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Project Lifesaver receives donation from Lions Club

Two additional bracelets to help locate those prone to wander away

Published Wednesday, July 29, 2009

The Lawrence County Sheriff’s Office’s new Project Lifesaver program is getting another shot in the arm, thanks to one civic group.

The Ironton Lions Club Tuesday evening donated $650 to the sheriff’s office to purchase two more bracelets.

These bracelets, equipped with a radio frequency, are given to handicapped adults and children who are prone to wander away from home and would be unable to find their way back.

When that person is lost deputies respond to the area where the person was last seen with a mobile tracking system that hones in on the radio frequency.

The nationally known program boasts the ability to find missing persons in under an hour.

In the past, Alzheimer’s patients and children suffering from autism have been recipients of such bracelets in Lawrence County.

Lions Club President Lou Pyles described the project as very worthwhile.

“Anyone who has ever had a family member with dementia or Alzheimer’s or who has had a child with special needs knows the fear of having that loved one wander off. With Project Lifesaver, it is easier to find them if they are lost,” Pyles said.

Lawrence County Sheriff’s Deputies Julia and Ray Jones demonstrated the bracelets at the Tuesday evening Lion’s Club meeting.

The sheriff’s office introduced the program to Lawrence County last year with financial assistance from several area business and organization, among them, Dow Chemical, Ohio River Bank, Ironton Lions Club, Dr. Dan Bentley and Bentley Pharmacy, Beford South Point Ford, the Ironton Moose Club, Ironton Eagles and Ultimate Health Care of South Point.

Earlier this year, 10 Rock Hill Elementary School children were given bracelets paid for by a grant from the Children’s Foundation of Ohio.

The local chapter of the National Wild Turkey Federation has also donated money for a bracelet.

Those interested in the Project Lifesaver Program may call the sheriff’s office at 532-3525.

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