County uses funds to distribute AEDs to local fire departments
Members and fire chiefs from Ozark County volunteer fire departments accepted new AED machines from the Ozark County Commissioners on Monday morning. From left (front row) Brixey-Rockbridge VFD chief Rory Liddicoat, Pontiac Price Place VFD member Louis Wiley, Tecumseh VFD chief Nathaniel Winrod, Wasola VFD chief Jim Yonker, Ozark County Sheriff’s Department Administrative Assistant Curtis Ledbetter; (back row) Dora VFD board member Johnny Thomas, Bakersfield VFD chief Greg Watts, Theodosia Area VFD chief John Lubbers, Caney Mountain VFD assistant chief Rodney Richardson, Lick Creek Valley VFD members Sandy and Dave Morgan, Western District Commissioner Layne Nance, Presiding Commissioner Terry Newton and Eastern District Commissioner Gary Collins.
Just after the weekly Ozark County Commissioners’ meeting, Ozark County volunteer fire chiefs and department representatives met with the commissioners to accept AED (automated external defibrillator) machines for each department.
The county purchased the devices with money from a national opioid settlement that was distributed to states, counties and municipalities. Ozark County received close to $30,000. The county purchased the AEDs with a portion of the money.
“Some of [the fire departments] had them, but some of them were obsolete,” said Presiding Commissioner Terry Newton. “So we’re just buying new ones.”
The newly purchased AEDs are similar to the ones used by the Ozark County Health Department, said Newton. These AEDs differ from the ones previously used because they use “regular” batteries that can be purchased anywhere and can be easily replaced after the machine is used. The the older AEDs had a one use battery that had to be specially ordered and cost more to replace.
The commissioners also approved proceeding with the purchase of a piece of property connected to the Ozark County Recycling Center. The owners recently offered the property at 2916 County Road 502 to the county.
The commissioners hope to obtain a loan through a program that will allow the county to build a new building to replace the current recycling center building. The county could qualify for the loan because the county now meets certain low median income guidelines that it did not previously meet.
The Ozark County Commissioners meet each Monday at 9 a.m. at the Ozark County Courthouse in the upstairs conference room. The meetings are open to the public.