Benefit Scheduled for County Firefighter

May 13, 2019
By: Dwayne Page

A benefit lunch for firefighter Chris Mulford will be Sunday, May 19 at 12:30 p.m. sponsored by Brothers Keepers at the DeKalb County Fire Department Main Station at 782 King Ridge Road, Dowelltown.

The lunch will include barbeque with sides. Donations will be appreciated.

Mulford was driving a tractor trailer in Pennsylvania on March 26 when he was involved in a serious wreck. He was severely injured and has been out of work for over a month and is unsure when he will be able to return. Mulford is a volunteer firefighter on the Short Mountain Engine 62 station for DeKalb County. He is the father of 3 and needs help. Please come, enjoy lunch, and make a donation to help his family as he recovers.

May 12, 2019
By: Dwayne Page

The workload of the DeKalb County Sheriff’s Department is on the rise and to keep up with it Sheriff Patrick Ray and the budget committee of the county commission have reached a compromise in providing more manpower to meet the demands of courtroom security and other needs.

During a meeting Wednesday night, the committee voted to fund in the 2019-20 budget two new officer positions solely from a proposed new litigation tax through the General Sessions Court budget. One other new deputy position would be created and funded by the county through the sheriff’s department budget. And while no new positions would be added to the jail budget, the sheriff plans to promote two existing correctional officers to the rank of corporal as jail supervisors. Each one would get a $2,000 increase in pay under the existing wage scale for sheriff’s department employees for a total of $4,000. The move keeps the sheriff’s department compliant with standards for around the clock jail supervision under standards of the Tennessee Corrections Institute.

Sheriff Ray’s original proposal for the county to fund five new positions was determined to be too costly and the committee rejected the sheriff’s department budget 3-2 at a previous meeting.

The proposed litigation tax through the court system is expected to generate around $125,000 in new revenue which is more than enough to fund the two deputy positions expected to cost $79,020 in salaries plus matching benefits.

“In that budget (General Sessions Court) we are proposing to fund two security officers for the courtrooms and they will be deputy sheriffs under the direction of Sheriff Ray. One of those will be absolutely designated as security for the courtrooms and the other will be a security/deputy where he (Sheriff) can use at his discretion. Those two employees would be funded under the General Sessions budget and they would be employed by the sheriff’s department,” said Dennis Slager, Chairman of the Budget Committee.

When court is not in session, the new officers can be used as road deputies, to cover shifts as fill-ins for other officers who are off duty or on vacation, to transport prisoners to other facilities, etc.

In his revised budget proposal, Sheriff Ray said he trimmed his request for an increase in gasoline by $10,000 and utilities by $3,000 but while projections for overtime is the same next year at $95,000 as this year, Slager asked why it should be that much with more manpower being added to the department and given that actual overtime in the department for 2018 was $66,517.

Sheriff Ray explained that while all of the budgeted funds for overtime may not be used, it is primarily for times when officers are called in to cover shifts of others in training and for officers who are scheduled to work holidays. They get double time on the holidays they work.

Slager also has concerns with sheriff’s department employee pay increases being tied to the sheriff’s raises as approved by the county commission last year. Slager asked that the budget committee consider recommending to the county commission a freeze of those wages for a year. Giving raises in this manner, Slager said not only impacts the tier system (wage scale) but isn’t fair to other county employees.

“We don’t have the money to fund those pay raises and we didn’t have it last year. We have no (new) revenue to cover it,” said Slager.

“The other county official’s employees are separate from us (sheriff’s department employees). They get raises over 20 years under a 13 tier wage scale while we have a 6 tier scale over 8 years. I don’t think it would be fair to knock us out (step pay raises) and everybody else get theirs,” said Sheriff Ray.

The sheriff also explained that other county employees had been given raises at a percentage of their employers for a while until those employers (county officials) complained that it wasn’t fair because the County Mayor’s employees were getting more money than their workers. Based on those complaints, the county commission dropped that plan and adopted the wage scale for them under which the county now operates.

The budget committee voted 4 to 1 to adopt the revised sheriff’s department/jail budget as presented with no freeze in employee wages. Committee members Jeff Barnes, Sabrina Farler, Anita Puckett, and Jerry Adock voted in favor while Chairman Dennis Slager voted no.

The sheriff’s department’s budget of $1,905,447 and the Jail budget of $1,531,067 will now be presented to the county commission for final approval later this summer.

May 12, 2019
By: Dwayne Page

It’s official!

Trey Fuston, a senior at DeKalb County High School, is now a college graduate. He will get his high school diploma this week.

For two years Fuston, son of Tony Fuston and Angie Fuston, has been working toward an Associates of Science degree from Motlow State Community College and on Sunday, May 5th he walked the line in a Motlow commencement ceremony at MTSU in Murfreesboro, twelve days before his high school graduation on Friday night, May 17.

Through Motlow College’s dual enrollment program, high school students like Fuston can earn college credits while still enrolled in high school. Students can take classes on a Motlow College campus, online, or even at a partner high school like DCHS.

Students who have completed their sophomore year and have met all requirements for taking the desired college courses may apply. Public, private and home-schooled students are all welcome to apply. The program gives students the chance to seamlessly transition from high school to college. The core curriculum credits transfer easily to Tennessee’s public colleges and universities while allowing students who are working on a four-year degree to save money on tuition.

(VIDEO BELOW WAS RECORDED IN APRIL)

IMG_5334 from dwayne page on Vimeo.

“I started doing my first dual enrollment classes the summer between my sophomore year and junior year. I took two classes then and gradually went on to do more my junior and senior year. I figured it would be a good idea to try and get my associates degree before I graduate because it would give me a jump start in college and cost less in tuition fees in the future. It gave me an opportunity to go through it quicker and get things done faster,” said Fuston.

With two years of college already under his belt, Fuston will have a head start when he enrolls at UT-Knoxville this fall with a dream of one day becoming an attorney.

“I am majoring in law so after I finish the last two years of college I’ll be going to law school. I’m not sure where that will be yet. I know UT-Knoxville has a law program so I may be going there,” he said.

Fuston expects to receive the Volunteer scholarship, which is for $5,000 per year and he may be in line for others as well.

He said his experience in the dual enrollment program at DCHS has been rewarding and he would recommend it to other college bound students.

“For anybody else who would like to try to do this I think it’s a great idea and a wonderful way to further your education. I would recommend it to anyone who thinks they can do it,” he said.

Fuston is President of the DCHS Class of 2019. He was also the Junior Class President. Fuston has been a member of the FBLA club for four years and the BETA club his junior and senior years. Fuston is a member of the ACT 29+ club and among the Class of 2019’s top rank students.

As Class President, Fuston will deliver a speech during the high school commencement and while he is excited and looking forward to the moment, he might get a little emotional.

“You might see my emotions come out but my high school years have been great. I don’t think I will ever forget the memories I have made here with my friends. I have had a lot of fun times. I really think I’ll miss it,” said Fuston.