Nunapitchuk recently received a grant for $7,390 from the Rasmuson Foundation. The village's mayor, Noah Wise, says they have now spent the money on a brand new 500cc Honda ATV for their police and emergency responders to use.
“We don’t have any roads here in our village, but we have miles and miles of boardwalks here. We need to get around the village, especially the police," Wise said.
Wise says that the vehicle will meet a range of needs from transporting intoxicated people to the public safety center to sober up, to medevacing injured people to the airport for transport. When asked if this will make a big difference for the village, the mayor gave an enthusiastic affirmative reply:
“Yes! Waaay better than without any equipment!" Wise said.
Nunapitchuk has already received the new vehicle and it’s ready to begin work immediately.