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The Grand Opening of the Riner Station of the Christiansburg Rescue Squad was held Saturday afternoon. The sunny, breezy day made the event very enjoyable for the crowd of about 50 residents and officials.
Neal Turner, Montgomery County Emergency Services Coordinator said, in a pre-opening interview, that he was "overwhelmed with the generosity of many individuals, companies, and other local service organizations." It "took a long time for this to happen, it's taken 9 years from conception to this status; it was worth the work and the waiting." "I am pleased that the residents of Riner have quicker response service for times of need; that's what the foundation of our cause is." "We still need a lot of things, from furniture to monetary contributions. I feel our cause will be honored by more folks, as they realize we are officially open." Turner quipped, "it has been a roller-coaster of activities, but with assistance from engineer Mike Ness, Kim Harris, and others, it has finally arrived." Turner thanked the Riner Fire Department for their donation of a vehicle that they needed.
During opening comments, Mr. Turner, assisted by Christiansburg Squad Chief Kelly Walters, displayed a plaque that lists the names of those that have helped, thus far; there's room for many more insignias to be added. The plaque will be displayed in the squad's main hall-room.
Turner said that there are several levels of service, from clerical duties to those that lead to full EMT status. He said, "We plan to work with the schools and other groups to bolster our efforts. We will begin a program at Christiansburg and Blacksburg High Schools, next year, that should start a foundation for building a pool of qualified personnel." "My on-call status for the last two weeks has been interesting; it's been 19 years since I was on-call 24/7, but it was needed."
Jim Politis, Montgomery County Board of Supervisors member and Riner resident, said that he was "pleased that response times are just 5-6 minutes; there's already been a couple of calls, as of late, in which timing was the essence for survival. The community effort has been tremendous, but we still need more individuals to participate in training and service. The Route 8 corridor is growing; things have certainly changed from the 900 resident base from not so long ago."
Mr. Turner asked Ms. Ann Carter, Christiansburg Town Council member, for any comments; she said that she "was honored to attend, and was impressed with the nice facility and very proud of the cooperation of local governments and residents."
Kelly Walters, Christiansburg Rescue Squad Chief, reminded the crowd that the squad had been in action for 61 years, and that this was an endeavor that he deemed essential. "We need to be able to man the station 24/7 more days of the week than we currently can, due to a shortage of personnel." "It is an honor to serve our community," he said.
The Grand-Opening closed with a social that included refreshments provided by the Squad Auxiliary that was enjoyed by toddlers and others; folks kept arriving to the 5 P.M. special event closing. Happiness abounded, according to the many smiles. It seemed that Mr. Turner, Mr. Walters and other officials felt a feeling of both accomplishment and relief, as they continue their trek to full-staffing and other needs being fulfilled. Click here to see more photos of Saturday’s event in our photo gallery. Photo: (Top left) Neal Turner (L), Montgomery County Emergency Services Coordinator, and Christiansburg Rescue Squad Chief Kelly Walters (R) cut the ribbon to the new Riner Station of the Christiansburg Rescue Squad Saturday afternoon. (Photo by Larry Middleton)
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