Roxbury Riders ATV Club getting defibrillator, training

ROXBURY — On Thursday, Nov. 19, the Roxbury Riders All-Terrain Vehicle Club will become the first ATV club in the state to get an automated external defibrillator, selectmen learned at Tuesday night's board meeting.

To make it happen, Med-Care Ambulance in Mexico and and NewPage Corp.'s paper mill in Rumford teamed up with the club to provide the life-saving device.

Med-Care is the western Maine affiliate of the Sudden Cardiac Arrest Association.

"On this day, the Roxbury ATV Club will take one step closer to making a difference in their club's, children's, and overall community healthy well-being," Laurieann Milligan, Med-Care's SCAA leader, stated in a recent report.

From 6 to 8 p.m. on Nov. 19, Med-Care will also conduct a free cardiopulmonary resuscitation and AED training for both the club and Roxbury's community, Selectman Chairman John Sutton said Tuesday night.

"We're the first club in the area to get AED training and the first ATV club in the state to buy an AED," Sutton said.

Selectman Mike Worthley, who is also the Roxbury Riders ATV Club president, said he was pleased to learn about the opportunity.

"Being able to say we are being proactive versus reactive in regards to safety within the community, is essential," Worthley said.

His wife, Wanda Worthley, the club's secretary, said by e-mail early Tuesday evening that NewPage's Safety Program offered $1,500 for the AED and helmets.

"Maine's state law says 18 and under must wear helmets, and we see a lot of people with kids on our trails with none on, and we want to make (helmets) available to all," Wanda Worthley said. "To keep our trails safe, we are buying 10 helmets to start with, with some of this money and club money."

"We pride ourselves on all of the precautionary measures we have taken over the years to make ATV riding in Roxbury a safe one," Mike Worthley said.

According to a report from Milligan, sudden cardiac arrest is the nation's leading cause of death, resulting in more than 300,000 fatalities each year. That exceeds the death rate of lung cancer, breast cancer, and HIV/AIDS combined.

Sudden cardiac arrest is caused by an electrical malfunction of the heart, which results in rapid and erratic heart rhythm, and then, the heart's failure to beat.

The report stated that through immediate CPR and the shock of an AED, the heart's natural rhythm can be restored and the victim revived. However, that shock is more successful if delivered within the first seven minutes of the cardiac arrest event.

After a more extended period, the heart might not respond to the AED shock, or if it does, the victim could experience brain damage and other complications due to lack of blood and oxygen flow.

To register for the training class or for more information on CPR AED and First-Aid training, contact Milligan at 364-8748.

In other Roxbury news, Sutton said town treasurer/tax collector Renee Hodsdon is looking for old photographs of the Roxbury area that she can scan electronically for a publication for Roxbury's 175th Year Anniversary Celebration next year.

The town is also banning overnight parking in its spacious municipal building parking lot and creating a handicap-access parking area there by posting newly-arrived signs, Sutton added.

tkarkos@sunjournal.com