Oct. 19, 2022, R-C Letters to the Editor

Vote in person on Election Day

Editor:

It was reported in The Record-Courier by Geoff Dornan, that Donald Trump said, “it’s best to vote on election day. It’s much harder for them to cheat that way.” Donald Trump actually said, “it’s best to vote in person on election day”.  To vote in person definitely resonated with me. I’m all for that. I think it shows accountability.  From the first time I was old enough to vote in 1972, I have felt privileged to be in a country which holds free elections. Election Day has been such an honorable day; a day of excitement, a day of anticipation; a special day. The long lines are an opportunity to talk to your neighbors, discuss your views, air your differences, and know you are all there for a common goal; to cast your vote, to exercise your right, to be a responsible citizen, to get that little sticker that says, “I voted”, and mostly to make a difference. Voting in person means that ballot is actually attached to a live person who cares enough and thinks it’s important enough to take the time to go to a poll and vote.

Voting day is no longer a day.  Now, we can vote early, register the day of voting, and mail in our votes. We can even have someone else drop off our votes. Voting is no longer special.   

It was also reported that “According to official certified results, he, (Donald Trump) lost by more than 7.05 million votes.”  

No, Donald Trump lost the election by 64 Electoral College votes. We are a republic. The popular vote does not determine the outcome of the election. The population does have a very important play in the determination of those electoral votes. The electoral college system is a brilliant method, one that if replaced would doom us. Our forefathers had the foresight to anticipate some very populated states could always dominate the elections if individual states did not have fair representation. Two states, California and New York voted by 7 million votes for Biden over Trump. In 2016, those two states voted over 5 million votes more for Clinton. Trump only had 3 million fewer votes than Clinton in   A republic for which it stands means fair representation, one in which two heavily populated states cannot impose their will on the rest of the union. 

Deborah L. Carter

Gardnerville

Not my Central Committee

Editor:

No matter who the President of the United States is at the time, it’s not uncommon to hear his opponents say, “He’s not my president!” They do this to protest the president’s beliefs and actions that are not in line with their own. 

In that same spirit, I’m here to say, “This is not my Douglas County Republican Central Committee!”

I was raised on a ranch in Idaho where I was taught conservative values. My parents taught me to work before play and to show respect to all.

I’m a life-long Republican and conservative. Unfortunately, the actions and beliefs of the Douglas County Republican Central Committee are currently so extreme that I simply cannot support them. And they certainly don’t speak for me. Their meetings and messages are filled with fear, hate, disrespect and lies. 

I am not controlled by fear. I am not filled with hate. I treat all people, friend and foe, with respect. I would prefer to hear the honest truth than a convenient lie.

For all of these reasons, I don’t identify with the DCRCC and their agenda of political extremism, and I imagine that most reasonable and sensible Republicans would feel the same way.

This politically extreme group, which values partisan politics over the welfare of children, is running a fear campaign filled with misinformation in their attempt to install three politically extreme candidates on the school board. 

Don’t be fooled by their voter information cards or their lies, just throw them straight into the garbage can.

One tactic that they, and their chosen school board candidates, use is to say that they support teachers. But do they?

An official DCRCC email on Thursday to its members begged for letters to the editor to support their extreme and out-of-touch candidates.

The email says, “The opposition to our school board candidates is doing a great job in getting folks to write to the Record-Courier.  They have access to all the gullible teachers who don’t actually understand the issues in this election.” (Emphasis added)

Is that how you support teachers? By calling them gullible? I beg to differ. But it’s not surprising coming from this extreme group. They often mock anyone who doesn’t share their extreme and out-of-touch positions.

If you’re a Republican but you’re tired of the extremism and divisiveness, run, don’t walk, away from the county central committee. 

They’re not true conservatives, they’re conspiracy theorists. 

They’re not courageous, they’re afraid.

They’re not patriots, they’re puppets.  

And they don’t support our teachers, they disparage them. 

It’s time to send a message to the DCRCC that while I’m a Republican, they don’t represent me. It’s time to say no to the divisiveness, fear, lies, and poor behavior of the DCRCC by voting for the three candidates that are fighting to keep partisan politics and extremism out of schools. 

The choice for school board this year is clear: Roberta Butterfield, Heather Jackson, and Robbe Lehmann.

Please vote for them. And please tell your friends. 

Lisa McGuffin

Minden

Facebook post violates ethics law

Editor:

On Oct. 9, The Douglas County School District posted on Facebook, “…Douglas County School District feels compelled to respond to a recent political email….” Responding to a political email is politicizing. Use of school resources for politically biased activity is a violation of Nevada’s ethics law.

Butterfield, Jackson, and Lehmann’s histrionics, incessantly claiming their opponents are attacking DCSD’s teachers is balderdash. Let me say this clear so those in the back of the room can hear: challengers are attacking the DCSD Board’s elitist attitudes and failures to perform, not teachers!

Douglas High’s rank has fallen in relation to other schools in Nevada. Board members screech that ACT scoring changes are responsible. The Board is assuming voters are stupid enough to believe statewide legislative changes only impacted Douglas “unfairly.” SchoolDigger.com charts [https://bit.ly/3Ezba9J] plainly show performance relative to other schools fell. Yup! As John Adams once said, “Facts are stubborn things.”

Last week Jackson and Lehmann said, when made aware of CRT-like materials in the school, they removed them. Trustees are hired to define school processes that protect our children, not processes that wait for parents to report corrupt materials after damage is done.

Should a mechanic conduct a proper inspection before you let your child drive down Kingsbury Grade with defective brakes? Current school board trustees are more concerned about making voters think they checked the brakes, instead of actually checking the brakes.

The Board failed miserably on this point and has lied, saying CRT is not in our schools. Their recent words clearly discredit their claimed record and positions!

I spoke with the Douglas County Democrat Party Tuesday, and they vigorously endorsed Butterfield, Jackson, and Lehmann as the Democrat choice. Whether these candidates solicited this endorsement does not matter.

The recent governor election in Virginia exposed Democrats nationally and their robust support for teacher union leadership injecting abhorrent, ineffective, and expensive curricula into schools as our DCSD does, until parents object. Democrats have chosen their “A” team for your school board. This team has failed their own standards, your children, and taxpayers. They are desperately trying to run from themselves.

Chose the parent’s, student’s, and community’s team for your school board. Elect Susan Jansen, Katherine Dickerson, and Dave Burns to save our schools and return DCSD to its former place as the very best.

Shawn Meehan

Minden

Flat out lies

Editor:

Folks don’t seem real open to listening to each other any more, but if there’s anyone out there who still hasn’t decided who to vote for in the school board election, listen to this:

At the first school board debate on Oct. 5, a man supporting Dickerson, Jansen and Burns handed out a card with their talking points on it. I read it. Most of it was flat out lies. 

Lie number 1 was that DCSD doesn’t publish their salaries. They do. All public employee salaries in Nevada can be found online, cops, teachers, firefighters, you name it.

Lie number 2 was that Douglas County has one administrator for every three teachers. Good grief, it only took me a minute to figure out that one was wrong. 

Take the number of teachers: 352 and divide that by the number of administrators: 29. I got 12. What math were they doing?

Later in the debate, Dickerson went on a rant about something she had found on the internet about Douglas County. Well, that was a wonderful tale she told us but it turns out she was talking about Douglas County Colorado. I’m sorry, but if you can’t take more than a few seconds to Google something and then you present it as fact--in the wrong state--I can’t take you seriously as a candidate.

I think Dickerson, Jansen, and Burns might be better off going back to school instead of attacking it.

Let’s get Butterfield, Jackson, and Lehmann in there to keep some sanity around here.

Ed Moss

Gardnerville

Supported by the left

Editor:

We support Burns, Jansen and Dickerson to “Save Our Schools.” ”From what?” I have heard asked. From the left’s agenda of possible sex changes for students without parents’ knowledge. For drag queens in schools, again without parent’s knowledge. For your child’s pregnancy being terminated without your knowledge.  I know, that couldn’t happen here in Douglas County, and I am just a right wing nut. But ask those parents who have discovered these practices in their schools too late. I am not saying it will happen if the opponents win this election, but they are supported by the left.

Gary Bowman

Minden

Thanks for backing Butterfield

Editor:

I would like to express my appreciation to the voters who supported school board candidate Roberta Butterfield in the primary and respectfully request that you vote for her again in the general election

and urge your family, friends and neighbors to support Roberta as well as school board candidates Heather Jackson and Robbe Lehman. I strongly believe that these three candidates will keep the focus on what

is in the best interest of our students.

Teri Jamin

Douglas County School Board Member

2005-2016

Gardnerville

On the board too long

Editor:

I support Dave Burns, Katherine Dickerson, Susan Jansen to be elected to the School Board. 

Lehmann and Jackson have been on the Board too long. Butterfield seems to be in the same social circle as those who think the current curriculum is good? Think Improvements to it is all that is needed? Are not qualified in allowing free speech at Board Meetings. The question is as Board Members, how have they allowed CRT, and other decisive educational materials in our school district?

The issue never brought up in the debates is criticism of Superintendent Mr. Keith Lewis for allowing the current curriculum and support materials in our classrooms and libraries. 

It’s appalling that the current board members during public board meetings seem to oppose free speech. They seem to be totally unaware that in America, adversarial relationships are the backbone of free speech; are the checks and balances needed in a free society.  Dave Burns, Katherine Dickerson, Susan Jansen seem committed to free speech at board meetings, ensure 3 R’s, history of the USA, and adding basic finances to the curriculum. Committed to eliminating the decisive CRT, inappropriate sexual and other like teaching materials from our classrooms and libraries. Committed to hold Mr. Lewis accountable if he and his staff are not willing to or do not implement the coming changes. I know which I want directing the Superintendent of Schools to implement. Do you?

Philip Schloss

Zephyr Cove

Message is misleading, divisive

Editor:

As a parent of three children in the Douglas County School District, I am deeply concerned by the divisive and partisan scaremongering campaign being waged by three candidates who have no connection to our school community. The Burns/Dickerson/Jansen “Save Our Schools” message is both misleading and offensive.

When we moved to Minden 14 years ago, our number one priority was to relocate to a rural Nevada area that could provide the best education for our three children. After an exhaustive search, we settled on Douglas County, and a school district that ranked No. 1 in the State across a range of criteria. We had high expectations, and our expectations have been exceeded.

My eldest graduated from DHS in 2020, with a scholarship to a private Baptist University in Texas. Like many of her friends, she continues to excel, and says she was more prepared for the challenges of a tough course at a top college than her privately educated cohorts. Our middle kid, now a senior at DHS is headed to UNR on scholarship. And our DHS Junior, on a 504 Plan, is also on track to graduate with honors, thanks to the support and commitment of our teachers and DCSD programs.

Do our schools have challenges to overcome? Of course, every school across America, and worldwide, needs to work hard to make up the shortfalls of covid related disruption. But our DCSD schools have excelled despite these setbacks - and they continue to excel, in spite of baseless accusations from politically motivated incomers. The truth is that our teachers and kids don’t need saving – they just need to be allowed to get on with their jobs of teaching and learning in a safe, supportive, and successful environment.

Please vote for Butterfield, Jackson and Lehmann in the upcoming elections, and save our students from being used in a political game they didn’t sign up to play.

Tracy Campbell

Minden

Not good guards

Editor:

Having attended both School Board debates, I was shocked at the lack of vetting of materials allowed into the schools system by the current Board members. They stated that when they were “made aware” of inappropriate materials, they took action to have those materials removed. The School Board Trustees are to be guards at the gate, and by all appearances, they were sleeping at their post. 

David Burns, Susan Jansen and Katherine Dickerson will be the attentive and steadfast guards we need to protect our children.  

David Seat

Gardnerville

Help youth make good decisions

Editor:

We all want our youth to make responsible decisions, have good self-awareness, build functional relationships, have healthy social awareness, and have effective self-management skills, don’t we? Do you know that providing youth the support they need to accomplish all these things positively impacts their academic performance and their overall functioning at school? This in turn sets the foundation for youth to become contributing members of our society and future decision makers. So, what is everyone afraid of? Here in Douglas County our schools are already dedicated to the betterment of our youth through comprehensive education that includes supporting them to become fully functioning members of our society, not just academic robots. Our schools strive to enable youth to build independent thinking skills that will ensure their ability to solve a myriad of problems logically and successfully in the arts & science, business, and society. Why then do we want to elect school board members who are prepared to make sweeping changes that will set us back by putting in place narrow and biased policies designed to support a chosen few. Our schools do not “need to be saved,” they need support and guidance to continue the positive trajectory they are on and a healthful mindset that desires to build up everyone in our diverse community. As a parent of loving, kind, and successful adult children who benefited from this type of education, I urge you to give our schools and our administrators the support they deserve to continue doing the good work they are doing. It is in everyone’s best interest to foster emotionally intelligent and intellectually capable community members.

Jeannette Bostedt

Genoa

Fighting for future

Editor:

In a week the polls open for the Midterm elections. No positions are more contested than the Douglas County School Board Trustees.  After the eye opening Zoom classes during the pandemic, parents everywhere are engaging to regain or preserve their children’s education. It is the fight for the future of this country as a free society. From LGBTQ etc agenda, racism and a plethora of other woke ‘isms, all are being pushed by the teacher’s union. None of this idea salad has anything to do with the fundamental purpose of schools- education. It rather is a method that all totalitarian regimes use to imprint their ideology onto young minds. Just like their ideology is veiled in lies and deceptions, in order to avoid detection, the local candidates use the same strategy. They all claim to be conservatives, even Republicans.  Not so, as the recent debates proved. And now the Democratic Party has openly endorsed the three false flags. Only Kathrine Dickerson ,Susan Jansen and David Burns are true conservatives standing up for Douglas County’s children and teachers.

Choose them for the love of your family and our country

Betty Klein

Zephyr Cove

SEL helps children

Editor:

We want all Douglas students to reach their full potential.  Our wish is that they achieve competency in the wide variety of academic skills offered in our k-12 curriculum. 

But starting as kindergarteners, progressing through adolescence, and emerging as young adults is an immense span of physical and emotional growth as well. Thus, there is a need for Social and Emotional Learning- SEL. This acronym erroneously arouses fear and controversy. Perhaps this explanation of SEL will help.

Family is the first community a child experiences.   SEL- Social and emotional expectations and modeling start here.   School naturally plays a significant role in this development as well.  Classrooms foster the building of learning communities, and thus students need to learn how to work independently as well as in groups. They need to understand their bodies and how they are maturing.   This is SEL – Social and Emotional Learning. Organizations such scouting and 4-H, sport teams, rec department classes and religious activities provide additional feedback and guidance for our youth.  

Whether at home, in school or playing ball our children need to understand the basics of acceptable methods of expressing their emotions, recognizing their own self worth and respecting the value of each of their classmates.

Social learning is what we called “how to do school” or “how to play nice” or “do unto others” in old school terminology. Health sessions have always been in the schools to understand the physiology of growth and emotions.  They were in my elementary school 65 years ago taught as 5th grade health as they are today.   This is Social and Emotional Learning helping a child to be ready for academic study.

In our schools the goal of the development of a sense of self, a sense of community and a sense of purpose is to enable students to achieve their academic potential.   Learning appropriate ways to express emotions, fears, and concerns frees students to focus on developing their academic prowess.  The standard research in child development studies is well defined and accepted to be Maslow’s Hierarchy. It basically states that only when a child is fed, housed, healthy and emotionally stable will this individual be receptive to prioritizing academics and self actualization. 

Jenny Tanner

Jacks Valley

Let parents chose what children see

Editor:

There have been critical letters in The Record-Courier that claim the school board candidates, Jansen, Burns and Dickerson are against teachers and for banning books.  

Susan Jansen is a retired 32-year inner city Sacramento school teacher; Dave Burns’ wife is a retired 30-year teacher; and Katherine Dickerson’s husband has been a Douglas County School District substitute teacher for a number of years.  Since they are either teachers or married to teachers, it is preposterous to label them as “against teachers.” 

Burns, Jansen, and Dickerson’s main argument is aimed at helping teachers have more time to teach their subjects and to cultivate an effective curriculum in a cooperative structured environment.

To the “banning” of books:  Parents and community members need to be aware of the kinds of books being produced that is part of the nationwide battle concerning the sexualization of young students.  The American Library Association has chosen to approve of the strategy to make books available in our public school libraries that contain graphic descriptions and images of sexual acts.  

Ask yourself, at what point in the history of our public education did parents willfully give up the right to choose how they teach their children about life and the governance of their bodies.

Burns, Jansen, and Dickerson have made it clear that they do not want books that contain graphic descriptions and images of sexual acts in our school libraries. Fighting for age-appropriate material is not the equivalent of wanting to ban or censor books.

All concerned citizens want to have the best schools for America’s children.  And it is the job of the School Board to make policies that cause this to happen.  We need the leadership and convictions of Burns, Jansen and Dickerson on the Douglas School Board to ensure they adopt the best polices that will produce academically proficient students.

Voting for Burns, Jansen, and Dickerson is the right decision.

Barbara Clark

Gardnerville

Supports school board

Editor:

I write in strong support of school board candidates Lehmann, Jackson and Butterfield. I have watched closely as they campaigned over the last several months. Their actions as candidates reflect well on how they will work as trustees: they are very careful in their research to fully understand an issue prior to making statements about it; they explain themselves with integrity, always representing facts and issues accurately; and they have worked under pressure with grace and with determination. All of these traits of character will stand them well as they undertake the complicated work of maintaining the excellence our school district has attained.

One of the main issues of these campaigns is keeping inappropriate materials out of classrooms. Lehmann, Jackson and Butterfield have demonstrated that they will do so, using specific examples of materials that have been removed, the political neutrality policy, and the process for reviewing and removing matters that are not consistent with Carson Valley values while maintaining teachers’ freedom to have important classroom discussion about current and historical events. 

I appreciate the Chamber of Commerce, Business Council and The Record-Courier for sponsoring a very enlightening school board candidates’ debate. It is available on the Record Courier website. If you have any doubt about which school board candidates to vote for, watch it: you will see that Lehmann, Jackson and Butterfield are excellent candidates.

Sharla Hales

Minde

No place for politics

Editor:

In a highly partisan country and during a heated general election it may sound difficult, if not impossible, to find the leader of the Douglas County Democratic Central Committee and a well-known Republican coming together on any topic. But that is exactly what we’re doing because the topic is so important: our schools.

Our views and beliefs vary greatly on a wide range of political, social, and fiscal topics, but we agree whole-heartedly on the need to have quality, non-partisan people on the school board. 

While we don’t share a political party, we share the identity of mothers whose own children have attended and graduated from Douglas County schools. 

We know our schools because we have first-hand experience navigating them with our children. We spent time in the schools and got to know our children’s teachers. Douglas County schools, like all public schools, have challenges. Yet, in the face of these challenges we have teachers who care, administrators who support teachers and parents, and students who thrive. Our children, with the education they received from Douglas County schools, have gone on to be successful in college and in the workforce. 

As much as we both individually believe in the superiority of the policies and causes of our political parties, we know that schools, and the school board, is no place for partisan politics. We need school board members who eschew politics and always do what’s right for children. 

In this year’s school board race the choice is clear: Robbe Lehmann, Heather Jackson, and Roberta Butterfield are far and away the best candidates for the job. 

Lehmann, Jackson, and Butterfield know and understand our schools. They have been involved in schools and in classrooms for years. Their breadth of knowledge and understanding of the district was demonstrated time and time again during a recent Town Hall debate available for view on the Record-Courier website. 

In contrast, their opponents lacked a basic understanding of the district and public education. 

There is a reason that the school board is a non-partisan position. Members of the board should not be beholden to any political agendas and should, instead, make sure that students are given well-rounded, honest educations. In short, education transcends politics, and so should the school board.

Please vote for Robbe Lehmann, Heather Jackson, and Roberta Butterfield for school board.  

Kelly Krolicki

Stateline

Lori McKimmey

Gardnerville

Localize school operations

Editor:

I was able to attend the School Board Debate on October 11 at the community center.  Following are a few observations:

1. In a nonpartisan race, there is a clear partisan divide this year.  I don’t believe it is because of political activism, but rather because policies enacted in our schools are either challenged or supported passionately by the two primary parties.

2. The candidates representing a status quo were polished and seemed to have access to data not available to the public.  They spoke like true bureaucrats.  In contrast, their opponents seemed to have made sincere efforts to engage in our schools and surfaced real concerns for students and teachers. 

3. One Q/A stood out to me personally.  It involved CRT in the curricula and materials used in the classroom. 

a. Sitting board members claimed that they didn’t have the resources to prepare their own curricula and classroom materials and relied on purchasing the materials from (I assume) an “accredited” source.

b.     They further described that when they were shown objectionable materials related to CRT being used that they removed them. 

c.     From my perspective, this failed the test of reasonableness.  Any knowledgeable teacher or administrator can write or read, edit, and sanitize materials before they are used in a classroom.  It’s not a matter of resources, but a matter of will.

4. To me it seems that a paradigm shift needs to occur.  Status Quo is not acceptable when our children and grandchildren’s belief systems could be changed from what their parents are teaching.

a. Douglas County school curricula should be developed by Douglas County schools and be peer reviewed by a diverse (in thinking) group.

b. If outside materials are considered, these materials should be reviewed by a Douglas County committee with members from the teachers, parents, and possibly community.

c.  Schools should be managed and supported locally; reliance on Department of Education, national teachers’ associations, and outside mainstream influences should be at least questioned.

Mike Labit

Gardnerville

It takes a Village 

Editor:

‘It takes a village’ to raise or kids. When my daughter (9) came back to school after the Covid-19 shutdown, she was extremely anxious. With social emotional learning (SEL) help from the school, she was able to re-establish the social skills she needed to adjust back into the school environment.  When my son (8) had major surgery on his elbow, school staff helped him increase self-management skills so he could perform academic tasks that were extremely difficult during his 9 week recovery.

Although my husband and I did everything we could, it took a village. As a parent I needed the things I was teaching at home reinforced at school. I needed the adults in the school buildings to help my kids feel calm, so they could get back to learning. Coaches, neighbors, and other community members are key to shaping our children’s behaviors for my family and especially families less fortunate who experience poverty and poor mental health. 

According to statistics, 14.95 percent of children between ages 6 -11, and 12.9 percent of children ages 12 -17 live below the poverty line. About 20 percent of adolescents experience mental health problems and 9.5 percent of adolescents identify as LGBTQ+. Having social emotional skills taught in school and certified mental health workers is essential to identifying students and families who need help. Youth are almost as likely to receive mental health services in an educational setting as they are to receive treatment from a specialty mental health provider — 15 percent in school versus 17 percent out of school.  By connecting these kids with services as early as possible, we increase their chances at success in school and in our communities after graduation. 

Current running school board candidates’ Jansen, Dickerson, & Burns slogan is “Save our Douglas County Schools,” and they reject SEL techniques and are attempting to prevent LGBTQ+ identities from our schools which may be discrimination. Regardless of how they morally view SEL and LGBTQ+ students, the school must abide by federal law and Nevada Revised Statutes (.  The NRS requires SEL and Title IX makes it illegal to discriminate against any person on the basis sexual orientation, gender, and gender identity or expression in its programs. Their plan to erase LGBTQ+ identities and removing SEL from schools is unlawful, unproductive and it feels fear based. 

We need candidates who honor laws and who will unify rather than divide.  I support school board members who want to use the tools we already have in place and have faith in the community and parents like me. Let’s vote for school board members who honor the mental and emotional health needs of our families. Vote candidates Jackson, Lehmann and Butterfield who respect the NRS and Title IX, who honor our schools, and want to work hard to help our families and our Douglas County village.

Jentri Hames 

Minden

East Fork provided model program

Editor:

On Oct. 6, the members of the East Fork Professional Firefighters, Local 3726, learned that the Douglas County Commissioners voted to terminate the Emergency Management Contract with East Fork Fire Protection District. 

Over the last 16 years, our participation in Emergency Management has been a challenging process of learning, education, and real-world experience. Over that time period, we have had our fair share of large scale emergencies that have tested the capabilities of our Emergency Management (11 emergency declarations). Through this real world experience, we can confidently say that losing this Emergency Management contract is a bigger loss to the community we serve than to the district.

The men and women of the East Fork Fire Protection District have decades (and that is an understatement) of experience in managing large scale emergencies. In fact, as I am writing this letter, we have three individuals serving on an Incident Management Team on a fire in Washington. This is just a small handful of the capable and dedicated people at our disposal. When a large-scale incident occurs in Douglas County, individuals like this are immediately deployed to manage the emergency.  Under the current program the district is able to offer 24/7/365 coverage of this critical service. 

Of particular note, our staff is not only trained in management of fires. Our staff can fill nearly every ICS (Incident Command System) role including operations, planning, logistics, etc. Additionally, and perhaps the most substantial loss, is the “institutional knowledge” our organization provides. Our staff has hundreds of years of combined experience managing emergencies in Douglas County. I ask the question, how can that knowledge and passion ever be replaced?

Besides the knowledge and experience we provide, our current emergency management has all of the infrastructure in place to manage emergencies. This includes vehicles, communications equipment, an administrative office that doubles as an Emergency Operations Center, computers, cameras, and other technologies necessary to manage large scale events.  This has been a tremendous undertaking and investment by East Fork Fire Protection District that has been in the making for sixteen years.  An investment which easily eclipses the $250,000 a year that is received for the service. Emergency Management is not just about being able to fund positions.

Lastly, let’s take about the administration of the program. Without exception, the program has been considered a model program and has kept the County in compliance each and every year. They have managed millions of dollars in Federal grants and have never had any Federal audit issues.  

In conclusion, we were shocked and disappointed by the County’s decision to terminate Emergency Management through East Fork Fire. We truly feel that this will have negative impacts for our community and simply create another layer of government service. With that said, we will stand beside the County and assist them wherever we can. We wish them the best of luck with this massive undertaking. We all truly care about the well-being of everyone who resides and/or visits our great community. Rest assured, we will continue to provide the highest levels of service as the East Fork Fire Protection District and we will learn to adapt to the change. 

Kevin May

President East Fork Professional Firefighters, Local 3726