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."
The suspension was lifted Feb. 26, but Hoffman said Company 11 has been responding to only "maybe 20 percent of calls" since then.
"I've only been out of this building 21 hours--and that includes going to church--between Jan. 4 and the beginning of this month," Hoffman said. He described his as a "custodial" role and said active members were "pretty much only showing up on Friday nights and weekends."
He said that his tenure as the squad building's caretaker will end April 28.
Concerning Company 11's troubles, which have continued on and off since the suspension of several prominent members eight years ago, Hoffman said, "Ninety-nine percent of our problems are internal."
Since Company 11's initial problems, the county has hired a 24-hour-a-day paid emergency medical services staff.
Company 11 officials accused the county of helping bring about the Jan. 2 suspension so paid staff could take over the squad's facilities. The paid staff, which had been using those facilities until the time of the suspension, is now working out of the Emergency Operations Center nearby.
The county has adamantly denied any attempt to disenfranchise Company 11.
Donnie Johnston: