FAIRMONT — Marion County officials recently received a grant to help purchase radios for county first-responders.
According to Chris McIntire, director of the Marion County Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Management, formerly known as the Office of Emergency Services, the county was awarded $132,000 in federal money through the Public Safety Interoperable Communications Grant. The money will be used to buy radios for every volunteer fire department in the county.
“We’ll be using the money to buy 40 portable radios and 15 mobile radios,” McIntire said.
The portable radios are handheld and the mobiles are used in vehicles, McIntire said. Local volunteer fire departments are not the only agencies which will receive the new radios, McIntire said. He added that he will be contacting the Fairmont Police Department to see how many of the radios it would like to have. Three of the mobile radios will also be used in his office’s command trailer, McIntire added.
“And the remaining ones will be used for homeland security purposes,” he said.
The new portable and mobile units are trunked radios, McIntire said. The trunked radios are a type of computer-controlled radio system.
McIntire said that since officials with the Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Management has begun writing grants for communication equipment, no volunteer fire department has had to pay out of pocket for radio equipment.
He added that the Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Management has supplied around $700,000 in radio equipment to agencies throughout the county.
McIntire added that his office would help train other agencies on how to use the new trunked radios. Any agency which wishes to obtain training on how to operate the new radios should contact the Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Management.
McIntire said he and other officials in the county are out to make sure that every first-responder in Marion County has the best and most up-to-date equipment that is available. He also noted that he will continue to write grants to help the county first-responders obtain this equipment.
“These radios are the wave of the future,” he said. “We’re really on the right track with these.”
E-mail Paul Fallon at pfallon@timeswv.com.
Local News
Grant received to purchase radios for first-responders
- Local News
-
-
Teaching on their level
“I would like to nominate Lois Thibodeau for ‘My Favorite Teacher.’ She is the special needs Pre-K teacher at Watson Elementary School.” This was Kristi Wolford singing the praises of Lois Thibodeau.
-
DHHR requiring additional vaccines for students
Seventh- and 12th-graders who return to class in the fall without certain immunizations will not be allowed to attend school unless they get the required inoculations.
-
Cost of crime
Victim.
You never thought this would be you.
But you are the victim of a nonviolent or violent crime.
After contacting the proper authorities, you may be bewildered as to what happens next. -
More streets to be paved this week
Even more city streets will be paved this week than expected.
City Manager Jay Rogers said the spring paving required fewer tons of asphalt to cover the distance than originally estimated. That means there’s asphalt to spare and more streets are getting paved this spring. -
Bertoletti has 33 pepperoni rolls in only 10 minutes to win
If there’s one Memorial Day tradition that everybody participates in, one way or another, it’s eating.
Maybe it’s at a picnic at one of the many venues scattered across Marion County, enjoying hamburgers, hot dogs, macaroni salad and other seasonal food. -
Assaults, physical or not, affect ‘sense of safety and trust’
An assault of any kind — whether it’s physical or not — can be traumatizing.
“You don’t need to have suffered any cuts or scratches,” said Dr. Ronald Pearse, “but any kind of assault affects your sense of safety and trust.” -
Reasoning Mind excites students
As a teacher, Beverly Stewart has never been more thrilled than when she sees the benefits a newer program has done for her students.
Pleasant Valley Elementary fifth-grade student Calista Muzzapelle worked diligently on her assignments last week, much like she had during her Christmas break. -
Pepperoni roll prize
To someone from out of state, the pepperoni roll might seem like a mystery.
“Is it like a calzone?” they might ask, “or a stromboli?”
Unique to the state of West Virginia, the pepperoni roll represents the Italian heritage of many of the miners in the early 20th century mixed with hardworking Mountaineer common sense. -
BOE seeks land for new middle schools
The Marion County Board of Education is looking at land to build new middle schools in Mannington and Monongah.
If all goes as planned, county voters will see a bond on the November ballot. -
Former WVU coach takes final journey home
Bill Stewart has made his way back home.
The former West Virginia University football coach, who died suddenly earlier this week of a heart attack at 59, was laid to rest Friday in his hometown of New Martinsville. - More Local News Headlines
-
