By Zach Hester, Reporter  • zach@southerntorch.com

PHOTO: At their regular meeting, the DeKalb County Commission discussed the potential installation of gates on the DeKalb side of the bridge at Buck's Pocket. (Zach Hester | Southern Torch)

DeKALB COUNTY, Ala. — The DeKalb County Commission is beginning steps to build gates on the bridge at Buck’s Pocket after another person and vehicle were swept away by high water last week.

District 2 Commissioner Scot Westbrook noted the importance of building gates on the DeKalb County side of the bridge, given that two fatalities have occurred over the last year when rain has swept over the bridge. 

“I know for a fact that we are going to put some gates up on the DeKalb County side, that should hopefully deter drivers from trying to cross that bridge when it has water on top of it,” said Westbrook. “It is my understanding that Jackson County is also considering something along those lines.” 

Westbrook emphasized the danger of standing water on roads, reiterating the well-known saying, “turn around, don’t drown.” 

“Hopefully the mechanisms that we’re going to put in place in the near future will prevent us from having these types of situations again,” Westbrook stated. 

DeKalb County Emergency Management Agency (EMA) Director Anthony Clifton stated that a local citizen in Macedonia had volunteered to build the gates for the bridge, at no cost to the taxpayers. 

DeKalb County Council on Aging Director Emily McCamy delivered an update regarding the Council on Aging’s many upcoming programs. A full list of programs can be found on our website. 

The Commission approved the following: 

• Sent a damage claim from January 27 involving a county transportation vehicle in Collinsville to the insurance company
• A surplus vehicle bid to Twin City Used Car Sales in the amount of $561,000
• The hire of Norman Price in Commission District 3 for the Road Department
• The hire of Zach Priest to replace Seth Green at the DeKalb County Sheriff’s Office

The Commission recognized both officers from the Sheriff’s Office who completed ACCA training and the Fyffe PeeWee Football team, who went undefeated in both regular season and tournament play. 

The next meeting of the DeKalb County Commission will be held on Tuesday, February 25 at 10 am.