Reily Township appoints new volunteer fire chief

The Reily Township Board of Trustees appointed a new chief for the Reily Township Volunteer Fire Department and Emergency Medical Services (EMS) during its regular meeting on Jan. 7 following Fire Chief Dennis Conrad’s retirement after 50 years of service. 

Dennis Conrad, who was chief for the past 10 years, told the Oxford Free Press, “I enjoyed dealing with the public as fire chief, and I enjoyed the group of firefighters I always had over the years.”

“We’ve always had a good group of people, volunteers, and they’ve always done very well for the people of the township,” he said.

Clayton Lightfield, who’s been a volunteer of the fire and EMS for the past 20 years, will now take up the mantle of chief.

“It’s a great opportunity and a great honor for me to follow the past chiefs,” Lightfield said following the meeting.

Lightfield previously served as a lieutenant and has lived in Reily Township for the past 20 years before recently moving to Oxford Township. He said he’s lived in the area surrounding the township for his entire life and remembers the volunteer fire and EMS putting out a fire at his family home when he was young.

“That’s what turned me on to help as a volunteer,” Lightfield said. “I’m out to serve the community (through) the fire department – the same way that it has been in the past 20 years that I’ve been here.”

The board of trustees approved Lightfield serving as chief for one year unless reappointed. 

The board also approved raising the pay per run, training and work detail for volunteers from $12.50 to $20 – a 60% increase. Lightfield will be paid a flat rate of $500 a year, and the assistant chief and captain will be paid $300 and $150 per year, respectively. The lieutenant will be paid $75 per year, and members will be paid $40 per year.

According to the board, if the volunteer fire and EMS complete the same number of runs in 2026 as they did in 2025, the new rates would increase the township’s reimbursement expenses from nearly $21,000 to over $34,000, which they said is still within budget.

Don Conrad, assistant volunteer fire chief and Dennis Conrad’s son, also announced his retirement during the meeting after serving the township for the past 28 years.

Community safety supply boxes

In other business, representatives of the Coalition for a Healthy Community – Oxford Area asked the board to consider placing community safety supply boxes around Reily Township as part of a pilot program that would mimic “Little Free Libraries” or “Blessing Boxes.”

Tami Adams, a registered nurse with the Regional Harm Reduction Collaborative (RHRC), said as a local, she understands “rural communities often times do not have easy access to supplies that they may need.”

“As I go around Butler County, I hear about resources that are available, and I’m always thinking about what is available for Oxford, what’s available for our townships,” Adams said. “I live in Ross (Township). Lots of times, we can get forgotten.”

Adams said the supply boxes would be installed and filled by the coalition at no cost to the township. She said it's up to the trustees to decide where the boxes will be placed, and depending on its efficacy and the feedback given by the community, the program could continue or expand, or the items inside the box could change or be added to.

The box itself is metal with plexiglass windows and a symbol on the side to clearly identify it as containing safety supplies. The boxes would be installed in outdoor spaces to be easily accessible by those walking past or driving by.

Adams showed several examples of what may be included in the safety boxes, including medication lock bags, pill organizers, information about drug take-back programs, Deterra bags to destroy unused medications and doses of the opioid overdose-reversal treatment, Narcan.

She said the boxes could also include gun locks due to the high rate of veteran suicide deaths in the area, as well as information about Veterans Affairs programming. First aid kits, hypothermia awareness pamphlets, gloves, handwarmers, tissues, masks, hand wipes, feminine hygiene products and a Butler County resource card may also be included in the safety boxes.

As the coalition monitors and refills the boxes, Adams said the program may be adjusted at any time to fit the needs of the community. The pilot program would last for about a year before the coalition decides whether to continue.

Some residents who attended the meeting had concerns about how to prevent the boxes from being misused or where the boxes would be installed to ensure they're seen by those who may need them.

Amy Macechko, health and wellness coordinator for the Talawanda School District through the coalition, said the coalition and RHRC “joined forces” to start the program using a Rural Community Program grant from the Health Resources and Services Administration.

“These are all things that we’re getting out when we go out to our outreach sites that are very well-received by people,” Macechko said. “These are not new items, but just a strategy to deliver them to communities.”

The board said it would consider the proposal and decide whether to install the boxes at a later date.

The Reily Township Board of Trustees will meet again on Jan. 21.