August 8th the town of Cedar Bluff held a benefit for injured fire chief Steven Kimmons. The gospel singing, hot dog plates, and cake auction not only raised money for the chief and his family, it renewed the spirit of the event’s organizers.

In July, Kimmons and a Cedar Bluff police officer were working for a construction company when the two men fell approximately 20 feet from a scaffolding. Emergency crews transported Kimmons by ambulance and helicopter to UAB Medical Center in Birmingham. The fire chief’s health has improved, but he is still recovering from his injuries.

At the August 10th council meeting Dustin Dutton reported on the benefit for Chief Kimmons. “Mayberry may be a thing in the past,” said the councilman. “That was the closest that I have seen to it in a very long time. The community put their differences aside…We showed up, and we showed out for our fire chief.” 

Crestview Grill Restaurant at Riverside donated food, and members of the community baked about 30 cakes to be auctioned off. Also, Dutton’s church, First Baptist of Gaylesville, donated a pot of Brunswick stew. The councilman also complimented the quality of the singing groups that performed: Jordan Shore, Cedar Grove Baptist Church Choir, and The Hindmans.

“We were able to raise a little over $2,500 for Steven,” said Dutton. “Not only that, somebody was gracious enough to pay his water bill and pay his power bill.”

Mayor Bill Warren said that he was proud of the town, and he noted other important town events that happened that day. “We had Kelly Hutchins who is the youth leader over at Cedar Bluff First Baptist Church,” said the mayor. “She brought kids from the school. We sent them around to pick up litter, and they did a fantastic job. Then we unveiled the new Jesse Lane. We had a good crowd for that. I was very proud. It also went great.”

Mayor Warren and Councilman Dutton pointed out that there will soon be a similar event in the neighboring town of Gaylesville. August 29^th and End-of-Summer Bash will be held to help Gaylesville Fire Chief Bobby Millican, who lost his right leg. The event will take place at Gaylesville First Baptist Church 11 am – 3 pm. Along with an afternoon of gospel singing, hot dogs, hamburgers, and brats will be served.