Are selectmen in Frankfort trying to stop EMS?

Rumor has it (actually, no longer a rumor, heard it direct from the selectmen) that the town "officials" (I use that word loosely) are trying to shut down West Frankfort Rescue because they feel the "little service" (selectman Alan Gordon's exact words) is not needed. That "little service" has served the town faithfully since 2004. According to their director, they responded to 8 EMS calls by the 15th of this month. Not bad for a "little service" that is not needed. What are the slectmen thinking. They stated that cutting the service won't save tax payers any money. The $5000 budget requested by the service is a drop in the bucket compared to the total budget. The selectmen themselves have asked for almost that much in their raises. And, the town ACO (who, incidentally, also happens to be a town selectman) has asked for an additional $2000. There is the money need to fund the EMS right there. So, to save a few lives, maybe the selectmen need to tighten their belts a little and put personal vendettas aside.

The scuttlebut on this one is that Winterport Ambulance has been trying to shut down the service for about a year anyway. Looks like they might get their way. Too bad, with people's health deteriorating, economy crashing, and prices rising, EMS is needed more than a dog catcher, thats for sure.

I guess they succeeded. No more West Frankfort Rescue, now its just Winterport Ambulance and their 20+ minute response time. I sure hope I never need them.

The town selectmen did not shut down the West Frankfort Rescue. It was the townspeople who voted at town meeting to take no action on the article who did!

Just today it took Winterport 25 minutes to respond with an ambulance in their own town, on Main st.
Anyone in Frankfort having a heart attack or stroke or in a serious accident will be out of luck it looks like.
The people who voted to do away with EMS in Frankfort might as well have signed their own death warrant.

If you look into the town's people, you will discover that more than half who attend these meetings and vote on these matters, are people that we tax payers support.

The fitness of the firefighters in the Frankfort fire department is absolutely questionable just by observing their blatant obesity.

On paper and in numbers these matters seem reasonable to a mere reader but to fully comprehend the impact this ongoing issue has on the town, one must see the people in the battle and on the job.

The fight seems to be more about self importance and ego than about the town's people as a whole.

While all the "money" and favoring seems to go to the Frankfort Fire dept. those on the West Frankfort Fire dept. are far better equipped and in far better fitness to actually handle emergency situations. This can be evidenced simply by looking at the two teams.

And there is a rumor that a few of Frankfort Fire dept's finest are on disability!

I question the actual absurdity in certifying some of these people and I think that something serious needs to be done on a state level.

Those on a local level are just neighbors and friends in the town and pander to the uneducated, Hillbilly mentality that exemplifies Frankfort. And in doing so fatten their own paychecks!

Now they have voted out having any EMT's or paramedics and decided to rely on Winterport's EMT's which is ludicrous! All I can say is I hope no one dies while waiting the fifteen to twenty minutes for Winterport to respond.

The old adage that you cannot argue with ignorance epitomizes the pathetic situation in Frankfort Maine. It's not the Hatfield's and McCoy's feud being revisited, it's the fit and educated being outnumbered by the bird brained, corrupt and out of shape.

Something sure smells fishy in Frankfort!

Hope No one needs EMS wrote:

Just today it took Winterport 25 minutes to respond with an ambulance in their own town, on Main st.
Anyone in Frankfort having a heart attack or stroke or in a serious accident will be out of luck it looks like.
The people who voted to do away with EMS in Frankfort might as well have signed their own death warrant.

To clarify with facts the erroneous statement about the ambulance service response time to a call on Main Street on 3/28, the call times are as follows:
Call received at 12:30pm
Ambulance enroute 12:38
Off at scene 12:40
Ambulance enroute to hospital 12:53
Ambulance off at hospital at 13:14
The overstated time frame is misinformation that serves no good purpose. The above times can be verified by checking with Waldo County Regional Communication System. Thomas A. Doe,Pres. Winterport Fire and Rescue Association.

Fishy smell in Frankfort wrote:

If you look into the town's people, you will discover that more than half who attend these meetings and vote on these matters, are people that we tax payers support.
The fitness of the firefighters in the Frankfort fire department is absolutely questionable just by observing their blatant obesity.
On paper and in numbers these matters seem reasonable to a mere reader but to fully comprehend the impact this ongoing issue has on the town, one must see the people in the battle and on the job.
The fight seems to be more about self importance and ego than about the town's people as a whole.
While all the "money" and favoring seems to go to the Frankfort Fire dept. those on the West Frankfort Fire dept. are far better equipped and in far better fitness to actually handle emergency situations. This can be evidenced simply by looking at the two teams.
And there is a rumor that a few of Frankfort Fire dept's finest are on disability!
I question the actual absurdity in certifying some of these people and I think that something serious needs to be done on a state level.
Those on a local level are just neighbors and friends in the town and pander to the uneducated, Hillbilly mentality that exemplifies Frankfort. And in doing so fatten their own paychecks!
Now they have voted out having any EMT's or paramedics and decided to rely on Winterport's EMT's which is ludicrous! All I can say is I hope no one dies while waiting the fifteen to twenty minutes for Winterport to respond.
The old adage that you cannot argue with ignorance epitomizes the pathetic situation in Frankfort Maine. It's not the Hatfield's and McCoy's feud being revisited, it's the fit and educated being outnumbered by the bird brained, corrupt and out of shape.
Something sure smells fishy in Frankfort!

To whoever wrote this u might better get your facts straight before running those gums and start down grading other people. I would have to say somebody is educated and to get two of the biggest grants in one year, and as far as Winterport Ambulance they do an excellent job. People want to remember where West Frankfort Rescue or whatever they are going to call themselves this week got their certifications.

From the time the call was received, to the time the ambulance left for the Hospital, was 23 minutes.
This on a Main st call in your town. And then another 21 minutes to get to the hospital makes a total of 44 minutes, if my math serves me correctly.
The response time was good, but if responding to a call in Frankfort, which is now your duty, that time would and/or could double or even triple.
Life saving minutes not necessary to lose for any reason when someone closer could get to the scene much faster with a paramedic.
This is a concern to many of us who place our own lives and the lives of those we love in the forefront.
Thank you for making it even clearer that Frankfort NEEDS it's own EMS team.

lol wrote:

<quoted text>To whoever wrote this u might better get your facts straight before running those gums and start down grading other people. I would have to say somebody is educated and to get two of the biggest grants in one year, and as far as Winterport Ambulance they do an excellent job. People want to remember where West Frankfort Rescue or whatever they are going to call themselves this week got their certifications.

LOL Indeed! It's not "whoever" it is whomever. You are proving my points very eloquently just by how you write.

lol wrote:

<quoted text>People want to remember where West Frankfort Rescue or whatever they are going to call themselves this week got their certifications.

Once again the education level question comes in. I am sure they got their certifications the same place any state licensed EMT gets it, by taking a state approved course, passing a National Registry exam, and then paying the license fee to the state. Otherwise, the state would not have licensed their service. But, backwoods, backwards thinking never responds to logic, so why am I wasting my time typing?
On a note about the Winterport Ambulance call, I have a scanner and that was the second 20+ minute call in their own town. Glad I don't live in Frankfort.

Fishy smell in Frankfort wrote:

If you look into the town's people, you will discover that more than half who attend these meetings and vote on these matters, are people that we tax payers support.
The fitness of the firefighters in the Frankfort fire department is absolutely questionable just by observing their blatant obesity.
On paper and in numbers these matters seem reasonable to a mere reader but to fully comprehend the impact this ongoing issue has on the town, one must see the people in the battle and on the job.
The fight seems to be more about self importance and ego than about the town's people as a whole.
While all the "money" and favoring seems to go to the Frankfort Fire dept. those on the West Frankfort Fire dept. are far better equipped and in far better fitness to actually handle emergency situations. This can be evidenced simply by looking at the two teams.
And there is a rumor that a few of Frankfort Fire dept's finest are on disability!
I question the actual absurdity in certifying some of these people and I think that something serious needs to be done on a state level.
Those on a local level are just neighbors and friends in the town and pander to the uneducated, Hillbilly mentality that exemplifies Frankfort. And in doing so fatten their own paychecks!
Now they have voted out having any EMT's or paramedics and decided to rely on Winterport's EMT's which is ludicrous! All I can say is I hope no one dies while waiting the fifteen to twenty minutes for Winterport to respond.
The old adage that you cannot argue with ignorance epitomizes the pathetic situation in Frankfort Maine. It's not the Hatfield's and McCoy's feud being revisited, it's the fit and educated being outnumbered by the bird brained, corrupt and out of shape.
Something sure smells fishy in Frankfort!

Actually, Fishy, I just heard another rumor coming out of that town. Someone who was reading over my shoulder told me that they spoke with the Fire Chief of the Frankfort Fire Department and he said now that West Frankfort was gone he has already got a deal to get an ambulance and run it out of his station. He claims he has some EMTs already (probably the same ones you refer to in your post.) And, I'll tell you, uneducated, Hillbilly EMTs don't sound like the best situation.

There's the problem... More rumors!!! Get your facts straight before you post stuff online. If you don't live in Frankfort, why the Hell do you care?

WINTERPORT AMBULANCE wrote:

<quoted text>
To clarify with facts the erroneous statement about the ambulance service response time to a call on Main Street on 3/28, the call times are as follows:
Call received at 12:30pm
Ambulance enroute 12:38
Off at scene 12:40
Ambulance enroute to hospital 12:53
Ambulance off at hospital at 13:14
The overstated time frame is misinformation that serves no good purpose. The above times can be verified by checking with Waldo County Regional Communication System. Thomas A. Doe,Pres. Winterport Fire and Rescue Association.

Sorry, Mr. Doe, I don't know you, but if you are associated with that ambulance up there you have lost all credibility. My mother lives in Frankfort and I refuse to call Winterport Ambulance for her if she needs it, I'll drive her myself or find some other way. That snake you have at your helm has poisoned your service, and what I saw him do with another family member made me want to punch his lights out. But, as far as the times, I would hope you could achieve that in your own town. Where I live we are also served by a service from another town and that is about what they can get to us in (not their own town.)

I wish these poison pen people would own up to their writings and be a man or woman about their thoughts and untruthful writings and sign their names come on how about it

still no names what are you afraid of you can spout leis but no backing these up....

lies that is

Adrian Stone, what are you doing?!!

No More Lies wrote:

The town selectmen did not shut down the West Frankfort Rescue. It was the townspeople who voted at town meeting to take no action on the article who did!

This quote is correct. The people spoke at town meeting and voted to pass over and take no action on the article to recognize, and fund, the service. As of Friday night, March 27th, the West Frankfort Rescue service no longer services the town of Frankfort. We leave the town, once again, in the able hands of Winterport Ambulance. Thank you to those who supported us along the way.
Sincerely,
Adrian Stone (I am signing this so there are no questions)
Service Director
West Frankfort Rescue

P.S. As to the question, "what am I doing?", I am relaxing and enjoying too-often missed time with my family, that this decision has afforded me the time to do now.

Oh, a mystery solved. I wondered why all these people from other towns, so far away, had such issues. Now I see it must be where the server, service, or phone lines are routed through. (Yeah, I guess I am a Hillbilly EMT.)