Supporters of Wood County Sheriff's Rescue Speak at Committee Meeting
Wednesday, November 28th, 2018 -- 8:57 AM
(Wisconsin Rapids Daily Tribune) -Local emergency responders filled a courthouse room Tuesday to be heard on the future of the Wood County Sheriff's Rescue, a volunteer service the sheriff abruptly cut and then reinstated Monday.Mandy Adamski is a member of the Sheriff's Rescue and spoke about the volunteers' dedication to weekly training. Wood County Sheriff Thomas Reichert shut down the rescue unit on Nov. 20, saying it duplicated services provided by other agencies, served only a limited area and cost county taxpayers too much money with an annual budget of $10,250 plus equipment expenses. Reichert, who is retiring at the end of 2018, defended his decision Monday but reinstated the Sheriff's Rescue to give county residents a chance to tell the County Board and incoming Sheriff-elect Shawn Becker whether they want the service. If he wanted people to be heard on the topic, Reichert got his wish Tuesday during a meeting of the Wood County Legislative and Judicial Committee. More than 50 people filled the room and stood in the hall outside, hoping to catch part of the conversation.
Committee Chairman Bill Clendenning gave people three minutes each to talk about whether the county should reverse an earlier decision to cut funding in 2019. Grand Rapids resident Tom Heiser, who is a volunteer firefighter and former police chief, said he was relieved to learn about the Wood County Sheriff's Rescue when he first came to the community. The Sheriff's Rescue does more than extricate people from vehicles at crash scenes, Heiser said. Members are trained on traffic and crowd control, which can free up sheriff's deputies for other duties. Two-thirds of the Wood County Board will need to vote yes in order to reinstate the money for the Sheriff's Rescue, he said.
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