News

The Smithville Fiddlers’ Jamboree & Craft Festival has received a generous donation of $2,000 from the local Walmart store, reinforcing the company’s commitment to supporting community traditions and cultural events.

The annual festival, a beloved celebration of bluegrass music and Appalachian heritage, will greatly benefit from the donation as it continues to bring musicians, artists, and spectators together for a weekend of entertainment and competition.

“Walmart is proud to support the Smithville Fiddlers’ Jamboree,” said Steve Able Store Manager of Walmart Smithville. “This event is an integral part of our community, showcasing local talent and preserving traditions that bring people together. We are thrilled to contribute to its success.” The donation was recognized at the “Second Best Day Celebration” on Friday. Associates are celebrating the renovations to Store #4414.

Kim Driver Luton, President of the Smithville Fiddlers’ Jamboree, expressed gratitude for Walmart’s continued support. “We deeply appreciate Walmart’s generosity in helping make the Jamboree a success. Their donation ensures we can provide an outstanding experience for performers and attendees alike, celebrating the rich musical heritage of our region. Also, when you visit the store, notice the new mural on the wall as you enter. It’s the Smithville Jamboree! So, thank you, Walmart #4414, so much”.

The Smithville Fiddlers’ Jamboree & Craft Festival, scheduled for July 4-5, 2025, welcomes musicians, artisans, and visitors from across the country. The financial support from Walmart and other local sponsors helps maintain the high-quality programming and accessibility that make the festival a treasured event year after year.

For more information about the Smithville Fiddlers’ Jamboree, visit smithvillejamboree.com or contact 615-597-8500.

The Smithville-DeKalb County Chamber of Commerce is proud to announce the completion of phase one of the Alexandria Downtown Project.

Three years ago, the Chamber applied to the Tennessee Department of Economic and Community Development for Alexandria to be accepted into the Tennessee Downtowns Program. Following the town’s acceptance into the program, a Downtown Alexandria Committee was formed, consisting of Chamber Director Suzanne Williams, Ria Baker, Judy Sandlin, Pat Parkerson, and Phillip Holmes.

“The news of Alexandria’s acceptance into the program was incredibly exciting,” said Williams. “It marked the beginning of a journey to revitalize the downtown and attract new investment.”

Participation in the program required the steering committee to complete a year of specialized training before qualifying for a $15,000 grant to kickstart improvement efforts. The project’s primary goals were to launch renovations and generate renewed interest in Alexandria’s downtown to attract investors and businesses.

Completed Phase One Projects Include:

At Alexandria Medical Center, the entire building was power washed and all four exterior walls were painted.

At Junk n Jewels, a new front door and a new screen door were installed, and exterior painting and caulking were completed.

At the Tinsley Building, a new metal awning was installed.

At the Alexandria Masonic Lodge, the front brickwork was power washed; all exterior walls and rear doors were painted; the metal-framed windows were repaired, primed, and painted; broken and missing window glass was replaced; a new metal platform for the rear steps and landing was repaired and installed; the platform, steps, and landing were painted; two front plate glass windows were replaced; and the entry glass door was removed and replaced.

“With phase one complete, we’re preparing to apply for a $300,000 Downtown Improvement Grant this June,” Williams shared. “This funding will allow us to make major improvements to the remaining building exteriors.”

Committee member Ria Baker added, “These improvements are already making a visible difference, and we’re excited to see even more progress as we continue to move forward.”

Looking ahead, Williams announced that the committee moving forward into phase two will consist of Judy Sandlin, Pat Parkerson, Phillip Holmes, Dennis Slager, Suzanne Williams, Emily Bell, and Jamie Bates.

Williams also noted the growing interest from new investors in downtown Alexandria. “We’re excited about the momentum that’s building. Our state consultant, Bridgett Jones, has been instrumental in guiding us to make informed, impactful decisions.”

“We’re grateful to the Tennessee Department of Economic and Community Development for this opportunity to breathe new life into Alexandria’s downtown,” Williams added. “These improvements not only boost our local economy but also enhance our appeal as a tourism destination.”

For more information about the Alexandria Downtown Project, contact the Smithville-DeKalb County Chamber of Commerce at 615-597-4163.

Graduation for the DCHS Class of 2025 is only two weeks away!

The commencement will be Friday, May 16 at 7 p.m. on the DCHS football field.

WJLE and participating sponsors are presenting a photo gallery of the DCHS Class of 2025.

Click on the link below to view the senior formals.

Photo gallery

Once you open the page, click each photo to view a larger image. The name of the senior you select is at the bottom of the photo.

There are 173 photos in the gallery divided up 48 photos to a page. After you view page 1 be sure to click the links for pages 2-4 (top or bottom of the page) to view the remaining photos.

WJLE thanks the sponsors for April as follows:

State Representative Michael Hale
DeKalb Funeral Chapel
Alexandria Auto Parts
DeKalb Prevention Coalition
FirstBank
Gill Automotive
Good Health Family Clinic
General Sessions and Juvenile Court Judge Brandon Cox
Register of Deeds Daniel Seber
County Clerk James L. (Jimmy) Poss
County Mayor Matt Adcock
Road Supervisor Danny Hale
Smithville Church of Christ
Smithville FBC (First Baptist Church)
Josh & Melissa Miller Farmhouse Realty the Miller Team
Crossroads Medical Group-Smithville Office (Family Medical Center)

WJLE thanks the sponsors for May as follows:

State Representative Michael Hale
DeKalb Funeral Chapel
Liberty State Bank
DeKalb Prevention Coalition
FirstBank
Gill Automotive
General Sessions and Juvenile Court Judge Brandon Cox
Register of Deeds Daniel Seber
County Clerk James L. (Jimmy) Poss
Assessor of Property Shannon Cantrell
Circuit Court Clerk Susan Martin
Smithville Church of God
Smithville Church of Christ
Smithville FBC (First Baptist Church)
Trustee Sean Driver
Bryan’s Auto Repair & Towing
Crossroads Medical Group-Smithville Office (Family Medical Center)
Josh & Melissa Miller Farmhouse Realty the Miller Team

A temporary pause!

Except for county employee step increases and the state mandated pay raises for county officials, the budget committee Tuesday night voted to put a temporary “freeze” on new (extra) spending requests for the 2025-26 fiscal year pending a resolution of the jail construction issue.

Budget committee member Tony Luna made the motion.

“The elephant in the room is this jail project that we have going on. I would like to make a motion to freeze all pay raises and freeze the budget on everything except the step raises and the mandatory raises until we get past this jail construction (issue). Once we get past this jail construction (issue) then we will know what real money we have to spend. Until then I just don’t see how we can go any further,” said Commissioner Luna.

Budget committee member Tony (Cully) Culwell seconded the motion, and it was approved on a voice vote. Members of the budget committee in attendance were Sabrina Farler, Glynn Merriman, Mathias Anderson, Daniel Cripps, Tony Luna, and Tony (Cully) Culwell. Chairman Jeff Barnes was absent.

The budget committee also voted to keep part time pay for the 2025-26 fiscal year at the current level of $12.00 per hour across the board for all county part time personnel on a motion made by Culwell.

During the meeting, the budget committee began the process as scheduled of approving revenues and expenditures in several departments and categories of the overall budget including for the county commission, board of equalization, beer board, county mayor, county attorney, register of deeds, planning, county buildings, other general administration, property assessor, county trustee, county clerk, circuit court clerk, general session court, and drug court. In some cases, action was taken to temporarily table budget requests where department heads had asked for additional staff or pay raises for part time employees. Action will be taken on other department requests in later budget meetings

After the meeting, Commissioner Luna further explained his intent behind the motion on the freeze in proposed new spending. “The reason is we just don’t know what our budget is. I think everybody deserves a raise but how can we divvy out raises to everyone when we don’t even know what our budget is until we get the jail situation taken care of. I really wanted to get past the jail and hopefully get everybody what they are asking for. Everybody deserves what they are asking for but we’ll have to cut back some I’m sure but we have to get past this jail situation, so we know what’s left,” said Luna.

A new policy adopted by the county commission Monday night regarding overtime pay for medical death investigators from the ambulance service isn’t setting well with Sheriff Patrick Ray.

A special called meeting of the county commission has been set for Monday, May 5 at 6 p.m. in the lower courtroom of the courthouse to revisit the medical examiner policy, specifically the compensation of employees and anything else pertaining to the medical examiner’s office.

Under the policy as proposed last Thursday night, April 24 during a county commission workshop, medical death investigators were to be paid fours (overtime per call) at an hourly rate based off their ambulance service salary. But during the regular monthly meeting Monday night, April 28 the proposed policy, as adopted by the county commission was changed from four hours to eight hours (overtime) that medical death investigators are to be paid.

County Mayor Matt Adcock gave an explanation prior to the vote Monday night.

“After doing a little bit more research we looked up the average salary for an MDI which is about $15 an hour so they were not making anywhere close to the $100 (per call) they were making before, so we took that average salary and multiplied it by eight. Because of it being an hourly salary its going to be taxed so they are going to have that (pay) check taxed, so it won’t be like the 1099 they got before. That is something that has been asked to be done,” said County Mayor Adcock.

The problem is, according to Sheriff Ray, the policy doesn’t provide a level playing field between the on-call MDIs and his own on call employees who often have to spend a much longer period of time at a scene and are not guaranteed eight hours of overtime.

According to Sheriff Ray, the MDI is on the scene to view the body and determine if the death is a natural death, suicide, or murder. After that, the MDI can release the body to law enforcement to complete the scene work. The MDI will also complete the paperwork to send into the state medical examiner.

“I used to be an MDI back when Dr. JC Wall was the medical examiner,” said Sheriff Ray. “ That was before you had to have a doctor, registered nurse, EMT, paramedic, or whoever you have to have now to do it. Back then there were no computers to send anything from. You had to do your paperwork by writing it down and faxing it in and there is no way it took four hours to do any of that. There might be a time where the medical examiner now might have to come and wait a few minutes to do something but all they are there for is the body. Once they release the body they can go do whatever they want. You (county commission) paid to train every EMS worker that is out there to be the MDI on the ambulance. They take the same information on their run sheets that goes to the state medical examiner. Other than putting it in a computer when they get back (from a scene) you can figure out how long that is. The county mayor can tell you how many pages that is to go out. What two pages? Its question and answer. Every one of them is the same,” said Sheriff Ray.

During Tuesday night’s budget committee meeting, Sheriff Ray said the rate of overtime pay MDIs are to get under this new policy is much more than what was discussed at the meeting Monday night.

“You (county commission) passed Monday night what you thought was $15 per hour (MDI pay) but that is not true. That is the standard rate ($15 per hour) for the lowest employee there (EMS) but that is not overtime pay. Those eight hours will be overtime at $22.50 per hour. One of the EMS people who works there makes $28 an hour so that’s $42 (per hour) for eight hours,” said Sheriff Ray.

If this policy remains in place, Sheriff Ray said he will be asking the county commission to amend his budget to provide for eight hours of overtime to his on-call employees. In fact, since the new policy went into effect Monday night, Sheriff Ray said he has already implemented the policy for his department. Should the county commission rescind the new medical examiner policy regarding eight hours of overtime pay for MDIs, Sheriff Ray said he would rescind a similar policy for his department.

“At the last budget meeting we had, the budget committee had requested the MDIs to be paid a minimum of four hours overtime for their work. I spoke to all of you that if this happened, I would be requesting the same for all of my staff,” explained Sheriff Ray. “I have a detective, a court deputy, and a correctional officer on call 24 hours a day. Detectives may come in and work two hours and complete their task such as a home death or break in. Court deputies come in for inmate transports or mental patient transports and may complete their task in less than three hours. Correctional officers may have to come in and go to the hospital to sit with an inmate for two hours or our female correctional officers may have to come in and strip search a female for less than ten minutes. None of these employees who are on call is paid unless they are called into work. I think my employees off time and especially when they are on call and can’t leave the county is valuable time to them. I am the only county department that I know of that has to do this because we are understaffed”.

“Since you (county commission) have developed a pay plan and this plan passed at the county commission meeting Monday night with all voting “yes” for paying an on-call MDI eight hours overtime per call, I also started Monday night after the meeting the same plan to all of my on-call employees if they are called into work. If they are required to come into work, they will receive, at the minimum, eight hours of overtime pay,” said Sheriff Ray.

“If my overtime budget will not sustain the added expense of the overtime pay, I will be asking the commission for a budget amendment. Also, without knowing what these added expenses will cost in the next budget year, I would also ask you tonight to add extra monies to the overtime budget for all of the Sheriff’s Department and Jail employees overtime to fulfill your commitment of the MDI overtime allowance you gave them,” Sheriff Ray said.

In a prepared statement, Sheriff Ray further explained the duties of his employees and the MDI during a death investigation.

“Sheriff’s Department Detectives are paid when they respond to a death scene, from when they check in on the radio at their residence and they are paid until they arrive back at their residence. The detectives are responsible for the death scene. The MDI is responsible for the body”.

“If a death requires an autopsy, the MDI will contact a transport service for the body and notify the state medical examiner of what they have. Most of the time it is a local transport service”.

“If the death is believed to be of natural causes, the MDI will call for an ambulance if available and will set up a transport for the body to the emergency room or the MDI will call a local funeral home of the family’s choice and wait for the local funeral home to arrive. If the funeral home is out of town, the MDI should set up a transport with an ambulance to the hospital”.

“The sheriff’s department’s role is to investigate the death for foul play. Detectives will collect statements from witnesses, sketch a drawing of the crime scene by taking measurements of the position of the body where it lays”.

“Most all of the deaths that are believed to be suspicious in nature require a search warrant for the property or the residence. That is obtained by collecting evidence for probable cause, drafting a search warrant, having a criminal judge in Cookeville to sign the search warrant and then executing the search. All of the crime scene is photographed. Evidence is collected at the scene and brought to the sheriff’s department for safe keeping in the evidence room. If the victim has been transported to the hospital, the detective will respond to the hospital for pictures of the body. Detectives will also obtain arrest warrants from the warrant commissioner”.

“Here are the total scene hours (the most time-consuming cases) on four deaths this last year until today (April 29) for sheriff’s department detectives from checking enroute until completed.”

“Murder 6 hours”

“Murder 7.5 hours”

“Suicide 4.5 hours”

“Murder 4 hours and 40 minutes”

“As you can see, 7.5 hours was the longest time on the scene”

“Today (April 29) we had a home death. A deputy was dispatched at 9:41 a.m. and finished on the scene at 10:58 a.m. Total time 1 hour and 17 minutes. The death was not suspicious in nature”

“The MDI (who is supposed to be off shift at EMS) checked enroute at 9:46 a.m. in an ambulance causing the ambulance to be taken out of service”.

“The MDI completed time was 11:07 a.m. because the MDI transported the deceased to the funeral home (1 hour and 21 minutes). MDI will also have to send paperwork to the state”.

“As you can see most “at home deaths” have been natural causes and require minimum paperwork and officers are not on the scene very long”, said Sheriff Ray.

The budget committee Tuesday night temporarily tabled the proposed 2025-26 sheriff’s department and jail budgets along with other categories of the overall county general budget after imposing a temporary freeze on new spending until the jail construction issue is resolved. Exceptions were made for county employee step raises and state mandated pay increases for county public officials.

Back to the drawing board!

During Monday night’s regular monthly meeting, the county commission voted to ask Treanor Architects and Bell Construction to come up with cost estimates to build a new jail complex at the current site on the public square as well as on a generic green space location. The commission also wants to know what the jail footprint and cost would look like if the county were able to purchase the additional half acre lot adjoining the jail on the east side.

Fifth district commissioner and Jail Committee Chairman Larry Green made the initial motion which was approved on an 11-2 vote. Commissioners Tony Luna and Glen Merriman voted against it.

“I make a motion that Treanor Architects and Bell Construction be asked to evaluate our current jail to find out what can be done to upgrade to Tennessee Corrections Institute (TCI) standards, how many beds we would pick up, what the cost of the upgrade would be, and what we would build next to the current facility on the land we own and the cost to give us the number (beds) TCI is requiring. These would strictly be estimates. We will not know any final costs on anything we do until we actually have architect drawings, and we send them out for bids. These are only estimates to help us make the decisions we need to make. This is doing our due diligence about what the cost estimates would be for downtown versus someplace else,” said Green.

Third District Commissioner Tony Luna echoed a concern raised during the public comment period by Ken Fennell, a downtown business owner with over 30 years construction experience about potential remediation costs if asbestos or other environment issues were discovered at the current jail location.

“This cost would not include what the cost would be if they find asbestos or lead pipes. That would not be included in that estimate. I would love to get an idea of what it would cost if they do find asbestos to remediate that,” said Commissioner Luna.

After Commissioner Green’s motion was adopted, Second District Commissioner Sabrina Farler, in a subsequent motion, asked for cost estimates to include the half acre lot next to the existing jail if it could be purchased by the county. Her motion was adopted on an 11 to 2 vote. Commissioners Larry Green and Glynn Merriman voted against it.

Commissioner Farler then made yet another motion seeking estimates for development of a one level jail complex on a generic green space. This motion was adopted 12-1. Only Commissioner Glynn Merriman voted against it.

Before the votes, Sixth District Commissioner Andy Pack asked for more than just the one option. “I would like to see the cost at the current location versus the possibility of the cost at a different location. I would just like to see comparisons and not just a cost for downtown by itself,” he said.

“Are they going to give us an estimate on how many beds they can feasibly fit on the current property and the property next to it that has been offered for sale,” asked Seventh District Commissioner Mathias Anderson.

“Yes” answered Commissioner Green.

“I think probably at the same time they (architects) are doing this (evaluating existing jail location) they could also determine what it would cost to build on a green space. One thing that would affect it is how many beds are we going to build,” said Commissioner Green. “We have never reached a decision about how many beds we are going to build. TCI has never really come back and said you need x number of beds. We know what the (CTAS) study (for future growth) said last year which was for 270 beds. We said there was no way we could afford 270 beds. Then they said you need 240 beds right now. We said we can’t afford 240. We talked about 190 beds and that was a compromise. They (Treanor and Bell) did give us prices on 150, 190, and 220 beds. We have those estimates but that was all in three- and four-story buildings downtown. It would probably be a different cost estimate if you were going to take those down to one level and build it on a green space,” said Commissioner Green.

“We will need to assess what the impact of this is to the downtown area not only after its built but while it’s being done,” said First District Commissioner Tom Chandler.

“To Tom’s point, building downtown you can’t bring materials in and stage them like you can if you are building out someplace where you have plenty of land to build it on. In that case you would have to build and bring materials in as you needed them. You couldn’t stage anything in advance,” said Green.

Treanor Architects and Bell Construction, who plan to meet with county officials as early as next week, will develop a plan at no cost to the county according to Green.

“If we have this cost comparison done by early June then we could all get back together (county commission) and have a discussion about where we want to go with it,” said Commissioner Green.

Commissioner Greg Matthews said if the county does not move forward with a plan anytime soon the budget committee should consider asking that the county reduce the 51-cent property tax hike for debt service set last summer.

The Smithville Merchants Alliance and the Friends of Historic Downtown Smithville are taking a stand against any effort by the county to build a new jail complex on the square at the existing location.

Three downtown business owners, Randy Caldwell, Bert Driver, and Ken Fennell, expressed their opposition during the public comments period of Monday night’s monthly county commission meeting.

“I haven’t been in before to speak because I understood the county was pursuing relocating the jail outside the downtown area. That is something I was very supportive of. Now, I have come to understand that there is some momentum to keep it downtown and I am here to speak as a business owner. I am vehemently against it,” said Caldwell.

“As a resident and investor in our downtown, I have invested a lot of money and a lot of time and effort there. And as someone who has specialized in land use policies, this is a bad use for our downtown. Its not the proper use. Our biggest constraint downtown is a majority of uses down there are municipal uses. Marketing strategists will tell you for a vibrant downtown to make a maximum use of it there needs to be retail restaurants, entertainment, and uses that generate revenue within the district. A jail is not an appropriate use for that,” explained Caldwell. “However, opportunity arises from constraints. You have opportunity to convert a valuable property asset to a land use that will generate sales revenue, activate the square, and also be compatible with long term vision for the square. You have opportunity to control the future by using an RFP (request for proposal) process. You have the ability to seek a development partner that can redevelop that piece of property to a higher and better use that will be more compatible with the land uses down there. I am asking for you to be bold for our community and downtown and be visionary. Locating outside downtown will allow the opportunity for downtown to be an economic driver and revenue generator. Our future and livelihood downtown depend on that. Making smart decisions based on long term solutions. Help us thrive and continue to contribute to the community as business owners down there,” said Caldwell.

“To the commission I would like to say that we, the friends of historic downtown Smithville and the merchant’s association stand united to oppose the county commission’s proposal to build a three-story jail detention center in our downtown area,” said Bert Driver.

“Since our establishment in 1838, Smithville has thrived as a vibrant community and the location represents some of the most valuable and irreplaceable real estate in the entire county. To that point, is a jail in downtown the highest and best use? Our historic downtown generates significant tax revenue that benefits both the city and the county,” Driver continued. “Time and again we have demonstrated Smithville leads the county in tax income which underscores our vital role in the community. Yet, despite our contributions we feel that our voices have been overlooked and to our dismay there has been very little engagement with the local business community from this body of government. The millions of dollars that have been invested to revitalize our downtown by private entities speaks volume about the commitment to this community. No doubt we are all committed to this community. We urge the county commission to reconsider and seek an alternative location that would effectively serve our needs now and in the future. This proposal is nothing more than a band aid solution. It will only lead to more problems and greater expenses down the road, tonight we are here as a unified voice to say let’s work together, find a solution with the property owners downtown, and redevelop what is the gem of the Upper Cumberland,” said Driver.

“As a business owner my wife and I don’t think having a jail downtown is a great idea,” said Ken Fennell.

“I have been in construction for over 30 years. I have done several billion dollars’ worth of work. I worked for one of the largest general contractors in the United States. I advise my clients very directly on retrofits and renovations because that first number you see is a bogey. It’s a best-case scenario. It’s probably not going to be that at the end of the day. You’ll be attracted to it like a moth to a flame but it’s not going to be that. Retrofitting and bringing something that is so old and antiquated up to federal and state codes takes a lot of money. It’s a demand on the infrastructure that is already crumbling in the city. What you don’t know isn’t going to be in those bid documents because the architect and engineers are not going to pick up everything so that contactor won’t either in that hard bid,” explained Fennell. “At the end of the day they are going to raise their hand up and ask for change orders and then they are going to say we are delaying the job because we found asbestos, lead, PCBs, or something in the ground we didn’t expect. All those things will start to cause delays. The project will likely not come in on time or under budget and you’ll be wondering how you got there making that decision. I just want to caution you. You have choices here. We need to make the right choice. The can has been kicked down the road too long. Think about what is right for the future. Bringing tourism will bring dollars to the city and the county. Inmates don’t,” said Fennell.

A 61-year-old Hermitage man lost his life in a motorcycle crash Saturday afternoon on Highway 96 (Dale Ridge Road).

Dead is William Couch.

According to Trooper Mitchell Gibbs of the Tennessee Highway Patrol, Couch was on a Kawasaki 650 when he lost control near the 9-mile marker on Highway 96 (Dale Ridge) Road at around 4:46 p.m. The bike went off the road, struck an embankment and came to rest partially in the highway and a ditch.

Couch, wearing his crash helmet, was lying near the motorcycle. He was taken by ground ambulance to a helicopter landing zone and flown to Vanderbilt Hospital where he died. Couch had been on the bike alone but his riding partner on another motorcycle ahead of him turned around and discovered the crash after he glanced back and didn’t see Couch.

It may have to wait!

Smithville Fire Chief Charlie Parker’s request for the city to purchase a new fire engine to replace the department’s oldest truck in the fleet, a 2001 model (Engine 2) may get put on hold for now.

During Thursday night’s city budget workshop with the aldermen, Mayor Josh Miller said he wanted more than one option for buying a new fire engine, especially with the one being requested by the chief, a Pierce Custom Enforcer PUC Pumper currently priced up to $1,248,449. With the possibility of the city going in the red anyway by the end of the 2025-26 fiscal year, Mayor Miller said the purchase of this particular fire engine would add to the overspending and put the city in the hole by as much as $1.5 million for the year. If this fire truck is included in the new budget, Mayor Miller said he would consider casting a veto if it passed with less than a veto-proof majority. Four votes are required by the aldermen to override a mayoral veto.

“If this $1.2 million (Pierce fire engine) is voted on May 5 (first reading budget ordinance) in all likelihood I’d probably veto it if it doesn’t get four votes in favor. I know Pierce is a great truck but when we have a budget we’re fixing to pass where we are going to go in the hole by $1.5 million, we might not be able to afford the best truck. I want more options if we are going to buy one this year and we can make a decision before the end of the year in December,” said Mayor Miller.

Chief Parker said in a previous budget workshop that the 2001 truck is considered an antique according to National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) standards and has been relegated by the city fire department to “reserve” status.

Although Pierce is favored most by the city fire department and may be considered by some to be the best brand, Mayor Miller said he did some checking and found that the Rosenbauer company offers a similar fire engine and its considerably cheaper that Pierce. According to Mayor Miller Cumberland and Putnam County have Rosenbauer fire engines in their fleets and are pleased with them.

“I reached out to the Cumberland County Fire Department today (Thursday) and they love that truck. I didn’t talk to the chief, but I did talk to the chief in Putnam County. They had nothing bad to say about these trucks. They said if you are looking to buy you are welcome to come to Cookeville and we will show you the truck,” Mayor Miller said.

“I have a problem with one truck (proposal), one number (cost), and three different options to pay for that truck with nothing else on the table,” said Mayor Miller. “The perception of that does not look good. I do not feel comfortable voting for something that expensive ($1.2 million) without something else to look at. I haven’t even seen specs on the one proposed. I spent most of my day Wednesday on the phone with sales reps and I talked to a guy that has sold Rosenbauer to Cumberland and Putnam County. I was trying to get (quote on Rosenbauer fire engine) as close to this other truck (Pierce) as I possibly could. The price was $819,000 and with the extra storage you are looking at around $860,000. This is a one-thousand-gallon pumper. I am not saying Rosenbauer is the truck to buy. I am saying just don’t bring me one number and not bring me more options,” he said.

The last two fire trucks purchased by the city were both purchased from Pierce. Seven years ago, the city sold its 1992 fire engine to DeKalb County for $30,000 and its still being used in the county fleet at the Austin Bottoms Station after first being stationed at Cookeville Highway and later at Belk.

“I can’t speak for Charlie (Parker) but I do know the last two trucks we bought straight up from Pierce simply because of the inside connections we have with Pierce through a couple of people on our department. The pumper you (Mayor) are talking about (Rosenbauer) is not close to Pierce,” said City Deputy Fire Chief Jeff Wright,” who addressed the mayor and aldermen at Thursday’s budget workshop in Chief Parker’s absence

“One station I talked to today (Thursday) said they liked their trucks (Rosenbauer) better than Pierce,” replied Mayor Miller. “I’m not saying that’s the truck to buy. I’m saying Pierce is not the only truck out there,” he said,

“I have talked to people who have those (Rosenbauer) and I did not get the same feedback you did,” said Deputy Chief Wright. “They were not very happy with them. But you get that, the good and bad on all of them,” he said.

According to Deputy Chief Wright the costs of new fire engines continue to climb each year, especially now with tariffs being a factor, and even updating the 2001 truck would be expensive.

“I know last year Charlie asked for another new truck and from last year to this year the truck price for basically the same truck went up $200,000 mostly because of the safety stuff on the apparatus. The oldest one we have, and the ladder truck don’t have all the safety features that the newest ones have. That’s what all goes into the prices going up. They build the specs off NFPA standards and while its not a law and you don’t have to follow them its a recommendation that just about every fire department across the nation follows,” said Deputy Chief Wright.

As for updating the 2001 engine, “Pierce gave us (fire department) a rough estimate of $650,000 but it does not cover it all in bringing the fire engine up to standards. A lot of that depends on available parts with something that old. If the pump were to go out on that truck and we have to replace it the cost would be $40,000 and the engine in that truck, they don’t even make it anymore. Its obsolete,” said Deputy Chief Wright.

“We have already recently had a few problems with it (2001 fire engine). We got on a fire scene and the interlink would not match up with the truck and it wouldn’t pump. We got it fixed but they don’t make some of that stuff anymore to replace it. They got it repaired to get it to work for now, but we had to put somebody in the driver seat, and they sat there to throttle it up to pressurize the hoses and that is not a good practice. You could really hurt somebody if they are not paying attention and mashed down on that accelerator because that pump pressure can go from 80 to 200. That could really hurt somebody on the end of that hose line. That’s one of our concerns is the safety of our people,” said Deputy Chief Wright.

However, both Mayor Miller and Deputy Chief Wright said if the city were to purchase a new fire engine, it might be a good idea to hang onto the 2001 model to use as a backup especially if it were not to sell for much money.

“We could hold onto it as a backup if we needed it,” said Deputy Chief Wright. “Right now, the status of that truck is a reserve apparatus. Its not a first out engine per se but we still run it that way sometimes because we have to. We run off the newest one (fire truck) and use it (2001 model) mostly as a pumper for water supply,” he said.

In March, Chief Parker addressed the mayor and aldermen to make his initial budget request for the new fire engine. He asked the city to purchase a Pierce Custom Enforcer PUC Pumper currently priced at $1,248,449 with a prepayment discount of $130, 143 making the city’s actual cost $1,118,305. Delivery of the new fire truck would be within 37-38 months of order date. The cost would be only for the truck itself, and not the hoses and other apparatus to equip it. The fire engine could be financed over a three-, five-, or seven-year period with interest.

Along with the factors of safety, liability, and reliability, Chief Parker said part of the reason for keeping city fire department equipment and apparatus up to date is to maintain a good Insurance Service Organization (ISO) rating so that residents and businesses are able to take advantage of lower insurance premiums.

“My purpose here tonight is to convince you to buy a truck. Engine 2 which is a 2001 model came off of first line service in 2016 and in 2021 it was a 20-year-old truck that reverted to reserve status and as of next year it will be considered an antique,” said Chief Parker. “When I think about an antique fire apparatus I think about a shiny truck in a parade or its in a museum. I don’t think about an antique fire truck being a first line apparatus that is protecting our citizens of Smithville. Its also an antique truck that my firefighters have to ride in and that also concerns me,” Chief Parker continued.

“Since this truck was manufactured in 2001 the fire truck manufacturers association which sets the standard on fire apparatus has identified 65 changes on that engine including safety changes, emission changes, and other things from cab protection to seatbelts and airbags. That’s 65 changes in 25 years. If it were one or two it wouldn’t be a big deal but with that many changes it could be a big safety concern,” said Chief Parker. “In my opinion its time for it to be replaced. ISO states that you should have a first line apparatus within 15 years of service. Anything else can be a reserve up to 25 years but then it is considered an antique. We have our trucks on a cycle so that when one starts going out, we start looking at the next one so that we don’t end up buying them all at once. We could keep this one (2001 model) as an older reserve truck, but we have to decide is having this truck as a reserve more important than the $30,000 we would get out of it. We would still have to house it, maintain it, and test it but at what point does it get to be more expensive for us if we don’t need it for a reserve,” said Chief Parker.

In addition to the 2001 fire truck, the Smithville Fire Department has in its fleet a 2018 rescue pumper and a 2012 ladder truck.

DeKalb County Road Supervisor Danny Hale has announced a temporary road closure on the Alexandria to Dismal Road for two weeks starting today (Monday, April 28). No through traffic due to the installation of new tiles.