Hopkinsville Mayor swears in first responders, crisis response canines

Hopkinsville firefighters and a police officer, along with two crisis response canines were sworn in at Tuesday’s Hopkinsville City Council meeting.

From the Hopkinsville Fire Department, Fire Chief Steve Futrell presented the graduates of Recruit Class 26-1: D’Torian Isabella, Austin Stumbaugh, Dalton Horn, Nicholas Sanderson, Reginald White Jr., Jeffery Salsedo and Matthew Ramos. The seven recruits were sworn in as firefighters by Hopkinsville Mayor J.R. Knight.

From the Hopkinsville Police Department, Officer Cyle Piechocki-Belbot was sworn in. Police Chief Jason Newby shared that Piechocki-Belbot was born in Grand Rapids, Michigan and went on to serve in the U.S. Marine Corps and the U.S. Army for a combined 10 years, before joining the local police department.

Then, two crisis response canines were sworn in. Radar is a Belgian Malinois mix that was adopted from the Christian County Animal Shelter in April and has since joined the ranks of the local police department.

Bear is a Labrador Retriever that was trained by Freedom Service Dogs out of Denver, Colorado before joining the local fire department in April. Bear works as a therapy dog and provides comfort to firefighters who might be going through a tough time.

Knight thanked both chiefs for adding the dogs to their ranks before he swore them in.

Along with the law enforcement and first responder recognitions, a couple of local businesses were announced as recipients of Small Business Opportunity Grants. Hopkinsville Small Business Commission Chair Danielle Renshaw says this is their first time giving out the grants and 35 applicants applied to the program.

The Wood Shed Bar-B-Q Restaurant was awarded $2,500 and Bluegrass Bowls was awarded $7,500. Wood Shed Owner Jeremy Mathis says the grant will go toward paving a driveway for the restaurant. In a Facebook post, Bluegrass Bowls Owner Kristen Smith says just a few months ago the business was simply an idea, and while this grant isn’t a finish line, it’s another step forward to further establishing her business.