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Wednesday, July 19th

Dewayne’s Dangerous Drive Home earns 4 citations in one day…   From the Tennova Healthcare Cleveland News Desk, here is your news for Wednesday

Dewayne’s Dangerous Drive Home earns 4 citations in one day…

 

From the Tennova Healthcare Cleveland News Desk, here is your news for Wednesday, July 19th, on Mix 104-1 and Talk 101-3 The Buzz.

In news today…

The Cleveland Senior Citizens Advisory Committee visited one of the city’s newest facilities Tuesday, the Cleveland Regional Jetport.

Mayor Tom Rowland reviewed the city’s aviation history, beginning with Emmett Field early in the last century. He talked about the long effort to replace Hardwick Field, the city’s second airport, with the new Jetport.

The Regional Jetport has already been a factor in major industries’ decisions favoring Cleveland, Mayor Rowland said.

In addition, he said, the Jetport creates revenue from fuel sales and personal property taxes on aircraft. All city residents benefit from the Jetport too, he said. One of those benefits for city residents only is free service by the LifeForce medical helicopter based here. Thanks to an agreement with the Cleveland City Council, the city covers the flight expense after insurance payments are made.

Mark Fidler updated the committee on current Jetport growth and runway expansion. Construction is underway to add 700 feet to the 5,500 foot runway. The longer runway will be available to accommodate larger aircraft later this year.

Opened just over four years ago, the Regional Jetport continues to grow, Fidler said.

From the Cleveland Daily Banner…

Bradley County Emergency Services Director Shawn Fairbanks said Monday his EMS department is facing a shortage of staff and equipment, due to the county’s growth.

His comments came as he addressed the Commission’s Emergency Services committee.

He had previously reported the county EMS is running nearly 2,000 calls per month, and the committee had asked for more information as it attempts to put together a long range plan for the department.

During the committee’s last meeting, Fairbanks was asked to get the numbers on costs for new employees and trucks.

He had asked for two additional crews and two additional trucks “to help out.”

“We are currently running seven trucks at our peak times,” Fairbanks said. “We’re not keeping up. It’s turn and burn. As soon as they can get one patient out of a truck, it’s on to another call.”

He also said the EMS has been turning away transports “that pay decent to long distances.”

Assistant Chief Stan Clark said some of those transports bring in up to $3,000 a run.

He added staff members are now moving on to acquiring nursing skills and moving to work for those facilities “because they don’t want to do this anymore under the load they are under.”

There have been five to six staffers who have left the department within the last month.

Fairbanks reported the cost of a new truck would be $203,993. The option of purchasing a van would be $93,851. A full-time EMT would cost $42,796 and a full-time paramedic would cost $45,223.

The committee said it will continue to work with Fairbanks on developing a plan to fill the gaps that have occurred because of area growth.

From WRCB Channel 3 and WBIR Knoxville…

Driving around the South this coming week? Watch your speed.

Law enforcement in Tennessee, Georgia, Florida, South Carolina and Alabama will kick into Operation Southern Shield from July 17-23, making a concerted effort to enforce speed limits in the five-state area.

Harris Blackwood, director of Georgia Governor’s Office of Highway Safety, told WSAV-TV the effort isn’t specifically to write speeding citations, but it is to “get everybody to slow down a little bit” though he also warned speeders, “we will write you a ticket.”

There have been more than 500 traffic fatalities so far in 2017 in Tennessee, according to www.tn.gov.

This has been your local and state news. You can get news anytime by visiting our website, mymix1041.com, powered by Pioneer Credit. From the Tennova Healthcare Cleveland News Desk, this is Jeremy Gault reporting.

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