Lorain/Elyria, OH
Elyria seeks federal money to rehire 17 firefighters
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ELYRIA — A federal grant Elyria firefighters hope will bring back the 17 firefighters who were laid off this year will be available next month.
The department has been waiting for the last six months for Congress to iron out the details on the federal SAFER (Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response) grant, which was created to provide funding directly to fire departments in order to help them increase the number of firefighters. The office of U.S. Rep. Betty Sutton, D-Copley Township, announced Friday that about $210 million will be available.
Dean Marks, president of the Elyria Firefighter’s Union Local 474, said he’s been in communication with Sutton and her office and will work with fire Chief Richard Benton to apply for the grant as soon as the application period opens Nov. 16.
“We’re already staged and ready to go,” Marks said. “It will not take us long to put in for our application.”
Benton and the city administration would be responsible for putting the application together and then Council would need to approve it before it heads back to the Department of Homeland Security in Washington, D.C. The deadline for applying is Dec. 18.
Elyria Mayor Bill Grace has said in the past that the city would apply for the grant once it became available. He did not return messages seeking comment Friday.
Marks said the city would not have to provide any matching funds to receive grant money.
If the city receives enough to hire back all 17 firefighters, it would likely have enough manpower to reopen all three fire stations, and maybe even a fourth. The city was recently forced to go down to operating only two stations to cut costs.
The grant money would run out after two years, Marks said, but by then the city budget problems will hopefully improve.
Sutton said she has been personally working on the bill for months and has even mentioned the Elyria Fire Department’s woes on the House floor to emphasize its need.
“This is great news,” Sutton said in a prepared statement. “Protecting the jobs of our first responders is a top priority in ensuring the safety of all communities. I am pleased that the Department of Homeland Security will begin accepting these applications, and I encourage all of our local fire departments to apply for these much-needed grants.”
Contact Adam Wright at 329-7155 or awright@chroniclet.com.
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Inyourwetrusted:
The main group you join is the group of liars on these blogs.
Change the subject, laugh and joke - but we know you came on here and lied about someone. You were caught in the lie. You fit right in with the rest of the lying nonames. No credibility.
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Your lying post is number 31. Remember that one. We will. Liar!
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SB: How ironic that your use an American Indian as your “face”… American Indians were brave. I can’t imagine having strong opinions and NOT using my real name. You are a coward.
Inyouwetrusted: Let’s only pray that you and SB don’t have kids… that’d be another generation of dumb and dumber.
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Mrs Novack. That is wrong to pick on any one with a job? Your comment about a job at the dollar store shows your stupidity! I bet u have no job with a ” ass ” degree in communications and history. That means u are screwed up underemployed.
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Mrs Novak, I have to be pretty smart if I know so much about you and your family. By the way would you make up your mind. Are you bipolar? you call me a genius than you call me dumb. My several shinks that I have seen have told me that I am a genius. They have alot more education than you have about my mind and brain and how it works so I will stick to their opinion on me being a genius you just found it quicker through my writing on here. Thank you! Tell your husband I said hi! unless he is interviewing for a new job with the Sheffield fire department, because he knows he will be eventually laid off or he is just tired of all the BS politics in the EFD.
BYE NOW, I HAVE TO GO, YOU BE GOOD, OK?
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Mr Sito, Do me a favor if you can find one post on any of these threads of be lieing call me out on it. Or just please keep quite, because I have all my facts their buddy. What i spillout on these threads are truths. Come On Mr Sito Call me out. I’LL BE BACK.
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LMAO , the 2-bit floozy is more entertaining than Jerry Springer , i think i saw her on his show once.
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inyouwetrusted… do yourself a favor and keep going to your several shrinks… you could use several more.
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