet certification yet could still be used by other departments to supplement their inventory.

“These units are 12 years old already and the service life on them is 10 years so they will not be around (useable) much longer but this will help them (fire departments and rescue squad) until they can get their units replaced,” said Chief Green.

Last summer, the DeKalb County Fire Department received word that it’s 2019 Assistance to Firefighters Grant (AFG) application, in the amount of $427,360, had been awarded. The AFG Program is administered by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).

The funding award was used to purchase Self-contained Breathing Apparatuses (SCBA’s) and associated equipment to serve all 12 of the department’s stations across the county. The Federal share of this award was $407,009.52 and the local matching share, to be provided by the DeKalb County Government, was $20,350.48.

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