Blount County Rescue Squad quits Dragon

Blount County Rescue Squad ‘standing down' for 30 days

The Blount County Rescue Squad decided to “stand down” for 30 days, during which time they will not be responding to calls.

The squad board of directors made the decision to stand down immediately at a meeting Thursday night.

Squad Captain A. Lee Berkley said “there are issues we have to deal with.”

During this time squad volunteers will “be training, get all the equipment back in order, do repairs and general maintenance,” Berkley said.

The squad, which has 50 volunteers, is located at 230 E. Lincoln Road, Alcoa.

Up to now the squad has been responding to wrecks and other emergency rescue calls.
They no longer provide medical first responder services or medical transport. They do assist Rural/Metro Ambulance Service with lift assist when requested.

Other area departments now are trained in such emergencies as swift water rescue and underwater diving.

Blount County Fire Chief and Blount Rescue Squad board member Doug McClanhan said: “With the economy the way it is, people don’t have a lot of time to volunteer.

This will give them time to restructure and do training.

“Citizens of Blount County can be assured they will be well protected. We provide all these emergency services now. We train continuously on rescue techniques with the other fire departments and Blount County Sheriff's Office,” McClanahan said.
The other fire departments are Alcoa, Maryville and volunteer departments in Townsend, Greenback and Friendsville.

“We are in service 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Our services come from seven different locations where we have stations,” he added.

Michelle Hankes, president and CEO of United Way of Blount County, said the Rescue Squad this year received only funds designated to the squad by contributors, which amounted to $5,500. The squad did not receive any direct United Way funding “after eight years of being warned about accountability, of not turning in their numbers,” Hankes said.

This decision was made by a volunteer panel, not by the United Way staff, she said.
“United Way funding only amounted to 5 to 10 percent of their budget,” Hankes said. “Lack of United Way funding didn’t kill them, but I’m sure they felt it.”

She said the Rescue Squad decided not to reapply to be a United Way partner agency for 2011 and will not receive any funding, including designated funds.

“I hope they get restructured and are able to meet the minimum standards to get funding in the future,“ Hankes said.

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Blount County Rescue Squad members now claim they're still providing first aid to crash victims, using their personal vehicles as First Responders on the Dragon.

Blount County Rescue Squad Stands Down - Pirate News Radio Show on WBCR 1470am in Alcoa TN. Cops provide zero first aid to crash victims. Rescue Squad members must pay their own college training and for their First Responder kits, costing $2,000 without government assistance. Meanwhile Rural Metro is a trillion-dollar foreign corporation with a monopoly contract for unlimited profit, and a 4-hour response time on the Dragon in Blount County. Did any govt officials pocket bribes on that contract?



THE DRAGONATER WINS IN TRAFFIC COURT AT DEALS GAP, RAISES SPEED LIMIT TO 65 MPH ON THE DRAGON - NOLLE PROSEQUI BY BLOUNT COUNTY ATTORNEY GENERAL. NO TESTIMONY, HEARING NOR TRIAL WHATSOEVER. 60 MPH SPEEDING TICKET DISMISSED WITH PREJUDICE, COSTS PAID BY THE STATE, IN BLOUNT COUNTY GENERAL SESSIONS COURT WITH JUDGE BREWER. THP TROOPER RANDALL HUCKEBY ADMITTED ON VIDEOTAPE DURING TRAFFIC STOP THAT ALL SPEEDING TICKETS NORTHBOUND ON US129 AT MILE MARKER 0.5 ARE FEDERAL JURISDICTION, NOT STATE JURISDICTION (VIDEO BY THE DRAGONATER). HUCKEBY WAS ALSO CAUGHT ON VIDEO SPEEDING AT 60 MPH ON THE DRAGON, WITHOUT THE MANDATORY EMERGENCY LIGHTS AND SIREN REQUIRED FOR IMMUNITY FROM PROSECUTION (VIDEO BY THE DRAGONATER). TDOT ADMITTED IN WRITING THAT THE MANDATORY TRAFFIC ENGINEERING SURVEY SPEED AUDIT WAS NEVER PERFORMED, IN VIOLATION OF TN CODE, THUS THE POSTED 30 MPH SPEED LIMIT ON THE DRAGON REVERTS TO THE DEFAULT 65 MPH IN TN CODE. THE DRAGONATER ALSO MADE VIDEO OF TROOPER HUCKEBY SPEEDING UP TO 60 MPH ON THE DRAGON IN A 30 MPH ZONE, WITHOUT MANDATORY EMERGENCY LIGHTS NOR SIREN, IN VIOLATION OF TN CODE, AND PERJURY IN HIS PERSONNEL FILE, WHICH SHOWED HIS $100,000+ SALARY. 2007 TDOT SAFETY AUDIT REPORT CONFESSED THAT THP'S JOB IS TO BAN ALL COMMERCIAL BUSINESSES ON THE DRAGON, SO THP TICKETS INCREASED 11,400% IN BLOUNT COUNTY. THP'S STALKER RADAR OPERATOR MANUAL CONFESSED THAT RADAR CANNOT MEASURE THE SPEED OF VEHICLES WITHIN 18 MPH OF ACTUAL SPEED. WATCH THIS SPACE FOR FULL EVIDENCE FILE. UPDATE 7 MARCH 2011