By STEPHEN SMITH, KATE PAYNE and HEATHER HOLLINGSWORTH Associated Press

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CRAWFORDVILLE, Fla. (AP) — Authorities rescued people trapped by floodwaters and more than 3 million customers were in the dark across much of the southeastern U.S. as Hurricane Helene weakened to a tropical storm over Georgia early Friday after making landfall overnight in northwestern Florida as a Category 4 storm.

Helene came ashore amid warnings from the National Hurricane Center that the enormous system could create a “nightmare” storm surge. There were at least four storm-related deaths.

Video on social media sites showed sheets of rain coming down in Perry, Florida, near where Helene made landfall, and siding being torn off buildings. One local news station showed a home that had flipped over. The community and much of surrounding Taylor County were without power.

In Citrus County, some 120 miles (193 kilometers) south of Perry, first responders were out in boats early Friday to rescue people trapped by the flooding.

“If you are trapped and need help please call for rescuers – DO NOT TRY TO TREAD FLOODWATERS YOURSELF,” the sheriff’s office warned in a Facebook post. The water may contain live wires, sewage, sharp objects and other debris, they posted.

With maximum sustained winds of 70 mph (110 kph) , Helene continued to weaken while moving farther inland over Georgia. The storm was about 40 miles (65 kilometers) east of Macon and about 100 miles (165 kilometers) southeast of Atlanta, moving north at 30 mph (48 kph) at 5 a.m., the hurricane center in Miami reported.

“We expect it to weaken further. It’s going to turn northward and turn northwestward and eventually move into Tennessee and Kentucky, and merge with a funnel system up in that area,” said Jack Beven, a senior hurricane spec

Rural Development U.S. Department of Agriculture posted the following story on its Web site:

Located in the Highlands region of Maine, the town of Greenville has long been a vacation destination. In recent years, the community has welcomed even more visitors pursuing outdoor recreation and lakeside living. While the influx of seasonal residents and tourists has been good for area businesses, it also puts an increasing burden on fire, police, and EMT services. Town leaders knew they had to modernize their public safety facility to maximize efficiency for their small corps of staff and volunteer emergency responders. Under the guidance of Town Manager Mike Roy, the little town with a population of fewer than 1,500 people built a new 20,000 square-foot public safety building in the heart of town, paid for in part with a USDA Rural Development Community Facilities grant.

In use since the spring of 2024, the new facility is a victory for the community, where the need for emergency services has been rising at a rapid clip. Greenville’s emergency responders cover not only the town but also the massive area in and around Moosehead Lake, with its more than 400 miles of coastline and 80 islands. The town has just three full-time police officers, one full-time fire chief, and about 10 volunteer firefighters on any given day, so the responders need an efficient workspace and good equipment to do their jobs successfully. Replacing a 60-year-old structure, the modern new facility should serve the town’s needs for years to come.

Functionality, efficiency, and safety were priorities in designing the building. It is equipped with critical features like specialized equipment to decontaminate and launder firefighters’ uniforms and an exhaust removal system for the fire truck bays. It is also spacious, with a large community room, separate police and fire department offices, exercise and bunk space for rescue staff, and ample storage and truck bays. Says Police Chief Jim Carr, “The new facility represents growth not only for the Town of Greenville, but the Moosehead Lake region as well. It offers appropriate space to complete the job. It also offers room for a regional training center for both fire and police and has been designed to allow for area expansion 50 years out.” 

Local Rural Development staff supported Mike Roy and his team as they completed the paperwork for the Community Facilities Grant, finalized plans for the structure, and managed the budget. Mike Roy cites the USDA architect, Bill, and loan specialist, Nathan, as being particularly helpful. (“The support from Rural Development was amazing,” said Mike. “Nathan made the process understandable. When a problem arose, he’d say, ‘We’ll get through this,’ and he’d find a way to make it work.”)

Greenville’s Rural Development Community Facilities Grant was awarded through the Congressionally Directed Spending (CDS) process. This means that Maine’s two legislators, U.S. Senator Susan Collins and U.S. Senator Angus King, both advocated for the project and secured the federal appropriations legislation necessary. When the funding was announced, Town Manager Roy noted that “This facility would not be possible without the help and support of Senator Collins and Senator King. Their support represents federal dollars, not only coming back to Maine, but coming our region.” 

USDA Rural Development Maine State Director Rhiannon Hampson echoed that sentiment, saying, “Greenville’s new public safety building highlights the collaboration between our Congressional Delegation and USDA Rural Development. Together we are bringing Community Facilities investments to rural Maine towns, leveraging federal dollars to modernize infrastructure and meet the needs of locals and visitors.”

Audrey Korte
The Chippewa Herald, Chippewa Falls, Wisc.
(TNS)

Sep. 25—Chippewa Falls has beefed up its rosters of first responders and purchased new life-saving equipment for city residents as the area experiences rapid growth while grappling with the recent closures of two hospitals and multiple health clinics.

Since it began operations in 1990, the Chippewa Falls Fire and Emergency Services Department has reported a more than 500% increase in calls. In the last 10 months the department has faced numerous challenges as its closest hospital, HSHS St. Joseph’s, closed.

To handle the call increases and increased transport distance to hospitals, the city purchased a new fire truck and ambulance and is in the process of updating other ambulances in circulation.

Fire Chief Jason Thom said the new $800,000 fire truck should “tentatively be ready by the end of October.”

“The price we’ve been looking for over the last few years did not happen,” Thom said. “We’ve been, you know, talking about it and every year, the price keeps going up. So it’s one of those things, at some point you have to do it.”

Fire trucks typically have about a 20 to 25 year lifespan. The new truck will replace a 1992 engine.

“I think it’s our goal, our continued goal to make sure that our equipment meets the needs of the community. Some of these fire trucks are suddenly 30 years old, so it’s time to replace them,” Mayor Greg Hoffman said Tuesday.

The new truck will have a 1,500 gallon-per-minute pump, Thom said.

“It’s going to be comparable to the truck we’re replacing, other than, it’s obviously considerably newer,” he said. “So, you know, a lot more technology on it; a safer piece of equipment to be operating down the road.”

The 1992 truck will be taken out of circulation once the new one arrives. The department will continue using its 2002 and 2009 fire engines as well.

Thom said the truck features a Darley pump, but was not manufactured by the local company.

Darley is a manufacturer and supplier of pumps for use with firefighting and many other applications with manufacturing, engineering and research and development operations in Chippewa Falls.

The city is also getting a new ambulance, which is being built now.

“We’re hopefully going to take delivery of a new ambulance here within the next month,” Thom said Sept. 19. “And then we have two more ambulances slated for next year. One is the referendum ambulance, and then the other one is another remount.”

By year’s end the department will have five ambulances.

First responder referendum

These new vehicles and updates to existing ones are an indication of the city’s commitment to safety and its support for first responders, officials say. Chippewa Falls residents approved a $1.3 million first responder referendum in November 2022.

Taxpayers agreed to exceed the levy limit by $1.2 million per year starting in January 2023 so the city could hire three additional firefighters and emergency services personnel and one additional swing shift police officer.

The money has also provided funding for a pay bump for current first responders.

The ambulance upgrades are part of the city’s vehicle replacement plan, Thom said.

“They’ll take our ambulance, they take the box off. They completely redo it, put all new components in it, new paint and set it on a brand new chassis,” Thom said.

Chippewa Falls Mayor Greg Hoffman said the city is doing what it can to help the Chippewa Falls Fire and Emergency Services Department

Demolition crews were tasked Tuesday, Sept. 24 with demolishing what’s left of Goshen Township Station 18, local12.com reported. The demolition will make way for a new facility that will go up in its place.

The station stood for 40 years before it took a direct hit from a tornado in July 2022.

• Goshen (OH) Fire Station 18 Recovery Efforts Underway Following Tornado

“Today was a bittersweet day for Local 3932 members as we said goodbye to 40 years of memories,” Goshen Township Professional Firefighters IAFF Local 3932 said in a Facebook post. “In a matter of hours, Station 18, which took a direct hit from a tornado in July of 2022, was reduced to several piles of rubble. The last remaining member of the original ‘6 pack’, Unit 2 Captain Robert Rose, was given the honor of taking the first swing at the building, marking the start of the demolition. In just 400 days, we will hopefully be opening a brand new, state of the art Station 18 which will boast several integrated training props to aid in on site training of our members, as well as many updated features which will hopefully reduce job related illness. Local 3932 is excited to finally see forward progress and excited for what the future holds.”

In May, the trustees approved a contract with Conger Construction for the demolition and rebuilding of Station 18, the union said in a May Facebook post.

“In the next few months we will start to see a lot of activity on the site. We are close to finalizing the plans. Once these are complete we will release the architects rendering of the overall building design and floor plan. They are estimating that it will take 349 days to construct the new station from the day we break ground. We would like to thank our citizens and our elected officials for your support during this process.”

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