I can’t understand why the selectmen appear to want to do away with the volunteer ambulance service, replacing it with paid personnel.Could it be they want to do away with the ambulance service altogether? And after we just authorized tens of thousands of dollars for a new ambulance?
Just what we need—another union with attendant sick time, hospital insurance, retirement pay, vacation, etc.
We are close to being the highest-taxed community in the commonwealth. Are the selectmen shooting for first place?
Why are the selectmen quibbling over who promised who what—keep your eye on the ball. Do we want a volunteer or a paid service?
An important point, evidently invisible to some, is that volunteers do a much better job than paid people and especially the Harvard team who are very well educated for the job and totally dedicated. Paid people are much more interested in paperwork and “it’s not in my job description” than they are in the patient/victim.
Perhaps one of the selectmen could take the time to explain the whole ambulance situation to us. Time shouldn’t be a problem. After all, we still have another 20 or 30 years to discuss ad infinitum the Devens situation, and, of course, the affordable housing problem doesn’t seem to be any closer to solution today than it was when it first came up years ago.
David Richard
Old Shirley Road
