Edgecombe County Emergency Services leaders informed the Tarboro Kiwanis Club Tuesday night of the progress the county's paramedic and emergency services have made in the past year.
Edgecombe County Emergency Services Director Butch Beach and county Emergency Services Coordinator Mark Walters spoke to the changes the county's emergency services have undergone within the past year.
Walters said that it is "all about to change" within the next year.
The process started in July, he explained, when Edgecombe County Rescue Squad took over paramedic and transport services for the southern part of the county from Pinetops Rescue Squad.
Walters said there is now a rescue vehicle stationed at Pinetops "24/7" to respond to emergency calls. And beginning Thursday, bids are going to be taken for the construction of two emergency services buildings, one in Pinetops on property next to South Edgecombe Middle School and the other in Whitakers at the intersection of Speights Chapel and Seven Bridges roads.
Walters said that bids will be taken for the construction of the two facilities beginning Thursday, with an estimated cost of $1.6 million each. The construction will be funded by low-interest loans and grants from the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the N.C. Rural Center.
Eventually, Edgecombe County Rescue Squad will become the county's sole emergency services provider. The West Edgecombe Rescue Squad currently services the western part of the county, and Edgecombe County has an agreement with Nash County Rescue Squad to provide services in the northern portion of the county for the time being.
One Kiwanian asked if the Edgecombe County Rescue Squad was under the county's supervision, and Walters said they were an individual organization separate from the county, but franchised to operate emergency services within Edgecombe.
In a February 2007, emergency services study commissioned by the county to a Maryland company, the EMSSTAR report recommended that the county provide emergency services and transportation on its own.
Walters said that, however, "right now is not the time for the county to hand over" the millions of dollars needed for it to provide the service itself.
Tarboro Kiwanis Club President Ronnie Daughtry asked Walters about if fees for emergency service transportation had gone up recently. Walters said that for a rescue squad truck to pick up a residence, the base fee is $250, with $7.50 charged per mile for transportation to a medical facility.
He explained that the Edgecombe County Rescue Squad, and other emergency service franchises like it, are stand-alone entities and have to pay for the medicines themselves that are used during transport. They have to recoup the expenses for those medicines at a rate that Medicare would pay for an eligible patient, Walters added.
Beach said that with the progress that has been made in the county's emergency medical transportation services within the past 15 years is "just short of a miracle."
The progress means that people who "would've died" over the course of their transportation to a medical facility are now able to make "a full recovery," he added.
"We are making life better for a lot more people" in Edgecombe County when emergencies strike, thanks to the strides in the county's emergency services transportation, Beach said.
Local News
More changes coming
Two emergency services buildings will be built
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Fresh from raising $196,312 and ranking No. 4 nationally in per capita fundraising, Relay for Life Edgecombe County is seeking business and corporate sponsors to help in the fight against cancer.
Corporate and business sponsorship packets, which detail the levels and benefits of sponsorship, are ready to be delivered, according to Jane Gurley Harper, corporate sponsor chair. Businesses can also help by forming a team to participate in Relay and raise money in that manner. -
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PRINCEVILLE — The disconnect of water service at a commissioner's home led to a physical confrontation between the elected official and a town employee Wednesday at the town hall.
According to Commissioner Gwen Knight, interim Town Manager Maggie Boyd gave instructions to a public works employee and a police officer to cut off Knight's water because the account was delinquent in the amount of $662.77.
Knight said she went to the town hall to pay the bill as soon as she was told about her service being cut off. -
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PRINCEVILLE — A contract dispute between the Princeville town manager and the town commissioners led to his termination at the close of business Monday.
Victor Marrow was notified by Princevile Attorney Charles Watts that he had been fired.
Marrow's contract expired Feb. 1, but the town extended it six days in hope of his signing a proposed new contract. Marrow was hired in February 2010 on a two-year contract. Nine months later, he resigned, only to rescind his resignation the following morning.
Stipulations of the proposed new contract were untenable to Marrow and included the stipulation that it was to end on June 12, included a $5,000 pay cut, work in excess of 40 hours per week and write at least three grants per month, he said. -
CRIME ROUNDUP
The Tarboro Police Department responded to a call Friday and was told a victim had been stabbed. While conducting an investigation, officers were told by the victim that Perry Lee Bunn, 58, 304 Granville St., had stabbed him several times. The name of the victim was not released by police.
Officers called EMS to respond to the scene to transport the victim to the hospital so he could treated for his injuries. -
Significant deficiencies in county audit
Auditors told Edgecombe County Commissioners on Monday night that they found significant deficiencies while compiling the 2010-2011 annual audit of county finances. Still, the audit received an unqualified opinion.
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Bryant declines to seek re-election
Teresa DeLoatch Bryant announced she will not seek re-election to the District 2 seat she now holds on the Edgecombe County Public Schools Board. The announcement came 91 days before the May 8 Primary Election and nearly a year after the first-term plus one year board member announced her resignation for personal and career reasons. She later rescinded her decision.
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W.A. Patillo receives $5,000 poetry grant
W.A. Pattillo School has been awarded $5,000 from the North Carolina Arts Council for Poetry in the Classroom with Mimi Herman.
The funds will be used to provide a week of poetry writing experiences for seven fourth grade classes through the expertise and creativity of Herman. Students will gain self-confidence, and will view themselves as writers rather than merely consumers of literature. They will learn to use language effectively and creatively to communicate thoughts, feeling, and impressions. -
Pizza Bowl
The biggest football game of the year brings the largest sale of the year for two area pizza restaurants.
Tarboro branches of Pizza Inn and Dominos Pizza are gearing up for Super Bowl XLVI Sunday by increasing their regular employee lineup by as many as seven.
Pizza Inn is running a special that they believe will keep them busy throughout the day. Last year they sold over 200 large pizzas on Super Bowl Sunday compared to 50 on an average Sunday. -
Edgecombe unemployment up in December
TARBORO — Unemployment rates increased in 93 of North Carolina’s 100 counties in December. Rates decreased in four counties and remained the same in three.
Edgecombe, which saw a slight improvement in November, fell back to its October 2011 level (15.7%). Of the 100 counties in North Carolina, Edgecombe and Dare are tied at third highest in unemployment. -
Three ECPS campuses ahead of First Lady's nutritional guidelines
When First Lady Michelle Obama and Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced new guidelines for the nutritional overhaul of school meals last week, they could have chosen three of Edgecombe County's public schools as their models.
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