To the editor:

Hearing reports from neighbors that concern me, I began talking with Van Buren Township residents who’ve had unfortunate experiences with their new official fire department, Southern Brown Volunteer Fire Department, running only 4 months now. They also talked to me about circumstances that led to the new department’s creation by the trustee in July 2017, when she severed the contract with their 42-year-old Van Buren Township Volunteer Fire Department. Now, through no fault of its own, the VBTVFD was forced into noncompliance with its contract (when the trustee severed the contract with the fire department) for a federal OCRA grant awarded to the fire department to build their new, badly needed fire station.

These residents’ experiences with SBFD have not been positive. They are upset about the quality of services from SBVFD and what has been happening in their otherwise beautiful, serene community.

Because the OCRA grant was funneled through the county commissioners, the future financial viability of Brown County is now jeopardized. While seeking possible solutions, careful consideration must be given to the history of how these issues developed so similar future problems are avoided. Finances will be considered, but other things must also be considered: possible ramifications of chosen solution(s) on lives, health and safety, property and the community’s economy. Another extremely important consideration is the effect on volunteerism, which our community relies heavily upon.

History: Excited residents were happy seeing their new fire station built near the school, but then they witnessed the morale of volunteers deteriorate, both firefighters and the fire boards, when operating funds from the trustee’s contract were cut off for years while fire department members were spending more time raising money and much less time with their families or working to earn a living.

Quarterly fundraisers were adequate in the past, but in recent years, the department was forced to hold weekly fundraisers. This dismayed residents who appreciate the dedication, dependability, experience and high-quality care the volunteers give to their township and county, nor did they like their fire chief being publicly disrespected with wild, unfounded accusations. Infuriated and disgusted, neighbors wrote petitions, then pitched in and came in, week after week, to fundraisers, while firefighters, board members and the community took money out of their own pockets to keep the fire department afloat. Letters and petitions were written by concerned residents as they saw what their trustee and her advisory board were doing to the fire department many of them helped to start decades ago.

As I have listened to residents, I have become more concerned about actions of the trustee and her advisory board, apparently unnecessarily costing Brown County taxpayers hundreds of thousands of dollars, (enough to build a new fire station without grant money?) for:

1) legal fees (over $117,000) for an unnecessary court case made necessary because the trustee failed to pay VBTVFD (for over three years) for services rendered, resulting in a breach of the contract with the 42-year-old VBTVFD;

2) spending approximately $100,000 (so far) for an unnecessary new fire department, which is apparently ill-equipped, unreliable and inadequately trained.

Many of the neighbors have serious medical issues and have been used to the best and do not want less than the best for emergency medical care. Knowing their well-trained VBTVFD is available and close but no longer is allowed to help them causes undo stress and frustration. Residents wait and hope that VBTVFD can become active again very soon. They respect and appreciate all wonderful volunteers who assist their neighbors through the fire departments, the old one and the new one. They agree that they need and deserve the highest possible services when they call 911 for help, but at this time, differences between these departments are of great concern, as demonstrated by checking the Indiana Homeland Security website documenting VBTVFD Chief John Ward has 12 certifications, including EMS certification, and is also a trainer, while SBVFD’s Chief Evan Johnson has only one certification which makes him unqualified to go inside a burning structure and unable to provide training for his fire department. Aaron Pennington, VBVFD’s assistant chief, has 13 certifications.

Chief Ward requires VBTVFD members be qualified for firefighting as well as emergency medical first responders, while few members of the SBVFD have EMS certification, according to the IHS website. Other significant differences between these departments are the ages of firefighters, volunteers’ availability, and distances firefighters live and work from Van Buren Township. They wonder, why would their trustee want to or be allowed to try forcing a great department out of business to replace it with a significantly less qualified, less reliable and much less experienced department?

They have seen firsthand what happens when volunteers are disrespected and unappreciated. Most stop volunteering. Who can blame them? This must be considered while looking at a solution to the OCRA grant issue. These volunteers in no way deserve what they have been through.

An immediate task at hand, finding a workable solution to comply with the OCRA contract, can be combined with solving another urgent problem: restoring quality, dependable fire and emergency medical services to Van Buren Township residents. The obvious, easiest and least expensive solution is for the trustee to immediately sign a new contract with VBTVFD, to cover at least part of our township, lasting until the five-year deadline is reached, which would remove the possibility of repaying a $400,000 grant to the feds and free up grant money being held up at the present time.

I was taught “Love thy neighbor.” This means caring for your neighbors in the best possible ways. I believe, for elected officials, this praise also describes the most important part of their job descriptions. Our neighbors need the trustee and the commissioners to take action immediately. They hope they will not be let down.

Sincerely,

Susan W. Showalter, Van Buren Township

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