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About The nugget. (Sisters, Or.) 1994-current | View Entire Issue (May 5, 2021)
Wednesday, May 5, 2021 The Nugget Newspaper, Sisters, Oregon LETTERS Continued from page 19 " Pay the Sisters Fire District $77,000 per year in management fees. " Place a Sisters Fire ambulance in the Cloverdale south station, but Cloverdale is already in the Sisters Fire Ambulance Service Area (ASA), and Sisters is already responsible for providing ambulance service. Over the past three years, the Sisters ambulance responded to an average of only 112 Cloverdale medical calls per year (one every three days). " Split the Cloverdale training officer9s time between the two districts. " Create a significant increase in taxes and raise an additional $2,861,260 over five years, with only a marginal, if any, improvement in service. This levy would not: " Guarantee better or faster service, espe- cially in the areas of the District north of Hwy. 126, where the response time from Sisters is essentially the same as it would be from the south Cloverdale station. " Have the support from many of the Cloverdale Volunteers and could result in a drop in volunteer participation. " Guarantee a reduction in fire-insurance rates. Matt Cyrus s s s To the Editor: I have eight years of experience with the Cloverdale Fire District, moving up through the ranks. Last week I submitted a letter in which I told of a couple of concerns I have about the proposed Cloverdale Fire District levy. Those being a lack of a signed condi- tional contract and lack of volunteer support. A couple of more thoughts have come up. According to one proponent letter writer, the Cloverdale Board of Directors has been studying this problem for the last two years. Why haven9t we, the public, heard about this problem before now? Why haven9t there been any articles in The Nugget, or on KTVZ or KOHD explaining this dire need of the fire district, prior to the levy announcement a few weeks ago? I have seen numerous articles on these news outlets describing how the fire district supplied equipment and personnel to all of the surrounding fire agencies during fires in their districts. I also read where we sent engines and crews out to the big fires last fall near Klamath and Santiam. Somehow our district has been able to do this at any hour of the day or night. At Chief Olsen9s suggestion I contacted my insurance agent (Farmers). If the district9s insurance rating improves to a 3 as has been suggested (pure speculation at this point), my insurance rate may drop $78 per year, versus a $320 annual tax increase. The District has stated that they are run- ning about one call per day. How many of these are medical calls where an ambulance actually transports patients to a hospital (as opposed to smoke investigations, illegal burns, mutual aid calls, etc.)? According to Sisters Fire Chief Roger Johnson there were 74 ambulance transports from the Cloverdale Fire District last year. Clinton Weaver s s s To the Editor: Words have meaning. Words have power. Words have consequences. Their use or mis- use reveal ignorance of either language or the subject being addressed. As a possible example I cite a sentence from last week9s Nugget. In an article titled <Voters to decide on fire district bond,= (The Nugget, April 28, page 3). Cloverdale Fire Chief Thad Olsen is para- phrased as having noted that fire fighters and paramedics have literally hundreds of certifi- cations requiring hours of education and train- ing to pursue... Use of the word <noted= implies to me that what follows is an accepted fact. Use of the word <literally= informs the reader that the statement is not mere hyperbole but to be taken at face value. Finally, use of the plural, <hundreds= tells us that there are at least 200 such required certifications. Really? Seems like an awful lot to me espe- cially when combined with the refresher/cur- rency training many of these likely require. Perhaps it9s true, but exaggeration is an easy line to cross and very tempting when trying to persuade others to one9s point of view. Those in positions of public trust should be ever mindful of this, especially under circum- stances where they are likely to be quoted or are speaking in a public forum. Ross Flavel s s s To the Editor: In looking at the objections to the Cloverdale Fire Levy, there seem to be two main themes: One is the increased taxes 4 which I think we can all appreciate. The other is the objection to the cooperation with Sisters- Camp Sherman Fire District. This position is inaccurate to my mind. What the opposition does not consistently mention is that Cloverdale will receive staff- ing by Sisters paid personnel. This results in Cloverdale staffing HALF of the total paid shift personnel across the two departments the majority of hours. Sisters residents will also benefit, along with Cloverdale, from having an increased total personnel count and an addi- tional staffed ambulance ready to respond to any secondary calls. This becomes one of those rare win-win scenarios where the whole is greater than the sum of the parts. The contract arrangement also consolidates common expenses for significant cost savings for both departments. This is an approach that has been successfully employed by other dis- tricts across the state and across the country. The increased fire tax rate puts Cloverdale nearly equal with Sisters residents9 tax rate. If Cloverdale were to independently add staff- ing and ambulance service equivalent to the proposed operations, the cost would be far, far greater than the cost of this levy. I understand some people do not want the old ways to change. I feel the same about many things. However, I do not believe that life and property-saving services are a place to object to progress. When it comes to the benefit received by the taxpayers and recipi- ents of our emergency services, I believe the Cloverdale Fire Levy provides good value. Alan Smoke Cloverdale Volunteer/EMT 21 DAVIS TIRE Ou r family can take care of your family of autos & trailers Brakes • Axles • Ball Joints • Suspension • Shocks • Struts TIRE INSTALLATION, ALIGNMENT, REPAIR, BALANCING, ROTATION Serving Se Ser S er e r vin vi in g S Sisters i ist stt ers e s Si S Since i nce in nce 1962 19 9 62 6 2 Sisters S Sis ter s Indu I Industrial n str ndu s r ial i al l Pa ia P Park a rk r k 188 W. Sisters Park Dr. 541-549-1026 Get health insurance.. COVID-19 special enrollment period is now Individual & Family Health Plans Jonie Peck — Owner & Agent 503-807-2148 sapphiremoonhealthinsurance.com SAPPHIRE MOON HEALTH INSURANCE The Law Offi ce of JOHN H. MYERS, LLC — Downtown Sisters — WILLS & TRUSTS Make it easy for you and your loved ones. Call for a free 30-minute consultation. SPRING CLEANING? 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