Editor, Times-Union: We at South Central EMS in Silver Lake have been asked to write a letter to let everyone know who we are and how we operate. There has been some talk and publication on our service.
We are a total volunteer service. We do not personally get paid a penny for our services that we offer. We are a group of 26 members with 10-15 active here at South Central. We have nine active EMTs and 12 active drivers (some of us do both) that are trying to keep this service covered 24 hours a day, 365 days a week. Some of our members do not even see their home but one to two nights a week. We give our time and own money to support this service. We just last week painted the inside of our building, due to rumors that our building was a mess. This paint and supplies were paid for by a few of the members, not the service. A new TV was donated by a member also. Which shows how dedicated we are to our service. We are also trying to get out from under the deal when the officers stole money and equipment from our service, which we have never received back yet.
We receive $1,500 from Clay Township, $2,000 from Lake Township, $2,000 from the town of Silver Lake and $500 from the Claypool Lions Club annually. We heard that one township has dropped our support due to rumors. The rest of our money is from run payments, fund-raisers and donations. We also pay all of our own bills, which average $2,000 monthly. These bills consist of utilities, insurance, workman's comp, ambulance payment, supplies, equipment and ambulance repair and upkeep.
We serve the areas from CR 400S to the Kosciusko County line (south), and from Packerton Road to CR 750W and including 11 small lakes. This includes, Clay, part of Seward and Lake townships. We serve the communities of Silver Lake, part of Beaver Dam, Yellow Creek, Claypool, and assist other agencies when they require assistance.
We purchased new uniform shirts for our volunteers just recently, to try to look more professional.
We all pay for our own training, which costs approximately $450 for EMT class. We have our own training officers and teach EMT classes at the base. We will be starting a new one Aug. 30 to try to get more EMTs to cover this service. We are saving money from fund-raisers to buy a new cot, which costs $3,500.
Even though we do not get much money from the area, we enjoy our work by helping others that are in need. We will continue to give up our time to help you when you need us. You never know when you or your family will need an ambulance. If we were not here, the closest ambulance is about 20 minutes away, if they have one available. We are also assisted by paramedics from LifeMed and Multi-Township.
Members of South Central Kosciusko EMS
Virginia Stephens, president
Silver Lake
Now Scoff
Editor, Times-Union: Reply to Matt Perry - Times-Union Aug. 4
Wow! You really put me in my place! I've never been so chastened! Your exemplary verbiage, cutting remarks and character assassination have truly humbled me - I am contrite!
I will no longer "shoot my mouth off." I will wait until November when my president, George W. Bush, is re-elected. Then I will happily listen to all you pinko liberal pukes cry, sob, complain, whine, groan and moan about your miserable lives because you live in a Republic!
Matt, if things become too unbearable, feel free to leave with Moore and Robbins! You all fit - Huey, Dewey and Louie!
Now scoff! Bush-Cheney 2004 Don Guard Warsaw Stolen Stuff Editor, Times-Union: A few weeks ago, someone went into my van, which was unlocked, and took my collection of CDs I had and a few other items. I called the police to file a report and thought I would just have to replace the things that were stolen. I was pretty upset. Today, a wonderful policeman called me to say they found my CDs! I could not believe it! There were worse things that could have happened other than my CDs being stolen, but I had a lot of Christian music and all of my kids Sunday school songs cds in there too. I just want to say to both police officers, thank you! And also to whoever turned them in/found them, thank you so much! And to the person who stole them, Thank you also, because once you realized you didn't want them, you could have destroyed them but you didn't. I appreciate that a lot!
Tara Crater Warsaw, via e-mail
Fire Department Says Thanks
Editor, Times-Union: On Aug. 2, the Warsaw Fire Department responded to a house fire on Rozella Road. The heat and humidity played a factor in the firefighters' stamina and well-being. The community and area fire departments responded in full force to provide assistance and manpower. We would like to thank everyone who provided water, ice, drinks, food and assistance on scene.
