Tag Archives: health department

News to Know (07/14/2021)

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Washington, D.C.- President Biden is vowing to do whatever he can to protect voting rights. The president denounced the Republican-led efforts to enact restrictive state election laws as being “un-American” and an assault on democracy.

Pittsburg, Ks- Crawford County Health and Ascension Via Christi Hospital Officials held a press conference at Pitt State. Officials say the county is seeing its fourth major spike in Covid-19 cases since the pandemic began. The vast majority of those new cases, along with every recent death, are people who have not been vaccinated. Health officials reiterated that the vaccines are safe and recommended. Just under 50% of the counties population has received at least one dose of a vaccine.

Carthage, Mo- Area school officials consider how they’ll respond to CDC guidance for students return to school this fall. Last week’s guidance from the CDC falls in line with their previous advice on masking for vaccinated adults. It says that fully vaccinated students do not need to wear masks in classrooms. The Jasper County Health Department says how Covid cases and vaccination rates look closer to the school year, will dictate how schools operate. The Health Department says the best way to reduce spread is by getting vaccinated.

Joplin, Mo- A number of Joplin area businesses say they’re committed to creating a “more diverse, welcoming and inclusive community”. The Joplin Area Chamber of Commerce and its equity, diversity and inclusion work group formally announced the launch of their Joplin Leadership Pledge. Dozens of companies and groups have already signed the pledge. The EDI group says the goal is ensure that companies and individuals create cultures that welcome and support everyone.

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Rural firefighters get hands-on grain silo rescue training

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MCCUNE, Kan. – Firefighters in Southeast Kansas got a unique opportunity to take part in some hands-on rescue training.

Volunteer firefighters pump grain out of a silo to rescue a person trapped inside. Thankfully, in this situation, it’s all simulated. It’s part of special training from the University of Kansas for five rural Southeast Kansas firefighters.

“We show them the basics on how to get started,” said retired firefighter and instructor Bill Doane. “They’ve already got some of their own equipment, so we’re showing them the proper way to use it and all the techniques they need to know to be able to effectively rescue somebody.”

The training took place at the Osage Township Fire Department in McCune, Kansas. Treasurer Cherie Schenker says thanks to a donation from the local co-op and others, Osage township has it’s own grain rescue equipment.

“When you’re involved in an entrapment situation, minutes count, seconds count,” said Schenker. “If you’re having to go to another department that’s miles away and get equipment or track someone down that might already own equipment, you could potentially be looking at a recovery rather than a rescue.”

Instructor Bill Doane is a retired firefighter who spent 45 years saving lives. He says in his experience the majority of calls, are from farmers.

“Most of the calls if it’s a grain rescue, it is at the local farmers,” said Doane. “It’s not at the co-op, because they’re the ones that store grain on their own property. And sometimes they forget about what they’re supposed to do or not to do, and so they put themselves in harm’s way.”

Schenker says it’s only a matter of time before they’ll need to use the techniques.

“When you are in rural Kansas and you’re in a heavy agriculture area like we are, it’s not a matter of ‘if’ a rescue is going to be needed at some point, it’s a ‘when.’ And we need to know the techniques so we can appropriately respond,” said Schenker.

Schenker says she hopes to bring additional training to the departments in the area for other situations throughout the year.