ELIZABETHTOWN — An extra $229,000 from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security will pay for specialized training and equipment for the Essex County Office of Emergency Services and Sheriff's Department.

The grant is for law-enforcement anti-terrorism work, Essex County Emergency Services Director Donald Jaquish said.

The County Weapons of Mass Destruction Response Team will get $143,000 of the funding, the sheriff receives $57,000, and another $27,000 of the grant will be used by the County Public Health Department for biological and pandemic response.

Calls to the County Enhanced 911 center are up over the last four months, Jaquish said.

"We took a little less than 5,000 911 calls — 22,000 calls altogether. That gives you an idea of the call volume at our 911 center."

Supervisor Robert C. Dedrick (R-Ticonderoga) said they recently had a lost-child search in Ticonderoga that strained resources.

"We had a hair-raising incident: a 5-year-old boy was lost. The house the 5-year-old had left was very close to the LaChute River. The coordination our emergency services displayed was incredible."

He said the 911 center played a major role in the response.

"The professionalism of the dispatchers was incredible. The boy was found unharmed."

Jaquish said the call volume last weekend was also heavy.

"I could use another dispatcher. We had four codes (cardiac emergencies) in one weekend, all kinds of EMS calls."

The county also got a $22,000 grant to assist people with their pets during emergencies that require evacuation, Jaquish said.

He said the Companion Animal Sheltering Equipment grant will be used by a volunteer group that will care for the pets.

"They now wish to proceed further but need the equipment."

The county will also enter into a mutual-aid agreement with Clinton and Franklin counties for use of the pet-shelter equipment during disasters.

E-mail Lohr McKinstry at: lmckinstry@pressrepublican.com