The closing of the KME plant in Pennsylvania has Carbon County commissioners worried about the nearly 400 people who work there, according to a report published by The Morning Call.

The newspaper said KME, with a plant in Nesquehoning, is one of the county’s largest employers and layoffs in the spring will affect the community and the people who live there, the newspaper reported.

KME’s parent company, REV Group, Inc, based in Milwaukee, announced plans to close facilities in Pennsylvania and Virginia, the paper reported.

Local labor, industry and economic development organizations and some employers have already started talking to local employees, the paper reported.

County officials have told the newspaper, they’ve heard younger KME employees are not waiting for the furloughs to occur, opting to leave the company sooner as to not lose out on other better paying jobs.

With people leaving before the furlough, the commissioners are wondering if KME will be able to fulfill the current orders they have, many for local fire departments, including Lehighton and Hazelton, the newspaper reported, adding both communities have apparatus on order from KME with a ladder truck due to be delivered in March, just before closure.

The newspaper reported that KME is offering a separation package for employees which will give workers more money based on the number of years with the company. The company is also working with career service organizations in the area to help employees find new work opportunities, the paper said.

County officials say they area appreciative of the fact that KME has given seven months’ notice before closing the plants, the paper reported, noting that some other plant closures have happened in just three days, giving hardly any time to prepare for a transition.

The fire station at 7111 Stargrass Road, in Irvington (NE) opened on Sunday with a pancake breakfast and open house, according to a story published by the Omaha World-Herald.

The station actually opened in 2020, but the COVID-19 pandemic delayed the ceremony, the newspaper reported.

At a cost of $1.8 million, the new station houses to fire trucks and an emergency medical truck that response with personnel from the main fire station about six miles away at 9111 Fremont St., the newspaper reported.

The event, hosted by the Irvington Volunteer Fire Department, was attended by hundreds of people, according to the newspaper.

The new fire facility is a satellite fire station that is expected to cut down response times for the 25,000 people in the fire district, the newspaper reported.

Fire investigators are trying to figure out what’s causing a rash of brush fires that have popped up in recent weeks in Wenatchee and East Wenatchee. Two fires lately include one on the side of Grant Road near Fred Meyer that led to a gas station being temporarily shut down, and another one that was quickly put out on Columbia and Benton Streets in Wenatchee overnight Monday morning.
- PUB DATE: 9/20/2021 1:12:07 PM - SOURCE: KPQ-AM 560 Wenatchee

A new 3,600 square foot fire station, built at a cost of $800,000, was recently dedicated by the Washington (MO) Fire Department, according to an article published by emissourian.com.

According to the web site report, construction on the facility at 7962 Highway KK started on December 2, 2020, and the dedication came about five and a half years after residents approved the formation of the fire protection district and about five years after the tax, which covers the cost of the station, was passed.

On Sunday (Sept. 19) about 100 people gathered for the dedication of Fire Station 6 which was opened in conjunction with the Washington Community Fire Protection District, according to the report.  

A little more than a year after a wildland fire destroyed the Malden (WA) fire station, the community is gathering funds from grants and insurance claims to rebuild the station, according to a report published by the Moscow-Pullman Daily News.

The paper reported that Malden received a $900,000 grant from the Washington Department of Commerce for the building replacement, the newspaper reported, adding community has already contracted with an architectural firm to figure out how much the building will cost.

The Babb Road Fire, which happened on Labor Day 2020, destroyed much of the Whitman County town as well as public buildings, the newspaper reported, adding that federal funds and insurance payments will help pay for the new fire station.