Letters To The Editor

Fire, EMS advisory
committee needed

To the editor: The year 2023 set the record for the busiest the Lake Township Fire Department has ever been. In less than a decade, calls for help are up 74 percent.
In 2014, your LTFD was responding to a little more than two calls a day on average – today, it's double that. Our busiest, otherwise normal day required 16 responses – and things aren't slowing down.
Call volume is up. Volunteerism – nationally – is down. And full-time fire departments providing consistency and benefits are making it more difficult to retain our part-time personnel – especially highly-trained paramedics.
In November, we presented Lake Township citizens with a 4.2-mill ballot levy, providing the opportunity to maintain our paramedic-level emergency medical service coverage and add fire coverage with full time, cross-trained personnel.
It would have helped with our busiest days now, and set a foundation to handle what's to come. The millage was also in line with the fire district merger study, leaving all reasonable solutions on the table.
The results were clear – this levy wasn't what you wanted. While we had question and answer sessions, town hall meetings, and shared information through social media, as we move forward we see value in an in-depth, in-person discussion that those opportunities didn't always present.
We're going to do that with a new citizen fire/EMS advisory committee. We're looking for people who want to be part of finding a solution that balances the community's needs with its expectations.
The committee will meet on a regular basis over the course of about six months, tentatively. In the end, the committee's recommendations will be compiled in a report to share with the rest of the community.
Those interested in serving on the committee can sign up at laketwpfd.org/cfc. Fifteen positions are open. If more people express interest the names will be drawn by lottery.
Barrett A. Dorner
Chief
Lake Township Fire Department

Thanks from
Salvation Army
To the editor: The Elmore unit of the Salvation Army wishes to thank the volunteers for faithfully standing by our kettles. Also, we thank organizers of the Woodville Golf Outing.
This year we collected a total of $4,518.
Thanks also to those who supported our Angel Trees in the Woodville and Elmore libraries.
This year we served 21 families, including 66 children.
Janice Netcher
Treasurer