Decatur County Stories

Dave

After 30 years at the Memphis Fire Department, my wife and I moved to Decatur County for retirement. Our niece has been addicted to drugs since she was a teenager. With two children, she was unable to provide for their needs. She took them everywhere with her, including drug houses. Unfortunately, the Department of Children’s Services became involved and documented the abuse. While we were technically their great aunt and uncle, the children began spending summers with us but returned to their mother during the school year. We just could not allow them to go into the system so we applied for guardianship. They have spent the last two and a half years with us and are truly thriving now. Due to the financial impact of raising two young children whose mother was addicted to drugs, I came out of retirement and returned to work as the Fire Chief of Decatur County. We do allow their mother to see them a few times a year.