Council honors civilians and firefighters; introduces new paid‑on‑call personnel

Fire Chief Gilbert told the council he was "honor[ed] of recognizing 2 members of our community for their awareness, compassion, and courage." He identified the two civilians as Angie (transcript appears as both "Stroll" and later as "Skrull") and Maddie Schuette, employees of Washington Savings Bank, who transported an unresponsive customer to the hospital and then checked the customer’s residence, where crews later identified a carbon monoxide hazard. Chief Gilbert said "If Angie and Maddie had not acted the way they did, the outcome could have been much different." The two civilians were presented with a distinguished civilian service award.

Chief Gilbert also recognized firefighters AJ Tackett and Dan Klebsick and public works maintenance Clark Begard for thorough response, patient on‑scene care and hospital follow‑up; the group received a customer service citation. Chief Gilbert then introduced several new paid‑on‑call members of the Effingham Fire Department — listed in the meeting as Hayden Duquits, Wyatt Newborn, Trent Scoggins, Nikki Stein, Chris Teese, Katie Walls and Austin Huebner — and noted many completed state firefighter certifications and recent EMT training at Lakeland College in Effingham.

Council applauded the awardees and expressed appreciation for first‑responder professionalism and community members who intervened.