MULLICA TOWNSHIP - The actions of top township Democrats pushed the local volunteer ambulance corps toward disbanding, its chief said Tuesday night,
From the Atlantic City Press Published: Wednesday, December 17, 2008
By ERIC SCOTT CAMPBELL Staff Writer, 609-272-7227
MULLICA TOWNSHIP - The actions of top township Democrats pushed the local volunteer ambulance corps toward disbanding, its chief said Tuesday night, but "there was some posting on the blog page that really triggered our decision."
The Township Committee granted Gary Franklin the podium for about 30 minutes early in its public meeting. Franklin wanted to explain why the squad dissolved and turned over its emergency-response beat to Hammonton's squad, using most of its remaining money to pay for six months of such coverage.
The squad wanted a better equipped home than its bay at the township garage, and the last five years of such requests weren't successful, Franklin said. Members also felt slighted by the township's consideration of sharing emergency services with another municipality, Franklin said.
"We made it clear, we didn't want to be part of the shared services," Franklin said. "You don't want us."
Committee members interjected only a handful of words while Franklin talked. Afterward, as they reluctantly voted to accept the squad's resignation, members seemed almost as reluctant to respond to Franklin's criticism.
"I don't want to get in an argument with you," Mayor William Kennedy told Franklin. Each man had in recent years commissioned a study of how best to provide ambulance service, with Franklin's study finding volunteer service was better and Kennedy's study finding Mullica should contract with Hammonton, Franklin said.
Kennedy did address the township's aborted discussion of merging the squad with Egg Harbor City's: "Egg Harbor came to us, we didn't go to Egg Harbor. Anyway, that's done with."
Bernard Graebener - like Kennedy, a Democrat - objected to Franklin characterizing him as opposed to giving the squad a new property. Graebener had only wondered whether the proposed site was big enough and in a convenient enough location, he said. Franklin replied that they recalled the conversation differently.
Republicans Kathy Chasey and Janet Forman thanked the squad for its eight years of service.
"I realize what a personal toll this has taken on all of you," Chasey said. "The governing body did not do much to support you, and I realize that."
Republicans controlled the committee from 2004 through 2007, then Democrats took a 3-to-2 majority this year. Franklin, a registered Republican, criticized the Democrats on Tuesday night but spared the Republicans, and after the meeting he explained why.
"As much as the Republicans had controlled the committee before, Larry Angel was very good at driving a wedge ... which would actually divide the Republican board," Franklin said.
Angel, who died in May, was a longtime critic of Mullica's government, and he was the former proprietor of the "blog page" to which Franklin referred in his comments to the committee. The site now is titled "Gadfly - In Memory of Larry Angel," anonymously operated by someone with access to Angel's password.
Site comments critical of the squad made members wonder if they were "throwing good time after bad," Franklin said.
"You go on the Web pages, and there's all these EMS gurus," Franklin said. "So Larry's divisive nature carries forth."
E-mail Eric Scott Campbell: mailto:ECampbell@pressofac.com
Wednesday, December 17, 2008
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8 comments:
I get it,"you republicans, who did absolutely nothing to help the squad, are good and you democrats, who this year were honestly trying to find a reasonable solution with the squad to improve the ambulance service to the community after years of republican nonsupport, are bad." As Larry would have said, "Huh?".
This story gave me the creeps. As the creeps who would pick up and leave the township for political BS. I have had it with folks like that. Mayor Kennedy and the Dems have been good friends to the squad while he Repubs have been nothing more than do nothings.
To the so called squad I say...you started with the best of intentions but you are ending all of your hard working years of service with a thud. You know in your heart of hearts that you are wrong.
Gary Franklin has zero credibility. To blame the democrats when they have only been in control for the past 11 months, yet readily admit in the article that they have been requesting more money and equipment for 5 years lacks logic, credibility and honesty. Gary, you need to get a sanity check along with some honesty. No wonder you are a registered Republican.
If you ask a Republican controlled council for 5 years for more money and equipment for the rescue squad, then blame the lack of support on the democrats and the quitting of the EMT's on Larry Angels website.....you might be a Mullica Republican.
The Rescue Squad people are the ones who wrote to the site saying how bad their equipment and garage were. Nobody had anything bad to say about the EMS people.
From what I read, everybody felt bad for them and thanked them for their service. The only ones that got criticized were Chasey & Forman for not giving them any help over all these years and Gary Franklin for his leadership.
Now,he's putting the blame on a man who's been gone for 7 months and this site which has been up about 2 months.
Franklin needs a reality check and the squad should look into the truth about who caused this whole mess.
The only good result from this meeting was that Gadfly got alot of publicity and alot more readers from all over the County.
Thanks for your service and I'm really sorry your Chief wasn't able to compromise or discuss other options. We will miss you.
If Chief Franklin had a problem with this site, he should have written in and stated anything that he disagreed with. Alot of people have different opinions on the same things.
The Squad was working out of a waterless garage for 7 yrs. and he blames a two month old Blog site for his problems.
We didn't even talk about the Squad's problems until they wrote in.
Why did he "Spare" the Republicans and criticize the Democrats? They weren't there for 6 of the years and they were the only ones trying to help.
I think Franklin had the political agenda and it backfired.
I guess truth irritates alot of people.
I'm thankful that this blog is carrying on in Larry's memory.
Exposure only hurts those who have something to hide or do totally stupid things.
In the article, Franklin seemed to have the most "divisive" nature out of all of them.
I, for one, want to thank the moron Chief for bringing this site to my attention. If it were not for his big mouth I might never have found you all here. I read the press of ac and there you were in the EMT story.
I agree with you all that the DEMS are innocent here. The Repubs are all to blame.
SHAME ON THE REPUBS!
Who can I get in touch with to join the local Democrats. You seem to have it all together in Mullica and that was not easy to say. It is Mullica after-all.
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