CCSO, Carter committee honors citizen's quick action

ELIZABETHTON — Committees of local governments are usually slow and deliberate activity before taking action on necessary activity. That was not the case on Tuesday evening, when the Health and Welfare Committee of the Carter County Commission honored a private citizen for his quick response and quick thinking which probably saved the life of another citizen. The routine meeting of the committee began with Carter County Chief Deputy Patrick Johnson and Deputy Robbie Huskins approaching the podium and calling forward the private citizens, Loren Carrier. The two officers then told the committee about the actions taken by Carrier to save the life of a woman. The deputies then presented Carrier with the Sheriff's Citizen Service Award. The narrative on the award praised "the rapid response and quick thinking of Mr. Carrier" which "potentially saved the life of a fellow citizen," going on to say that Carrier's action "was in keeping with the volunteer spirit of Carter County and the State of Tennessee." Following the presentation, Carrier told the Johnson City Press about the incident. He said that on April 10, Carrier was visiting his grandmother on Creekside Drive in Stoney Creek. During the visit, his grandmother received a call from a neighbor who lived across the street. The caller said she had cut herself and was bleeding. She said she needed help. Carrier said he immediately went to the neighbor as quickly as he could. Even though he rushed there, he said when he arrived it was a gruesome sight. "There was blood everywhere," he said. The woman was bleeding from a deep cut on her leg. "She had cut herself on her walker." Carrier said he had never taken a lifesaving course, "but I have watched movies and I thought I knew what needed to be done." Carrier took a towel and used it to put pressure on the wound. He then took the belt from his pants and used it as a tourniquet to stop the bleeding. Deputy Huskins was the first responder to arrive. He reported that when he arrived, the woman was stabilized and the bleeding was controlled. Following the presentation of the award, the committee discussed the audio system that is part of the live-streaming of the county commission meetings. Part of the audio system no longer works. Committee chairman Keith Range said the repair will cost about $20,000. He said the audio system could be replaced in time for the September meeting, which is when the newly elected members of the commission will be sworn in and the commission reorganization will take place. The committee voted unanimously to recommend the audio system replacement be forwarded to the Budget Committee. The committee also heard of another problem that needs to be corrected before freezing weather begins. Range discussed the cracking and breaking up of the parking lot at the Carter County Sheriff's Office. He said the parking lot had been impacted by the flood of the Doe River during Hurricane Helene. At the time, he said there was no appearance of damage to the parking lot. Since then, the deterioration of the parking lot has taken place. Bids were taken to correct the problem. The low bid was by Seal Tech Asphalt Maintenance at $19,000. The committee voted unanimously to approve the project and forwarded the action to the Financial Management Committee.