ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1995, Roanoke Times
DATE: Wednesday, December 20, 1995 TAG: 9512200039
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV-2 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
DATELINE: PULASKI
SOURCE: PAUL DELLINGER STAFF WRITER
The county soon will have to charge for ambulance services in order to cover the salaries of paid medical personnel who are supplementing volunteer rescue squads.
So far, Radford Community Hospital and Pulaski Community Hospital have funded the salaried employees. They'll continue doing so for at least another 90 days.
After that, the county will begin charging for the medically necessary ambulance services to cover the cost of the new support. County Administrator Joe Morgan told the Board of Supervisors Monday night that notices of the change would go out first with Public Service Authority bills this week.
Most private insurance companies will cover up to 80 percent of such ambulance service, but the rest must be paid by the person being transported. Medicaid and Medicare insurance also can be applied to the costs.
County residents also will be given a chance to join a membership program, with an annual cost per family to be determined. With the payment of the membership fees, ambulance service would be completely covered.
Further information on these memberships will be provided to county residents within the next two months.
The county made the move to paid personnel mainly because response times had grown lengthier as volunteers found it harder to leave jobs during the day for emergency transports. This led to a study of emergency services by the county and towns of Pulaski and Dublin.
Starting last month, the county has used paid staff members to support volunteers between 5:30 a.m. and 5:30 p.m.
In other business Monday, the supervisors:
Agreed to consider rezoning from residential to commercial an area along Virginia 1030 (Bagging Plant Road). The matter was tabled until the board's Jan. 22 meeting to give property owners in the area a chance to comment.
Supervisor Bruce Fariss said the area, leading to where the Dublin Town Center is to be located, is going to become industrial and commercial and the rezoning would help county officials control the growth there.
Charles Cook, who will take his seat as a supervisor in January, said citizens in the area had been concerned about the lack of a buffer between residential and commercial property in the area.
Saw Cook and Frank Conner, who will join the board next month, sworn in along with other county officials who had been re-elected. The board will have an organizational meeting at 7 p.m. Jan. 8.
Praised Mason Vaughan, who attended his last meeting as a board member. Vaughan served 16 years on the board plus eight years on Pulaski Town Council,
Despite the fact that Vaughan is a Democrat, said Fariss, who is a Republican, Vaughan had a bigger impact on him than any other board member. Vaughan told Fariss many years ago: "Once you are elected and once you take a seat on this board, it is no longer political. You are only concerned about what is good for Pulaski County."
"What he said is true," Fariss said.
"This county has been blessed over the years with good people to work on this board," Vaughan said. "And I'm proud to have been a part of it. ... I guess I'll just get on my horse and ride into the West."
Referred to the Planning Commission a rezoning request to allow for a day-care center and beauty parlor. The commission had initially recommended, by a 4-3 vote, that Milton Cox's request for the zoning change be denied. The board suggested further study.
The request is to rezone property off U.S. 11 in the Draper District from residential to conditional commercial.
Michael Clark, Milton Clark's son and an adjoining property owner, said the Planning Commission had been concerned about spot zoning in the area. But Clark said spot zoning already exists. At least two residents have objected to the change.
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