District Receives Conservation Grant

The Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC), Forestry Division, recently provided a grant to the Lake Ozark Fire Protection District. This grant assisted the fire district in planning for the mitigation of wildfire hazards and operation during the times of high occurrence of wildfire through the development of a Community Wildfire Protection Plan (CWPP).

To qualify for the grant the district was required to collaboratively develop a CWPP with local and state government representatives, in consultation with federal agencies and other interested parties. The grant required that three entities must mutually agree to the final contents of a CWPP, including the applicable local government, the fire district and the MDC Forestry Division. The CWPP must also identify and prioritize areas for hazardous fuel reduction treatments and recommend the types and methods of treatment that will protect one or more at-risk communities and essential infrastructure. Finally, the CWPP must recommend measures that homeowners and communities can take to reduce the ignitability of structures due to wildfires throughout the area addressed by the plan.

Upon completion of the CWPP, the Lake Ozark Fire Protection District received a check from the Missouri Department of Conservation, Forestry Division, in the amount of $2,500.

 
Shop With A Firefighter

This past spring the firefighters raised money to take local kids back-to-school shopping. The guys grew mustaches and designed a website for people to donate by voting for their favorite "stache." They also took donations for the upper management to shave mustaches that had been growing for decades. During the Magic Dragon Car Show in May the "oldest" mustaches were shaved on stage by Jim Huffman, a barber from J & M's Magic Razor in Eldon. Participating in the on-stage shave were Firefighter Scott Apprill, whose stache had been shaved blue; Firefighter Shawn Merrill and his brother, Firefighter Shane Merrill; Firefighter John Thacker; Inspector Jim Brown, whose mustache was many years old; and Fire Chief Mark Amsinger, whose stache had been growing since he was in high school.

After the money was raised the firefighters worked with area schools and Big Brothers/Big Sisters to choose ten kids to take shopping for school supplies. Each child received $100 to use for their supplies. On August 6th the kids were chauffered by fire trucks to Target in Osage Beach where they were paired up with a firefighter to help them find all they needed. Captain Ryan Vaughn and his crew of John Thacker, David Woodward, Shane Roden, Bobby Allison, David Brown, and Aron Gish, Volunteer Cory Anderson, Lieutenant Dave Tenley, Chief Mark Amsinger and Administrative Assistant Deb Ahart all took part in helping the kids shop.

 

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