Smithville Elementary Announces Students of the Month

January 22, 2018
By: Dwayne Page

Smithville Elementary would like to recognize our Students of the Month for January. These students were selected for their outstanding character, academics, and other traits that make them an all-around excellent student. Selected as Students of the Month for January are:

Pre-K: Lily Young

Kindergarten: Layla Ahedo Blas

1st grade: Ezalee Moore

2nd grade: Taylan Driver

January 21, 2018
By: Dwayne Page

David Turner and Friends entertained at the DeKalb County Volunteer Fire Department Banquet Saturday night at the County Complex
(View Video Clip Below)

January 21, 2018
By: Dwayne Page

The 2017 Wilson Bank & Trust DeKalb County Volunteer Firefighter of the Year is Matt Adcock, Station Commander of the Belk Station.

Adcock received the award Saturday night during the Department’s Annual Awards Banquet held at the DeKalb County Complex.

Meanwhile, Captain Brian Williams was named the Wilson Bank & Trust DeKalb County Fire Department’s 2017 Officer of the Year and Steve Repasy, Station Commander of the Johnsons Chapel Station and Blake Cantrell both have been named to receive the Department’s 2017 “Git R Done” award. Cantrell was absent during the banquet and will be presented his award later. The “Rookie” award went to Firefighter Luke Green of the Main Station.

Adcock was nominated and received the Firefighter of the Year Award taking into consideration his fire call response, training attendance, and community service participation. Captain Michael Lawrence, who presented the award, said Adcock has excelled in all considerations used to evaluate the worthiness of earning this award.

“Matt was nominated this year and the evaluation of his nomination considered his fire call response, training attendance, and community service participation. The fire calls and training attendance stand for themselves. He excelled in both of those areas as he is among the very top of our membership when considering percentage of response and participation in both fire calls and training events. As for his community service, Matt has demonstrated outstanding community service by assisting other stations in conducting extra hands-on drills throughout the year, responding to emergency medical calls in his community as an Emergency Medical Responder, working with new recruits to complete required on-line courses, assists the Training Officer with conducting recruit orientation classes, and has actively participated in fire prevention and safety education events at our local schools. DeKalb County Fire Department attempts to recognize firefighters who reflect a positive image of commitment and sacrifice to the department and our communities, and there’s absolutely no doubt that Matt has earned the honor of being named DeKalb County Fire Department’s 2017 “Firefighter of the Year”, said Captain Lawrence.

Captain Williams earned the “Officer of the Year Award” for his achievements in training attendance, incident response, and community service.

“As the Training Officer, he does a tremendous job planning, coordinating, and scheduling training for our members,” said Chief Donny Green in presenting the award. “ Brian is among the top when it comes to incident responses and training attendance. In 2017, he led the department to be recognized as the 2nd highest volunteer department in the state for training hours at the Tennessee Fire Service and Codes Enforcement Academy. Our department was only 13 hours short of being in the # 1 spot! Among all 732 fire departments in Tennessee, both career and volunteer, DeKalb County Fire Department ranked # 17,” said Chief Green. In addition to these recognized hours, Capt. Williams coordinated and scheduled over 3,000 man hours of in-house training at the department. On top of his training officer responsibilities, he volunteers to launder firefighters’ turnout gear and re-fill SCBA cylinders. He is always active in participating in fire prevention and safety education in local schools and other organizations. Lastly, as a member of the DeKalb Emergency Services Association, he played a big role in helping plan, prepare, and deliver almost 300 meals to the needy last Thanksgiving,” said Chief Green.

The “Git R Done Award” goes to a firefighter who demonstrates exceptional sacrifices by going above and beyond responding to calls and attending training. Captain Jay Cantrell said this year there are two “Git R Done” winners.

“Station Commander Repasy continuously makes himself available for anything this department asks of him. He sacrifices his time to run errands for our officers and is always available and willing to use his mechanical skills to repair and construct whatever we need. He is always at trainings and calls and still does all these extra things that makes our department better prepared to serve and respond,” said Captain Cantrell. In addition, he is very active in the Smithville Lions Club and the local Red Cross chapter where he frequently donates his time and services to assist victims of disasters”.

“Blake Cantrell serves as the department’s Communication Officer and also as the President of the DeKalb Emergency Services Association (DESA). During 2017, Blake led the association in planning, organizing, and implementing the first annual DESA Thanksgiving Day meal delivery program. On Thanksgiving Day, DESA delivered just over 270 meals to needy and shut-in residents in DeKalb County. Blake’s leadership and sacrifice played a huge role in making this effort so very successful. Blake also planned and organized DESA’s participation and sponsorship of the 2017 Camp Phoenix, an annual week-long camp held at Indian Creek Youth Camp in May. “Blake always has the “can-do” attitude and he worked hard to find sponsors and volunteers to make this a fun event for some very special children,” said Captain Cantrell. With his excellent information technology skills, Blake has gone above and beyond by installing a video surveillance system at the Main Station, setting up the department’s new text messaging system, and always keeping our computers working. Both Steve and Blake demonstrate the model of a “Git-R-Done” firefighter,” said Captain Cantrell. Their commitment to sacrifice of personal time, both in our department in the community, while leading with a positive “Git R Done” attitude, clearly shows why the awards panel chose both to be recognized as our 2017 recipients of this award,” said Captain Cantrell.

The “Rookie of the Year” award is exclusively based on hours of training and goes to a firefighter who completed his or her basic recruit training during 2017. Captain/Training Officer Brian Williams presented the award to Luke Green.

“ The department feels that the most important thing we can do for our new recruits is to give them basic training and reinforce the importance of continuous training. Consequently, training is the sole criteria used in the “Rookie of the Year” selection. From January 2017 through December 2017, Luke had 169 hours of training, including completion of the 64 hour Basic Firefighter Training. In addition to his Basic Recruit training, he has completed a long list of extra training courses to improve his firefighting skills. “We certainly want to recognize recruits who demonstrate an outstanding level of commitment to training. Our department is fortunate to have an excellent group of recruits who have contributed to our department being recognized with elite training awards for 9 consecutive years. We are proud of all of them and we are honored to name Firefighter Luke Green as our “Rookie of the Year” for 2017,” said Captain Williams.

Four members have earned pins for length of service awards.

10 years of service: Donnie Johnson, Main Station, and Shawn Puckett, Midway Station. Johnson was absent but will receive his pin later.

20 years of service: Ronald Merriman, Keltonburg Station

40 years of service: Hugh Washer, Cookeville Hwy. Station. Washer was absent but will receive his pin later.

Training attendance awards were presented to the following members with 100% training attendance: Matt Adcock, Justin Bass, Asst. Chief Anthony Boyd, Bill Brown, Chief Donny Green, Steven Lawrence, Lt. Andy Pack, Calvin Tramel, and Captain Brian Williams. Members with 75% training attendance were: Capt. Jay Cantrell, Clint Cope, Kyle Devers, Donnie Johnson, Lt. Dusty Johnson, Jerry Wayne Johnson, Chris Mulford, Lt. Jeremy Neal, Shawn Puckett, Steve Repasy, and Robert Sartin.

Honorary Lifetime Membership Award were presented to Calvin Tramel and Lieutenant Dusty Johnson.

“Tramel joined the department in 2004 and has served as Station Commander since 2006. He first served as Station Commander at the Midway station and now serves as Station Commander at our newest station, the Four Seasons Station, that is scheduled to be in operation my mid-Summer. “With training be an important part of our department’s success, this firefighter has not missed a monthly training session during his entire 13 years on the department. Whatever we are doing, whether training, fire calls, fundraisers, or special work projects, he is always there. Not only is he always there, most of the time he brings his family with him to help with fundraisers and other special events. He has a genuine interest in serving his community and he has made outstanding contributions to the betterment of our department and we are honored to present Calvin with this recognition and award,” said Jeff Williams, an Honorary Lifetime member himself who presented this years awards.

“Lt. Johnson served on the department from 1998 through 2005. After a few years away, he joined the department again in 2010 and has been an active member for a total of 14 years. He has served as a Lieutenant for 6 years and has provided significant contributions to improve the department. “This member has donated countless hour of his time and use of his equipment to help maintain our parking lot and installation of the natural gas back-up generator at the Main Station. No matter what time, day or night, he is willing to use his skills and equipment to help whenever he can. He always does his part in supporting our fundraising events and work sessions. His service to our community can further be seen in his leadership of the Smithville-DeKalb County Rescue Squad, where he has served as the Captain for several years. His sacrifice and commitment to our department has been outstanding and we are very happy to be able to present Lt. Dusty Johnson with his Honorary Lifetime Membership Award,” said Lt.Williams.

Chief Green was honored by the department’s officers with a “Leadership Award”. “The award represents exceptional leadership paired with courage and a vision for positive change. This person unselfishly gives much more time and effort than expected and demonstrates a loyal commitment to the department and the community. The recipient of this award goes to Fire Chief Donny Green,” said Captain Brian Williams.

Chief Green highlighted some of the department’s major achievements in 2017 that have resulted in huge milestones. In August, the Department was awarded a $49,815 Assistance to Firefighters Grant (AFG) award that was used to purchase portable generators, automatic external defibrillators (AED’s), and water supply equipment. Also in August, for the ninth consecutive year, DeKalb County Fire Department was recognized as one of Tennessee’s elite fire departments for 2017 outstanding training achievement. Of the 732 fire departments in Tennessee, both volunteer and paid, the DeKalb County Volunteer Fire Department ranked # 17 for 2016-17 training achievement by the Tennessee Fire Service and Codes Enforcement Academy. Considering the ranking among departments that operate with 100% volunteer staff in the state, the DeKalb County Volunteer Fire Department ranked # 2. In October, site preparation work began on the site for the new fire station, the department’s 12th station, in the Four Seasons Community. The goal is to have the station constructed and have the station in operation by mid-Summer. Also in October, the department had 12 students graduate it’s 7th Citizens’ Fire Academy class. In November, several of the department’s members participated in the DeKalb Emergency Services Association (DESA) Thanksgiving meal for needy and underserved DeKalb County residents.

The evening began with a meal and entertainment from Ventriloquist David Turner and Friends. David is a DeKalb County resident and created his first ventriloquist figure at the age of 10. He was chosen to perform for the Armed Services and entertained in more than 13 countries. David and Friends perform for churches, fairs, conventions, civic groups, and corporations.