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Rescue Unit Donated by Kearney Yamaha
After
working on this project for half a year, we would like to announce
that Kearney Yamaha, in cooperation with the
Nebraska Off
Highway Vehicle Association (NOHVA), has DONATED the use of
an
ATV and rescue trailer to the Thedford Rescue Squad / Fire
Department, and the Thomas County Sheriff's Department.
Both units were
presented to the departments on August 24th, 2003. NOHVA has
offered to help provide or arrange for additional items such as
helmets, training, some emergency equipment that include lights and
siren, and possibly a $1300 storage unit.
The ATV is a new 2003
Yamaha 660 Grizzly 4x4 with an automatic
transmission and the trailer will be a
Mountain Goat Medi-vac trailer
. The trailer is
manufactured by S & T Manufacturing in Hubbell Nebraska.
The rescue unit is intended for use at the
Nebraska National Forest near
Halsey and the surrounding area.
Some of the uses of the ATV and trailer will be to help with medical
situations at the forest and help with law enforcement. The unit
will not be used by U.S. Forest Service personnel.
Those who
will benefit from
the unit include not only recreational ATV and dirtbike riders, but also horse
riders, hikers, bicycle riders, hunters, campers, the state 4-H camp,
local forest workers and local ranchers.
As part of our
effort to help local government agencies in Nebraska deal with
increasing recreational ATV and dirtbike use, NOHVA strives to help
the involved agencies as much as our resources will allow.
The project began
after several calls were made to local emergency medical services to
help injured trail users. In several cases it was impossible to
reach the injured people by conventional means. In one instance
an injured ATV rider had to be carried by EMTs for a considerable
distance to be air lifted out by helicopter.
A email asking for
assistance was sent from Tegwin Egle of the Thedford Rescue Unit to
Dan Nitzel, Business Manager of the Nebraska Off Highway Vehicle
Association. Dan offered to see what NOHVA could do to help.
Dan mentioned what NOHVA has done to address similar problems at the
Headworks OHV Park and began to make phone calls to local ATV dealers
to see if they were willing to help.
After a call
to Gene Freeze, owner of Kearney Yamaha in Kearney Nebraska, Gene
offered to arrange for the use of a new ATV, but also offered to
donate the rescue trailer to NOHVA so that NOHVA can present the
trailer to local agencies!
This is the second
rescue unit that NOHVA has sponsored in Nebraska. The first unit
was presented to the Genoa Rescue Squad and the Nance County Sheriff's
Department in 2001. the ATV was provided by
Curry Bros. Motorsports of
Columbus Nebraska and NOHVA purchased the trailer. For more information
click here.
We
have to thank Gene Freeze, owner of Kearney Yamaha for donating the $1900 Medi-vac trailer
to NOHVA AND donating the use of a $7100 Yamaha ATV.
Gene has been one of Nebraska's leading progressive and prominent
supporters of responsible, family based ATV and dirtbike recreation.
He was one of the original founding members of NOHVA in 1987 and
helped get the NOHVA organization rolling with a donation of an ATV
for a raffle in 1987.
THANKS GENE and KEARNEY YAMAHA!!
Contact
information:
Dan Nitzel, Business Manager & Co-founder
Nebraska Off Highway Vehicle Association
2231 W. 10th St.
Grand Island, NE 68803
CONTACT US
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