New Medina firefighter says working for Medina FD a dream come true

MEDINA – Austin Mosher said it’s a dream come true to work as a career firefighter/EMT in his hometown.

Austin Mosher

Mosher, 18, was hired on Monday as a new member of the Medina Fire Department. He has been a volunteer firefighter for the past 18 months at the Ridgeway Volunteer Fire Company. His goal has been to work as firefighter.

He recently passed the test to be an emergency medical technician. Matt Jackson, Medina’s fire chief, said Mosher stood out among the applicants for the position.

“He has a passion for EMS,” Jackson told the Village Boar don Monday. “He will be beneficial to our community and the surrounding areas for years to come.”

Mosher turns 19 in April. He was the catcher on Medina’s Sectional champion baseball team in 2021.

He starts with the Medina FD next week. He is expected to attend the state’s fire academy in the summer.

“The fire service is my passion,” Mosher said. “It will be a great honor to work in Medina.”

In other action, the Village Board:

• Made permanent the appointment of Jason Watts as Medina Department of Public Works superintendent. Watts has been serving in the role on a probationary basis for at least the past 26 weeks.

“He’s been doing a bang-up job for us,” said Deputy Mayor Owen Toale.

Watts assumed the leadership of the DPW following the unexpected death of Joe Perry, the previous DPW superintendent, on Nov. 30, 2020.

• Agreed to accept sludge from Sun Environmental Corp. at 6 cents a gallon. The company will bring 2,800 gallons of sludge per truck load to Medina’s sewer plant. The agreement could last a few weeks or months, village officials said.

Sun Environmental also will pay to have the loads tested.

Village officials said the sewer plant can easily handle the material, and the agreement will be a money-maker for the village.