Leadership Campbell County has another busy day

TOP PHOTO: Members of the Leadership Class are in front of a UT LIFESTAR unit inside its hanger at Stiner Airfield.

LAFOLLETTE, TN (WLAF)- On Thursday, the Leadership Campbell County Class learned about area First Responders and the “vital” role they play in the county.

The class started the day at the Chamber of Commerce and Tourism Coffee Connection breakfast hosted by Zach Sheets and held at the Habitat for Humanity Restore in downtown LaFollette. Next, the class went to the City of LaFollette Police Department where Chief Steve Wallen gave a tour of his department and spoke of their daily emergency responses. The engineer of 911 operations for the city, Todd Overbay, gave the class an “in-depth tour of the new emergency communications office inside the city.”

LaFollette Police Chief Steve Wallen addressed the Leadership Campbell County class on Thursday as part of its First Responders Day in the county. Wallen is an alum of Leadership.

Class members also learned about the tools and technology that saves lives every day.

Leadership class members check out the latest in state of the art police cruisers.

Firefighter Joey Gilbert, with the LaFollette Fire Department, demonstrated to the class what tools they use to remove someone from a vehicle if they are trapped.

Joey Gilbert, with the LaFollette Fire Department, demonstrated to the class what tools they use to remove someone from a vehicle if they were trapped.

The Leadership class also visited with the 911 Communications Office for the county. Deputy Director Susan Finley explained to the class that “with the new technology we have today they are able to text and video call in case of an emergency.”

Next, the class traveled to the Campbell County Airport at Colonel Tommy C. Stiner Airfield where Director Bert Loupe helped coordinate the tour and gave a brief history of the grounds.  The class was able to get a close-up look at one of the UT LIFESTAR aircraft’s that plays such a “vital role in our county.”

The engineer of 911 operations for the city, Todd Overbay, gave the class an “in-depth tour of the new emergency communications office inside the city.” 

UT LIFESTAR Flight Nurse Josh Claiborne told the class that the aircraft can travel from most areas of Campbell County to the University of Tennessee Medical Center in about 15 to 20 minutes. Pyro Shows founder Lansden Hill also spoke to the class regarding how vital the airport is to his business as well as other businesses in the county.

UT LIFESTAR Flight Nurse Josh Claiborne visited with the Leadership class. This is a file photo from WLAF’s Charlie Hutson.

The Campbell County Leadership Class said they wanted to say” Thank you to all of our First Responders and their service to the citizens of Campbell County.” (WLAF NEWS PUBLISHED-12162024-6AM-PHOTOS SUBMITTED)

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