ast Tawakoni Looks At House Fire Response

The response of volunteers to a recent house fire and the manpower needs of the fire department were discussed Tuesday night at the monthly meeting of the East Tawakoni City Council.

Resident Barbara Klaus brought the matter up during the meeting. She said a young couple was left without a home due to the fire on Littlefield Drive in Little Oaks.

Ms. Klaus said she had inquired into the fire department since the fire and had learned that it only had three active members. "Three members can’t put out a house fire," she said.

She called on the entire community to become involved and said a "thorough education program" should be undertaken.

Ms. Klaus said, "People out there don’t know anything about the fire department."

She emphasized the need for volunteers and grants or whatever was needed to pay for the department’s needs.

Councilman Walt Pollard who also serves as assistant fire chief said, "Ms. Klaus is exactly right. We have three firefighters."

He said when the fire occurred, he was in Buffalo, N.Y., on business. "We had one firefighter in town, and he wasn’t notified."

However, Pollard said firefighters from Point arrived within 10 minutes of the first report, followed by Emory. He said the three cities had mutual-aid agreements in which each answered calls when needed to each other’s communities.

"In reality we had 16 firefighters at that fire," he said.

Pollard said he had checked with those that did attend the fire and was told that if they had "had a full complement" of volunteers, the house could not have been saved.

He said the responding volunteers (all firefighters in Rains County are volunteers) did what they should have done when the scene became a protective fire and protected the property around it.

In answer to other citizens in the audience, Pollard acknowledged there were fire hydrants in the city that were not operational. He said the fire department flushed the working hydrants, but it was up to the city to keep them working.

Pollard went on to say that the water department worked on the hydrants when they could, but they did not have enough employees. "The water department will fix as many as they can."

He said there had been rumors circulating that the house in question burned because firefighters ran out of water. He said that was untrue. Pollard said plenty of water was available. "We need more people," he said.

Councilwoman Johnnie LaPrade invited Ron Rimbey, chairman of the Rains County Tax Distribution Board, to speak about the hotel tax program.

Rimbey said the state regulated closely how they could spend the funds. He said $10,000 was the best year they had realized but said they were currently budgeting about $7,000. He said the primary source of income was from Lake Fork.

Rimbey said that two years ago, the group decided to stop sponsoring corporate-sponsored tournaments. He said they moved their focus to local tournaments and events like Founders Day and Eagle Fest in Emory.

He said the group was currently considering a program to advertise on billboards along Interstate 30 and Interstate 20 to attract motorists to Rains County. He said they would be directed to the group’s website.

"We don’t look for a real good year this year," he said. "It’s tough going out there right now."

Rimbey recommended that East Tawakoni work toward tourism programs like Stars and Go Texas "that would provide up to $20,000.

LaPrade said the reason she wanted the tax was for the future.

Councilwoman Tamera McLaughlin said the city would be required to start a tourism board of its own to initiate a hotel-motel tax.

"I don’t see any benefit to us. I think we need to look at other revenue sources," she said. McLaughlin moved to deny the tax program. Her motion died for lack of a second.

• Kenny Reeder, owner of Kenny’s Landing, returned to the council to again seek relief in the amount he had to pay the city for the sewer system that he owned, operated and maintained.

On a compromise motion by Councilman Lynn Wallace, the council agreed to a monthly fee of $40.

• The minutes of the last meeting were approved on a 4-1 vote with McLaughlin voting against. She disputed an entry about a workshop session between the Economic Development Corporation and city council.

• A request to install a street light at the end circle of Puckett Pass Drive in Whispering Oaks by David and Tamara Cavnar was denied. The Cavnars announced they had already installed the light at their own expense.

• A request made by Ms. Klaus for Anna Poe to prorate her water bill was denied.

• All council members and Mayor Buster Thomas were present.