‘Burnout’ Affecting Local EMS
Glasscock County Judge Wilburn Bednar said the county faces a problem with ‘burnout’ among its Emergency Medical Service volunteers. Bednar’s remarks came at the Feb. 10 meeting of the county’s commissioners’ court. He suggested that the county pay $50 for each ambulance run to each EMS person who makes the run. He said, “For whatever reasons, the same few people make almost all the emergency runs,” and are consequently getting burned out. He said some compensation might help the problem. He added that the compensation would not jeopardize the volunteers’ protection from liability afforded by the Good Samaritan Act.
Currently, the county does not pay volunteers at all, and they have not asked to b e paid. The county pays for training and provides the funding for equipment and operations for EMS and volunteer fire departments. Also, the county provides an annual appreciation dinner for volunteers.
Pay Per Run Would be Token Gesture
Commissioner Mark Halfmann said there were three EMS runs in one day in early January. The court discussed the time EMS volunteers must spend getting and keeping certification, and County Treasurer Alan Dierschke said efforts to bring new people into the program haven’t been successful. The commissioners agreed that $50 per person per run would not be adequate compensation, nor would it be enough to bring new people on board, but they said it would be a token of the county’s appreciation.
The court took no official action in the matter, but agreed that Bednar would check further into the Good Samaritan Act and would determine how much other area counties are paying their volunteers. Halfmann said, “We have an excellent bunch [of EMS volunteers] now and we sure want to keep them.”
County to Acquire Town Lots
The county court voted to purchase three town lots from Tony Ramirez for $1,000 each and to condemn and take over three adjacent ones. The county will pay past due school taxes on the three lots it is condemning. After these actions, the county will own all the lots that touch Gold Street immediately east of the post office in the block just south of Highway 158. Bednar said he estimates that the process will cost $1,500 in attorney’s fees and approximately $300 for school taxes.
The court discussed plumbing problems in the building that houses the sheriff’s department, jail and the deputy’s apartment. Bednar said there is lots of “chat” (a fine, caliche-type rock) in the water lines, clogging fixtures and damaging valves. Apparently, Bednar said, the material got into the lines during the community centers’ construction when some water lines had to be lowered. Halfmann said in-line filters in the jail had been by-passed at some point in the past, adding to the problem. Deputy Keith Barnett reported that Quality Plumbing in Big Spring estimated a cost of $2,800 (labor only) to replace all 26 valves. Commissioners asked Barnett to get another repair estimate.
Precinct Four Polling Place Changes
The court voted to change the polling place for Precinct Four from the Methodist Church to the Senior Citizens’ Building to provide more room. Bednar said an entrance to the seniors’ building would first have to be made handicapped accessible.
After a closed session to discuss personnel matters, Bednar said a retired county employee who comes back to work for the county and works more than 900 hours per year must temporarily forego his/her retirement income and must pay into the retirement system again.
The court declined to set a rule that county employees not be allowed to drive or pull vehicles belonging to others, but said the practice should be avoided whenever possible. This was after the county agreed to pay for repair to a privately owned trailer that was damaged while being pulled by Glasscock County Ag Agent Steve Sturtz.
County in Market for Used Water Truck
The court also voted to advertise for bids for a used water truck for Precinct Three. Commissioner Hugh Schafer said the cost would probably be somewhere between $26,000 and $40,000.
Dierschke reported that the third bond payment ($126,000) for the community center would be due in March. He said the county’s cash reserves are now at $244,000.
He also reported that the county historical committee (Helen Wilkerson, Mary Jo Cope and Dierschke) had met with Brenda Edwards of TexStone quarry regarding stone for a historical and veterans’ monument to be located on the corner near the old jail. He said the group would meet this week with a stonemason.
Commissioners voted to adopt a resolution that English be the official language of government in the U.S.A.
Commissioner Michael Hoch said given the budget crunch facing the state, it is unlikely that funding will soon be available for courthouse restoration, and said the county needs to move forward with a new courthouse roof. He asked Dierschke to get an estimate from Kirby Hartman.