And Rod Smith has his job back.

Anyone that has watched Jefferson City local television over the last couple of decades has likely, at one time or another, run across Rod Smith. For more than 22 years Smith has worked at KRCG-TV, the past 19 years as its Sports Director.

Smith, age 45, has been a popular figure in the Jefferson City area. “Rod’s Big ‘Ole Fish” has been a regular weekly feature of KRCG sports, featuring photos submitted by the community of area anglers and their big hauls.

However that changed on May 22, as the station fired Smith in an apparent staff-reduction move. That triggered a public outcry. An Internet petition produced nearly 2,600 signatures to get Smith back on the air.

The petition helped move the station to reconsider, and on Thursday KRCG announced that Smith was returning. He will resume his duties at the KRCG sports desk after signing a five-year contract.

Apparently the decision to fire Smith came from parent company Barrington Broadcasting, a Chicago-area company that owns KRCG and about 20 other stations around the Midwest. Barrington purchased KRCG three years ago.

Earlier in the year Barrington had notified all of its stations that they would be trimmed to just one sportscaster. However, KRCG’s other sportscaster, Tony Mullen, will stay on as well after Smith returns.