Long Overdue Ambulance Arrives In Frederiksted – Part Time
Sure It's Better Than No Ambulance At All, But Why Can't It Be There Full Time?
There’s finally an ambulance in Frederiksted – some of the time.
From 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday and from 8 p.m. to 8 a.m. over the weekend, an ambulance will be available for residents of the West End.
Its arrival came on the heels of a very visible death – a death many believe could have been avoided had medical service been more readily available. But the need has been there for months; and as many have told us in the past few days, any death that occurs from lack of readily available care is a death too many. And lest we forget, at last report, the urgently needed Frederiksted clinic isn’t scheduled to be reopened until early 2011.
The ambulance arrived amid many announcements and fanfare, and it leaves us wondering.
Are we supposed to be grateful?
Why isn’t the ambulance available 24/7? What value does it serve to return the ambulance to the Juan Luis Hospital during the “off” hours? If there is not a sufficient number of trained Emergency Medical Technicians available to man the ambulance, why not? What could possibly be a more important public service than an appropriate number of adequately trained emergency medical personnel?
And if the excuse is “budgetary restrictions” we’ve got a suggestion – fire some of those 60 and 70 thousand dollar “assistants to the special project assistants” you’ve stacked in these government agencies and train and hire some truly “essential” personnel.
Now, before the chorus starts, of course having an ambulance, even part time, is better than having no ambulance at all. But that is not the point.
This is the latest in a series of incidents that encourages us to be grateful for services and other governmental obligations that we are entitled to as residents of the Territory.
In the instant case, there should not be “gratitude” for adequate medical and other basic public safety services.
There should not be “gratitude” for retroactive pay – which pay has been earned, in some cases many years ago, and should not only be paid, but should be paid with interest.
Retirees should not be “grateful” that the Legislature has sent a bill up to the Governor that , if passed, will allow them to start collecting their pensions when they retire, and not after they pay an unverified total to the Government Employee Retirement System that retirees first became aware of when they chose to retire. That any retirees were required to pay these “surprise” amounts after years of government service and prior to receiving their annuity is an issue that deserves serious investigation.
The point is we’ve been subjected to substandard government service for so long that when we finally start to approach a baseline level of service, somehow we’re supposed to be grateful for it.
At least that’s what they want us to believe.
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All we are doing with ALL the money we are borrowing is making payroll. Huge salaries.
Gottlieb and Dawson were on the air waves yesterday saying ‘we all have to work together’. Translation is, we the people have to pay and pay and pay with reduced services to allow the government NOT to cut back at all on employees and on their benefits and on spending extravagantly. And they are still hiring more employees…with the explanation of ‘limited hiring freeze’ in effect. I am still seeing government vehicles being driven during non-working hours in addition to a lack luster efficiency in our government offices. Coming in late to work, poor customer service skills, extended lunch breaks, you name it. Can’t we lay off those who do not work?
When is enough enough? Now we will be getting two property tax bills this year with 1998 assessments. Great for STJ, bad news for STT and STX residents. No deductions allowed for seniors since the bill was passed in the 27th legislature. Shame on the legislature for allowing the tax bills to go out at 1998 rates void of a break for seniors and additional deductions for veterans.
So far in the last 6 month’s we have borrowed $250 million and will borrow another $50 million against tax revenues, and yet another $100 million is being proposed to the senate for approval.
All adding to our debt our children will be accountable for. What happens when THAT money runs out? We need to make the tough decisions NOW and stop the madness of borrowing to make a bloated payroll.
I want to hear those candidates who are running for governor give me the hard solutions to stop the madness.
You’re so right MMC! There should be a fully equipped emergency room open day and night in Frederiksted.
What is this about no veterans or senior deductions on the property tax bills? Are you sure?
it will be deductions for veterans and seniors.
No, there will not be, at least not at the levels passed in 2008. NONE for seniors and a minimum for veteran’s.
The additional Veteran’s deductions and Senior deductions along with
Homestead deduction was passed in the 27th legislature. With all the deductions allowed, some would only have had to pay the minimum of $300.00 for yearly property taxes.
Since the 2006 and 2007 property taxes are going out at the 1998 rate, none of the additional deductions will be allowed.
Confirmed by Gottlieb, Dawson and Williams on ‘Let’s Talk’ on Wednesday.
I don’t think the general public knows what our dear senator’s did to us veteran’s and senior’s when they passed the bill. I also confirmed this fact with a number of senate offices.
So if you did pay your nominal fees at the lower rates, get ready to dig deeper into your wallets to keep paying those government employees and their spending sprees with cut services for all the rest of us.
They say you got to be in it to win it,even if you in it you still don’t win it cause they spend it.Remember de other one use to say “SHOW ME THE MONEY”!
Finally Frederiksted. Thank God