By John Howell
Simple assault charges cross-filed by two firemen following a June 15 altercation at a fire scene were withdrawn Friday following a meeting with Courtland Mayor Debbie Aven, Panola County Emergency Management Director Daniel Cole said.

Cole said that Aven requested the meeting, and firefighters Rusty Lamb and Brandy Davis agreed to come.

“It started at 3:30. By four o’clock we were through,” Cole said.

Cole said that Aven opened with prayer and then talked about the history of the Courtland Volunteer Fire Department, of which her husband, Gerald, is a founding member.
She also read scripture during the meeting.

“In my quiet time, God just put it on my heart — He needs the credit,” Aven said.

“We are very appreciative of our firemen; we’re very proud of them,” she said.

“I reminded them that when they become volunteer firemen, they are held to a higher standard. They are a brotherhood; they’ve got to stick together,” the Courtland mayor said. When disagreements arise, they should be handled out of the public arena, she said.

Davis is a member of the Courtland department; Lamb a member of the Bynam Volunteer Fire Department. The charges stemmed from an altercation that began during the latter stages of a barn fire on Bell Road.

“I don’t think either of them wanted that (the altercation or charges that followed),” Aven said. She said that she reminded them that, “if either one had been in trouble (during that same fire) you’d go after him.”

 “Both agreed to let bygones be bygones,” she said.

Among verses that Aven said she recalled reading during the meeting:
“A gentle answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger.”
Proverbs 15:1