ST. GEORGE — Iron County Search and Rescue program is sporting an extra snowmobile thanks to the generosity of an outdoor equipment dealer in Cedar City.
On March 7, the Iron County Sheriff’s Search and Rescue program presented D & P Performance, a family-owned Arctic Cat dealer in Cedar City, an award in recognition for the company’s generous donation, which was valued at about $15,000.
The Search & Rescue team was in urgent need of new snowmobiles to assist on winter search and rescue operations, Iron County Sheriff’s Lt., Del Schlosser said, and because of D & P Performance it was able to purchase three snowmobiles, instead of two.
D & P Performance, 110 E. Center St. in Cedar City, was started in 1978 by Dean Bulloch, who had a long history with Iron County’s search and rescue program, said Laci Werner, Bulloch’s daughter and an owner of the company.
“My dad has always been very generous with the search and rescue program, and that has not changed since his retirement,” she said.
Werner now runs the operation along with her brother, Nick Bulloch, and told St. George News that her father was very involved in the program, participated in many rescues during the ’80s and ’90s, and believed the program was vitally important to the community.
Werner said that the task of purchasing the new snowmobiles fell to Iron County Sheriff’s Deputy Caleb Anderson, who went to D & P Performance. After going through the pricing, Werner said, “Caleb Anderson told us how much was approved in the budget for the purchase and we basically gave them three of the Arctic Cats for what they would have paid for two and covered the rest ourselves.”
The Iron County Sheriff’s Search and Rescue program runs on an annual budget of less than $10,000 to operate a 28-member team and pay for equipment maintenance and supplies needed by the team.
“That operating budget nowhere near covers the expenses involved in running the program,” Schlosser said.
The only way the program can operate is through private donations from the community, businesses and individuals.
Search and rescue efforts and all of the service the program provides is time donated by the volunteers who make up the crews and use their own personal vehicles and equipment.
Snowmobiles are vital to many rescue operations and allow search teams to reach areas that are inaccessible by other means. “We had three rescues within one week last January alone, and snowmobiles were used in every one of them,” Schlosser said.
In one of the rescues in January 2017 involved two hunters located more than 20 miles away from where they were reported to be.
Read more: Authorities engage in search for 2 hunters lost overnight
That particular search was one of 14 that took place that winter, Schlosser told St. George News then.
Anyone interested in donating to search and rescue may contact the Iron County Sheriff’s Office at 435-867-7500 for more information or mail a check to Iron County Sheriff’s Office at 2132 N. Main St., Cedar City, UT 84721.
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Great ad for this local business. But it doesn’t make me want to go there and pay “Suggested List Price” so that they can afford to give ’em away to others.