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City approves funds for ladder truck
ladder truck w sm
The Smithville City Council, with Alderman Steve White sitting in for Mayor Taft Hendrixson, approved funds to purchase a ladder truck for the Smithville Fire Department at their regular meeting Monday night.The mayor was absent due to medical problems, and White, who is vice mayor, sat in for him at the meeting.The controversial purchase of the new engine, which has been discussed for several years, was approved by a unanimous vote after Alderman Shawn Jacobs read a letter from Lori Poss, wife of firefighter John Poss, (the entire letter was published as a letter to the editor in the Review last week) just before the close of the meeting.The emotional letter, which chronicles the sacrifices made by firefighters and their families and the stress these families experience as a result of the dangerous nature or a firefighters daily routine, prompted Jacobs to make a motion that the city immediately set aside money to be earmarked for a new ladder truck.“ We do not ask our police officers to go into a domestic without a gun, nor do we ask our EMS to work a wreck without an ambulance. So why would we ask our firefighters to go to a building fully engulfed without the proper equipment and gear? We do not ask our other emergency services to be volunteers.