To the Editor:
I am writing this letter in support of my husband and the Fire Department and Emergency Medical Services in Goshen. These services are provided free of charge to all town residents, and staffed by volunteers who are very dedicated.
At a recent budget meeting, two members of the Town Management Committee were critical of the methods of the Fire Department. They also complained that an emergency medical technician who is employed by the Highway Department had responded to emergency calls during working hours.
Fire Chief Francis Dresser is the only paid employee of the Fire Department and draws a very small salary in exchange for a lifetime of assistance to our town. His wife, Ruth, had donated many years of service as the dispatcher for all the town departments. Their children Kim and Kit are volunteer firefighters and EMT’s.
A few years ago my husband, Bill Benoit, volunteered to join the Goshen Fire Department and since then became an EMT and is now continuing his studies in this field. Nearly a year and a half ago, he left a higher paying job of 10 years to take a job on the Highway Department. There were many reasons that made him decide to make this move, but one of those reasons was that he would be in town during the day to help with any emergencies that arose.
When my husband left his former job, a co-worker drew a humorous cartoon of Bill entangled with equipment and gear to fulfill his many duties for the town as an EMT, firefighter, Highway Department worker, mechanic/laborer, and dog officer. He gets a weekly salary and some overtime for the job on the Highway Department, and a small yearly salary as the dog officer, but in return the town gets someone who is willing to work around the clock, seven days a week, on any emergency that comes along.
I think the town needs more people like Bill, the Dresser family and the other people who work on the Fire Department, and those in the town government who are doing the best they can in this time of financial difficulties. We need to support their efforts and work together for the good of our community. What we don’t need is those who choose to sit back and criticize and nitpick.
We need more funds and constructive ideas on how to raise them, not to fight over what we have. The people in the Fire Department have worked hard over the years to raise money for things that were needed. We have seen them work together with other towns for their mutual benefit. This is a positive example to follow and to teach our children.
Norene Clark
Goshen