The American Red Cross is closing its office in Winfield and will run its Cowley County activities from Wichita, local officials said Wednesday.
Local branch manager Cathy Robinson confirmed plans to close but referred all other questions to Wichita. Executive Director Bev Morlan was not immediately available for comment this morning.
Winfield city manager Warren Porter said the city had been notified that the office would close soon. Requests for aid following a fire or other emergency will go through the Wichita office, he said.
The closing of the office at 103 E. Ninth ? which was open three days a week ? is significant, Porter said.
"It’s one less thing we have here," he said. "You always hate to see that."
Brian Stone, emergency management director for Cowley County, said he doesn’t expect the closing to impact emergency preparedness much.
"Really a lot of the emergency response activities were coordinated through Wichita anyway," Stone said. "I don’t expect this will impact us a whole lot."
At one point, the Red Cross operated offices in Arkansas City and Winfield. The Ark City office closed some time ago and it was always fairly evident the organization was consolidating its operations, Stone said.
Check back with NewsCow for more information when it’s available.
