When I started this blog all I wanted to do was educate the people of Dolan Springs about EMS. Some people just want to create problems rather than solutions. We need people who want to LMRFD to grow and prosper. After all, the ambulance is a business and needs to be treated like a business.
This Post was Submitted by Donna Wickerd
It's a response to LMRFD Denied Operating Line of Credit (bottom of page)
That was posted by Ellen Reh-Bower the Contributing Editor of LMRFDSupport.com
There has been a lot of misinformation given out to the community about the Focus Group that investigated the issue of consolidation for Lake Mohave Ranchos Fire District. I would like to dispel rumors by setting the record straight.
The Focus Group was not an independent organization, but rather a group of individuals who are interested in improving the local economy and lifestyle of local residents in the Dolan Springs and Meadview areas. The core of the Focus Group was Rebecca Smith and I, who are both community activists and worked together as a team for several years to investigate the financial issues behind the closure of Mt Tipton's secondary school. Rebecca has a talent for analyzing raw numbers and I have a talent for analyzing a business model and improving it.
Together we created an alternative to closure that was financially sound, but was ultimately rejected by KUSD. After attending an LMRFD meeting in April 2015, I was surprised to find that consolidation was pretty much a done deal, with no public input or investigation by the community served by LMRFD, and in fact that I was the ONLY PERSON FROM DOLAN SPRINGS in attendance, all the other attendees forming a small but vociferous group from Meadview supporting consolidation with NACFD. I couldn't resist questioning the quick consolidation of our fire district, so I called my friend Rebecca, who I knew would be the perfect partner for this kind of project, and together we embarked on a quest to understand the finances and operations of LMRFD.
Together we compiled information from John Flynn, the county treasurer, as well as past and present employees of LMRFD, to create a picture of its current state of operations. We then brought in experts from the community who were involved in business, volunteer firefighting, and EMS response. With that information, we proposed a viable plan to operate LMRFD independently with both professional employees and community volunteers. We presented our plan at a Town Hall Meeting at the Dolan Springs Community Council building in an attempt to educate the community about the issue. At that meeting, several other people were given time to express their own opinions and questions from the floor could be directed at any member of the public in attendance.
That's it. That's all we ever did. Our Focus Group became the target of various individuals in both communities who were bitter about the past and set on consolidation, regardless of the facts. Rebecca and I were condemned and attacked personally about our views without ever being engaged in an actual discussion about the facts or our ideas. Jay Fleming was also targeted, despite never being a member of the the Focus Group, or having attended any of our meetings.
The fact is, Jay Fleming is a good friend of mine. He is a retired law enforcement officer and paramedic, with an interest in communications technology, who gave me very sound advice about EMS operations during our discovery phase, but otherwise had no official role in the Focus Group. Since then, the negativity and attacks on my two friends have caused them both to retreat from public service. Rebecca has even decided to leave the area entirely, selling her home and relocating permanently. This is a devastating loss to our town, Rebecca Smith has contributed to our community in so many ways over the years it would be impossible to list them all, and has always been willing to go the extra mile to improve lives in our community. Not only am I losing one of my best friends over this, but Rebecca will no longer be there for me to call when we have another community emergency that her skills can help solve.
I am a problem-solver, I live to create cooperative solutions to social issues in my community. I find it more fun and inspiring than having a beer at the local bar or watching TV and Youtube. Those of you who know me will attest that I am at my best working with others to create solutions and improve the lives of the people around me, whether it is through education, grant writing, political organization or my business and technology skills. As long as I live in Dolan Springs, you can count on me to be involved, in the most constructive possible way, when it comes to finding and implementing solutions to our community's most urgent issues. And I'm not leaving, you will not drive me away. Negative Nancy can throw mud at me all day long, I will never stop caring or give up on the people that I love in this community. I'm not going to be silent when I see my neighbors sinking in the mud. You are stuck with me! All I ask is that if you are not interested in working together to create constructive dialogue and innovative solutions, then get out of the way and let someone else pitch-in instead. Don't think that you can blacken my name, because the light of my love for this community and the people in it will always outshine the darkness of your negativity.
Sincerely, Donna Wickerd
Regarding the post at http://www.lmrfdsupport.com/
“LMRFD Denied Operating Line of CreditSubmitted by Ellen Reh-Bower, Contributing Editor
Fears that funding might be difficult to come by for a once again stand-alone fire district are being realized. Administrator John Flynn announced at the monthly meeting, March 21 that he had been turned down by Wells Fargo for a standard operating Line of Credit. It was expected that the LMRFD might not qualify for as much of a LOC as before its insolvency, but Wells Fargo is the County’s servicing bank, and is in first position for all tax dollars received on the LMRFD’s behalf. It is in practically a zero risk positon! Mr. Flynn was shocked. He has subsequently been turned down by 3 other banks, and continues to negotiate with several more. He announced the possibility of “going dark” for a 6-9 month period if no funding can be found to con -tinue operations after July 1.
Now would be a good time for those members of the now defunct "Dolan Springs Focus Group" to put up the funding they offered. Concerns voiced a year ago by those in favor of consolidation with NACFD as to whether the LMRFD would be able to procure an operating Line of Credit as a stand-alone District, were glibly discounted with at least one member of the DSFG commenting, 'I have money, I will loan it!'”
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