lee2854
Joined: 09/07/2007
Posts: 18

Recent Comments by lee2854
Catoosa fire meeting heats up
05/05/2008 09:05:15 AM
Catvoter,

Why do you seem so sarcastic towards comments? You say does this make Chuck Gass incompetent? Well if I was a paid firefighter I don’t think I would want my supervisor to have a criminal history. I don’t think you can be a certified firefighter or police officer with a criminal history so why would he be able to?

Yeah they vote him in or whatever, but apparently he gets away with everything else in town so why would the VOTE be so formal and “right”? It could just be a front….I don’t know ask a CCFR volunteer if they vote for Chuck or not….

If you don’t think Bobby Winters and Dewayne Hill are Clark goonies then you are blind. I laugh everytime I hear Bobby Winters have double talk because that is not what Bill wanted him to say…I makes me laugh right now!

Look catvoter if you live in DOWNTOWN Ringgold your protection will not change and you really have no dog, persay, in the fight. Your opinion means nothing to me. On the other hand with my house being covered by a Post station I have a dog in the fight and don’t appreciate what is going one. Maybe if you would have had the ISO Class 3 for 5 years then it changing you would be upset to, but you have always had second rate fire protection.

I’m sorry for your higher ISO rating and I am also sorry mine will soon be in the same shape as yours.

Besides just ISO I want the CLOSEST fire station to come to my home, (Macksmith Rd) not the new one that is going to be on Lakeview Drive. What about the citizens that commented in the Times Free Press about wanting Boynton station to still respond to their house. If they are not dispatched they cannot go because how are they supposed to know about it! If I lived on Old Mill Rd or Boynton Drive I would want the Boynton station to come to my house! It is just putting those citizens at risk, especially at night as fofire8 says that station 6 only have daytime crews!
Catoosa fire meeting heats up
04/29/2008 09:19:09 AM
First of all...nope not in the City of FO...I am in the County portion that ALREADY has a 3 rating which means my current level of fire protection is considered better than yours. I have done quite a bit of research and digging on this issue and have found out some things you may find of interest:

First of all....NOT one of the current County fire stations are within 5 miles of each other...that is going to hurt their rating.

Second of all...their full-time personnel only cover 6 am- 6pm and are only in stations 1, 3, & 6. That leaves Keith, Woodstation, and Blackstock without full-time coverage... it also leaves Ringgold and Three Notch Rd area without night time coverage. So how is this better? Yeah station 3 on Highway 41 has crews 24 hours but one station for a county our size isn't very good. Manpower isn't that big of a percentage of ISO and I don't think it will help at all having firefighters leaving most of the rural areas without coverage.

Third of all....I don't think it has anything to do with Fort Oglethorpe officials. I also don't think it has to do with egos of Fort Oglethorpe firemen...you can think that all you want since you are already covered by CCFR you must not know what you are missing.

Fourth of all...they will not hire a county fire chief. They will keep the chief they currently have and have had for over a decade and the county department hasn't bettered it self since he has been in. He has no qualifications of being a fire chief and is actually a joke of one if you ask me. So a countywide fire chief would be great. ONLY IF THEY HIRED A QUALIFIED ONE!!! Chief Chuck Gass is NOT capable of being a fire chief over the entire county. I guess he would be if you want our county fire services to become the laughing stock of the state as our politics have been.....

I also didn't even say anything about Hill and hope he REALIZES his HOME IS NOT COVERED BY FULL-TIME CREWS!! They are not in Keith!!!

If the County would lose their false hope in Chief Chuck Gass then maybe the departments could work together. Consolidation isn't the enemy....it's the plan towards consolidation that is taking place.
Catoosa fire meeting heats up
04/28/2008 01:59:54 PM
I have heard that County officials say our insurance will not go up. They have stated we will NOT lose our ISO Class 3 (which lowered my insurance a few years back).

I called my insurance company and if CCFR begins coverage over my house and the county stops FOFR from covering it my insurance will go up $100. Just think how this would affect all the citizens....

I began wondering about it and did some google searches to find out about ISO and I found this site

http://www.fofdfire.com/ISOclass.htm

It's some interesting reading!!!
Catoosa budget passes with fire department cuts
02/21/2008 08:28:21 AM
First of all Mr. Thompson said he did not do that and I tend to believe him over any politician. Maybe you shouldn’t accuse people of things just because of what you hear. No Post does not sound like they are in the loop b/c if they were they would probably of had an advantage instead of losing funding.

If you lived in that service area and you had the 3 then you WOULD NOT more than likely be pushing for a department with higher insurance premiums. Unless you like to throw away your money…that’s your prerogative. I wish I could be in the City BUT Guess what that doesn’t matter if those 2 station close b/c the City’s ISO rating is based on having the equipment and manpower for the entire department not just what’s at that particular station.

I am serviced by FO/Post and I still want to be because I know that I WILL NOT get as quality of service and if you are already service by Catoosa County Fire what do you care anyway…you are already paying higher insurance premiums than if you were in the West side of the county so maybe you are just jealous.

Also that fact that Chief Gass saying that it will stay the same has nothing to do with anything he has no control over the west side of the county….and his department can still service the area until everything is in place b/c they still have county funds providing all of their services…duh!

Also on the number of residents U.S. Census Bureau had a 2006 est. population by census tract and by those tracts FO/Post services nearly half the population of the entire county! Sounds like a lot with only 3 stations…..

So I suggest you stay in your own side of the county’s business and don’t act like you know how this will affect the citizens on the west side…..
Catoosa budget passes with fire department cuts
02/20/2008 12:00:58 PM
How could there not be a problem…the county seems to be saying Post didn’t agree and Post didn’t communicate, but I really BELIEVE Mr. Thompson’s comment on the last article on Catoosa News saying they have been given anything in writing. How do you agree to something without it being in writing???

Also if they CANCELED a contract wouldn’t they need a plan in place to EXTEND the contract if their trucks and stations weren’t in place? I would think so.

YES I DO LIVE OUTSIDE THE CITY! What don’t you get about FOFR servicing some unincorporated county areas which means those properties get the ISO CLASS 3…I have a 3 now and would immediately go to a 5 and my insurance would increase as would the other 8000-10000 homes that FOFR services….what’s so hard to understand about that.

ISO from what I have read is based on many aspects not just trucks and manpower. Other than that I want to know how they are going to pay for those people? If they cannot appropriate 30 firefighters to cover more than 3 stations than why would I think they can operate efficiently. I feel safer now than I will after May…

Also why would you use FO/Post for Mutual Aid when their stations are closer to the property initially? Hello!
Catoosa budget passes with fire department cuts
02/20/2008 09:19:04 AM
In this article they expected Post to continue serving the unincorporated areas with only $100,000 and the vice chairman said it cannot be done. Now they have completely terminated funding (which will go into place May) and they still said “WELL POST CAN STILL VOLUNTEER”

Let me ask….HOW!? Can you expect a fire truck to run with no fuel, maintenance, electricity for the station, water, etc?

Also they said that they are going to build a station in Lakeview to cover this part of the county. WHY?!?

There is a station on Mack Smith Road and it provides adequate coverage to this area. Why would you build ANOTHER fire station directly down the road? Just because the Mack Smith station is too small? I don’t think so it’s because they do not want Post’s or the City of FO’s help they want it all to themselves.

My personal homeowner’s insurance is going to increase nearly $100! Also that ISO rating is a judge of the quality of service apparently a 5 is worse than a 3 so the quality is worse. Why would I want a lower quality service and higher insurance premiums? I guess since the supposed fire study said that this is the best option the commissioners ran with that and are going that route in ALL THE WRONG WAYS!

Citizens that are served by Fort Oglethorpe Fire Department that are in Lakeview, Duncan Park, Boynton, Westside, and Fort Oglethorpe. Listen up this is going to increase your insurance! And just because they say that there will be fire protection from their county stations doesn’t mean that station will be close or have full-time firefighters. There are ONLY full-time firefighters in Graysville, Ringgold, and Three Notch Rd right now if you live in Woodstation, Keith, or Bandy Rd area then you don’t even have full-time firefighters. Seems like if they have 30 of them they could work something out to cover their East side currently, if they don’t have enough to cover those station right now how are they going to have enough to cover Lakeview??


DON'T LET COMMISSIONERS SWEEP IT UNDER THE RUG! Speak out!
Firefighter injured in early morning blaze
12/05/2007 08:01:17 PM
The county should have insurance as well as worker's comp to help for the bills...I'm sure he would still be paid b/c he was hurt on the job if they have that kind of thing on their employees and if not I would reconsider working for them if they don't even care enough about their employees to do that.....this means for deputies as well...not just firefighters
Fort Oglethorpe Police chief suspended through Nov. 23
11/14/2007 08:40:03 PM
Disciplinary action is disciplinary action not firing....I don't remember this much uproar about others who were disciplined without substantial reason...picking and choosing who is like is wrong of non citizens....get over it people and listen to the reason instead of jumping to conclusions.....

People of this area are so judgmental and I am not even a fan of any politician or attorney or city manager, but don't be so judgmental of everyone. Mia you seem to be out of line suggesting you know the heart of two men on the council that are preachers....judgment is not left to us so don't do it. I have realized since last week that I should not be judgmental so just think about it before everyone goes running off at the mouth like Judy does on television and gets people riled up.
Police organization shows support for officers at Fort Oglethorpe council meeting
11/14/2007 12:45:37 PM
Egeland's comment was Egeland being Egeland is so horrible I couldn't even explain. Johnnie Smith was a police officer for the city and was shot in the line of duty on a routine traffic stop. It is very uncalled for. Smith was only able to campaign for the first month after the campaign began b/c of some health issues with his wife I think. He wasn't able to do the whole TV commercial and speaking thing like the others. Also if there are supporters of Ronnie Cobb that would vote against Smith therefore giving Egeland more votes....just my opinion.
Fort Oglethorpe incumbents ousted; challengers make clean sweep
11/12/2007 08:18:38 PM
Comm did you work for Dinley....if you did then I am surprised you feel that way b/c everyone else who worked under the man wasn't too pleased. He did not care for this city and proved it over and over. Fort Oglethorpe is just a magnet for bad city managers. I think the best one was from decades back...