Adair and Guthrie County will be merging their Emergency Management Commissions this summer. Bob Kempf, who has been part-time Emergency Management Coordinator for both counties, will take on the unified position full-time. He says the switch over will become official July 1st and that the unification has been discussed for more than two years now. Kempf says eliminating duplication will save both counties time and money. “Not having two budgets, two meetings, two schedules, things like that, will make the whole process much more efficient.”

The change has been coordinated with the state, Department of Homeland Security, FEMA and other partner organizations. Kempf says residents of both counties will see few noticeable changes in emergency management operations.