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Local News

November 9, 2009

Doyle VFD getting rescue tool

Toni Hopper

BRAY — Doyle Volunteer Fire Department will be getting a new cutter tool with pump, engine and hose soon, but the hopes are they won’t have to use them.

The device is used to cut vehicles away in rescue situations following accidents. Earl Henderson, with the fire department, attended the Stephens County Commissioners meeting two weeks in a row.

Bids were submitted to the county by three companies and in the Nov. 2 meeting and the commissioners tabled the item so Henderson and the other DVFD members could review the bids. At Monday’s meeting, Henderson explained the difference to the commissioners regarding the bids and the tools. He told them that there was nearly no comparison of the cutter tool in the highest bid to that in the lowest bid. He described the efficiency of the tool in the high bid specifications and its ease of use.

The bids were from Chief Fire & Safety Co., Inc. in Chickasha, for $16,750; Red River Rescue Tools in Duncan, for $14,663; and Wayfest Safety, Inc. in Oklahoma City, for $15,091.95.

The bid from Chief Fire & Safety was accepted, because it met all the specifications, whereas the other two bids did not, said Commissioner Dee Bowen.

“Just because it’s the cheapest, doesn’t mean it’s the best,” he said. The equipment will be paid for with REAP grant funds.

Commissioners also reviewed a 2010 Census partnership agreement form that was presented to them at the Nov. 2 meeting by Verna Allen, who is with the Census Bureau out of Kansas City, Mo.

Allen had marked several items on the list that she had hoped the commissioners would agree to. Many of them they did not, but they did approve five items.

Those were to provide space for “Be Counted” sites and or questionnaire assistance centers; encourage persons to return questionnaires; display and distribute 2010 Census promotional materials; allow the Census Bureau to post the commissioner’s group name on its Web site; and use and distribute educational materials.

Other business included the commissioner’s acknowledging a notice of a tort claim filed by Frankie Knowles, against the county. No details were provided. The commissioners also approved a right-of-way, public utility and encroachment agreement between the Oklahoma Department of Transportation and the county for construction of a bridge and approach over Wildhorse Creek.

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