RomeNewswire, Fire Department Smoking Pork To Raise Money For Plaza
Romans who see smoke coming from Jackson Hill throughout the day Thursday should not call the Rome-Floyd County Fire Department, because the fire department is already there.
RomeNewswire’s Jerry Duke and several representatives from the fire department will be at the Civic Center all day smoking pork butts that the two organizations sold to raise money for the Fire Fighters Memorial Plaza.
Beginning at about 9 a.m. Duke and others began loading 96 pork butts — almost 670 lbs. of meat — onto one of the three pull-behind smokers being used to cook the meat. At $25 each, RNW and the fire department raised about $2,400, and all the profit goes to the memorial plaza.
“We enjoy getting involved in the community. It’s our responsibility to take care of those who take care of us,” said Duke while placing the 8 lbs. chunks of pork on a smoker.
Anyone who purchased a butt may pick them up beginning at 10 a.m. Friday at the Civic Center on Jackson Hill. This is a change from the orginal plan, but a sign will be placed at the downtown fire department directing those who go there to Jackson Hill.
The Fire Fighters Memorial Plaza is still in the earliest planning stages right now, said Chief Gordon Henderson.
The plaza will be located behind City Hall at the intersection near the Rome-Floyd County Library and the law enforcement parking deck. It is likely to be an expensive project, said Henderson, and the bronze statue they plan to include could cost $25,000 alone.
“We really have just started a concentrated effort, but it’s been in the planning stages for years,” he said.
Because they are so early in the process, Henderson said a method for gathering donations has not yet been established, and he credited Duke and RomeNewswire with the pork butt fundraiser for getting the ball rolling.
“We really appreciate what Jerry did by getting this started. It was all his idea,” he said.
RomeNewswire's Jerry Duke loads a smoker with pork.
