Town and Country Fire Department of Woonsocket was recently awarded a $1000 Operation Round-Up® grant from Central Electric Cooperative to help purchase training equipment. Operation Round-Up is a grant program funded by Central Electric members who round up their monthly electric bill to the next dollar.
Town and Country Fire Department used the funds to purchase audio and video equipment to facilitate improved local and regional training events.
Assistant Fire Chief Rick George said, "Since we put the building addition on our fire hall a few years ago, we have been able to host a number of training events for first responders and the general public."
"We bring in students from across eastern South Dakota. Towns include Kimball, Wessington Springs, Artesian, Letcher, Fedora and Mitchell. These towns are better prepared for emergencies because of our training events," George said.
Todd VanWalleghen of Letcher serves on the Central Electric board of directors, and Dawna VanOverschelde of Letcher serves on the Operation Round-Up board of trustees for Sanborn County. They both expressed support for the project.
VanOverschelde said, "This grant positively impacts the Town and Country Fire Department and other volunteer fire departments across the region. We are happy to support the cause, and we thank our volunteer firefighters and emergency responders for their dedication."
To learn more about Operation Round-Up, call 605-996-7516 or visit www.centralec.coop and click on member programs.