The status of the fire departments was one of the things discussed during the Carroll County Board of Supervisors meeting Monday morning in Vaiden.
Newly-voted in Carrollton/North Carrollton Volunteer Fire Chief Jake Hurst stood in for Fire Coordinator Andy Vining. He told the board that he and Vining had spoken about some of the issues that would be brought up.
Corley asked what he knew about the trucks in Vaiden. He said both the Vaiden trucks are out of commission. Hurst said he knew that one of Vaiden’s fire trucks had an issue, but he wasn’t aware both of them were not in service.
“We have a truck on [Highway] 430 that’s not being used,” Hurst said. “I’ll move that truck up here temporarily.”
Also, Corley mentioned that there has never been a hose on one of Vaiden’s trucks.
Hurst said CNCVFD responds to fires in Vaiden.
“I’ve learned that some of the guys aren’t as familiar with how things work,” he said. Hurst said he was going to come to Vaiden to help teach the men on what to do when a fire occurs.
“There are classes that you can take, and a lot of our men at Carrollton/North Carrollton have taken those classes,” he said. Hurst suggested that the classes could be beneficial to some of the members of Vaiden Fire.
He said if a truck needs service, they may have to take them out-of-town to fix a fire truck. It is also not cheap.
“The cheapest thing is the tires,” he said.
“It’s expensive, but it sure beats not having a truck,” Corley said.
Supervisor Dill Tucker suggested that Hurst check into local repairman Charles Gatlin to see if he could fix what was wrong with Vaiden’s truck.
“We’ve used him before; he used to work on a lot of our stuff,” Hurst said.
Hurst said some of the volunteer fire departments only get called out six times a year, and it’s hard to keep men motivated like that.
“I receive fire reports of about 6 to 7 fires a month, so something has to be working,” Vaiden Mayor Mel Hawthorne said.
“Yeah, they’re responding to the fires,” Hurst said. “I’ve been out on a few where Vaiden has responded.”
He said other fire departments respond also, and Winona Fire Department will help when needed.
“You can call Montgomery [County] and talk to Alan Pratt; I’m pretty sure he’ll help y’all out,” Corley said.
Hurst said Pratt has been helpful when they’ve reached out for assistance.
But, it’s more so keeping the volunteer firefighters motivated. “Moral support ain’t gone stop a fire,” Corley said.
The board also approved for Sheriff Clint Walker to purchase kennels from Vaiden Farm Supply to house stray dogs.
“Robert Anderson has been doing a good job of picking them up, but we got a letter from Greenwood saying that they can’t house any of our animals because they’re full,” Walker said. “So, we have to do something.”
Walker said the kennels would be placed on a concrete slab behind the new jail.
“It used to be an old barn,” he said. “There’s some old tin back there we can use as a roof.”
He said after the incident with the minor child being mauled in Montgomery County, he’s been receiving tons of calls concerning dogs. Walker said there’s not a line in their budget for animal control and purchasing the kennels could solve a needed problem.
Also, the board:
*Heard from George Johnson of the Carroll County Development Association about their upcoming Teacher Appreciation dinner, held at the Vaiden High School Gym at 6:30 p.m. on Monday, April 15. He said it'd held annually by the CCDA and it’s a way they honor teachers in the county. Johnson also said he’s retiring on April 15 too. He said before he retires, he wants to fix up the Vaiden walking trail.
*Approved David Clark to look at the floor in Tax Assessor Wilton Neal’s office. Board president Rickie Corley said the floor is falling rapidly and they have to do something about it.
*Heard from Preston Canter about moving County Road 340 from his driveway to another road that he built on his property. The board took no action in the matter.
