The Fairview Volunteer Fire Protection Association received some good news on Saturday during the Fairview celebration.

“We have a check to present to the Fairview Volunteer Fire Department, in the amount of $2,684,” said Terry Cook with the Missouri Department of Conservation. “And it is a matching funds check. The fire department has already spent twice that much money and we are giving them half of it back. They used this money to buy several different items, bought some radios, a couple sets of bunker gear and all kinds of tools.”

Cook added these grants are for towns of 10,000 or less population and are geared toward rural districts.

“And the most that you can get is $3,000,” said Cook. “Every year, we are going to try to get everybody down here to apply for these grants. We are a very rural part of the state and we want these guys to get what is coming to them. They are out here, putting gas in their trucks out of their back pocket. They can reapply for this grant every year, and we hope that they do.”

 “I want to thank the conservation department for having this program,” said Greg Kruse, fire chief. “It helps out all of the fire departments.”

But there was still more good news for the Fairview Fire Department.

“If you have not heard, we applied for a FEMA grant and we were chosen on the first round, we were the first in the state of Missouri to receive it this year, for $248,000 to purchase a new fire truck,” Kruse said. “And it is setting in Springfield, starting to work on it. So in about three months, we will have that delivered. It is helping us tremendously.”

The fire department has two deuce trucks: A brush truck and a tanker. They also have an old pumper that they are replacing, as well as a small brush truck, and a Blazer that the department uses as first responder.

“We are getting a pumper / tanker truck,” Kruse said. “We have to match five percent of the FEMA grant that we are getting. And then we got to noticing that it will not fit in our building. So we have a building project that we are trying to raise funds for. We have not started building yet. The cost is about $7,000, with us doing the labor.”

 “It is really fun to come to this little celebration,” said state Rep. Marilyn Ruestman. “The mayor (Sid Oliver) tells me that you may try to do this annually and I think that this is great. It is kind of a day to remind everyone about what kind of community that you have here in Fairview.

“I wanted to say also that I am excited about the grant and it is just another way that your volunteers in your community can help keep you safe. And that is kind of what Fairview is known for, your friendliness, you caring about each other. In my opinion, this community could serve as the perfect example across the entire nation of what a community really use to be like, and really should be like. And I am really privileged and I thank you very much for allowing me to come today.”

Ruestman then presented Oliver with a Missouri State Flag and a state government blue book.