By Genine Hopkins
After attending the last Clare County Board of Commissioner Special Meeting on 9-1-1 Rescue earlier this month, Winterfield Township Supervisor Dave Bondie is seeking to begin a conversation with Osceola County’s Director of EMS, Steve Young, to determine if there are any options available to the township for better response times for emergency services.
“I remember we (Winterfield Township) were once serviced by Marion EMS,” Bondie said, “After the Special Meeting at the County Building and the Fire Meeting I attended, I feel as though our best option would be to see if we can rebuild that partnership again.”
While MMR has worked hard to become more transparent in reporting response times for the entire county, the last Special Meeting ended up with no real recourse for outlying areas within Clare County, bringing déjà vu to many in attendance. County Commissioner David Hoefling, who has been a champion to area residents in supporting transparency from MMR and has also expressed real concern for his constituents who may need more rapid response times, said his father and several others in attendance, felt like they had been swept away in a time machine back to the reason why United Rescue was created in the first place: because long response times were the norm for the areas to the north, northeast, and northwest of Harrison.
“While I have a vague memory of that time, for the most part, I can see that there is no easy solution in making sure residents in my areas will receive the best care with the quickest response necessary should they be in an emergency situation. We tried suggesting seeking a millage to make sure an MMR ambulance was located in these areas but the logistics and cost would be prohibitive. So we are back to square one,” Hoefling stated.
The relationship between Marion Rescue and Winterfield Township came to an end when Marion Rescue requested a millage or help funding the ambulance in Marion. Bondie will seek to find out exactly where the relationship deteriorated and what can be done to mend it.
