(quote).... I am all for being good ti our public servants and for training them, but I was shocked when I heard that the Rodanthe Fire Department is using department monies aka tax payer monies to send their dive team to the Bahamas. The dive conditions in the Bahamas are nothing like the conditions here, where they in fact will be diving. Their training would be better served and cheaper if they used a local dive business to dive the local environment in which they will actually be working. Not to mention supporting a local business or two. Let's call it what it is....a paid vacation. Who do they think they are.....County commissioners?....(unquote).
Property owners in Rodanthe pay an extra 4 cents per $100 valuation for fire protection.
EOD does not know anything about this matter, so he will simply throw it out there for anyone who wants to explain, debate, or disavow the above remarks.
Interestingly, an article now appearing in JDNews.com down in Jacksonville, NC says that North Carolina has just been named as one of the Top Five diving destinations in North America. The article says...(quote) North Carolina placed in the Top 5 in North America for best overall diving destination, big animal diving, wreck diving and best diving value for the dollar. While the state was edged out of the top spot for wreck diving this year by the Great Lakes, reader votes moved North Carolina into the No. 1 spot for advanced diving.(unquote). Read more here.
22 comments:
Abuses happen at all levels of gov't -- that's what we've learned this past couple of weeks. And NO -- that's not a good thing !
My daughter is a certified wreck diver with years of experience but won't dive here as it's very hazardous.
And how much do you pay in fire tax?
I live in Salvo and feel my monies for protection by the fire departments are well spent. If one life is saved by water rescue in Rodanthe then it is money well spent. If you are going to single them out then it would be best to single all departments paid by the county which all of our tax dollars support. A trash truck sitting somewhere is not making good use of tax dollars, the mosquito truck spraying when there are no mosqitoes is a waste of tax dollars, deputies sitting in their car taking a nap is poor use of tax dollars (and yes that does occur), commissioners talking of anything other than county business when on a business lunch is a waste of tax dollars. If you are going to throw a rock throw a handful because waste is in all departments.
Dale,
EOD admits to not knowing the facts of this matter, but as to "throwing rocks", readers of this blog did, in fact, throw quite a few rocks at the commissioners for their $600 hotel rooms, $300 meals and expensive conference junkets. They also spoke out against,certains wastes for attending the Annual Hurricane Conference, and abuse over at the county landfill, just to name a few. So, are you telling us the fire departments should be exempt from oversight by the taxpayers who fund them?
If you don't know the facts, don't write the article slamming guys who are up at all hours of the night serving our community and our visitors. These guys are training to risk their lives to go under water to look for what is usually someone who has already passed away to return the body to the family. Here, done in the dark, strong currents. So they would like to train in calmer clearer water where they can see each other. They in fact do support local dive shops and were all certified through local dive shops. How often do you get called out of bed in the night to go help someone in need, for free. And if it was a vacation they would deserve it. Do you have any idea how much work these guys put into helping the community after the storm while their stuff molded.
Before you get your panties all in a wad, Anon...read the blogpost again. EOD hasn't slammed anyone.
Rather, a reader's comments were put online for other readers' response.
Now, with that said, EOD will tell you that if he were a Rodanthe taxpayer, he would not want to pay to send ANYONE to the Bahamas. So there. :) :)
I am a Rodanthe tax payer and I enjoy the Very Large home owners insurance break I get because of the extensive training our fire department. Diving is risky. Clear water training is important. The fire department has a board that has to approve what happens. They must have felt it necessary. Since you aren't a Rodanthe tax payer you don't have to worry about it.
You may not want to pay for them to go train but I bet you'd want them to bring your family member up from the bottom.
I am sure they have family's and miss them
From your opening of this topic and your comment that you would not want to pay for their trip you are in fact trying to portray them negatively and publicly. Do your research. This team has taking the entire tri-villages from several drownings per year to 1 in the last 2 years even though they patrol miles of beach without financial support from the county. Whatever training they are involved in is supported. Do you dive? Do you know the risks? A Virginia police officer was just killed doing a practice exercise in murky water a few months ago. How about making things as safe as possible for these guys. Do you volunteer and put yourself in harms way for your community?
EOD, I am not throwing rocks at any one department of the county, just making the statement that waste occurs in all of them so it is best to say the county as a whole does not spend the taxpayers monies wisely mayhaps. Abuse does exist accross all levels of governments. One thing to keep in mind also is the firefighters of Hatteras Island are strictly volunteer, no paycheck involved. I have seen these men after they have tried to resuscitate a young child or have had to tell someone their loved one is gone, it wears on their soul. I am thankful they do what they do. One has to ask themselves would you do their job for no pay? Still happy in Salvo and proud of all the islands firefighters.
The Chicamacomico Banks Fire Department has sent its volunteer dive team to Eleuthra on a dive training trip. The training will include rescue and recovery operations as well as team building activities. The purpose of this training is obtaining a higher level of dive certification for the team members. After having secured free accommodations, and with the dive team members putting up some of the money themselves, the department used donation money and raised funds, not tax dollars, to fund the remainder of the trip. These personnel have put in countless hours of training and service in diving, water rescue as well as firefighting as volunteers. On this trip the team is able to do some dives that in our area would normally be done in the warmer months, which is when these team members are doing water rescues. Some of the conditions are different, including clearer water in which they can practice doing grid searches and actually see that it is being done correctly. This is but one example. Providing Department members training is critical, whether it is here in Dare County, across the state or some exotic locale. This is especially true with the water rescue team. Once the vacation season is underway, they are faced with some very hazardous conditions. Skimping on training could easily cause the rescuer to become a victim considering the dangerous surf conditions we encounter here.
The majority of the equipment and all of the current certification training for the dive team has been purchased through local businesses. This trip has been recommended by our local instructor. We try to keep as much of the service work and purchases of the department within the community.
To our knowledge our dive team is the only one in this region. The last time one was called in, they had to come from Onslow County. With the county being an island destination area, and the large number of water rescue calls in our district it was felt that a dive rescue team incorporating our own members is prudent. With the large volume of calls during the shoulder and prime seasons, off season large event training is a necessity so that we can maintain good manpower coverage and get the necessary training.
Because of a comprehensive training program and careful equipment purchases we have been able to improve our fire rating and therefore reduce insurance rates for property owners in Rodanthe and Waves. Home owners are saving a significant amount of money because of these efforts. We try to make the most of every dollar we receive, whether that is donations or tax dollars.
The reasoning behind this trip and its logistics were explained to the Board of Directors. After careful consideration, the Board authorized the training putting a limit on expenditures. It should be noted that all board meetings are open and are conducted to appropriate rules. Anyone is free to attend and speak to the board members if they have a concern.
It is the board’s firm belief that training is essential not only to properly perform the department’s duties, but also to safeguard the lives of its members and the public they serve.
Signed,
Board of Directors,
Chicamacomico Banks Fire Department
Amen.
Now that we ( CBFD Board of Directors ) have made our public reply, I would like to thank everyone for your supportive comments.
Our department trains very intensively and provides the absolute maximum service to our community. This is something we take very seriously. Most of you know that.
If you ever have any question about anything we are doing please, come ask us .
Thanks again. LG
In the future, the Board should make a public announcement of what the team is doing BEFORE it happens, thus reducing all this type of crap. People and organizations that don't share information in a timely manner set themselves up for negative assumptions.
Folks who want to know what's going on are more than welcome to join up or come to meetings. We won't be making public announcements every time we go off to training.
As stated before, board meetings are open.
Just a note, posts that I make under my name are my opinion, not necessarily that of the entire Board.
I got an update this morning from the dive team. They spent yesterday at 120 feet to finish up their advanced open water time, then did a mock rescue at 100 feet. Today, I believe will be working on grid search.
While I fully support having a dive team in our area and support the training our folks have to go through as a person with decades of SCUBA experience as both a PADI and NAUI certified diver I do not get going to an exotic locale to train. Both PADI and NAUI state that your certification is good for the "underwater environment in which you were trained". So becoming advanced certified in the clear viability 85 degree water does not equate to being advanced certified in our water conditions. I have friends on many major dive teams, most train in local environments, albeit slightly better and controlled such as Fantasy like dive quarry in Raleigh NC, or Lake Rawlings dive quarry in Virginia. NONE and I repeat NONE; have gone to the Caribbean to train. Why would a dive team that is going to be operating in near zero viability, cold murky water want to train in 85 degree water with 100+ ft. of viability. That is like a fighter pilot wanting to train in a Cesena. I understand wanting to train in better viability to be able to see your grid pattern searched etc, that what the quarries are for. They are a car drive away, have 20-60 feet of viability and cost about 20.00 per day to dive. As for LG comments about diving to 120ft. for advanced certification the NAUI standards are dives in excess of 60 feet. These are easily done in our locale or one of the quarries within a few hours’ drive.
Let's just acknowledge what this was and is, a nice reward for the members on the dive team wrapped in the excuse of a training exercise. I believe our federal government would call it a junket.
What happens when Oregon Inlet bridge goes? I talked to a member of the dive team in question. He told me about a day spent training at a place called current cut,Two Islands rush water between each other at speeds over 20mph with every tide change. Sound like a place we know? How would they get that kind of training in a quarry? If the bridge falls while I am driving over it ,I would like to think that those guys would be able to get me out,and not leave me there for fish food.
Please feel free to join,we could use your decades of experience.
I refuse to argue my point with people who hide behind the anonymity of internet usernames. Our team has trained at both of the quarries mentioned by "anonymous" as well as local divegrounds. We felt that this was the best way to finish out their certification process.
I am done arguing my point. Thanks again to all of the supporters, for those who don't understand, please come to us, we are open to suggestion.
Mr. Grubbs, not sure where you determined that the "anonymous" poster has decades of experience and you certainly don't sound open to any suggestions. The problem may in fact be that there are MANY people who do understand this situation. Most if not all of the posters above give credit to your department and its efforts to have a dive team.
You might consider an option that would allow members of your dive team to mentor under another municipal dive team - say one out of Virginia, or Jacksonville, or New Bern, or Grifton. These teams are experienced and I am sure could offer tremendous advice and suggestions.
Yes, you guys raised the monies in question. Hopefully you will be able to apply the lessons learned to justify the expense of such a trip.
As Karen Berger, Scuba Diving,said " Tropical coral reefs are to SCUBA diving what alpine peaks are to backpacking. Reefs are the highlights, the places where equipment manufacturers strut their stuff, and photographers shoot magazine covers." Still haven't convinced me, one of your taxpaying citizens, that the Bahamas is an appropriate place to train - but hey - it will be a great trip! I have dove there and it is beautiful, may you have clear viz, calm waters and plenty of air.
As a new branch of your organization you have much to learn.
It is with much hope that myself and several other residents in the Rodanthe area (yes I am a taxpayer) hope that you and your deparment mature into the professional group that you have the potential to be.
Thank you for your support. We are in contact with the team from Virginia Beach , not on a mentoring basis, but they have been a great help.
They guys all returned safely, say they learned a lot, and are ready for another season of water rescue.
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