SUMNER – It’s less than a third of what he asked for, but Tom Standard isn’t complaining.

Standard, the local Emergency Management Agency director for the Sumner-Buckfield-Hartford area, applied for a $36,000 grant from the federal Department of Homeland Security last fall. According to Oxford County EMA Director Scott Parker, the money was earmarked for such items as a generator for the town office, a laptop and two multi-channel radios.

The DHS didn’t grant the request, but the department reviews denied requests at the end of the grant process if it has money left over. Sumner recently became the beneficiary of some of those leftovers, netting $8,100 for the local EMA programs.

Sumner’s EMA expanded to include the neighboring towns of Buckfield and Hartford in the intervening time.

“I would love to spread it over the three,” Standard said, though he’s uncertain if he’ll only be able to apply the funds to Sumner.

He said $2,100 will go toward the “Neighbors Care” program. The purpose of the program is to automatically alert residents of an impending disaster through the phones or other devices. It also keeps track of people who require extra assistance and allows residents to request help during an emergency.

Another $3,000 will go toward the the cost of printing and distributing Sumner’s preparedness manual, and the remaining $3,000 will go toward paying for printing and distributing EMA newsletters.

The Sumner area EMA will host to two upcoming Community Emergency Response Team training courses. They will take place starting at 8 a.m. on April 14 and 28 at Buckfield Junior-Senior High School.

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