The Bolivar County Emergency Management Agency is getting ready to purchase several much needed items for the county.

“Our AED pads are going to run out in November,” EMA Director Bill Quinton told the supervisors Monday.

These pads are for the automated external defibrillators, commonly called AEDs, that the county purchased in June 2007.

They are small, portable devices that deliver an electric shock through the chest and into a heart experiencing a trauma.

The county bought 20 of the machines through a $46,000 Mississippi Department of Health grant and then distributed them throughout the schools in area.

“I’d like to move funds to buy child (sized) pads, adult pads and batteries (for the AEDs),” Quinton said.

Although the AED pads do expire this November, the original batteries still have two years of life in them.

Quinton told the board last month that the AED batteries have a five year life span.

“I need permission to advertise bids for the 150 kW generator for the Rosedale courthouse and the 60 kW trailer mounted generator for the EMA,” Quinton said as he continued with his report for the board Monday. “We would like to open bids on the 16 of August at the Rosedale courthouse.”

Quinton did receive board approval to move the funds to purchase the AED supplies and to advertise bids for the generators.

He also gave the board a brief update on the status of a grant for radios the county approved in May.

“We applied for $200,000,” Quinton said. “We’re not going to know how much funding is available until September.”

In May, the county applied for the first round of this communications grant and were able to purchase several 700 MHz radios for emergency responders with $250,000.

Seven were purchased for the Bolivar County Sheriff’s Department.

If awarded a second round of this grant, Quinton will be able to purchase an additional seven radios for the Sheriff’s Department and several for the Cleveland Police Department, as was decided in May.