NORTON, OH – A new, state-of-the art, custom-made $125,000 rescue squad vehicle that was delivered to the Norton Fire Department’s main station has been put in storage, according to the Akron Beacon Journal. That’s because Norton Fireman’s Association Treasurer Bob Copen claims Ohio Attorney General Marc Dann’s office won’t allow him to donate the vehicle to the city.

But Dann’s office said it has not dry-docked the vehicle and that its only concern is whether the bingo hall that generated the funding for the Norton Fireman’s Association that bought it is being operated under the law.

Monica Moloney, chief of the charitable law division for Dann’s office, said the attorney general is not about to deny use of safety equipment to Norton or any other community. Copen said Kurt Gearhiser, the Columbus attorney hired by the fireman’s association, told him the Attorney General’s Office would not permit the association to buy the vehicle for Norton.

The dispute is focused on the legality of the funds obtained from the bingo hall at 5240 Wooster Road W. The association used the proceeds from bingo to purchase the Golden Eagle Type IIIL, a top-of-the-line rescue squad vehicle perched on a Ford E-450 chassis custom made by Excellance Inc. of Alabama. But because Norton City Council has not officially accepted the vehicle, the fire department can’t put plates on it or buy insurance to cover it, according to the Akron Beacon Journal Rick Ryland, the new Norton city administrator, said the city would gratefully accept the donation of the new vehicle, whenever it is presented by Copen. Calco and Copen were among those testifying April 18 in a six-hour administrative hearing in Columbus. Copen said another hearing is to be held May 30 and the appeal process could take two years.