Franklin County deputies get a shocking donation

Franklin County sheriff’s deputies have a shocking new way to treat people out on the road.

And it’s mostly thanks to buckwheat.

The sheriff’s office said Tuesday that it’s equipping its patrol cars with new defibrillators thanks to community donations and the recently established Franklin Sheriff’s Foundation.

Thirty-five units cost about $30,000, said Darrel Otness, owner of Washington Producers in Mesa. It works with regional buckwheat farmers to export their crop to Japan.

Otness, his wife Melody and Sheriff Jim Raymond discussed the idea of defibrillators during a fundraiser earlier this year.

Farmers out in the rural parts of the county are most likely to benefit from mobile defibrillators that can restart someone’s heart, Otness said, and he wanted to give back to them.

Raymond agreed. EMT and farmer Cliff Machugh helped by finding just the right units.

“I wanted to make sure that we can use them today, and we can use them in the future,” Otness said.

Machugh found just such a model and used an East Coast vendor to cut the cost from $50,000 to a little more than $30,000.

Bunten told Otness that deputies already had training to effectively use defibrillators, meeting Otness’ other concern.

The units were bought through the foundation, Otness said, adding that the sheriff’s office did a lot of the legwork to set up the nonprofit.

Otness and Raymond wanted to model it after the Kennewick Police Department Foundation. It’s nonprofit support fund for the Kennewick Police Department helps pay for things such as the Community Care Fund.

Otness wrote the check to establish the Franklin County foundation this spring, while sheriff’s Sgt. Josh Bunten and other deputies helped with the paperwork.

Like Kennewick’s foundation, Franklin’s care fund allows deputies to help people who are in immediate need. It also supports an explorer program that teaches youth about law enforcement.

“I’m really excited about this, because it has such a chance for direct impact,” he added.

This story was originally published October 24, 2017 at 5:31 PM with the headline "Franklin County deputies get a shocking donation."