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Katya Hennessee Named DCHS Student of the Month for March

 by: Dwayne Page
Apr 17, 2025

A 12th grader has been awarded “Student of the Month” for March at DeKalb County High School.

18-year-old Katya Hennessee, daughter of Brad and Renee Hennessee, was surprised to learn Tuesday that she had been named the recipient of the honor which included a certificate and a gift card for a meal at El Rancho Mexican Restaurant.

“I’m very honored and thankful,” said Hennessee.

Katya and her younger siblings 17-year-old Valya and 14-year-old Pasha, natives of Ukraine, were adopted by the Hennessee’s several years ago. “We went through an organization called Bridges of Faith and they bring over Ukranian kids to America to be with families here,” said Katya.

A member of the FFA club, Katya said she was also a football manager for three years. Her interest in agriculture came about because of her grandfather who has about 250 head of cattle.

After graduation, Katya said she plans to attend the Tennessee College of Applied Technology in McMinnville and study cosmetology.

Asked if she keeps up with the situation in her native Ukraine, Katya said she was so young when she left that it’s hard to comprehend now. “It’s hard to comprehend sometimes because I have been here for almost nine years, but I still remember most things because I was the oldest kid in the family. It was like, wow I came from something and look at it now,” she said.

Fire Chief Asks City to Fund New Fire Truck and Three Additional Full Time Firefighters

 by: Dwayne Page
Apr 17, 2025

The proposed budget for the Smithville Fire Department would be larger if all funding requests are met by the city as proposed by Fire Chief Charlie Parker.

(View Fire Chief Charlie Parker’s 2025-26 Budget Request)

In addition to renewing a request for the city to purchase a new $1.2 million fire engine to replace a 2001 model, Chief Parker met with the mayor and aldermen Monday night in a budget workshop to review with them his funding requests for the 2025-26 fiscal year ranging from salaries to payment to volunteers, repairs and maintenance, adding new hydrants, purchasing loose equipment including hoses, nozzles, air packs, ladders, fans, etc. (especially if a new fire truck is ordered) and capital outlay expenditures, etc.

The mayor and aldermen have not yet acted on Chief Parker’s requests. Another workshop will be held to prioritize all city needs and potentially scale down some budget requests prior to first reading adoption of the city budget for the 2025-26 fiscal year.

The city is being asked by Chief Parker 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 Smithville Fire Department strives to adhere to as many recommendations, policies, and best practices of the National Fire Protection Agency (NFPA) and the Insurance Service Organization (ISO) as we possibly can. We do this for the safety of our firefighters as well as our citizens and to help reduce liability to the city,” said Chief Parker.

“In my opinion any vehicle 25 years old should be considered an antique. An apparatus over 25 years will get little ISO credit, and it is considered an antique. It can still be utilized as a reserve pumper, but it is supposed to be brought up to the newer safety standards as mandated by Fire Apparatus Manufacturing Association (FAMA) and the NFPA,”” he said.

“The cost of loose equipment needed for the new truck is somewhere between $150,000 to $200,000 and this is not included in the price of the new truck,” Chief Parker continued.

“Most of the equipment in question came with the purchase of Engine 2 in 2001, and a lot of that equipment has a 10–15-year lifespan like the hoses, air packs, and other equipment and some of it just wears out after 25 years. Since we are already at the 25 year mark a lot of this equipment is already past the suggested life span or just wearing out,” said Chief Parker.

“I pulled the equipment off the cost of the truck to try to lower the price and to spread the equipment cost out over the next 4 years. Also, some of the equipment is already out of date by several years, so even if we do not purchase a truck this year, we still need to replace some of the equipment,” he added.

Meanwhile, Chief Parker wants to add three more paid fulltime firefighter positions to the current staff of four (including himself) in order to help provide around the clock service.

“I would like to ask the city council to fund three more firefighter positions. This would give us enough personnel to staff two firefighters 24 hours per day 7 days a week. Right now, we’re getting 8 hours a day”.

“I would also like to be able to hire some of the volunteers as part time personnel to fill in when the regular crew is out on vacation or is out sick”.

“Having full time personnel helps us provide better and quicker response to our customers, faster knock down of the fire, lessen the severity of the fire, and provide quicker response on vehicle wrecks. It would also help the ISO rating,” said Chief Parker.

“Our response time during the daytime to just about any part of the city is between 3 & 4 minutes. After hours that time increases to 10 to 15 minutes. This is due to volunteers having to respond to the fire hall to get equipment,” he said.

As for payment to fulltime firefighters, Chief Parker is asking the city to extend the period for them to receive step increases.

“I would respectfully ask for the annual step raises to be extended out to at least 8 years to help us on recruiting and retention of good firefighters”.

Payment to volunteers would be increased by $10,000 to $75,000 under Chief Parker’s proposal and the current longevity/retention bonuses would be adjusted.

“Currently we pay firefighters with 10 years of service an annual longevity/retention bonus of $500. I would like to change this to recognize 5-10 years of service with $250; 10-15 years of service with $500; and go to $750 for those with over 15 years of service”.

“With our current volunteers that would add approximately $4,000 total and I think it will help some with recruiting and retention of good members,” said Chief Parker.

The city plans to use some remaining funds in the current budget to repair and add new hydrants. Chief Parker is asking that more funds be allocated for this purpose in the 2025-26 fiscal year.

“Our ISO rating of 5/5x is based on having working fire hydrants every 1,000 feet apart throughout the city limits. We have identified several areas that do not meet this. There are some areas that do not have any hydrants and some that are 3,000 feet or more apart. These are some of the areas we have identified in need of attention and are currently working to make better: Pack Circle, White Oak Drive, Foster Road, Miller Road, South College, East Broad, and West Broad Street. We currently have a plan to flow, test, and record every hydrant this spring to follow the ISO recommendations and keep our hydrants in good working order,” said Chief Parker.

County Parks & Recreation Committee Gearing up Efforts to Secure Grants

 by: Dwayne Page
Apr 17, 2025

The newly created DeKalb County Parks and Recreation Committee is gearing up its efforts hoping to form a partnership between the county and the cities in search of grant opportunities

“I recently met Tuesday with Meagan Reagan, Community Development Planner of the Upper Cumberland Development District (UCDD) to begin organizing the committee’s efforts,” said committee chairman Tony Luna.

“Our first priority is to develop a comprehensive master plan, which is a prerequisite for securing state and federal grants. A significant opportunity is available through a grant that provides up to $80,000 to initiate this planning process. As a collaborative effort, the grant requires a 20% match, totaling $16,000, to be shared equally among participating municipalities and the county,” he said.

The committee is seeking participation from each city and the county in this effort in order to move forward with this initiative.

Funding Opportunity Overview:

  • TDEC is funding a Parks and Recreation master planning grant.
  • Two funding options:
  • County applies individually for up to $60,000 with a 20% match.
  • County partners with cities to apply for up to $80,000 with a 20% match.
  • Funding is solely for the master plan, not for implementation work.
  • The master plan can enhance eligibility for additional funding opportunities.

Grant Matching Requirements

  • Individual county application requires a $16,000 match.
  • For a partnership (e.g., county, Smithville, Liberty):
  • Estimate is roughly $5,333 to $5,500 per partner.
  • Discussion indicates Liberty may have budget constraints; potential collaboration with county and Smithville is preferable.
  • Additional cities (e.g., Alexandria) may be considered to share the match despite uncertain interest.

Master Plan Development Process

  • Engages pre-qualified consultants identified by the state.
  • Consultant’s responsibilities:
  • Inventory current assets, facilities, and recreational programs.
  • Use GIS mapping, surveys, and public input.
  • Analyze demographics, staffing, budget, and facility use (including facility lease agreements with entities like the Army Corps of Engineers).
  • Public input process includes:
  • Citizen workshops asking for the five most critical local issues.
  • Collection of survey findings and community recommendations.
  • Review of existing recreational infrastructures such as community centers, parks, and other facilities.
  • Example shared from the City of Crossville (original in 2014, with simpler recent updates).

Additional Funding Opportunities and Grant Synergies

  • A Parks and Recreation master plan may make the community eligible for:
  • Local parks and recreation funds (e.g., ball fields, trail improvements).
  • Healthy built environment grants (up to $80,000 for projects like water fountains, lighting, sidewalk or playground improvements).
  • Other funding opportunities such as the Department of Health’s Project Diabetes (up to $450,000 over three years).
  • TDEC local parks and recreation program can offer up to $500,000 in state funding (with federal funds possibly raising amounts substantially).
  • Existence of other smaller grants that benefit from having a comprehensive master plan in place.
  • Key Stakeholders and Contacts
  • Mayor Matt Adcock introduced the funding opportunity.
  • Mention of discussions with Mayor Audrey Martin (Liberty) and Mayor Josh Miller (Smithville) for partnership and contribution confirmation.
  • Discussion of potential challenges in engaging Alexandria.

Time Frame and Implementation Considerations

  • The preparatory work on the master plan typically takes from one to one and a half years once funded.
  • The planning draft stage is sufficient to begin applying for other grants.
  • Coordination needs:
  • Confirm city and county collaboration.
  • Organize a meeting with stakeholders (Mayor Miller, Mayor Martin, and potentially others) to finalize partnership and matching funds.
  • Budget integration is important; aim to include plans and proposals in the current fiscal cycle to position for summer grant awards (applications open around June 12 with award announcements by end of July 2025).

Next Steps

  • Confirm internal support with relevant city and county officials (e.g., discussions with Mayor Miller and outreach to Mayor Martin).
  • Decide on partnership approach (county-only versus county and cities collaborating).
  • Apply for the planning grant for $80,000.
  • Send and review the Parks and Recreation master plan document (example from Crossville provided, approximately 395 pages; only key sections likely to be printed for review).
  • Begin the application process with support from a designated consultant once funding is secured.
  • Use the master plan as a foundational document to leverage further funding opportunities (e.g., for facility improvements, staffing such as hiring a Parks and Recreation Director, and potential public-private partnerships).

Additional Considerations for Long-Term Planning

  • Even if immediate improvements are limited (e.g., cosmetic upgrades like playground surfaces), a long-term plan creates a pathway for:
  • Hiring a full-time Parks and Recreation Director.
  • Upgrading and revitalizing underused or outdated community centers.
  • Broadening programming beyond traditional parks (including theaters, community centers, and public art).
  • Possibility to improve environments and create a forward-looking recreational agenda that sustains future community growth and program development.

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