The burden of high fuel costs is being felt locally.
The Lonsdale Volunteer Fire Department has exhausted its fuel budget and has planned a fundraising event to help the department offset the costs of serving its 3,500 customers.
A spaghetti supper and auction will be held from 4 to 6 p.m. Saturday, June 7, at Ten Mile Baptist Church on U.S. 70 East.
“Because of the bad weather we’ve had and an unusually large amount of rescue and fire calls this year and with the increase in the price of fuel, we have exhausted our funds,” said Steven Snellback, Lonsdale’s volunteer mayor.
Gas prices in Arkansas and across the nation continue to rise, according to news reports today.
In Arkansas, the average price of a gallon of unleaded gasoline is $3.83. Nationally, the average price approached the $4 mark, averaging $3.944 a gallon.
Arkansas’ average is up 33 cents from a month ago and 71 cents from the same time last year.
Lonsdale volunteer Fire Chief Eddie Tackett, who is a captain with the Little Rock Fire Department, said the department is holding the fundraiser “to offset fuel costs, which have almost doubled in price. We want to keep from raising our fire dues, so we’ll have the fundraiser on the side and still be able to keep the same dues.”
Tackett said it costs about $200 to fill a firetruck with a 50-gallon tank.
“We try to never let a truck get very low, though,” he said, adding that the fire department had a $500 limit on its credit card for fuel.
“I went to pay one day and we had exceeded that $500 amount,” he said. “We had raise our limit.”
Tackett, 49, has been volunteering with the fire department since he was 12, he said.
The department has 29 volunteer firefighters, he said.
“We’re pretty fortunate, but individual costs are increasing, too,” Tackett said.
“We train two nights a week and if you have 10 to 15 calls a week, it can be tough. It’s a pretty serious situation for volunteer fire departments everywhere.”
Tackett remains optimistic, however. “We can stretch a nickel into a $1 if we have to,” he said.
Next Saturday’s fundraiser is the first of its kind for the fire department.
“We’re having to explore our options,” said Snellback, who works at Alltel in Little Rock during the day and serves on the fire department’s board of directors.
“We’re not blessed by a lot of people,” he said, “so we don’t have a large department and many people work 40-50 hours a week. It’s hard.”
The fire department operates two stations, including one each in Saline and Garland counties. There are three pumper trucks and two rescue units to respond to medical calls and vehicle accidents.
The fire department has a $50 per year subscription rate and serves about 600 households.
“We don’t feel it’s fair to charge residents a higher fee so that’s why we’re having the fundraiser,” Snellback said. “We’re trying not to put the burden on people who are affected by high gas prices, too.”
In addition to the $50 fee, the fire department relies on Act 833 money from the state. Act 833 funds are distributed to rural departments to purchase equipment and trucks.
Snellback noted that the department “is blessed to have about 60 percent participation” from residents who pay the annual fee for fire service.
A goal of the fire department is to lower the Insurance Services Office rating, which affects insurance homeowners’ insurance premiums. The lower the rating, the lower the insurance. Snellback said the ISO rating in Lonsdale is Class 7, and elsewhere in the fire district the ISO rating is Class 9.
“Our immediate goal is to make sure we have fuel money to get through the year, but in the long run, we can use the money to improve the fire department and get our ISO ratings lower,” Snellback said.
Tickets to the fundraiser are $6.50 for adults and $4.50 for children. For more information, call Snellback at 993-0972.
Donations may be sent to Lonsdale Fire Department, P.O. Box 136, Lonsdale, AR 72087.
|
Razorbacks
