Glascock officials receive life

Glascock County officials practiced giving life-saving breaths, doing chest compressions and utilizing Automated External Defibrillators, on both adults and children, recently in preparation for the county adding 14 new devices throughout the area.

County Commission Chair Lori Boyen said the county recently used grant money to purchase four adult and four infant training manikins and has ordered 14 new AEDs to replacing aging devices throughout the county.

AEDs will be in all the county buildings, the recreation department, the patrol cars, EMA truck, 911 truck and some individual first responders will have them as well, said the county's EMA Director Mike Lyons.

Glascock County has had AED machines for some time and Lyons said that those machines have saved a number of lives locally. However, as the machines have aged, it has become harder and harder to order extra batteries or other replaceable parts for them.

"They’re going to be here. We need to have them," Boyen said. "We need to be certified and know how to use them and have some experience with them."

The class the county recently held offered training with the defibrillators alongside the American Heart Association CPR class and other first aid and life-saving techniques.

Lyons said that representatives from the library, recreation department, tax commissioner's office, probate judge and clerk of court's offices all attend the training.

"If we have enough people wanting to do it, we already have the equipment, the commission is willing to fund bringing the trainer back," Lyons said.

"We’d love to see some youth classes," Boyen added. "We have a lot of children here. If something happens to their parents, they need to know what to do. I encourage everyone to find a class. Take a class, because you just never know when something might happen."

Lyons said that anyone interested in taking a CPR or AED training class should contact him and he will start a running list. Once there is enough interest, the county can look into scheduling another class.

Glascock County contracts McDuffie County services to provide ambulance service, and so the closest ambulance is often around 30 minutes away, Boyen said. It is paramount that the devices be available and people know how to use them.

Lyons added, that it is also important for people to call 911 in emergency situations before calling himself or the sheriff directly.

"We are a small community. We all know each other, but citizens should always call 911 before they call local first responders," Boyen said. "Facebook messages or even direct calls local officials aren't the way to go. It should be 911 first."

Lyons said that both he and the sheriff often get calls from county residents in emergency situations, when the caller should be calling 911. And while they will both respond, Lyons said that they are in agreement that citizens should call the emergency 911 line first.

"This county doesn't have an ambulance," Boyen said. "We have to get them on the road."

Lyons said that he wants to remind the community that the county continues to offer free Code Red notification services through its website. Once registered through the program, the system can notify residents by phone, based on their entered home address, when there is severe weather warnings, roads washing out or other emergency notifications.

"If it knows there's a tornado in Mitchell, you’ll get that call," Lyons said. "If there's a missing child, if we have to close a road, an emergency at school. It’ll do anything we put into it. But if you don't subscribe, you will not get the messages."