Culpeper County officials call meeting to discuss volunteer rescue squad's ad seeking paid help

Date published: 4/6/2007

BY DONNIE JOHNSTON

Culpeper County officials remain perplexed by an advertisement the Culpeper County Rescue Squad placed in a newspaper this week.

That display ad in Sunday's Culpeper Star-Exponent said the squad, also known as Company 11, "is currently accepting bids from VA. licensed EMS agencies for subcontracted provider services in Culpeper County."

The ad prompted county supervisors at their meeting Tuesday to refer the matter to their Public Safety Committee, which will hold a special 7:30 a.m. meeting on the matter April 19.

"We are wondering what [Company 11's hiring of staff] will do to our paid people," said Supervisor Sue Hansohn. "We also have the question of how are they going to pay for those people?"

County Emergency Services Director Tom Williams would not comment pending the county's legal clarification of the matter.

County Attorney Dave Maddox said yesterday that his office has been asked by the Board of Supervisors to determine whether it is legal for Company 11, which receives public funds through the Culpeper Fire and Rescue Association, from essentially going into competition with the county.

"We're in the process of doing that right now," Maddox said.

He said Company 11 officials--including President Tricia Trenary, Capt. Matt Halsey and attorney Waverley Parker, who represents the squad--have been invited to the April 19 meeting "for a general discussion of the situation."

E-mailed questions regarding Company 11's intentions were sent to Trenary and Halsey. Trenary's only response was that the matter likely would be discussed at Monday night's Fire and Rescue Association meeting (7 p.m. at the Culpeper Volunteer Fire Department on East Davis Street).

Halsey did not immediately reply.

A call to Company 11 headquarters, however, was answered by squad member Tony Hoffman, who said Trenary "wants to pay somebody to stay in the building to answer calls."

Hoffman said he has been paid $500 a month to stay in the squad building since Jan. 4, two days after the Virginia Department of Emergency Services suspended Company 11's license to operate.

While the specifics of that suspension remain a mystery, Trenary said in early January that the citation was issued "because we're not answering 100 percent of our calls 24 hours a day, seven days a week, continuously."

Date published: 4/6/2007