Latest news with #SalemEMS
Yahoo
25-05-2025
- General
- Yahoo
18th annual Spirit of Grafton kicks off
GRAFTON, (WBOY) — The 18th annual Spirit of Grafton is underway, with hundreds of visitors from all over expected to come out. Dozens of vendors are in attendance alongside numerous food trucks, the Wreaths Across America mobile exhibit, Optimus Prime and much more. Salem EMS holds first car wash fundraiser 'It's kind of a homecoming community event for the people of Grafton, Taylor County, and those that have moved away and often come back for Memorial Day festivities,' Kevin Stead, Grafton City Manager said. If you weren't able to make it out on Saturday, the 158th annual Grafton Memorial Day Parade will be on Monday at 10 a.m. Stead said there are still spots for last minute additions to line up at Grafton High School between 8:30-9a.m. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
02-05-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Bridge off Salem main road to reopen soon
SALEM, (WBOY) — The City of Salem continues to work in its mission to continue growing the town and that includes repairs around the area. And now the bridge at the intersection of Liberty Street and S. Dale Avenue is rebuilt and will be open to traffic after 29 days, as the materials set in. Salem's mayor, Brandie Garner, said the city received a bid that allowed the project to be funded by a portion of the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) money the city has. She added that 'moving forward, we have ensured all bridges are included in the FEMA Hazard Mitigation Plan that was recently completed.' Where Salem EMS stands nearly one year after almost being permanently shut down This bridge is not the only one getting a change this year. 'That's one of three that will be replaced this year, so pretty excited about that. It was closed for three years and sadly, that's the one you need if there's a fire, if there's something like that, so we really needed to get that done. So, we're really happy to do that,' Garner said. Once it's accessible, the bridge will help cut time for fire and EMS response by 10 to 15 minutes and the garbage collection route will also be shortened by about 40 minutes, according to Salem's City Manager, Shawn Dahlheimer. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
02-05-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Where Salem EMS stands nearly one year after almost being permanently shut down
SALEM, (WBOY) — Nearly a year after Salem City Council voted to close Salem EMS, 12 News checked in with city and EMS officials on how they're still serving the community and where the department's finances stand. In June 2024, 12 News spoke with Wesley Shuman mere hours after he received the news that he no longer had a job he loved. Now, nearly a year later, Shuman stands as the new director of Salem EMS, bubbling with ideas. 'It was a bit of a surprise to myself, I didn't plan on applying, but you know, seeing the opportunity arise and I've always had lots of great ideas if I ever became a director of anywhere, so I figured it'd be a perfect place to try,' Shuman said. Since it reopened in late July 2024, the department has had interim directors who have helped the department get back on its feet. 'They've left me with a good standing, concrete plate, to start from now,' Shuman said. 'Unforgiving cuts in Washington' could force Clarksburg History Museum to close One of the reasons for the June 2024 shutdown was a number of communication breakdowns between the former city manager and the city council. Now, Salem Mayor Brandie Garner said communication between departments has improved. 'There's a lot more communication with the council, so we're able to make better decisions because we have all of the facts, whereas before we were kind of excluded from those sort of things,' Garner said. Currently, Salem EMS is working limited hours and only providing Basic Life Support (BLS) while the Doddridge County Ambulance Authority and Harrison County EMS handle primary response during Salem's off-hours. Salem EMS typically covers around 2,500 households and a nursing home in Salem. 'Keeping overtime under control, cutting back our hours, just kind of making things a little bit smaller for a short amount of time and then growing. I think that was probably one of the problems is that it grew too fast, and it needs to be self-sustaining,' Garner said. 'I have moved some jobs around, I have had to let a couple of employees go, we're hiring a few more, we're changing things around both on what's best for the city and the citizens that we represent,' Salem City Manager Shawn Dahlheimer said. 'I've surrounded myself with people that have 39 years and 41 years, sit down and get advice from them. And then as my title, I include them on the interviews, on decision making. Then take it to council so that I feel I've done my homework so if I don't know something, I find people that are more trained in that area and then of course I rely on their resources,' Dahlheimer said. Some ideas Shuman already has in mind to implement soon are creating a bigger connection with the community by hosting events and fundraisers for the department. He also wants to make the department stand out and become more well-known. 'New uniforms, update our documentation stuff, make it more noticeable,' Shuman said. Whenever we hand that out, like we're transferring patients, people you know are looking at this documentation like 'Oh you know, Salem EMS.'' Salem officials said thanks to these limited practices, guidance from experts in the field and new transport contracts, EMS is close to breaking even 11 months after it was financially underwater. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
