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On the Warmath

Lebanon, Tenn., City Councilwoman Kathy Warmath was upset that on-duty firefighters in the city drove their fire trucks to the grocery store or a restaurant to get food. They have to take their trucks in case they get a call and have to run, but Warmath proposed a municipal code policy to read, “Fire Department personnel are expected to bring with them any food items when they report for work.” Opposition grew swiftly not just in firefighter ranks, but from the public, too. The proposal was “just a conversation starter,” Warmath said, starting her backpedaling. “We spend as much time at the department as we do at home,” said recently retired Lebanon firefighter Chip Vanetta. “If we’re already out on a call, why wouldn’t we be able to stop at a restaurant or grocery store and get our groceries?” By the next day, even Warmath voted against the proposal. “The big thing to discourage is to roll out the heavy equipment just for the sake of going out for lunch,” she said. “That was the intent from the beginning. The end.” (RC/WKRN Nashville) ...It’s never “the end” until the next election, when voters finally get their say.