By Jeremy D. Wells
Carter County Times

 The city of Grayson held a swearing in ceremony last Wednesday for the men and women who will be serving the community on City Council in the coming year. Four of those sworn in last week by Judge David Flatt – Derrick McKinney, Sudy Walker, Pearl Crum and Jerry Yates – are returning council members. The other two – 38-year-old Bradley Cotten and 28-year-old Troy Combs – are newcomers to council. They replace Pam Nash and Terry Stamper, both of whom chose not to seek reelection this year. 

Both Cotten and Combs said they were looking forward to serving their community. 

“I’ve always had an interest in political matters,” Cotten explained of why he chose to run for council. “I moved back to town, and lived here the last several years, and felt this was a great way to serve and try to help our community out.” 

“Tonight was a real honor,” he continued. “David Flatt and I are really good friends. It was an honor to be sworn in by him, and to have my dad, my wife, and my two little boys here, it means a lot. I’m looking forward to the next two years and trying to help the city of Grayson the best that I can.” 

“For me, what motivated me to run was, looking around, I noticed a lot of young people are not coming back here to live,” said Combs, who ran as a write-in candidate. “They aren’t getting involved in the community. As a young person myself I thought that it was necessary for me to try to get involved, and I saw this as an opportunity to do that.”

“I’ve lived here with these people, and watched them lead, and always admired and looked up to them,” he added. “I’ve seen them as my role models. Now I’m going to try to fill their shoes, so to speak.” 

“I’ve got two young children,” Cotten added, building on Combs comments about young people who feel they need to leave the area to succeed. “I know, when they get out of high school, I want them to view Grayson as an option. To think, ‘I can make a life here. I can raise my family here. I can have a good life.’ I know, for me personally, I feel very blessed that I’ve grown up in this community and I’m raising a family here. I hope that kids their age will see this as an option as well.” 

“It’s home!” Combs said, enthusiastically, when talk turned to why folks choose to return to eastern Kentucky after time away, or why they’d want to stay here. 

“It’s a good place to raise children. I think that’s why a lot of people do stay here,” Combs continued. “Along with Bradley I want people to feel that they can do that here. Apart from that… I know that times have changed dramatically over the past ten years even, and I think, being younger, I can bring a new perspective and a new energy to city council, and I think that’s necessary.”

Both said they were eager to bring their experience to council and to learn from the sitting council members.

Cotten and Combs will serve in their first meeting with council on Tuesday, January 12 at 5 p.m. 

Contact the writer at editor@cartercountytimes.com

By Jeremy D. Wells
Carter County Times

 Many first responders were training on the new E911 Computer Aided Dispatch (CAD) system update last week, but Grayson police couldn’t join in. During the regular meeting of Grayson City Council last Tuesday police chief Travis Steele informed council that, while the much anticipated E911 update brings with it a number of perks that can help improve response time and guide police to their location, the department didn’t have the necessary hardware to participate in the training or to fully utilize the system. To make best use of the new system, he explained, the department needed new tablets and docking stations for the tablets in their vehicles. 

Steele went on to explain to council that he had been in communication with Joanne and Roger Dunfee, with Grayson Emergency Management, about possible grant opportunities to fund the purchase of those tablets. However, as Joanne Dunfee explained, most of the grant opportunities had “already passed for this year.” 

That didn’t mean there was no way to fund the purchase of the system though. 

What Roger Dunfee suggested, instead of a grant, was the use of CARES reimbursement money to fund the purchase. Dunfee explained that he had sent in paperwork for the reimbursement of other department expenses. He said the city would be reimbursed around $87,000 for police related expenses like salary costs. Since that money was coming back to the city for police costs, he said, it seemed appropriate that some of those funds be used to fund current police needs. 

Steele asked council to approve the purchase of a system that would meet all of their needs, at a cost of $43,128. That cost included a tablet for each officer and a docking station for each police vehicle. The system requested, which Steele said runs as high as $112,000 from other vendors, not only allows the department to make use of the new E911 CAD system, but also includes other features that can speed up response time and keep officers safe. 

Among the amenities of the system is a feature that immediately calls up all relevant info when an officer scans a driver’s license. This would include any outstanding warrants in addition to information about suspended driving privileges or other relevant information. Rather than calling in, reading off information, and waiting for someone else to do the search, officers could be alerted immediately. If the person pulled over had outstanding warrants, for instance, officers would receive an immediate, private alert that would allow them to then act appropriately. For those pulled over for routine traffic violations, he said, it would make the stop quicker and more convenient, allowing motorists to proceed with their business in a more timely fashion. 

Council approved the request to purchase the tablet system and docking stations. 

Steele also provided council with a list of all cell phone numbers associated with the department’s new cell phone plan. The department was able to purchase a cell phone for each officer at a cost of $1 per phone with the plan, which only costs the department $40 per phone each month. In addition to guaranteeing that the officers are always able to be contacted if needed, Steele explained, the phones also double as body cameras, allowing officers to record their interactions. 

In other action Roger Dunfee provided an update on the sidewalk project, noting that it was finally ready to progress to the next phase. 

Alcoholic beverage control officer Willis Johnson also gave a report on his department, noting that the new owner of the Raider Mart/Racers Marts in Grayson – now dubbed Quality Marts – had received their transitional license for one location. The former Raider Mart location would receive their license within “probably two weeks,” Johnson said. Once that license was approved the city would be back at 21 licensed alcohol sales locations within city limits. 

Council also approved a cost of living pay adjustment, which replaces what the city used to call a Christmas bonus for city employees. 

Mayor George Steele thanked retiring council members Pam Nash and Terry Stamper for their service to the city as well. Both chose not to run again last election cycle, making the December meeting their last regular meeting before new councilmembers are sworn in this January. Nash and Stamper will be replaced by Bradley Cotten and write-in candidate Troy Combs. 

Contact the writer at editor@cartercountytimes.com

By Jeremy D. Wells
Carter County Times

 Carter County Ambulance Service executive director Rick Loperfido told the ambulance board on Monday that COVID-19 has hit the service particularly hard over the last month. They’ve had a total of seven employees test positive for the virus from the Olive Hill location. Six of those individuals have completed their quarantine time and returned to work. But after they returned to work a seventh individual came forward to alert Loperfido they had tested positive as well. 

Loperfido told the board that part of the overtime costs for the previous month were a result of those infections, as other employees covered those shifts while their co-workers were off ill. With five of the individuals off for 10 days, and one off for 20 days before being released to return to work, the overtime needed to cover those shifts was significant. 

Even though employees take precautions, which include wearing masks, wiping down all ambulance surfaces with disinfectant after each run, and completing a wipe down and a fumigation disinfection after known COVID patient runs, they still work very closely with COVID infected individuals as part of their job, increasing their risk for infection. For instance, Loperfido explained, the service took three individuals to KDMC from local nursing homes just the previous evening who were known to have the virus. 

Despite being significantly impacted by the virus, he said, the service was not awarded any of the CARES money during the previous round of refunds to the county. Loperfido said he had spoken to judge executive Mike Malone about this, and the impact the virus was having on staffing and overtime, and Malone assured him he would look into having the service included when future CARES funding was released. 

He said the ambulance service was also having trouble getting other assistance from the state for safety supplies. While the costs of protective supplies like masks and gloves are going up due to increased demand, he said they can’t get any assistance from the state because they can still get items from their suppliers. 

“We’re the ones on the front lines,” Loperfido said, but they aren’t able to get any assistance. While they could use assistance with gloves, masks, and gowns, because of the rising prices, they’ve been told they won’t qualify for state assistance with supplies until they have exhausted their current supply and have trouble obtaining more from their suppliers. 

In other business Loperfido told the board the ambulance service still hasn’t gotten their air compressor for oxygen tanks repaired. He said he reached out to RIX, the company who manufactured their compressor, and was informed that there was a design flaw in the early shipments of the compressor that led to “premature drive end failure” and will require additional machining work to repair. 

“Basically, we got a lemon,” Loperfido said. 

He said while they are considering possible legal recourse, Kanawha County EMS continues to allow him to use their compressor to refill oxygen tanks. 

He also gave the board a report on the new ambulance, which is licensed and insured and in the process of being stocked with all necessary equipment. 

In related news, he gave an update on the GPS units to be installed in their ambulances. He said he has signed the agreement with the service and has seven units ready to be installed. These units will monitor vehicle location, idle time, speed, and other driving statistics. He also hopes to complete necessary training for drivers, documentation and other requirements before the end of the year. Employees are required to complete the training every two years. 

In other staffing news, Loperfido told the board they are down another medic, having let a second medic go while still seeking a medic to fill the first open position. 

Board president John Brooks also discussed the impact of COVID related issues, such as overtime, on the profit/loss statement. From January through November of this year, he said, the service was around $570,000 over their income in payroll costs alone. He said while they have endeavored to make the service profitable for the county, Medicare and Medicaid reimbursements do not come close to covering their costs for the transports of those patients. 

Loperfido noted that while the state will begin adding an additional $298.20 to each Medicaid run, a significant increase to the $110 they currently pay out and closer to the reimbursement from the federal government for Medicare, that still isn’t enough to cover the service’s payroll, fuel, and other costs for completing those runs, which can cost the service an additional $200 to $300. 

Loperfido also discussed the COVID-19 vaccine, noting that supplies may be available to vaccinate some of the services EMTs before this month ends. Not all EMTs want to take the vaccine, however, because of concerns with the safety and efficacy of the vaccine. 

In other action the board accepted the financial report and discussed staffing changes that may impact their decision to move billing in-house. 

Brooks said he was “not a fan of” moving back to third-party billing, a sentiment that board member Judy Roark echoed. 

“This is what we worked so hard (to bring in-house) before,” she said. 

Board member Kara Johnson said before they could make a decision, though, they needed to gather more information. 

“We need some facts. We need some numbers before making a decision,” Johnson said. 

This included information on the cost of having the billing done by a third party and the cost of training another person to help with in-house billing when current employees stepped down. 

The Emergency Ambulance Board will hold their next regular meeting on January 11, at 3 p.m. at the Carter County EMS Station in Grayson. All meetings are open to the public. 

Contact the writer at editor@cartercountytimes.com