Photo courtesy of the Guthrie Center Fire Department

The goodwill of many local emergency agencies was shown last November when a plane crash in Guthrie County killed four people, and recently an act of gratitude was given in return.

The Guthrie Center Fire Department helped in the extensive search for a plane that went missing within the county on November 9th, which was located the following morning containing the four deceased passengers, Edward Ralph Anderson, Patrick Kellen and Samantha Clark of Le Mars, and Tyler Douvia of Merrill. The families of the victims then decided to host an event on August 3rd at Kellen Ponderosa in Le Mars in memory of the four, called Project K.

Guthrie Center Fire Chief Dave Embleton says around 10 of the department’s volunteers attended the fundraiser, and a few weeks later the families presented the department with a check for $14,914.41. Embleton says the fundraiser turned out better than he could have imagined, and he thanks the families for their generosity, “You know, if this had happened in any other community they’d be doing the same thing. We were just happy to be there and we opened up our arms to them that night and welcomed their family to our fire hall. We took care of them and they just wanted to return the favor and man did they do so and in such a huge way. (It’s) still unbelievable.”

Embleton adds no plans are set in stone as to how they’ll use the donated funds, but the plane crash search especially highlighted a need to replace flashlight equipment for the department.