Long County emergency-medical-service units have moved from the fire department to a new building on North McDonald Street in Ludowici, Paramedic Doug Diller of Excelsior Ambulance Service recently told the Long County Board of Commissioners.
“We went from the Budget Inn to the Taj Mahal,” he said.
Diller said that all of the equipment and furniture had been moved, and the only thing the commissioners needed to do was to agree to pay half of the monthly rent. Diller said the new building’s total rent is $700, so the county’s portion would be $350.
After a brief discussion the commissioners approved the measure unanimously during their monthly meeting July 7.
In a related matter, Air Evac Lifeteam spokesman Al Groover presented the commissioners a proposal to give all county residents partial coverage of the air medical transport service.
For $50,834, each resident would be given access to air-transport services for an emergency. He said this figure comes to $2.97 per person, or $10.50 per household.
Groover said the coverage would only be for within Long County, but that if residents wanted to upgrade their service to cover them anywhere in the nation, it would cost them an additional $35 per year. He said the normal rate for that coverage is $65.
The helicopter and crew are based in Jesup, and in the last two years, Air Evac has made 51 flights from Long County transporting patients to different hospitals, Groover said.
The commissioners thanked him for the presentation and indicated that they would look into the matter.
In other business, Frank Mondo asked the commissioners whether the current shooting restrictions ordinance was in effect. He said he was still hearing people shooting in his neighborhood, and he wanted to know why they were not being cited.
Commissioners Chairman Dwight Gordon told him that the county is in the process of codifying its ordinances. He said the shooting ordinance had been codified, so now people can be cited by the sheriff’s office. The fine for the first offense is $100, second offense is $250, and if a person is cited a third time within a 12-month period, that person would have to appear in state court.
Commissioner Robert Long told the other commissioners that he felt they needed to look into treating of some of the dirt roads again with calcium chloride. Calcium chloride is a chemical that is sprayed on dirt roads that helps reduce dust and keep “washboards” from developing.
Gordon said that the cost to treat the roads is expensive, but that the matter would be looked into during the budget-planning session.
The commissioners voted unanimously to appoint Sue Woods and Thelma J. Anderson-Worthy to the Board of Elections.
Prior to the meeting, a public hearing was held on a request to change the zoning of a tract of land located at 540 Anthony Drive. Jean and Mary Dorleus had appeared before the Planning and Zoning Board earlier requesting that the land be changed from rural residential to commercial. According to the couple, if the change was approved they intended of building a bowling alley there.
The Planning and Zoning Board recommended that the commissioners deny the request. After a brief discussion, the commissioners unanimously voted to uphold the denial recommendation.