Family of fallen firefighter gets county assist to attend memorial

The Linn County Commission on Monday approved financial help to send the family of fallen Linn County firefighter Josh Haynes to a memorial in Maryland. (Journal file photo)

MOUND CITY – The family of the late Pleasanton firefighter Josh Haynes will be attending a memorial for him in Maryland next month with some help from the Linn County Commission.

Commissioners on Monday, April 10, approved spending up to $4,000 for airplane tickets to the National Fallen Firefighters Memorial in May. Fire Chief Randy Hegwald was authorized to purchase the airline tickets.

Haynes sister, Renea Marshall, asked commissioners for the airfare assistance so that she, her husband, her sister, and her parents could go to the memorial. She gave the commissioners a brochure and information about the memorial, which offers counseling and support to firefighters’ families. She said the foundation would be honoring her brother at the memorial.

Marshall also asked for airfare for Hegwald to attend because the organization highly suggests that someone from the fire station or county also attend. Hegwald said that he had already applied as a family escort position so that he could stay in a dormitory on the grounds of the National Fire Academy campus at no cost.

Marshall said her family was paying for the two motel rooms they would be staying in.

Marshall explained that Hegwald could bring back information from the counseling sessions for the firefighters that had worked with Haynes, who were still grieving.

The organization pays for children of fallen firefighters to attend but Haynes’ children will not be going.

Lamb said that the county does not very often have anybody that needs travel expenses. He told the commissioners that he did not know where they wanted to take the money from since the county did not have anything budgeted.

Lamb said this would probably be something that could be taken from the contingency fund.

Commissioner Jim Johnson asked Hegwald if he had any fund that it could be taken out of. Hegwald said he would look at his budget.

Marshall then asked permission to adopt Tucker Road from south of Casey’s to Kansas Highway 52 in honor of Haynes. She said that she had talked with county traffic control worker Kevin Amer, and he had suggested that she go through the Adopt-A-Highway Program.

Marshall said she had wanted to do this on U.S. Highway 69 but that Ali Hamilton had already applied to have that area dedicated to Walter Scott Brown, a World War II veteran.

County Counselor Gary Thompson and the commissioners said they would look into that program to see if it could be used for that location.