Moonshiners and firefighters band together to help Texas town

Published 9:13 am Friday, April 26, 2013

Moonshiners&Firefighters1 Moonshiners&Firefighters2 Moonshiners&Firefighters3

Items collected to donate to the West Texas Fire Department.

Items collected to donate to the West Texas Fire Department.

Polk County is more than 1,000 miles from the town of West, Texas, but distance was no match for residents here.

Columbus Fire Department Chief Bobby Arledge.

Columbus Fire Department Chief Bobby Arledge.

At an April 22 benefit at the Columbus Fire Department, community members pulled together for the West Fire Department, of which, several volunteers died responding to a recent explosion at a fertilizer plant.

Sign up for our daily email newsletter

Get the latest news sent to your inbox

Columbus Fire Department officials collected equipment, water and non-perishable food, plus money, for their peers. Sponsoring the benefit, and helping draw local residents, were stars of the Discovery Channel’s “Moonshiners” reality program, including Moonshiners Tim Smith, Josh Owens, Bootleg Bill and Cutie Pie.

At least 200 individuals moved through a long line to meet cast members and leave donations.

Josh Owens and Cutie Pie.

Josh Owens and Cutie Pie.

Columbus and other local fire departments donated equipment, which they no longer needed, to replace what was lost in the Texas calamity.

Sherry Rogers (left), Issac Medford (middle) and Jacob Medford (right) get autographs from “Moonshiners” stars.

Sherry Rogers (left), Issac Medford (middle) and Jacob Medford (right) get autographs from “Moonshiners” stars.