Officials dedicate new rural Reno County fire station [The Hutchinson News, Kan.]
Dec. 3--Painted red with white trim, the bearer of holiday cheer to southeast Reno County residents is a new fire station that should cut response time and slash by as much as 45 percent the annual fire insurance premium costs for area households.Officials gathered Wednesday to dedicate the new St. Joe Fire Station, so-named because of its location, and a substation for Haven-based Reno County Fire District No. 9. A fire engine will be moved from station headquarters in Haven to the new station "probably within the next week," said Fire District Chief Elwin "Curly" Gingerich.Both Fire District No. 9 stations rely on trained volunteer firefighters. A crew from Haven will continue to respond to calls in the St. Joe area, Gingerich said, but the new station's location should enable a truck from the St. Joe station to reach the scene first."It's at least 15 minutes for us to get here," Gingerich said of the time needed for a Haven fire truck to reach the St. Joe vicinity.Gingerich also said if an incident is verified quickly as minor, dispatchers can alert Haven firefighters and that truck can return to headquarters.Central Prairie Resource Conservation & Development played an integral role early on. It has helped with development of other fire stations, but "this is the first one we've been involved with from the concrete up," said Central Prairie's project coordinator, Dan Curtis. Reno County obtained a $284,971 Community Development Block Grant, with federal dollars flowing through the Kansas Department of Commerce. It was understood volunteer labor and donated materials would be furnished, too.As of two weeks ago, said grant administrator Rosemary Saunders, the estimated value of the volunteer labor and donated supplies was $90,000. The number of people chipping in -- ranging from construction workers to preparers of food -- was put at 97. Businesses and other agencies, including the Kansas Rural Water Association, also assisted with the project.Barbara Meyers recalled going "door-to-door" in the rural area to ascertain interest in the fire station. John and Matilda Paney donated several acres, on Rayl Road near the intersection with Pretty Prairie Road, for the new station."I asked and you said, 'Yeah,' " said Keith Schmidt, leading organizer of the building committee, as he and John Paney remembered the latter's rapid decision to provide a site, which now has a new water well to supply the station.Volunteers worked weekends -- usually Saturdays -- and evenings, said one of those volunteers, Courtney Cauble. During harvest, though, work on the fire station "pretty well got pushed aside," Cauble said.Schmidt called it a long, strung-out process. The completion deadline was narrowly missed this fall, but, he noted, the project came in roughly $40,000 under budget.CDBG funds are drawn down as needed, and the county won't be able to keep unneeded grant dollars. However, Saunders said, there will be opportunities for the district to seek grant assistance for equipment.There are about 540 households in the station's service area, Curtis said, estimating, roughly, that annual insurance premium savings in the area could amount to $180,000 to $200,000, because of the improved fire insurance rating.The new 3,000-square-foot station is equipped with three overhead doors; two restrooms with showers; a storage area; and a multipurpose room, outfitted with a kitchen area, that can be used for meetings or serve as a storm area for local residents.To see more of The Hutchinson News or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.hutchnews.com.Copyright (c) 2009, The Hutchinson News, Kan.Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services.For reprints, email [email protected], call 800-374-7985 or 847-635-6550, send a fax to 847-635-6968, or write to The Permissions Group Inc., 1247 Milwaukee Ave., Suite 303, Glenview, IL 60025, USA.
Non-group Blue Cross plans face rate hikes: The state approved 9.9 percent increases for four groups, not the higher ones the insurer requested. [The Times Leader, Wilkes-Barre, Pa.]
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