Questions answered by Lamar Paris, County Commissioner
Q. What is the final 2009 report for our emergency services?
A. The Fire Department responded to 1,385 incident calls in 2009. 18 calls were for hazardous condition (example: gas leak, overheated motor, power line down, etc.), 40 calls were service type calls (lock-out, animal rescue, etc.), 175 were good intent calls (no incident found on arrival at dispatch, smoke scare, odor of smoke, etc.) 31 calls were false alarm and false calls, 94 calls were for fires, 1,018 were for rescue and emergency medical service incidents, 1 call was for explosion (no fire), 2 calls were for severe weather and natural disaster and 6 calls were special incident type (citizen complaint, etc)
The E911 Dispatch Center reported for the time period 4/1/09 to 3/31/10 that 7,095 Emergency Line Calls were answered, with 94% of all calls being answered in under 5 seconds.
Union General Hospital, EMS (ambulance service), reports total ambulance calls for 2009 were 3,034 and transports were 2,444. The county wide 911 response time was an average of 8.33 minutes.
The Sheriff’s office reports shows 9747 calls or dispatches and the Blairsville Police report shows 3566 calls.
This is part of what your property tax dollars go to support. We should be proud of the services these dedicated county, city and hospital employees provide for our citizens.
Q. What is the point of origin for all of those meals on wheels?
A. The Senior Center had 107 home delivered meal clients in 2009 and delivered 29,346 meals to these homebound seniors. They contract with Valley Food Services to provide balanced meals to the seniors in Union County. The meals are packed out at the senior center on a daily basis and they rely heavily on volunteers from the community to deliver the meals; however, the staff delivers meals as needed and staff delivers all of the frozen meals. Some of the seniors live too far out in the county for a hot meal route and they receive frozen meals. The Senior Center serves lunch to approximately 20-25 congregate clients daily at the center. In 2009 they served 4,028 congregate meals in the center. They made 4,758 trips on their vans and served 5,673 seniors in their wellness programs which include chair exercise, Tai Chi, Yoga, nutrition, etc. We are very proud of the service our Senior Center, staff and volunteers provide for our mature citizens!
Again, this is a very important service that your county provides and is partially funded by your property tax dollars and partially by federal dollars.
Q. Can we get soil and water samples done locally?
A. Yes. Your County Extension Agency performs an unbelievable number of citizen services. They can send soil samples for fertilizer recommendations and water samples to help homeowners determine mineral problems in drinking water. In 2009 in addition to handling approx. 160 soil and 65-70 water samples your County Extension Service also performed the following: Conducted 50 educational agricultural and 300 4H/Youth programs, successfully identified 400 plant pathology and insect questions, handled 7,000 phone calls, office visits, and consultations, and made 300 to 400 home visit consultations. More information from native plants to growing tomatoes can be found at www.ugaextension.com/union. Thanks to the Extension Service employees for the great service they provide to the citizens of our county. Here again, the county provides the office space and partially funds this office with property tax dollars with the balance coming from the state through the Board of Regents.
Q. How many people use the transportation buses?
A. We have two transportation vans and in 2009 they made 3,944 trips. Covering 36,662 miles, they collected $14,496. Both vans are handicap accessible and in 2009 they transported 1,304 handicapped individuals. If you need a ride in a county van, simply call 706-439-6050 for information and schedule of their services. Thanks to these dedicated county employees for providing this needed service. This is funded 50% by the federal government, 25% by local fees paid, and about 25% with property tax dollars.