HENDERSON COUNTY–Commissioners’ Court of Henderson County voted May 3 to proclaim May 15-21 as Emergency Medical Services (EMS) Week within the county, lining up with the national celebration during the same time frame.
National EMS Week was first authorized by President Gerald Ford in 1974. The county proclamation calls EMS “a crucial public service.”
Bill Sekel of the Athens chapter of the Sons of the American Revolution presented the proclamation and outlined for the court the history of emergency responses through American history. Sekel said the first civilian ambulance service was provided in Cincinnati in 1865 while the first motorized ambulance appeared in Chicago in 1899.
In 1947, Texas was the first state to require ambulances to be equipped with basic medical supplies as well as to require ambulance attendants to be trained in basic first aid, Sekel continued. The first emergency rescue-oriented American television show was “Rescue 8” in the 1950s, Sekel said, with the first call to 911 happening in Haleyville, Ala., in 1968.
“Paramedics, EMTs, they’re all a different breed of people and we’re lucky to have them around,” Sekel said.
Said Precinct 4 Commissioner Mark Richardson, “I think everybody in this room has probably needed them at one time, or somebody they know has needed them. Couldn’t do without them, thank y’all.”
Also, the court approved an interlocal agreement to assist a governmental entity for chip sealing 7,920 feet of streets within the City of Enchanted Oaks, with Enchanted Oaks paying for materials.
The court also approved an interlocal cooperation agreement for labor and equipment use expiring Dec. 31, 2023, to help the City of Enchanted Oaks in case of storm damage, such as when a tree blocks a road. The agreement is unrelated to the chip-sealing agreement, Precinct 2 Scott Tuley said.
In other business, the court:
• Approved two refund requests for overpayment of taxes from the Tax Assessor-Collector totaling $10,109.69.
• Approved a cellphone for a newly filled Assistant District Attorney position, complying with state archiving laws.
• Approved a request of the District Attorney for an expenditure of seizure funds to supplement the newly hired employee’s health insurance benefits for two months.
• Approved fees for credit and debit card usage with Automated Merchant Services in association with the Eagle Recorder software system, which is used for land records and other purposes.
• Approved a right-of-way permit for Virginia Hill Water Supply Corp. (WSC) to bore a water line along County Road 4402.
• Approved a right-of-way permit for Virginia Hill WSC to bore under County Road 4706, linking other work on nearby county roads.
• Approved the payment of state fees in the amount of $101,599.16.
• Approved the payment of fiscal year 2022 bills in the amount of $190,753.24.
• Approved the release of invitations for bids and specifications for road materials and road materials hauling and transport services for a span of June 1 to May 31, 2023.