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Letter to the editor: Support for fire chief needed

By Staff | Oct 11, 2011

To the Editor:

The contract for Rick Huhn, chief of Leavenworth County Fire District No. 1, is up at the end of the year. It is time for his contract to be renewed, and your support is needed. Chief Huhn joined the fire department in July 1976. He was promoted through the ranks and took over as fire chief in September 1996. At the beginning of Chief Huhn’s tenure the department was a small volunteer township fire department, and under his guidance it has grown into a combination paid/volunteer fire department.

The District is comprised of three separate entities: the City of Lansing, Delaware Township, and High Prairie Township. As chief, Rick has ensured that the department has provided high-quality service while preserving comparably low tax rates.

Chief Huhn has worked diligently with department finances to ensure that your tax dollars are spent intelligently and responsibly. During his tenure as fire chief, Chief Huhn has secured more than $242,000 in grants and specifically $60,000 in grants during his last four-year contract. In the last budget cycle Chief Huhn secured funding for two additional paid personnel, bringing the total paid personnel to seven and moving the department into 24-hour-seven-day-a-week full-time coverage. We believe Chief Huhn is vital to the continued success of the department and would appreciate your support at the next fire district board meeting. The meeting is 7 p.m. Monday at District 1 Station 1, 111 E. Kansas in Lansing.

James Murphy, Gary Kenton, Edward Davis, Trevor Huhn and Jacob Will,

Members of Fire District No. 1 Department