Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, September 2, 1993 TAG: 9309020009
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Ray Reed
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
A: New hurricanes are pushed by the trade winds near the equator, where the prevailing winds blow from the east, said Chip Knappenberger, climatologist at the University of Virginia.
Ships coming from Europe often take - or once did, anyway - a southerly course to use this advantage.
Hurricanes that turn up our coast, as Emily just did, usually get pushed back out into the Atlantic on a boomerang-shaped course by the jet stream that gives us our prevailing winds from the west.
$190 ambulance fee
Q: Why do you receive a bill for $190 when you call 911 for an emergency ambulance? I thought the ambulance was a free service. I wonder if you call the fire department you're going to get a bill for that, too. J.B., Roanoke
A: Progress can be expensive, especially in medical care.
The old rescue squad is a brand new thing, bringing to our doorsteps health care that was available only in emergency rooms 25 years ago.
When Julian Wise organized the world's first lifesaving squad in Roanoke in 1928, it consisted of 10 volunteers and a rowboat.
Through the early '70s, rescue squads continued to be all-volunteer, with ambulances paid for mostly by bake sales, pancake suppers and similar fund-raisers.
Then, as Army and Marine medics returned from Vietnam and became doctors and leaders in emergency medical services, their level of training improved prehospital care, and the public began to count on it.
Volunteers didn't have enough time to meet the new training standards, which required about 180 hours in classrooms for certification as an emergency medical technician. Cardiac techs needed even more. These became, in many cases, paid jobs.
Roanoke started charging a fee to patients in July 1989.
House calls by Emergency Medical Services still are free, but if the patient is taken to a hospital, there's a $115 minimum charge and $190 if advanced life support is needed.
These cover about half of the city's costs for emergency medical services, said George Snead, director of public safety.
Regarding the second part of your question, about firefighting service: No one has suggested charging for that, at least not in public.
Pickup-truck physics
Q: I have a pickup truck, and I wonder if there is any law against kids riding in the back, or a certain age they have to be? T.C., Roanoke
A: There are no laws in the state or Roanoke traffic codes against people of any age riding in the back of a pickup.
The laws of physics are worth considering, though.
Basically they say that if a vehicle traveling 55 mph hits a solid object, bodies in the truck keep going 55 miles per hour until they, too, hit a solid object.
Got a question about something that might affect other people too? Something you've come across and wondered about? Give us a call at 981-3118. Maybe we can find the answer.
by CNB