Anderson County Review – December 31, 2013
Submitted by Newz Group Clipping Service – January 4, 2014
Anderson County Emergency Management has received a donation of $2,500 from CoBank on behalf of Scott Whittington, a member of the cooperative bank’s Board of Directors.
The contribution will be directed toward the Welda fire station building fund. Because the all-volunteer department in Welda has outgrown its current building, officials are in the process of finding property where a larger building will be constructed.
“Fire apparatuses are getting bigger and we also want to update and expand the fleet. And we’d like to add a training room, which is something our current building doesn’t have,” said J.D. Mersman, director of emergency management for the county. “We appreciate CoBank’s generosity. And thanks to Assistant Fire Chief Randy Bunnel for helping to secure this funding, which is the first hurdle we must cross in order to build the new station.”
The department consists of eight volunteers and protects an area of about 60 square miles in Anderson County.
Whittington is the general manager of Lyon-Coffey Electric Cooperative, an electric distribution cooperative, in Burlington. He joined the CoBank board this year and also sits on the board of the First National Bank of Kansas. He is a trustee and vice president for the Kansas Electric Power Cooperative Inc., is an alternate trustee for the Kansas Electric Cooperatives, and is a member of the executive council of the Kansas Touchstone Energy Cooperative.
“Nothing should compromise firefighters’ ability to protect and serve the community,” said Whittington. “This funding will get the ball rolling on an updated facility so that emergency responders have the equipment and training they need to excel.”
The contribution is part of CoBank’s corporate giving program, which allows employees and board members to direct bank donations to their choice of non profit organizations and programs. Through the program, CoBank donated more than $1.2 million last year to benefit local communities where its employees and directors live and work.
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