Adkins and Rose speak at League of Women Voters Forum

Tuesday evening, the League of Women Voters for Athens County hosted a forum to hear from Athens County Commissioner candidates Charlie Adkins (D) and Jon Rose (I).

Although a wide variety of questions were put forward, three main topics came to the forefront of both Rose and Adkins’ responses: county emergency medical assistance (EMA), cost of living and transportation.

The event allowed each candidate to have the opportunity to present an opening statement, respond to media, mediator and citizen questions, followed by a closing statement. Tanya Conrath, the event’s mediator, introduced each candidate before detailing the event’s rules, including no rebuttals from either party.

During Rose’s introductory statement, he cited his work as an EMT for Athens County as the catalyst for his campaign. Through Rose’s own experience, he explained the EMS system is severely understaffed, with EMTs required to work 12-hour, often consecutive shifts.

“Athens County EMS is so understaffed that they forced mandatory overtime meaning that the person who is driving your loved one to the hospital or calculating the correct dose of medications sometimes has been up for 36 hours or more,” he said. “This is reckless and dangerous.”

Rose also emphasized his concerns with the level of pay provided to EMTs as he finds it to be “unlivable.” Further, when the candidates were asked how they would address mental health issues in the county, Rose stated his belief the mental health crisis team, which was recently shut down, should be reinstated. He also shared concerns with the quality of communication available to EMS workers.

“The commissioners have a lot of duties — 911, EMS, my opponent talked about the March radio, our towers. We got the best communication ever in this county, but one of them (communication towers) is getting old,” Adkins said.

Although Adkins emphasized his hope to continue improving the county EMS system, he holds a different view of the system’s current state. He cited an $11,000 funding stream given to Athens County EMS by the commissioners and highlighted his belief the system is “state of the art.”

Adkins highlighted a recently launched program that allows interested citizens to attend school to become a paramedic or EMT on the commissioners’ dime. He said that the program pays for the schooling and a small stipend and requires participants to stay in the Athens County system following certification. Additionally, Adkins strongly encouraged voters to pass the EMS renewal ballot on the levy this fall as, “They need it. Without it, we can’t continue.”

As the forum went on, transportation became a strong issue of interest to each candidate.

Adkins first spoke about the efforts made recently on this topic by the commissioners’ office. He explained a new transportation system to Albany was voted on and passed earlier in the day. Areas such as Coolville and Glouster, however, need increased systems of transportation, he added.

“At the end of the year, this year, we should have had over three three hundred thousand riders,” Adkins said. “We do have a plan and plan to work with some of the villages like Gloucester, Trimble. But it costs money. We’ve done this without raising taxes. And so it’s not the fastest process, but I don’t think raising taxes is the thing to do at this point. So we will continue growing the system.”

Rose also strongly emphasized the need for greater public transportation, particularly in relation to those in low-income communities who require transportation to work.

“One of the things that I hear people say is we need transportation,” Rose said. “We need reliable transportation. If all of the jobs are centered in Athens, and the people in the fringes of the county can’t get to Athens to work, we are doing zero service to them.”

Rose said car ownership costs around $6,000 per year, an unattainable price point for many in the county. He said that HAPCAP operates an excellent, reliable transportation system, but they need a little help to expand.

Related to the high cost of vehicle ownership, cost of living was a large concern for each candidate.

Rose emphasized the discrepancy between pay scale and rent, among other living costs, in the county and stated he hopes to work to alleviate this through job creation and transportation expansion.

“We have a ton of empty buildings, a population full of smart hardworking people with dreams and a wealth of grants available to us,” Rose said. “All we have to do is again, connect those dots, and we can make Athens a hub for innovation and growth.”

Adkins highlighted his work to bring more business and low-income housing to the county, citing an individual’s project to install a new sewer line along Route 50 East to facilitate the creation of new facilities.

“Once that’s completed the county has agreed to take over the system to actually continue expanding that area,” Adkins said. “Once again, the Omni Park out there, you know, we hope that people come in with the airport there to bring jobs, to bring different groups in there. So, you know, I work every day; I take calls, you know, to continue helping and supporting.”

The forum is available to view in its entirety on the City of Athens youtube channel or the League of Women Voters Facebook page .