Staff Reports news@times-journal.com

In observance of Cybersecurity Month and in service to their community, First Southern State Bank will host Free Community Shred Days this month at multiple locations in DeKalb County.   

On Tuesday, Oct. 22 the event will be held at the First Southern State Bank located at 403 West Main Street in Rainsville.  

On Wednesday, Oct. 23 the event will be held at the First Southern State Bank located at 1820 Glenn Boulevard, SW in Fort Payne.

Community members may drop off their sensitive documents to be shredded on the day of the event at each Community Shred Day location from 1 PM until 5:30 PM, or until the truck is full.  Vehicles will line up in a drive-thru format where participants may unload their items.  Shred Day is open to the entire community and will be held rain or shine.  

“With identity theft increasing at alarming rates, it’s important to keep bills, financial statements, and other personal documents secure,” said First Southern President Scott Kirk.  “Everyone is welcome to bring confidential bank, tax, insurance, or medical documents for safe and secure destruction on site.  Small businesses are also welcome.  We are pleased to offer this Shred Day to uphold our commitment to putting our customers first and giving back to the community by helping to keep our neighbors’ personal and confidential information safe.” 

Paperwork is deposited into a special bin at the event.  Once the bin is full, it is lifted, and the contents are dropped into the Secure Shred mobile shredding truck.  Each 96-gallon bin of paper takes less than three minutes to shred.  It is not necessary to remove staples as the truck will shred through them, however plastic or metal clips and other non-paper items should be removed.  All documents are double cross shredded at 3/8 of an inch.  Items that should not be included:  compact discs, floppy disks, plastic bags, magazines, or newspapers.   Please limit shredding to three banker-size boxes per vehicle to help ensure everyone can take part in this service. 

About First Southern State Bank 

First Southern State Bank has 11 locations in Cherokee, DeKalb, Jackson and Marshall counties of Alabama. To learn more about First Southern State Bank, visit www.fssbank.com.