HIGHLANDS– The fire department held their annual Recognition and Awards Banquet last Saturday evening, at the Monument Inn. Awards and fellowship were spread throughout the large crowd.
ESD#14 president Jim Strouhal presented the Firefighter of the Year award to Tanner Scarbrough. This award is given in memory of Cecil Kelly, who volunteered with the Highlands VFD for over 42 years before retiring in 1996. The recipient chosen by vote of the membership is a firefighter who performed above and beyond the call of duty.
A special award was presented to Chief Harvey Little in recognition of the 35 years of service to the department. The firefighters presented him with a Henry Firefighter Special Edition rifle.
A large crowd of firemen and families, friends, community supporters, and board members attended the dinner. Fire Chief Harvey Little emceed the ceremony, introducing awards, guests, and honorees.
Chief Little reviewed the history of the department for 2022. He noted that there were a total of 3,381 calls for service, compared with last year’s 3,154. Of these 2,388 were EMS calls compared with 2,388 the previous year.