West Branch Fire Department to do controlled burn, training on golf course clubhouse

WEST BRANCH - Plans to replace the old clubhouse at Cedars Edge Golf Course in West Branch will present a rare training opportunity for the city's Fire Department.

On Saturday morning, firefighters will torch the clubhouse at 19 Greenview Lane and train on 'a little bit of everything,” West Branch Fire Chief Kevin Stoolman said.

'They love to do this kind of stuff,” Stoolman said of the members of the volunteer fire department. 'That's what it's all about. We don't get a lot of opportunities to do this kind of stuff anymore.”

The training opportunity was made possible by Tammy and Jerry Sexton, who have run Cedars Edge for two years and bought it last year. Tammy Sexton said she and her husband have made improvements to the nine-hole golf course and had planned to renovate the 4,500-square-foot clubhouse.

'But it was in too bad of shape,” she said.

She said the clubhouse is 'just disgusting.” The roof has holes, and a musty smell permeates the building.

Replacing the clubhouse will be a two-level building. The clubhouse will be downstairs. The upstairs will be an event center with a 250- to 300- person capacity, Sexton said.

The event center will not be run by the Sextons, she added.

Sexton said her husband is a developer who has bought and flipped homes in West Branch.

'He's always taken that diamond in the rough and cleaned it up,” she said. 'I think that's how he looked at this. I think he just saw it as a challenge.”

l Comments: (319) 398-8238; lee.hermiston@thegazette.com