The Calhoun County Commission met in the large Courtroom of Calhoun County Courthouse once again with the expectation of a larger than normal audience. The greater matter on the agenda being the circumstances surrounding suspension and closure of Calhoun EMS with most other matters of business taking a back seat.
The meeting opened with delegation speaking at which time Deidre Purdy asked to reserve her time in case there were any ”unwarranted statements made about our county officers.”
Ridgeview News addressed the Commission next concerning their continued lack of transparency with not only it’s citizens but with other county offices and agencies for which they are charged with overseeing. Shari Johnson, Publisher requested their response to why they held discussions regarding the Emergency Services Levy outside of Commission meeting with two of the three Fire Departments, but never with the only Department that stood to lose any money from their budget. Grantsville stood to lose $18,411.40 from their annual budget. A matter they did not deny but said it was never discussed that they would take money from Grantsville’s budget. It was also brought to their attention that their decision making was without the proper information necessary to make an informed decision. Such as the fact that Ridgeview News contacted local surveyor and requested an estimation of the county fire district mileage. Hupp’s Surveying gave an estimated square mileage of 140 sq. miles of coverage for the Grantsville Volunteer Fire Department, 77 square miles of coverage for the Arnoldsburg Volunteer Fire Department and 66 square miles for the Upper West Fork Volunteer Fire Department. Which would have likely been the reason for 50/25/25 split of levy funding.
The Commissioners were also ask to address the removal of $38,597.91 Funding from the Levy funds and Sheriff’s Budget without notifying the Sheriff. During the discussion of that budget reduction they allotted that the County is in ”good shape” but the Sheriff has had to request a vehicle replacement multiple times when the money is supposedly there to purchase it from a grant. And is currently driving his personal vehicle because his staff cars are in for repairs. Commissioner Helmick said that during that meeting the Commission had said the would ”eat” the $38,597.91 and provide that additional funding for the Sheriff’s 2023/24 budget, which is why it was not discussed prior with the Sheriff.
When Ridgeview News asked about their awarding of $5,000 to Mt. Zion Community Park without knowing what the money was needed for their response was an apparent attempt to shame me for asking the question as to why they would give money to such a good cause. It was not a question of a good cause, it was a question of ethics on decision making. The request was made by Commissioner Michael Hicks who was on the park board, but not present at the meeting. Neither Commissioner Helmick or Walker had any clue as to why the money was being requested when ask. Correspondence received by Ridgeview news after the previous story ran, from another Mt Zion Park board member, gave the appearance that the $5,000 was to be a draw down from a previously awarded $30,000 in ARPA funding, though that was never said, nor was there an invoice mentioned or attached. It is assumed Mt. Zion Park was given an additional $5,000 because questions were not ask, and this was supposed to be okay because it was a ”good cause.”
Crystal Mersh of The 1982 Foundation spoke third asking why the decision on the Sheriff’s vehicle continued to be ”wallowed around” rather than acted upon when the funding was apparently available, due to the fact that a Mid-Ohio Valley Regional Council request for assistance caused them to ask why the County was asking for assistance when there was a considerable sum of money in their bank account.
The question of the day came first from Mrs. Mersh when she next ask the Commissioners “When and did the commissioners know about the issues of 2020, how was that communicated and was it recorded in the meeting minutes?” Commissioner Hicks responded that the Commission did not have any knowledge of the Administrative Order, nor did the EMS Board know. At which time Julie Sears spoke up from the audience to say that the board was “made aware of it, it was a driver that was not certified.” When ask if she notified the County Commission she responded that the County Commission sat on the (EMS) board. Michael Hicks reiterated that he did not recall any official notification from Ms. Sears. He later stated that he had forgotten the circumstances of the event and did remember being informed.
Business owner Eric Lupardus addressed the Commission regarding two families that had been victims of poor service by Calhoun County EMS resulting in the death of family members. He introduced Ronald Brown, husband of Rosemary Brown, who passed away after a long drawn out process with Calhoun EMS. A slow response time, a rude EMT and their refusal to continue CPR caused Mr. Brown to wonder if his wife could have lived if the care by Calhoun EMS had been a better trained and operated service.
Graham Knight, son of Gary Knight a long time teacher and well known community member, spoke next regarding the death of his father at a local restaurant following a seizure. Two nurses who happened to be on scene administered CPR while another long response time of EMS ensued. When EMS finally arrived they entered the area ”casually and without concern” and then stood and watched as the nurses continued CPR. Graham was taken outside by one EMT who informed him that they’d done all they could do and the allotted amount of time for his recovery was over. In a later discussion with his mother, Rose Knight, she said at one point Calhoun EMS attempted to use a device but the battery was dead and no manual one was available. The inoperable device was a piece of suctioning equipment that would have removed an obstruction from Gary Knight’s airway and could have made the difference between life and death. Graham believes that the Calhoun EMS slow response time, defective and unchecked equipment and poor effort was the leading cause in his father’s death.
Eric Lupardas followed up by informing the Commission that regarding the EMS, “you can’t change the narrative that lives were lost, but we demand accountability, we are united we are strong, we will be loud and we will be heard.”
Matt walker expressed deep sorrow for both of the losses and thanked Brown and Knight for coming and sharing. I think that there has already been talks and the ambulance is heading in the right direction. They (the Commission) understands and will handle this challenge.
Michael Hicks said that there will be a change in management of Calhoun EMS and they’ve been in discussion with other entities and will find new management to build it stronger.
Kevin Helmick concurred that there is going to be changes and the changes are happening quick.
The only person to come to the defense of Julie Sears and Calhoun EMS was Steve Ludwig, telling the Commissioners that Calhoun EMS saved his life. They were on scene fast, they even broke protocol by driving him to Charleston. He told the Commissioners that he had “found out that the inspector who showed up last week and gave Julie a hard time has a brother thats Vice President of Operations of Health Net. He made threats to her, that she was under investigation and he could have charges brought up against her. They wouldn’t even allow her to correct her violations. They locked her out of her system and as soon as she resigned the State acted like there was never an issue. I find it interesting that the State Director is also a former employee of Health Net.” He then asked the Commission if it was true that Minnie Hamilton charged the county $20,000 for operating costs of their ambulance? He urged them to keep Julie and replace the board.
RIDGEVIEW NEWS reached out to Health Net regarding the Statements made by Mr. Ludwig. Their response was the following:
Regarding ”He told the Commissioners that he had “found out that the inspector who showed up last week and gave Julie a hard time has a brother thats Vice President of Operations of Health Net.
HealthNet Aeromedical Services’ Vice President for Business Operations/CFO does have a brother employed by the West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources. There is no connection between the employers of the siblings.
Regarding ”I find it interesting that the State Director is also a former employee of Health Net.”
The Director of the Office of Emergency Medical Services once served as a flight paramedic with Healthnet Aeromedical Services. He voluntarily resigned to accept a position as Roane County EMS Director
Matt Walker made the comment that “this is a very challenging time, it is heading in a direction that will be suitable for Calhoun county. In a divided county, hopefully this doesn’t make the division worse.”
Publisher’s note: Questioning the actions and accountability of elected and appointed people is not division. It’s good management.
Helmick continued to address the matter by stating that Calhoun County had “worked with Jancare and all they wanted to do was transports and nobody setting for real emergencies, nothing is perfect, we are working on it and hopefully the levy isn’t held accountable for it.”
Crystal Mersh requested a copy of all the committees and appointees that the Calhoun County Commission is responsible for appointing.
Bruce Fitzwater, EMS Board Treasurer spoke to the crisis with EMS. He said that he had reluctantly accepted the position because he knew there were problems. I apologized for the losses of Graham Knight and Ronnie Brown telling them “It breaks my heart, and I do feel responsible, I’m a part of this board. My responsible is in the financial matters. I do think that there is hope. I called the state who said they’d work with our agency and will work to reorganize it. The trucks were moved due to the poor facility in Arnoldsburg having issues with flooding and mold. Thank you to Minnie Hamilton, I have no idea what we’re going to do, whether it will be reorganization, working with Minnie Hamilton or regionally. I encourage you to pass the levy, without it is game over for the ambulance service. it is vital for the ems and the fire department, not voting for the levy will hurt the whole.
There was further questions and audience discussion regarding the wages of Calhoun EMS. An EMT was paid $11.75 and hour, and a driver made $10.50 an hour.
Fitzwater responded by saying that the EMS Board was the most difficult board he’d ever been a part of because of the salaries to pay, and the ambulances were breaking down every day. The newest ambulance is a 2016. It was only feasible for them to run one crew and one ambulance.
Former Commissioner Skip Westfall stated that Ritchie county has 3 stations, “they fuss all the time. They do not do transports at all. Ambulance services are awful.” Mr. Westfall would have likely been a Commissioner himself when the 2020 issue with EMS should have been addressed.
Mr. Fitzwater did not recall being informed of the 2020 incident as a board member but stated that ”The money is in transports, it was “damned if you do and damned if you don’t”. He offered to resign if it was requested. But an audience member quickly responded by saying ”No, you’re the only one accepting responsibility, you should stay!” Mr. Fitzwater concluded by stating that he was a ”Big proponent of the levy, our agencies screwed up. Vote for the levy because of the fire departments, I don’t want to be the responsible party for the fire departments losing their levy.”
Retired Judge Larry Whited asked the Commissioners about their financial reporting, and said ”I haven’t heard one commissioner accept responsibility. I’ve heard apologies but I’ve seen no action.”
Whitney Butler asked the Commission if Julie Sears would be resigning from the office of OES as well, at which time Julie Sears spoke and said that her Salary for that position was only $1,000. Which is true. But that’s not the only salary associated with her positions. According to Jeans Simers, County Clerk, Ms. Sears Salary was $19,200 for EMS, $1,000 for OES, $1,000 for Flood Control and $38,000 for 911. For a total of $59,200.
For Questions regarding Calhoun EMS and the Office of Emergency Services Advisory Committee the following board members can be contacted:
EMS Board: Ron Blankenship, Commissioner Michael Hicks, Bruce Fitzwater, Paul Haggeman and Sheriff Warren Basnett.
911 Advisory Committee: Ron Blankenship, Sgt. Weekley of the WV State Police, Commissioner Michael Hicks, Magistrate Richard Postalwait and a Fire Department representative, though it was not said who that was.
Crystal Mersh encouraged those attending to keep attending meeting, the responsibilities and accountability lies with the commission. She said ”I’m 100% behind the levy. Half the time our county is in the red. We need to go to Charleston and to the U.S. Senators.”
Bill bailey, Calhoun Chronicle reminded everyone that the levy is an renewal of an existing levy, not a new levy.
Jason Wilson, Ground Team Leader for Minnie Hamilton Health System Health Care Critical Care Transport, addressed the $20,000 mentioned by Steve Ludwig as the cost for 2 weeks of operating an ambulance. An ambulance covers 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Minnie Hamilton pays $23 to 27 dollars an hour for a paramedic and a driver receives $13 an hour. In addition their staff receives benefits. The cost of that alone is approximately $20,000. That cost does not include their fuel or maintenance.
Mr. Wilson said that one of the big challenges for any ambulance service is that Medicare reimburses less than the call costs, and many of their calls are Medicare patients. Minnie Hamilton currently has a truck at Arnoldsburg 24 Hours a day, and on in Grantsville, 12 hours a day. He promised that ”They will continue to be obligated until we determine what’s happening. I promise I will not take the only truck out of the county. If I have to come and cover it myself.”
Eric Lupardas expressed thanks for Minnie Hamilton’s assistance but said that “we need commissioners to go be the voice for Calhoun County. I feel it’s lost leadership as to why we’re the bottom of 55 counties.”
The County Commission moved on with the meeting asking Julie Sears to give her 911 report, for which she is still employed.
After giving the number of call for county emergency service agencies, she made the following statement:
“I am 911 director, and was EMS Director. My only goal was to make sure people were safe. We had expired by two days intubation ability. The second (administrative order) was for one person, a driver. It was never a medical provider that didn’t have license. I promise I never kept a secret and I did my job as ems and 911 director, I’ll continue to do that.”
Kevin Helmick stated that ”we came to Julie because we knew she had the experience and we asked her to do it.” With regards to why she was hired. ”I believe julie has done her best.”
It was at this point that Commissioner Michael Hicks suddenly remember that Julie had told him about the 2020 incident. “now that it was in context, in the height of Covid we had an officer driving the truck who did not have an ambulance license. I was wrong, I was confused. Right after that point the state suspended that requirement due to the emergency need.”
Donnie Pitts, President of the Calhoun County Park updated that they had installed a new window installed at barn, had a pond repaired by soil conversation, put a roof on a shelter, was getting HVAC replacement worked on for a plan to get a bid. He announced that there would be an informal star party on October 21-25, and that New Era would be at the park on the 30th of September and October 1st with a fire and butterfly program. Their certification request for dark sky continues as they work toward becoming IDA certified. It’s a big deal when astronomers look on our site and see that we are certified. The come to our area, they spend money here. Cabin rental is going great. Several dates reserved.
Crystal Mersh informed Donnie that the 1982 Foundation would be working on the ball fields in October.
Thursday Night ”Work Meetings” will continue to be held on Thursday prior to the Calhoun County Commission Meeting.
Shelia Burch, Director of Little Kanawha Area Development Corp spoke with Regards to Amendment 2. She informed the Commission that she had spoken to John Adler, president of the commission association receiving the advice that small counties should stick together because of the property tax modernization, they’re going to do away with personal property tax, and they’ll redesign it. She ask the commissioners to stay very involved in the decision making process. The legislature really wants to hear from you. County commissions are going to be crucial, because we stand to lose several hundred thousand and small business are going to be impacted greatly.
Mrs. Burch advised the Commissioners of The zoom prospector , a List properties and data as it pertains to Calhoun County, has announced that according to their web statistics, business investors looking at West Virginia for business has made Calhoun the 10th most popular in hits for their site.
In an unrelated matter, in her position as a board member for the Mt. Zion PSD Mrs. Burch also updated the Commission on the decision of Mt. Zion and Pleasant Hill Public service districts to merge. They are currently looking at their infrastructure. Matt Walker complimented Shelia and Eric Lupardas on the small business and chamber of commerce being established.
Other matters of county business taken care of was the approval of poll workers, the approval of an FRN request for $5,000 to help them out with public assistance, Lk transit requesting funding that could be used for match was tabled until more information is made available, Jeff Starcher was appointed to the Civil Service Board, and on a final note Robin Hughes brought it to the attention of the Calhoun County Commission that a UTV side by side purchased by the office of Emergency Services two years ago from her had been discovered as still in her name at the WVDMV. The Commissioners said that they would alert OES.
