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Veteran emergency management director dies at 67
BOARDMAN
Clark Jones substantially upgraded Mahoning County’s emergency preparedness, according to those who knew him well.
Jones, 67, of Poland, retired in January for heath reasons as the county’s emergency-management and communications director. He died Sunday evening in St. Elizabeth Health Center in Boardman.
Jones, who joined the county in June 2000 as planning and operations coordinator in the emergency-management agency, became the county’s emergency-management director in May 2008.
After the county commissioners accepted Jones’ resignation in January, David Ditzler, chairman of the commissioners, credited Jones with taking emergency management here “to another level.”
In an interview immediately after his retirement, Jones said the most-rewarding aspect of his job as EMA director was ensuring that the county “took advantage of anything possible to make it a safer place” for its residents and guests through U.S. Department of Homeland Security grants.
Most of the county’s emergency-warning sirens were upgraded or replaced while he was director, he said. “The most-important thing that we did was to be prepared for weather emergencies,” Jones said shortly after his retirement.
“Clark was an excellent director for EMA” said Commissioner Carol Rimedio-Righetti, who expressed her deepest sympathies to Jones’ family. Jones always kept the commissioners informed of what was going on in his department, she said.
“He worked very well with the townships and all the villages and the cities, and he worked hand-in-hand with the fire chiefs’ association” of Mahoning County, she added.
“Clark had been preparing for the job of emergency care to others all his life. He served as a firefighter in both Boardman and Poland,” said retired Boardman Fire Chief James Dorman.
“It was pretty apparent how much he cared about our community when, after the Sept. 11 attacks by terrorists, he helped prepare Mahoning County for a potential attack by devising countywide drills to practice response,” Dorman said.
“By weaving his way through government red tape associated with federal grants, he secured tens of thousands of dollars in grant money so that Mahoning County first-responders could improve their emergency-response to terrorism,” he added.
Before joining the county, Jones was regional general manager for Northeast Ohio and western Pennsylvania for Rural Metro Ambulance Co.
He also had served as community-relations director and coordinator of corporate operations for that company.
He began his career in 1967 as an ambulance-crew member with the company’s predecessor, Gold Cross Ambulance Co.
Per Jones’ request, there will be no services or calling hours.