Serving Gogebic, Iron and Ontonagon Counties
Serving Gogebic, Iron and Ontonagon Counties
By PAMELA JANSSON
Bessemer — Two sessions designed to inform the public on the pending continuation of an ambulance millage drew no attendees on the eastern or western sides of Gogebic County.
Heidi DeRosso, Gogebic County coordinator of emergency services/911, reported the news on July 18 as she sat in an empty room of Bessemer VFW Post 3673, where residents with questions or concerns had been expected to gather.
A separate session scheduled earlier this month at the Watersmeet Township Hall also drew no visitors.
DeRosso said she hopes the lack of interest indicates that local citizens already know the importance of continuing the current ambulance millage.
But she added, “A lot of people don’t understand that this is a bigger issue than us. It’s not just us. It’s a problem everywhere you go.”
She was referring to the fact that smaller towns in rural areas are having an increasingly hard time of funding ambulances and other emergency services.
DeRosso sees no reason for hesitancy in supporting the millage, which is scheduled for a vote in the Aug. 6 primary election.
She said the property tax charge of under 1 mill (.9943 mill) will amount to roughly $100 per year for someone with a $100,000 home.
“I look at it like an insurance plan,” said DeRosso. “You have it in hopes you don’t have to use it.”
According to literature prepared by DeRosso, the resulting funds will help to finance any needed training, equipment and other emergency expenses in the county.
The millage does not provide a subsidy for emergency providers, which currently are Aspirus MedEvac and Beacon Ambulance in Ironwood.
The Gogebic County Board of Commissioners, however, plans to continue discussing the possibility of providing some funding toward Watersmeet First Providers, who act as a first line of defense until emergency personnel can travel to the county’s east end from Aspirus Iron River.
“They stabilize the patient until Aspirus (Iron River) arrives,” said DeRosso of the Watersmeet first responders.
The Gogebic County Board of Commissioners has tried to attract extra first responders to the Watersmeet region by offering free, related training, but so far, nobody has accepted the offer.
“The current ones are trained,” said DeRosso of that locale. “They’re a small group, and they’re excellent, but it’s a small group.”
Hence, she said there has been a desire to expand the group to allow for more backups as needed.
DeRosso added that emergency servicers also are willing to set up rigs in Watersmeet “once sufficient on-call staffing is secured.”
She said that Gogebic Community College still has programs for EMTs or paramedics, but she said Watersmeet residents face another obstacle in needing to travel significant distances to be educated at GCC or other learning centers in their vicinity.
Moreover, said DeRosso of emergency providers, “It’s a tough job. It’s not for everybody.”
“One of the issues is the training takes a significant amount of time,” said Lorenson. “It’s not the easiest thing to go through.”
He said the county is continuing to work with Watersmeet officials to identify people interested in attending the training and to make it as location-friendly as possible.
DeRosso underscored the fact that Wisconsin requires governmental entities — whether counties, townships, etc. — to provide ambulance service to residents, whereas Michigan does not.
Regarding related conversations she has had with Michigan legislators, she said, “It seems when you talk to them, they understand, but it goes nowhere to my knowledge.”
She added that additional training for law enforcement officers also would be appropriate since they often are the first persons to arrive on the scene of an accident or other disaster.
However, she said not enough options have yet developed in that regard either.
If the vote passes, the newly continued millage will run from 2025 through 2027. DeRosso expects service contracts to be renewed at the end of this year.
Without a continuation of emergency services, DeRosso said that local police and fire departments will be under increased pressure and residents may face longer wait times. Such a scenario also is predicted to threaten economic development.
“I want to avoid the situation where you call for help and no one shows up,” said Lorenson.
He noted that this will be the county’s second vote on millage renewal, following an original, third vote to establish the millage.
Persons may pick up informational handouts in the Watersmeet Township Hall and in the Gogebic County Courthouse in Bessemer.
Direct questions to DeRosso at 906-667-0204.
