City Retires Badge Numbers
Published: Tuesday, January 13, 2009, C-T

Chillicothe City Council members passed resolutions Monday night retiring the badges and numbers of two Department of Emergency Services personnel who were killed in the line of duty in 1994. This is the first time known that city badge numbers were retired because of death. Just this past weekend, the badge number “300” was retired, signifying the longtime service of Joe Rinehart who retired as director of emergency services.

On Monday night, the council approved action to retire the badges and numbers of Firefighter/Paramedic David Mosher and Engineer/EMT Marcus Carr who were killed in a vehicle accident while making a ambulance run to Kansas City. Mosher’s badge number was 311. Carr’s badge number was 308. The resolution states that the badges and numbers will be retired “in order to show honor and respect” to the “outstanding” employees. Framed resolutions will be presented to their families and will also be displayed at the fire station, according to Mayor Chuck Haney.

Discussions of retiring these badge numbers prompted discussion from 1st Ward Councilman Earle Teegarden Jr., who suggested the city consider retiring the badges of any and all city police or emergency services persons who are killed in the line of duty. Council members noted of at least one incident when a public safety officer was killed in the line of duty. That event, according to Constitution-Tribune files, occurred in September 1963 in a freak accident when a fire truck and police car collided at Third and Washington streets. The accident claimed the life of policeman Billy Sizemore, 30. City officials were unaware that the badge number of Sizemore had been retired.

Council members are seeking input from their constituents about a proposal to place greater restrictions on who receive city water and sewer services. Currently, there are some customers receiving these services without living within city limits. The current ordinance allows for city services to be provided to customers without being annexed as long as a simple majority of the council approves the request. Council members are now considering making the provisions more difficult by either enacting an amendment requiring a greater majority of the council approve the request or to rescind the current ordinance and make it mandatory that in order for anyone to receive city services they first must be annexed into the city.

Council members also considered bids for garage doors at the fire station as well as truck repairs and accessories. After receiving proposals for four new garage doors, the council decided to seek formal bids for replacing all six doors at the station to ensure continuity throughout the facility.

In other business Monday night, the council was introduced to two new employees of the Chillicothe Department of Emergency Services: Trevor James as firefighter/paramedic; and James Jeffries as a firefighter/EMT.