WQXE News
October is Fire Prevention Month, and fire officials are reminding residents to make sure their smoke alarms and carbon monoxide detectors are in working order.
“Those are two very important devices in your home,” said Radcliff Deputy Fire Marshal Tommy Crane. “Basically, they smell the smoke and detect the carbon monoxide even when we can’t or when we’re asleep.”
Press that button and make sure the batteries in your smoke alarm are good to go.
“The best thing we tell people is preferably, if you can, just check them once a month,” Crane said. “Make sure they’re working operational at a minimum once a year. Check them, and if they have a replaceable battery, replace it when you do your time change, when we ‘fall back.’”
Make sure you check the date on a smoke alarm, as they should be replaced after 10 years.
Crane says homes that use natural gas, propane, or a wood stove for heating and/or have an attached garage need to have a properly-functioning carbon monoxide detector.
“Even if they’re a plug-in type, they still have a replaceable backup battery, a lot of them do, so make sure you’re checking that and then just check that date,” Crane said. “A lot of your newer smoke alarms and carbon monoxide detectors, they have the end of life alarm, but you’ll still want to just check the date and make sure that they’re still functioning properly, and they’re still in that time frame that they’re supposed to be used.”
Learn more about Fire Prevention Month by visiting the National Fire Protection Association’s website.
The United Way of Central Kentucky supports area residents by connecting the community for the common good.
This week, they’ll support the community in a different way as they host an American Red Cross blood drive Friday, October 17, from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the United Way’s headquarters, located at 604 North Main Street in Elizabethtown.
American Red Cross Account Manager Tammy Ritchie says the need for blood donations remains high.
“The need for Type O, O-positive and O-negative, is in an emergency need right now,” said Ritchie. “Transfusions are happening when needed, but because that is the most common blood type, it is also the most needed, and in an emergency situation, that is what’s going to be transfused until we know that patient’s blood type.”
The Red Cross says somebody in the U.S. needs blood every two seconds. Approximately 29,000 units of red blood cells, 5,000 units of platelets, and 6,500 units of plasma are needed daily.
As an added incentive, all donors from now through October 19 will receive a $10 amazon.com gift card. Schedule your appointment by visiting redcrossblood.org and entering sponsor code “UWCKY” or by calling 1-800-RED-CROSS.
Elizabethtown Community and Technical College has received grant funding to expand services at two satellite campuses.
According to a release from ECTC, the college recently was awarded a $1.3 million TRIO Student Support Services grant from the U.S. Department of Education which will be used to expand services at the ECTC Leitchfield and Springfield campuses.
ECTC says the grant will enable the college to hire a program director who will have a presence at both campuses. The grant will also cover hiring a tutor and an administrative assistant for both campuses. The college says the grant allows them to expand their reach to connect more students to services.
The goal of TRIO Student Support Services is to increase retention and graduation rates among participants. The release states: “TRIO SSS serves first-generation, low-income students. It provides individualized services such as one-on-one tutoring, guidance through the educational process, academic counseling, transfer assistance, visits to four-year universities, and more.”
Learn more about other available student services at ECTC by visiting their website.