Franklin County mayor spotlights Bluegill Grill’s life-jacket 'tree' and urges support for local businesses

Franklin County Mayor Chris Gass visited the Bluegill Grill this week to thank owner David Patton and to draw attention to a community life-jacket donation point he described as a "life jacket tree." "There's a life jacket tree there where if you don't have a life jacket, he's encouraging you to take one from there and use it," Gass said, adding that patrons are asked to "put it back when you're through."

Gass said the county recently recorded a video with Emergency Service Director Scott Smith about "the legality and the importance of having a lifejacket." The mayor framed the visit as part of a push to support locally owned businesses, saying, "we encourage people from the county to support county businesses and locally owned" because they "have a stake in what we do as a county."

Describing the restaurant's setting, Gass noted a floating dock, signage and a family-friendly atmosphere with weekend activities and live music. He said owner David Patton mentioned "about 150 a year," a figure Gass attributed to Patton and that the mayor presented as an approximate count of weekend activities or similar events. Gass also said boat rentals are available on site "depending on how long you want a boat, the size and quality of the boat you wanna rent."

Gass closed by thanking the Bluegill Grill and Patton "for contributing to the county and supporting Franklin County," and wished residents a safe weekend before saying he would return to county work in Bundy. No formal county action or vote was taken during the visit.