Ambulance tussle dominates QC

Mike Ellis – Questions about the ambulance service in eastern Carroll County livened up an otherwise uneventful Quorum Court meeting Monday evening. During public comments, Green Forest Fire Chief Tim Howard took issue with the service provided by Ozark EMS. “We’re going backwards instead of forwards,” he said. “We’ve gone back twenty years.” Howard said the fire department had to loan a cervical collar to an ambulance responding to a recent accident.

Leon Cheatham, owner of Ozark EMS, said he had not heard about that incident, but noted that his ambulances passed state inspection last week. He said the company brought in two more ambulances last week, for a total of four paramedic trucks and one for transfers. He also passed out copies of reports showing Ozark’s response times. The state requires that a vehicle leave the station within two minutes after an emergency call, and Ozark averages 72 seconds. He also said the time en route to a call averaged less than 10 minutes, although it would take considerably longer to reach some parts of southern Carroll County.

Green Forest Mayor Charlie Reece has worked with a committee to make recommendations about the long-range future of ambulance service in the eastern half of the county. He said the committee will meet for the final time on May 26, and will then forward its recommendations to the quorum court. Reece said that information would include submissions from several ambulance providers.

In his comments at the close of the meeting, County Judge Sam Barr took issue with Howard’s statement. “We’re in better shape than we’ve ever been, with four vehicles instead of three,” he said. “I feel like we’re going in the right direction.”

In other business:

• Sam Ward was approved for another term on the West Carroll County Ambulance District. Justice of the Peace Jack Deaton said, “He’s done a great job, and he’s agreed to come back.”
• The JPs approved $250,000 for radio upgrades at central dispatch.
• A public hearing is set for 1 p.m. on Friday, May 20, concerning the Tyson Foods expansion in Green Forest, which will receive a tax abatement from the county.
• The county is seeking bids to resurface Mundell Road, although Barr said the Road Department may not have enough funds to complete the entire length of the road.
• In a look ahead, JP Larry Swofford said the quorum court will soon consider an ordinance about unsanitary conditions, but he thought the ordinance “was walking a dangerous close line to county planning.” Swofford said he agreed with the provisions regarding sanitary issues, especially when they affect neighboring property, but provisions concerning disabled vehicles went too far for him. “I’m just letting you know how I feel,” he said.
• JP Chuck Olsen said the densely-populated Grassy Knob area would welcome some of these restrictions, and Swofford said he had no problem with a subordinate service district passing its own restrictions, but balked at passing regulations that would affect the entire county.