MOUNT VERNON – The Mount Vernon Fire Department answered 5,910 calls in 2021, with the majority of the responses directed toward emergency medical services.
The firefighters had 88% of the calls for EMS, with 12% for fire calls, Mayor Matt Starr told the Mount Vernon News.
“Fire crews underwent some ice training at Foundation Park last week in preparation for the winter season. That is always interesting to watch how they go rescue people who are on the ice and are putting themselves in that sort of situation,” he said.
At Monday’s City Council meeting, the 2021 Firefighter of the Year and a Civilian Cross were awarded. Nathan Hines was selected the Firefighter of the Year. Lt. Heidi Peterson was awarded the Citizen’s Cross “for her brave and heroic actions at a motor vehicle crash on Nov. 14, 2021,” Starr said.
Fire safety tips
The mayor said Fire Chief Chad Christopher passed along safety tips for local residents in these colder months.
“Specifically, space heaters – electrical space heaters – need to be plugged directly into an approved wall socket. And they also have to have at least a three-foot clear space around,” he said.
The space heaters must not be unattended or unsupervised, especially in homes with pets and children.
Residents should not rely on space heaters as their sole source of heat. The chief also said smoke detectors should be tested regularly. Homes should have smoke detectors at least on every level of the house.
“The last thing that he wanted me to share is that homeowners who are using natural gas or propane appliances, that they should have a carbon monoxide detector in the house,” Starr said.
Utilities
Customers will start seeing the rate increase for the wastewater and stormwater utility as of Jan. 1, with the charge reflected in the Feb. 15 billing.
Employees underwent additional training on Tuesday, so the utility billing office was closed from 8 a.m. to noon.
“Our distribution crew responded to an emergency water main break on South Main Street on Jan. 11. And they were able to repair a six-inch line without causing any disruption of service,” he said.
That was good because the crew was out doing its job and nobody knew it, which Starr said is always good.
The wastewater treatment facility continues to make headway in the preparation for phosphorous removal that’s required to meet state Environmental Protection Agency regulations.
A wastewater treatment facility operator will retire this month.
Martin Luther King Jr. holiday
Mount Vernon participated in the Martin Luther King Jr. legacy celebration, which was held virtually, Starr said.
Sponsors included the Knox County MLK Legacy Committee, Mount Vernon Nazarene University and Kenyon College. Dr. Henry Spaulding, Dr. Sean Decatur, Gambier Mayor Lehman Kessler and Starr shared a few remarks.
The theme for this year is “In this year of yearning, we are learning,” taken from a poem by Amanda Gorman, the National Young Poet Laureate who spoke at President Joe Biden’s inauguration. She read her inaugural poem, “The Hill We Climb.”
“She's got quite a bit of big ideas that she discusses in that poem that really cut across a lot of different perspectives,” Starr said.
He said the poem has given him a lot to think about, which he will share with the city in future public engagements.
Going digital
Mount Vernon is switching from a paper to an electronic requisitioning process, called requisition routing.
The old process takes the four- or five-ply paper copies that have to be completed by hand and approved first by a supervisor, then up to the Safety-Service Director, next by the auditor and then by the mayor or another person. That takes a lot of time.
“These are all going to be done electronically. And so, we look for cost savings to be immediately recognized,” Starr said.
It will save paper and the reliance on the paper copies.
The switch increases e-government services, making the city more relevant to people who want to live, work, raise a family and have a business in Mount Vernon, he said
