State probes response times

Word wrote:

Jason Bartlett is the highest ranking Black homosexual elected official in America. One of those three distinctions needs to be erased by the voters of Bethel this fall. The other two distinctions are personal issues that should have never been promoted by Mr. Bartlett were it not for his need for publicity at all costs. Bethel needs a representative not a lightning rod.

This story has NOTHING to do with Mr. Bartletts being black or homosexual. It's about poor EMS response times. Thank you Mr. Bartlett for co-sponsor this very vital and helpful bill. It's just to bad that a few nasty, hateful Bethel Republicans are starting to ring in there 2008 campaign tactic already.

I think the response times are terrible. I waited on New Milford's high school football field with a player who suffered a neck injury for 45 mins and the first responder that showed up was a Paramedic from Waterbury!!! The volunteers showed up a few mins after that.
Volunteers have to be operated by someone who knows what their doing and not the most popular person that gets the most votes. They should require education (degree) to hold the job. Plus, they either have to have two volunteers covering the ambulance AT THE STATION or hire professionals to cover the station!!!

Sherman and Waterbury are providing ambulance service to New Milford? What is up with that?

Thank God for our volunteer's!!!
But we have to know that all towns with volunteer's need help during the day time hours.
Between 6:00 a.m.- 6:00 p.m.
These hours should be covered by a paid staff. And then our volunteers at night.
I know this may put a strain on the towns with higher taxes but these services must be provided and never ever compromized.

The fact that Jason is gay, or black, or the highest elected gay black man is irrelevant. The point is the problem of timely emergency services. Property tax credits should be liberalized to attract and retain "active" volunteers, and businesses should be incented to allow employees to respond during the work day.

Green Machine wrote:

Whether Jason is Black, Gay, twisted or is a hermaphrodite is not the relevant issue.
THE RELEVANT ISSUE IS: That Bartlett again is meddling in local politics from his seat in Hartford. Why the need for this "probe" (pardon the pun)? It's because his good buddies Alice Hutchinson, former first selectman and John Menti, former BDTC chairman, habitually unemployed volunteer fireman, is looking for a town job.
Bob Burke forms a committee, and Bartlett is told from the BDTC to make an issue of it on a state level - Just like Terre Haute and the Bethel Train Station. Just like the local board and commission appointment process.
That is why the person needs to go. He is all about providing "gotcha" politics in Bethel using his elected position in the state house.
We need Melanie O'Brien to win in November to rid ourselves of this self-serving lens louse once and for all.

The "Relevant Issue" my friend is EMS response time. I would suggest that you (I know it might be hard) to re-read the story. Mr. Bartlett only co-sponsored a bill that would help reduce poor response times not only to Bethel but the entire states volunteer fire and EMS service. Mr. Bartlett HAD Nothing, zero, zip to do with this prob. I don't understand Nick, why you try to blame things on people that had nothing to do with it. Also if the person you have attacked is reading this I would suggest that you go after the writer of the above blog for making malicious statement's. So true to your form right Nicky the evil twin with the different last name!

What exactly is the state DPH going to do? Mandate response times, and the penalty will be no pay? oops, they are volunteers! Maybe the state can mandate response times or the victim can sue the volunteer? Most likely, the state will mandate paid fire/medical coverage for every town. If you think your taxes are high now...

Response times need to be mandated and the public deserves that. Volunteer and Paid EMS establishments/companies need to held accountable for there work. What if you called 911 and asked for an ambulance and the dispatcher said you may get an ambulance in a few minutes or it can take a half hour or more. New Milford approved a new EMS facility costing millions and now we find out that there is no one to cover it during the day. I am sure there were many lies and empty promises given if the new facility was approved. Its town tax dollars going into a service that does not exist. Time is essential when a person is having a stroke or heart attack. Volunteers are great but they need to put there ego aside and own up to the fact that they cant be there 24 hrs a day. There is nothing wrong with that. Most municipalities around the danbury are now staffing day time paid personnel. It works. I see it every time i go to work. A day time paid staff will take the stress off the system and possibly improve the volunteers morale by reducing there work load. It will mostly help the public calling 9-1-1 who needs the help.

street wrote:

Volunteers are great but they need to put there ego aside and own up to the fact that they cant be there 24 hrs a day.

Street. EGO? These are volunteers. They are doing a service FOR FREE. They don't put their time and money in for egos.

The real root cause is that businesses that employ volunteers are not allowing them to respond. The state should set up a compensation (maybe lower worker comp taxes or other state business taxes) to businesses that let emergency personnel time off to respond to emergencies.

Just do not give your ambulance service away to your local hospitals, Danbury or New Milford. Hire people from your towns to run the service. KEEP DANBUURY HOSPITAL OUT OF THE AMBULANCE BUSINESS!!

Facts only wrote:

<quoted text>
The "Relevant Issue" my friend is EMS response time. I would suggest that you (I know it might be hard) to re-read the story. Mr. Bartlett only co-sponsored a bill that would help reduce poor response times not only to Bethel but the entire states volunteer fire and EMS service. Mr. Bartlett HAD Nothing, zero, zip to do with this prob. I don't understand Nick, why you try to blame things on people that had nothing to do with it. Also if the person you have attacked is reading this I would suggest that you go after the writer of the above blog for making malicious statement's. So true to your form right Nicky the evil twin with the different last name!

Norwell, MA = Menti.

Keep bashing Nick, but that aint me, clown, not even close, so why don't you stick to the facts that Bartlett's name is on this bill, as it was to lavish taxpayer monies on children of illegal aliens so they could get special preference into state colleges.

Bartlett's a hack at best. The sooner we are rid of that four-flusher, the better.

First i was a volunteer and i know how these people operate. Second they have to be doing the service to be doing it for free. Third this isn't the old days when bill the gas station man watched the store so joe the hardware man can go help people when the siren went off. Asking the state to use tax dollars to fund a "non-guaranteed response" compensation program that can and probably will be abused is not the answer. Who is going to manage and control it. You are better off hiring day time staff to cover calls. It can be offset by doing insurance billing for calls. Plus any tax dollars put into it will guarantee a response. These towns have already gave theses so called Non-payed volunteers tax abatements, pension plans, insurance, and other incentives to do there job and attract others to do it for free. And its not working. Believe me i was a volunteer and i did it for free before all these incentives came out, i left because i have to work 2 jobs, spend time with my family and have other commitments. This is not about bashing volunteers, its about doing what's right and giving the public what they need and deserve.

I am sure it was not a first responder that came from Waterbury!
New Milford has a regional paramedic who is a separate company called Campion which has it's home base is in Waterbury but the medic for the New Milford area is out of New Milford ER.

You guys should get more information before you post

"These towns have already gave theses so called Non-payed volunteers tax abatements, pension plans, insurance, and other incentives to do there job and attract others to do it for free."

Tax abatement:$80 a year off my junker's taxes...then I have to claim it as earned income!

Pension: A few hundred a month after 25 years of service which meets specific requirements.

Insurance: Really?

I don't want to sound unappreciative, but for the time and effort most volunteers put in, that barely covers the cost of fuel for 2 months. Please don't make volunteers seem as if they are well compensated for their time and effort.

I applied to volunteer at the ambulance for new milford i work 4-1am every day almost they said no there lost this wouldn't happen I passed my class test my state practical and my national test if they accept less kids going out to collage out of town and more people who live in town PERIOD

wrestlingwow3 wrote:

I applied to volunteer at the ambulance for new milford i work 4-1am every day almost they said no there lost this wouldn't happen I passed my class test my state practical and my national test if they accept less kids going out to collage out of town and more people who live in town PERIOD

Maybe they couldn't read your application!

New MIlfords problem is the lack of leadership.

Andy Armstrong has got to go!!!!!!!!

This is not a new problem for New Milford has been going on for 15-20 years now

Why doesn't everyone quit bashing and lend a hand. Get up off your Buttocks and volunteer then see if it is such a great deal for those that help.

Thank you to all that help and freely give their time.

I have to agree with "Citizen" in Cheshire. Get the facts before you write. Keep your comments on the subject and leave personalities out of it for a change. There's a long history to this subject that has gone back not years but decades. It's just now that it's finally being picked up and reported as it should have been years ago. Mr. Menti has been accused for years of trying to create a job for himself over fire & ems issues. This is a blantant lie period. I've known Mr. Menti for over 20 years and in that time he's never been without a job and not once did I ever witness him attempt to "undermine" our volunteer system to do so. Besides do you really think he'd be hired by the Republicans?

Green Machine wrote:

Whether Jason is Black, Gay, twisted or is a hermaphrodite is not the relevant issue.
THE RELEVANT ISSUE IS: That Bartlett again is meddling in local politics from his seat in Hartford. Why the need for this "probe" (pardon the pun)? It's because his good buddies Alice Hutchinson, former first selectman and John Menti, former BDTC chairman, habitually unemployed volunteer fireman, is looking for a town job.
Bob Burke forms a committee, and Bartlett is told from the BDTC to make an issue of it on a state level - Just like Terre Haute and the Bethel Train Station. Just like the local board and commission appointment process.
That is why the person needs to go. He is all about providing "gotcha" politics in Bethel using his elected position in the state house.
We need Melanie O'Brien to win in November to rid ourselves of this self-serving lens louse once and for all.