ROYALSTON — The CARES (Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security) Act, passed by Congress and signed by President Donald Trump in March 2020, provided $150 billion to state and local government to help offset costs incurred as a result of the pandemic. The town of Royalston has used a portion of its allocation to purchase life-saving equipment that has been distributed throughout the community.
Fire Chief Eric Jack said new defibrillators were purchased in order to replace a number of units in several Police and Fire Department vehicles, as well as at several community buildings.
“We bought one for each police car and one for the station,” said Jack, “and we bought three new ones for the Fire Department, to add to the three we already had. So, basically all of the front-line vehicles for the Fire Department have one now. And we also bought one for Town Hall, one for Whitney Hall, one for the library, and one for the school (Royalston Community School).
Jack said the units at the town building and some of the departmental units were in excess of a decade old.
“I went to a vendor and was able to get refurbished units for close to half-price, so we could stretch our money a little further,” he said.
The total cost of the units, according to Jack, was approximately $11,000.
“We got them from Bound Tree Medical,” he explained. “It’s one of the companies that sells medical supplies and medicines.”
The company is headquartered in Dublin, Ohio.
“We’re sending out an email to people in town who are not trained,” Jack continued. “There’s actually a video that’s used for training.
“They’re called Automatic External Defibrillators — or AEDs. You just turn it on, and it tells you what to do. It’s made for the lay person. But we are going to send out a training townwide, just to make sure people have some idea how it works before they actually have to use it.”
Since members of the Police and Fire Departments are already trained, the training will be for people at Town Hall, the Phinehas S. Newton Library, and Royalston Community School.
In addition to replacing the old defibrillators, Jack said he is working on another one of the priorities he wanted to tackle as Royalston’s new fire chief, that being the posting of street numbers at homes and businesses around town.
The chief said he worked out an arrangement with the Worcester County Sheriff’s Office to have number plaques manufactured by inmates at the Worcester County Jail and House of Correction.
“We’ve published some flyers for people in Royalston to fill out,” he continued. “People can drop them off at the Post Office or mail them to the fire station. Basically, it’s a free house number plaque that the sheriff’s office will make.
“The house number is obviously very important when we’re trying to find your house if there’s an emergency,” Jack emphasized. “More so for medical emergencies, obviously. We can’t see a sick person from the road; we can see a fire from the road very easily, but with medical calls it’s a little harder to find the person.”
He said the problem of finding the scene of an emergency can often be more difficult in a rural community.
“I know in small towns people tend to say, like, ‘That’s been in the Johnson family for a hundred years. Everybody knows that’s the Johnson’s house.’ Well, I don’t know that’s the Johnson’s house — I’m new in town. To say, ‘They know where I live’ — well, that’s fine for the people who’ve been in town a long time. I don’t.”
Jack, who is a fire captain in Athol, wants to let people know that a house numbering program is also under way in that town, aided by a grant from AARP.
“We have $5,000 we can spend for supplies and to cover salaries for employees who are going out to put up signs and to manage the program,” he said. “Chief (Joseph) Guarnera was really hoping we could get the word out on that.
“We have a Facebook page that we’ve created. It’s the Athol Community Numbering Program. Instructions are on the Facebook page.”
Jack noted that the grant is to provide numbering for residents 55 and older, although everyone is urged to make sure their number is visible.
He said the AFD has contacted Lyman Signs, who will be making the house number plaques.
“People who are unable to or can’t afford to can contact us either through the Facebook page or, if they can download the form, can mail or email us the form. We just need name, address and phone number. We can have the plaque made and then coordinate with them to get it to them.”
Jack also said, Logan Wornham, a member of Boy Scout Troop 8 who is working to attain the rank of Eagle Scout, is working with the Fire Department to coordinate the posting of the numbers on the houses of elderly residents.