The Scioto County Commissioners recently partnered with Community Action Organization of Scioto County to bring a $100,000+ investment to water rescue services.

$10,000 was invested in hands-on training and over $92,000 was spent on equipment.

Leading the project was CAO Director of Workforce Solutions and Community Development, Luanne Valentine, and Rosemount’s Eric Brown.

Brown was responsible for pulling together 32 trainees across eight townships that will serve the water rescue team.

“This partnership between townships, County Commissioners, and CAO is a prime example of what we can accomplish when we work together,” Brown said. “This training provides tools and education to hardworking men and women who will be able to save lives while also keeping themselves safe at the same time. We are proud of our work when this is the outcome.”

Valentine worked with the Ohio Department of Health, dollars within her workforce program, and the County Commissioners, to pull the agreements together and find funding for the training and gear, all which makes the rescue team possible.

“Anytime we can build partnerships using our existing resources to provide new opportunities like this is a reminder of the power of teamwork. Teamwork that makes our community safer, more efficient, and better trained,” Valentine said. “It has been great working with the commissioners, eight townships, and several other partners to give these men and women tools and knowledge to better save lives.”

CAO of Scioto County Executive Steve Sturgill echoed Valentine’s sentiment.

“We are all about building partnerships to make tax dollars responsibly stretch into greater opportunities,” Sturgill expressed. “We, at CAO, have positive relationships with our elected officials. We work hard to maintain these relationships, because the result is situations like this, where everyone benefits.”

While turning in paperwork for the training, many of the 32 professional firefighters and EMTs expressed gratitude for the partnership collective. This extended to many of their representatives.

“I want to thank Community Action for providing this vital training to all the volunteers. Training that will save lives of those needing rescued as well as those doing the rescuing,” Lanette Wagner, Fiscal Officer for Valley Township said while completing paperwork for the training. “I just spoke with Chief Teri Horton, and she said the training was top notch all the way; and spoke highly of the knowledge that the instructors possessed and their ability to pass that along to all the trainees.”

The County was a major driving force behind organizing the parties and creating the environment for the training to grow and become possible. The County has been investing time, energy, and dollars in improving tourism and recreation opportunities in the county. A major emphasis has been water recreation, such as paddling Brush Creek, lakes, and the Scioto and Ohio Rivers.

“As we continue to emphasize to the region that we are a destination, we must be able to show them they’re safe while they enjoy all we offer,” Commissioner Scottie Powell said. “This investment means that we aren’t just providing better access to our natural resources, but, we are also providing our local rescue teams with the proper tools and resources needed to help them if they ever need it. The County, CAO, and the many rescue professionals we trained all came together to make a safer community worth visiting.”

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