By Scott Mims

John Dennis began his career as a volunteer firefighter for the Thorsby Fire Department at age 17. But he knew what he wanted to do at a much younger age.
“When I was in kindergarten visiting the fire station, I knew I wanted to be a fireman,” said Dennis, adding that the television series “Emergency” spurred his ambitions even further.
Dennis, a 24-year veteran with the Hoover Fire Department, was recently hired as Jemison’s part-time fire chief. The city approached him about the position soon after he had begun teaching a volunteer firefighter certification class in Jemison at no charge.
“I had felt the need to begin to give back to my community, and Jemison was the best fit for me to do that,” Dennis explained.
When he learned of the opportunity to serve as the department’s chief, he jumped at the idea.
“It was the type of opportunity I had been looking for for a long time,” he said.
Dennis graduated from Thorsby High School in 1978 and has since completed 30 years of training.
He is also an adjunct instructor with the Alabama State Fire College.
“With his wealth of experience and training, and as a person, he’s going to be an asset to the city and its citizens,” Director of Public Safety Shane Fulmer said.
Both men spoke highly of Bobby Tucker, who will continue to serve as assistant fire chief, and former Rescue Chief Donna Manasco.
“Jemison has had outstanding volunteers and provided outstanding services to the public since the beginning. Our goal is to provide even better service to the public,” Dennis said.
Dennis is married to his wife of nearly 29 years, Janet, and has two daughters, Jessica and Jennifer. He also serves as the minister of music and youth at New Covenant Baptist Church in Clanton.

By Stephen Dawkins

It might not be the renovation we’ve been waiting for, but it might be a step in the right direction.
The Thorsby Town Council at its scheduled meeting Monday at the town annex voted to allow the town’s historical preservation committee to renovate the old lunchroom building that stands behind the old Thorsby school.
“If we can complete something like this, make it look nice, we’ll be able to get more people on board to renovate the big building,” committee chairwoman Tracia Bussey said.
Bussey told the council her committee is about $1,000 short of the $10,000 needed to renovate the building, which could then be rented out, similar to how the town uses Helen Jenkins Chapel.
Bussey asked the council to allow the committee to keep income from the building to use for the renovation of the school building.
Council members expressed concern over the cost of utilities and finally voted to allow the committee to keep whatever income was left after the bills had been paid.
City Clerk Denise Gunn told the council that Helen Jenkins Chapel is rented almost every weekend, which seemed to further convince the council members that renovating the lunchroom building would be worthwhile.

In other business, the council:
• Agreed to open a $50,000 line of credit, in part to pay for a new patrol car for the police department
• Allowed the town’s fire department to purchase a refurbished defibrillator for $3,600.
• Decided the town’s Christmas parade would be held beginning at 11 a.m. on Saturday, Dec. 12. Council members expressed concerns about the parade being held on the night of Dec. 11 because of poor lighting in the town and the possibility the parade could cause problems with a live nativity scene planned for that night.

By Scott Mims

A local company’s generosity will help Thorsby Fire Department update an important piece of lifesaving equipment.

Georgia-Pacific’s Thorsby facility donated $1,500 to the fire department Friday for the purchase of a new cardiac defibrillator.

“With between 200 and 300 employees, we do have incidents when we need emergency help,” said Georgia-Pacific Safety Manager Justin Hayes. “These guys are always willing to help, and we appreciate the help they provide to not only us but also the entire community.”

Thorsby Fire Chief Lee Gunn said the new defibrillator will replace a similar piece of equipment that is about 13 years old.

A cardiac defibrillator is a machine that monitors heart rhythm and administers a controlled electric shock in the case of cardiac arrest. The shock is intended to restore the heartbeat to a normal rhythm.

“We’re obviously in a big budget crunch,” Gunn said. “So, donations like this truly help our department to get vehicles and other needed equipment.”

The donation check was presented to Gunn and other representatives of the department at the company’s facility Friday.

“We just really appreciate this donation,” Gunn said.