Dalton Police and Fire Departments add several new members

Ryan Anderson, The Daily Citizen, Dalton, Ga.
·2 min read

Jul. 1—The Dalton Fire Department cut its current personnel shortage in half with three new members confirmed during Tuesday's meeting of the Dalton Public Safety Commission, and the Dalton Police Department made a similar dent in its staff shortage with a half-dozen new members approved for the rank of patrol officer.

"We're making headway on getting our numbers back where they should be, and we're very excited to get highly-qualified new officers into the field," said Cliff Cason, chief of police. They've been "trickling in" — at least partly due to COVID-19 — in recent years, but Tuesday's batch of six is "a windfall."

Jesus Cruz-Ramos, 27, is a Calhoun High School graduate who has worked for Mohawk Industries and Shaw, among others; Wilson McNair, 29, spent four years with the Hamilton County Sheriff's Office in Tennessee and is a graduate of East Tennessee State University; Terry Miller, 39, is a Murray County High School alumnus; Brandon Putnam, 37, graduated from Berry College; Kaleb Warren, 26, is a Dalton State College graduate; and Christopher Wingate graduated from the University of South Florida following nearly seven years in the U.S. Marine Corps.

"We appreciate you all choosing Dalton and the Dalton Police Department," said Terry Mathis, chairman of the Public Safety Commission. "We're excited about lots of new policemen."

Zachary Carlson, Drew Sage and Christopher Stanley were confirmed to the fire department Tuesday. Carlson, 25, spent three years in the U.S. Army; Sage, 21, is a graduate of Coahulla Creek High School; and Stanley, 32, is a Southeast Whitfield High School alumnus who formerly worked for the Whitfield County Fire Department.

Just as one of the police department's new members, Warren, already has a brother, Kason, on the force, so, too, does one of the fire department's new members, said Todd Pangle, Dalton's fire chief. Carlson's brother Andrew is already a member of the fire department, as "we're trying to make it a family tradition."

"We appreciate all of you joining the family" of public safety in Dalton, and "we welcome you all," Mathis said. "I know you've had a rigorous and challenging training."

The fire department remains "down three personnel right now" even with the additions, and "we're accepting applications through July 31" for the fall recruit class at the city's website, daltonga.gov/jobs, said Pangle. "In 2023, I have possibly nine retirements coming up," so bringing new members into the department is crucial.