Minonk needs volunteers

One of the solutions is to hire a fulltime EMT who can be on call throughout the day. This person could also handle normal maintenance and other duties during the day. This solution has a couple of problems. First, the city doesn't have any money budgeted for a fulltime EMT. Secondly, hiring a fulltime EMT who is drawing a living wage may tend to discourage volunteers to donate their time and money for a far less amount. Currently, an intermediate EMT gets $35 a call, the basic EMT gets $20, and a driver receives $15 a call.

The city can budget for a fulltime EMT but that will require cutting back on other services provided by the city. At the last city council meeting, it appears that the council and the mayor are looking for feedback from the public to determine if they are willing to fund a fulltime EMT through either an increase in taxes or through cutting out other services.

The second thing that I believe that the city council and the ambulance squad is looking for is to determine if enough volunteers can be recruited for the ambulance squad to reduce the workload on the present squad. The council is going to make a decision on how to resolve the ambulance squad shortage at its November 18 meeting. Between now and then I urge citizens to make their opinions known to the council in order to help them reach a decision. One way or the other it is going to affect the taxpayers pocketbook.

The pool of available volunteers for local services has diminished over the years due primarily to the fact that most people work out of town and are not available during the day to respond to emergency calls and fire calls. However, I also believe that our current generation is not as volunteer oriented as past generations. People just do not join or get involved like they did years ago.

Many of Minonk's local civic organizations are suffering from a lack of active members. The OddFellows disbanded two years ago after having an active organization for over 120 years. Membership at the Masonic Lodge is down as is the American Legion and the VFW. In fact, Melvin Matter, who is commander of the American Legion said that the Legion Auxiliary is looking for women to join. He indicated that these organizations need younger people or they will eventually have to disband.

I realize now that a small community like Minonk is only as good as the people who volunteer to make it better. It is important that community involvement be emphasized early in a person's life. Some families do emphasis the importance of making a contribution. But unfortunately, most don't. That is why I think our schools should have some type of curriculum that emphasizes community involvement and ethics. It seems to me that in our efforts to embrace technology as the answer to our problems, we have overlooked the basic tools that are needed to become responsible citizens. Instead of giving a child a mouse to click on, we first should instill in the child basic values before we send them off into the seductions of the technical world.

Maybe the problem is that people don't know how to get involved. Well, here are some suggestions. If you are in good health, you can volunteer to be an EMT with the ambulance squad. Our ambulance squad is overworked and under appreciated. They deserve better support from this community and their work can make a difference between life and death. I have a friend who used to be an EMT on the ambulance squad and she said that it was the most gratifying job that she ever had.

Pick up a packet from city hall and run for city council in next April's election. You have until January 13 to file. Each ward will elect one new councilperson. Let's face it. Being a city council member is really a form of volunterism. The pay is $40 a meeting so economics are not a lure. In addition, the council has to endure the snide comments of you and I while they try to do what they feel is best for the community. Like them or not, at least they showed enough civic pride to run for office. The backbone of our democracy starts with the actions of city councils in small communities like ours. Do not underestimate the importance of being a city council member.

I think that the city should create a volunteer task force that could be an outlet for volunteerism. There are many tasks that can be done by volunteers to help out the city maintain our streets and parks. Picking up litter in the parks, painting fire hydrants, trimming trees and bushes are just a few of the jobs that can be organized by the city and staffed by volunteers. There are many able retirees who could contribute their services.

Citizens of Minonk must decide to get involved in the community by volunteering their services to the community and also by voicing their concerns and opinions on issues important to the city.