Fire department is county responsibility

To The Eagle:

As you may or may not know, we have in Wahkiakum County some of the best emergency services and a Sheriff's Office which is very much a part of this community, as shown by the recent election.

Our fire and ambulance services, which are volunteer, are far better than many private or full time salaried emergency services. Our people are experienced, fast to respond, efficient and very caring. Their response time compares to paid responders and in many cases, is quicker.

Any mistake made has been corrected and they are moving forward with the best interest of our residents in mind. Others are attempting to use this mistake to take over part of the funding for these services. I do not think the residents of Wahkiakum County are interested in the town of Cathlamet taking over anything to do with our emergency services as they exist today, let alone the bookkeeping cost which quadruples from the $6,000 annual figure today to $20,000 plus or minus if taken over by the town of Cathlamet.

We, the residents of the county, have no vote in city elections, as it should be. We do not want our emergency services regulated in any way by the entity, (the city) for which we have no control. The town has 600-800 residents. The county has plus or minus 3,000 residents.

If we wanted to be regulated by the town, we would have chosen to live there.

Michael C. Mouliot

Cathlamet