Dear Editor,
Recently I attended the Blowing Rock October Town Commission meeting where the agenda item of the County’s performance with County EMS services was discussed at length. Since then Town Commissioner, Dan Phillips has taken this issue on as a priority and recently e-mailed many BR citizens a link to an excellent article written by Editor David Rogers in Blowing Rock News.com about the necessity of hosting an ambulance in Blowing Rock.
Frankly, we are tired of Blowing Rock serving as a “cash cow” for the county and getting short-changed when it comes to the County providing essential services.
What we’re going to do is form a PAC (political action committee) and vote as a block for County Commissioners who represent our interests with as much priority as they afford Boone. We may not have enough voting power to elect someone who fairly represents the Blowing Rock Fire District, but we have enough votes to positively or adversely affect the elections of at least some of either the candidates or the incumbents. Politicians, your research should reflect that Blowing Rock consistently has one of the highest voter percentage turnouts in the County.
Perhaps we will be unable to organize in time for this election, but Watauga County Commissioners should watch out for us next time — because we will be watching you!
There are many aspects to this issue, but let’s start with an interesting question: What is the percentage of “full pay” or “insurance pays” from Blowing Rock patients vs. the county pick ups? My bet is the taxpayer is picking up a lot of the freight in Boone and most probably other parts of the County. Perhaps it is also enough to fund emergency equipment that might be housed in a free space in Blowing Rock’s Fire & Rescue Station.
The core message to the County policy and decision makers should be: “Stop short-changing Blowing Rock and its citizens. You would be surprised what we are willing to afford to do without you!”
Karyn Kennedy Herterich
Blowing Rock Citizen, Registered NC Voter and Taxpayer