McCORDSVILLE — The Vernon Township Board and Fire Territory Board shared their achievements and the recognition they received during 2023 in a presentation to the McCordsville Town Council at their Feb. 13 meeting.
Florence May, Vernon Township Trustee, led the conversation, sharing that with work between the township and the two towns — McCordsville and Fortville — the township had received two awards last year, at both the state and county level.
Those awards were 2023 Township of the Year and 2023 Bobby Keen Hancock Health Foundation award. May said those awards were made possible through the collective efforts of everyone, including town council president Greg Brewer, who sits on the Fire Territory Board.
“I see both the 2023 Indiana Township of the Year and 2023 Bobby Keen Hancock Health Foundation Award as testaments to the power of collaboration,” May said. “Vernon Township and the Vernon Township Fire Department have worked hard on communications, engagement and partnerships with our two towns McCordsville and Fortville, Hancock County, Hancock Regional Hospital, the food pantry at F.A.R.M., many of our nonprofits, Purdue Extension and the Community Foundation.”
Successes the township had listed in their presentation were the announcement of a full-time staff structure to help support the township, the Community Gardens additions and overall township assistance.
May said that this assistance includes housing rent, mortgage issues, medical issues, utilities they cannot pay and more. May said that they pay the vendors in order to help those who need it, and in 2023 there were a total of 136 assistant requests. Of those requests, there were 90 approved financial requests.
“We want you to be aware that if you have people in your community who are in dire need, tell them to come to us,” May said.
May said it is not an easy process to go through, but they are available if people are in real trouble. For those who don’t receive assistance, the township helps guide them to non-profit organizations and other state programs that may be able to assist.
For the Fire Territory Board, Fire Chief Mark Elder spoke about the top six accomplishments the Fire Board had for 2023, with number one being the opening of the new fire station located on CR 900N. Elder said that opening this station is a huge accomplishment, and they now have fire stations located on both sides of the railroad tracks.
“This way, if a train should stop or when it stops, we will be able to deploy at least something quickly to get to both the north and south side of the tracks,” Elder said.
Their second listed accomplishment is the purchase of two ambulances — a used one coming from Sugar Creek Fire Department and a new ambulance set to be delivered later this year.
Other accomplishments include their “conducting proactive planning,” which means the department has been conducting walk-throughs of local businesses and becoming familiar with layouts of buildings and potential hazards, and that the total staff number is up to 33, with 11 career personnel hired in 2023.
They were also able to secure $100,000 in grants and in-kind services, with $90,000 coming from the county. The FEMA grant allowed them to purchase a LUCAS device, which is a mechanical chest compression device. The device is capable of taking over chest compressions when performing CPR, something Elder said can be tiring. This will also allow CPR to continue in situations where people may not be able to perform, such as carrying the person down a flight of stairs at the same time.
“When you have people doing CPR, you can only last for so long then you get worn out,” Elder said.
Lastly, Elder talked about their achievements in engaging with the community, which included staff-supported CPR training and being involved in 34 community events in the towns of McCordsville and Fortville.
When looking at the numbers, Elder said that they responded to 1,682 incidents reported and had an average response time of six minutes and eight seconds.
As far as future plans for 2024, May said that they need to invest in a ladder truck due to the growth of the larger buildings in the community and higher density housing. While the Fire Territory will consider options, May said that Elder is recommending using a Quint fire apparatus for its multi-purpose utility.
“They are expensive, but I think we all agree absolutely necessary,” May said.
For further information about Vernon Township and finding resources, visit vernontownship.us.
