Fire officials attend conference

SUBLETTE – Don Dinges, a member of the Sublette Fire Protection District board, was among more than 900 fire officials who received training at the 2018 state conference for fire districts, sponsored by the Illinois Association of Fire Protection Districts.

Held June 21-23 in Peoria, the conference offered more than 30 educational sessions land workshops on topics of interest including cancer in the fire service, first responder resilience, financial reporting and the latest in legal and legislative developments that affect the local operation of fire districts in the state of Illinois. Attendees were also able to explore the latest in emergency response vehicles, fire apparatus, firefighter gear and technology being used to service today’s fire departments.

Yesterday’s fire service was about neighbors helping neighbors in the local communities. Today the fire service is more complex with concerns about accountability, disclosure, self-regulation and ethics.  

Each year the state conference enables fire officials to keep up with trends and changes taking place.

The AFPD is a nonprofit organization representing more than 630 fire protection districts throughout the state of Illinois.

Dinges family reunion held

SUBLETTE – Nearly 100 descendants of Peter and Christina Dinges held a reunion at the Sublette Community Building. Attendees were from Illinois, Iowa, Wisconsin, Florida and Arizona. Betty Henkel of Sublette was the oldest family member in attendance. Six-month-old Abigail Gehant of West Brooklyn was the youngest and Bruce Dinges of Tucson, Ariz., came the longest distance.