Busby new Arley Fire Chief

ARLEY - Fire, water and police were three of the main topics addressed at the Arley Town Council’s regular meeting, Tuesday, Feb. 10.
A new fire chief, a warning to fire departments due to water shortages anticipated from a water tank maintenance project and the need for more police officers were among the literal hot topics discussed at their meeting.
James Rickett, who officially retired as the town’s fire chief the first of February, introduced the department’s newly appointed chief, Randal Busby, to mayor Johnny Taylor and council members.
“I will support him any way I can, help any way, to get him started,” Rickett said. “He has got a lot of good ideas. We are going to work together.”
Rickett informed Taylor and the council he was only retiring as fire chief, but would remain in the fire department as a firefighter.
“James, we appreciate everything you have done,” Taylor said.
“I think (Randal) is going to do a good job,” Rickett stated. “Everybody is backing him, so it will work out fine.”
Taylor noted he had seen Busby out in the community, but did not know him personally.
“I welcome him in and I hope he does half as good a job as James has done,” Taylor added.
Busby, who has been on the Arley Fire Department as well as member of the Winston County Rescue Squad ambulance service each the past two years, is ready to get started as the town’s new fire chief.
Originally from Curry, Busby currently lives in Arley, where he plans to follow in the footsteps of Rickett.
“Big shoes to fill,” Busby said. “James is a really good person and dedicates everything to the fire department.”
Busby’s mission is to continue to learn, train and answer calls, as well as continue serving in the rescue squad, he said.
“Dedication and enjoy helping others,” Busby said. “We are just going to move forward.”
The Arley Fire Department has 24 firefighters with eight trucks, according to Busby.

Firefighters advised to watch water usage in sight of water tank project

Among other business, Busby and Rickett were advised to be careful of the amount of water they use as a fire department, in sight of an ongoing project to restore the Nesmith water tank.
Clifton Rudd, lead plant operator of the Arley Water Treatment Plant, addressed the mayor and council about a project underway to temporarily drain the water tank at Nesmith, so the tank can be repainted and refurbished.
“They will have to construct a new (tank) and take the other one out of service,” Rudd informed Taylor and the council. “Maybe three, six weeks, to sand it down, repaint it, prime it, let that dry so they can repaint it.”
Rudd that he had talked to Rickett and Busby about conserving water while the tank is temporarily out of service.
“You have to conserve as much water as you can on a big fire because we are only going to have 100,000 gallons in reserve that six weeks or so, hopefully just six weeks,” he informed Rickett and Busby, who were seated in the audience.
“You will have to be careful,” Rudd further warned. 
Taylor asked Rudd if he had noticed any problems in water service, since the tank is being refurbished.
“They just started draining it yesterday (Monday, Feb. 9), and there were not any problems yesterday or today,” Rudd advised.
“I guess we won’t know unless someone starts complaining they don’t have any water,” Rudd pointed out. 

Council seeking full-time police officers, raises pay for
 positions needed 

Taylor recommended that the council approve an additional $2 per hour for full-time police officers in order to increase incentives for those applying for the positions.
When Levi Brown was hired as police chief at the January council meeting, there were no other officers in the department, so Brown was basically working around the clock as the town’s chief while continuing his duties as school resource officer for Meek Schools, Brown had said.
Gage Rigsby, formerly of the Adamsville Police Department, has come on board as a part-time police officer assisting Brown, but full-time officers are still needed, town officials stated. 
The council hired Rigsby as a police officer at a special-called meeting of the council on January 29, town officials said.
The council had approved at their regular meeting in January to post for full-time police officers who needed to be APOST certified.
“We didn’t have any full-time APOST-certified applicants,” Taylor informed council members at their meeting this month.
“To get somebody on certified, we are probably going to have to raise that salary a couple of dollars,” Taylor pointed out.
Council member Devin Guthrie recommended the council repost for a full-time officer and increase pay per hour from $22.50 to $24.50, with all council members voting in favor.
“If this don’t work, I guess we’ll have to repost again,” Taylor stressed.
A 2022 graduate of Curry High School, Rigsby began his law enforcement career at Adamsville, where he worked about a year before coming to work part-time for Arley, he said.
“He’s been a major help, so far, to help alleviate some of the pressure off of me until we can get another full-time guy hired,” Brown pointed out. 
“We are going to have to have another full-time guy,” Brown emphasized. 
Brown reported to the council police department business for January, including total mileage of  1,184 miles, 92.5 gallons of gas, with a total spent on the department of $144.30 and 12 cases worked.
Among other business, the council voted to start the bid process for new lighting at the ball fields at Hamner Park.
“I am really excited about the park and the lights,” Taylor stated.