Dear Editor,

I just watched the new Oroville ambulance drive into Frontier foods. One person got out and went in. The other had a conversation with another person in the parking lot. After 15 minutes or so they loaded up and went to the donut shop. Then around the block and back to the ambulance building. I wonder what that donut run cost the people of Oroville?

I have not heard what our 90 day contract with Lifeline is costing. Could someone tell us? Let me run the numbers that I see. I can’t imagine an EMT working for less than $15 so with benefits that has to be over $20. Lets use that figure. 24 hours in a day times 30 days in a month comes to 720 hours. Have to have 2 people so that is 1440 hours. At $20 per hour that is $28800 per month bare minimum for employee cost. At that rate if there are 2 calls that is just too bad. The second call can wait for Tonasket if they are not busy. I think if we made $345,600 available annually for the volunteers for their wages we would have a lot of volunteers. Probably enough to run 2 ambulances. And they wouldn’t take the ambulances for donuts.

Brian Thompson

Oroville