EMS backup service still uncertain
Harrison News-Herald Reporter
CADIZ—As of the March 15 meeting, the Harrison County Commissioners have received no bids for the county’s backup EMS service.
“We need to go to plan B,” Commissioner Paul Coffland said. “I don’t know if we have a plan B.”
Harrison Community Hospital currently serves the community by providing a backup ambulance service to residents. Their contract is up at the end of April, and the commissioners have been looking at alternative providers. If a suitable alternative cannot be found, many county residents may not be able to rely on an ambulance to reach them in an emergency. Coffland said the office would be reaching out to HCH for an interim plan. He stressed that this is a county-wide issue and needs to be addressed with everyone involved.
“The EMS association and the township trustees are going to have to get together with us, and we have to figure out what we can do.”
He pointed out that fire and EMS services do not fall under the county, “I think you’ve heard it before, the county has no obligation to fund these services. Fortunately, we’re in a position where we can afford to do it, and we’ve been doing it for a number of years, but fire and EMS fall under the townships and the villages. If we don’t get some townships and villages to work together, we’re gonna have people that aren’t going to be served when they pick up the phone and call 911. That’s the scary part. No one wants to see that happen.”
The commissioners are always open to suggestions for county issues. Meetings are held every Wednesday at 10 a. m. in the courthouse. Please call in advance to be put on the agenda.
The Harrison County Home requested an additional $500,000 be appropriated for the new addition to the home.
“The money is there,” Coffland said. “It simply has not been appropriated. So this is not a loan, and we’ve said this before, the county home has been pinching pennies for years to make this project a reality.”
There will be a second public hearing on March 29, 2023, at 10 a.m. in the commissioner’s office for the commissioners to apply for the Community Development Block Grant program. According to the HUD exchange website, this program “supports community development activities to build stronger and more resilient communities.”
“Citizens are encouraged to attend the support meeting… to express their views and comments on a proposed improvement project on behalf of the Harrison County Home,” Coffland read.
The commissioners will send a letter to Congressman Bill Johnson in which they share support for the building of a new water treatment plant out of the flood plain in Bowerston. The current plant was flooded in February of last year, and the new plant will make improvements to the well, which will be a much-needed upgrade for the village.
