Fire Department Receives Check

MEGAN DAVIS/MCDONALD COUNTY PRESS Pineville Fire Chief Ryan Drake was presented with a check in the amount of $719.62, from Sean and Kristen Crider of State Farm, to be used towards the purchase of a new water pump for the primary brush truck. State Farm's "Neighborhood of Good" program supplied $500 and the Crider's donated the remaining $219 to cover the total cost of a water pump.
MEGAN DAVIS/MCDONALD COUNTY PRESS Pineville Fire Chief Ryan Drake was presented with a check in the amount of $719.62, from Sean and Kristen Crider of State Farm, to be used towards the purchase of a new water pump for the primary brush truck. State Farm's "Neighborhood of Good" program supplied $500 and the Crider's donated the remaining $219 to cover the total cost of a water pump.

When Janice Bearbower's supervisors, Sean and Kristen Crider, tasked her with identifying a need in the community to fill, Bearbower went quickly to the phone lines. As the community ambassador of the State Farm office in Pineville, Bearbower is familiar with the local "movers and shakers" and certainly no stranger to the constant pursuit of improvement within the community.

State Farm's Neighborhood of Good program asks agents to find a local cause they care about and allots $500 to be used for the benefit of the chosen mission.

Bearbower soon found out that the Pineville Fire Department recently had a seal blow in the primary brush truck's water pump and Bearbower knew she'd found a worthy cause.

When the Criders learned that the total cost of replacing the blown pump was $719.62, they agreed that it was worth every penny to donate the difference.

"In these trying times, we owe our first responders gratitude every single day," Sean Crider said upon presenting the check to Fire Chief Ryan Drake.

The department, and many surrounding agencies, have felt the blow of covid-19 in the form of significant revenue loss from annual fundraisers that didn't take place this year.

Drake estimates the department has lost $19,000 in revenue from the cancellation of Jesse James Days and the traditional Pancake Breakfast.

After the primary brush truck was temporarily put out of service, the department upgraded the vehicle to feature a double reel for fire hoses. This leaves two back-up brush trucks in service, and, the purchase of a new pump will allow for the department to run three brush trucks on the front line.

Drake noted that this not only benefits Pineville proper, but also rural areas and surrounding agencies.