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Local law enforcement gets leg up from community

Justin Addison Editor/Publisher
Posted 4/21/20

As the novel coronavirus continues to spread across the globe, local law enforcement departments are among many first responders short of personal protective equipment (PPE). Here in Howard County, …

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Local law enforcement gets leg up from community

Posted

As the novel coronavirus continues to spread across the globe, local law enforcement departments are among many first responders short of personal protective equipment (PPE). Here in Howard County, citizens are stepping up and finding creative ways to equip those on the front lines.

Fayette couple donates 3-D printed masks to PD

When Jason and Clare Jones heard that law enforcement agencies across the nation were without the necessary personal protective equipment (PPE) to defend against COVID-19, the Fayette couple got to work. They went from using their 3-D printer for making fun statues of Yoda, to turning out masks and face shields, which last week were donated to the Fayette Police Department.

The Joneses donated 10 masks and 10 face shields to the department. The masks are designed to be reusable by swapping out N95 material in the front of the mask. This means that simply wiping down the mask and swapping out the filter, rather than wearing an entire mask made from precious N95 cloth, could save large amounts of the textile while still providing necessary protection.

“The Fayette Police Department would like to thank Jason and Clare for taking time to provide us with the PPE that we did not have available to us,” said Fayette Chief of Police Jeff Oswald. “These items will help us to continue to provide police services in a safer manner.”

Oswald said the department has some N95 cloth. Other protective equipment, from China, was recalled by the state because the quality was not high enough.

Clare said the idea to print the masks came after they kept hearing the reports that there was no PPE available for nurses and doctors. “We’d had the 3-D printer for a while and were using it mainly for fun things. But it was really concerning to me that there was all this equipment that wasn’t out for our first responders,” she said. The couple printed a few masks from a program they found online and donated them to friends who are first responders. Then she became a member of a group online that shares printing plans for 3-D printers to make masks and face shields. “They had the different (plans for) Toledo face shields and Montana masks,” she said. They downloaded the program and started printing.

It takes about eight hours to print one mask. But they have figured out how to cut down the production time by printing two masks at once in about 13 hours. Jason said they will print more if and when they are needed.

Sheriff’s Dept. receives

AEDs, masks, sanitizer

Howard County Sheriff Mike Neal has also been on the receiving end of donated protective equipment. Last month his department received N95 masks from Dr. Jessica Quint, a dentist in Fayette, to help protect officers from COVID-19. And most recently, six Automatic External Defibrillators (AED) we’re donated by Jeff and Stephanie Overstreet.

“It was something they felt they needed to do to help the entire community,” Neal said.

The AEDs will be carried in each of the department’s six vehicles. They are for use with people who are having heart rhythm issues and include adapters for use on children. Neal said it is necessary for the department to have the AEDs, as his deputies in many cases can arrive on scene before an ambulance.

Although the AEDs are fairly simple to use, one Sheriff’s deputy is a trained emergency medical technician (EMT) who trained the rest of the department on proper use.

Neal said that other people and businesses in Fayette have donated equipment to the department. Ace Hardware donated bottles of hand sanitizer and 100 disposable masks. And Dollar General notifies the department when new shipments of supplies, such as hand sanitizer arrive. Mary Matyas, from Boonville, donated 25 homemade cloth masks. Although not made from N95 material, Neal said he can put in a disposable wipe inside the mask to offer additional protection against the novel coronavirus.

Neal said cleaning supplies are in short supply due to extra cleaning of the office and jail, along with the high demand worldwide. Other precautions are taking place at the jail as well. Officers have their temperatures taken regularly and no visitors are allowed inside the sheriff’s office or jail. New inmates, which have been scarce since the start of the pandemic, are placed in a holding for two days before moving into the cells holding the other inmates. “We’re doing our best to keep it out of here,” Neal said.

Neal also explained that with the statewide stay-at-home order in place, his department has responded to more calls for domestic violence. But he said for the most part people have been doing a good job of social distancing. Only two cases of the virus have been confirmed in Howard County so far. “I’m proud of the people of Howard County. They’ve been doing well.”

PPE, Police, Sheriff, COVID-19

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