FLIPPIN, Ark. - The Yellville Volunteer Fire Department has received a grant from the South Shore Foundation for rescue equipment. The $6,430 grant provides funds for an automatic defibrillator and battery powered suction unit for cardiac emergencies. The volunteer fire department covers approximately 355 square miles in Marion County and assists covering South Shore communities as well.

The Yellville Volunteer Fire Department has 13 First Responders already certified to use the defibrillator. Fire Chief Billy Evans estimated that 50% of the rescue runs were possible cardiac cases. "The American Heart Association has proved," Chief Evans pointed out, "that if you can get a defibrillator on a person who is down within the first 12 minutes, you have the best chance for saving someone."

Life saving equipment for
Yellville Volunteer Fire Department

Shown with the new equipment are (from left) firefighter John E. Van Scoy Jr., Assistant Chief Bill Martin, South Shore Foundation Trustee Heidi Volltrauer, Chief Billy Evans, and South Shore Trustee Howard Evans.

The South Shore Foundation is the charitable foundation of Northern Arkansas Telephone Company at Flippin. Its governing board has 12 trustees from the fields of education, business, and government in Marion County and adjoining communities.

Current trustees are: NATCO President Steven G. Sanders, Deanna Sullivan, Howard Evans, Heidi Volltrauer, Dr. Ed Coulter, Phyllis Speer, Margaret Hall, Frank Bailey, Betty Barker Smith, Jodie Jeffrey-Sanders, Dr. David Land and Mike Brown.

The South Shore Foundation grants funds to nonprofit agencies and communities to further the goals of educational advancement, environmental preservation, community betterment, and economic development. For more information or to receive a grant application, call (870) 453-3333.