by Mark Peterson, Editor, Stewartville Star
With Thanksgiving approaching, the Stewartville Fire Department has a special reason to be grateful.
Nate Reid, financial services officer for AgStar Financial Services, presented a $3,000 check to Vance Swisher, Stewartville fire chief, at the Stewartville Fire Hall on Wednesday, Nov. 11.
The Fire Department used the funds to purchase a new “vitals” machine that provides emergency service personnel with information about a patient’s pulse rate, blood pressure and more, Swisher said. The department now has two such machines, he said.
AgStar provides grants to organizations that help rural residents, Reid said. The Stewartville Fire Department does just that by serving residents in Pleasant Grove, Rock Dell, High Forest, Racine and Sumner townships and in the city of Racine.
When it applied for the grant, the Fire Department emphasized that it serves many rural residents, Swisher said.
“We want to provide (those residents) with the best care possible,” the chief said.
Reid presented the check with a smile.
“We’re happy to do it,” he said.
Bill Schimmel Jr., city administrator, joined Swisher to thank AgStar for its donation on behalf of the city of Stewartville.
For more on this story pick up your copy of the November 16 Stewartville STAR.