By Bob Strohm
bstrohm@wbcowqel.com

After months of back and forth to do it by the book, three new members joined the Central Joint Ambulance District Wednesday evening.

Representatives from New Washington, Auburn Township and Cranberry Township attended Wednesday’s meeting with resolutions of agreement to join the CJAD. The district’s board approved the new members unanimously.

The CJAD now will be comprised of 18 municipalities and townships.

Ron Miller, president of ambulance district’s board, discussed the expansion.

“We have took in another section of the county, our goal is someday to have the whole county within the district,” Miller said. “We are getting closer and closer, and it is a benefit for the whole county for us all to be in a district together, it is cheaper for everybody, and it is better service we are happy to have them.”

New Washington Police Chief Scott Robertson will serve as representative from New Washington, Louie Niedermier will serve as representative for Cranberry Township, and Carl Radar will serve as representative to the CJAD Committee from Auburn Township.

Both New Washington and Cranberry will begin operating under the CJAD umbrella immediately while Auburn will have to wait until canceling their contract with Plymouth at the end of June.

Current plans are to open a substation on Biddle Road in order to meet the needs of the three tiers that the CJAD currently operates under. Bidding will open at 7 p.m. on July 30.

The CJAD board mourned the loss of Bucyrus Mayor Roger Moore. A moment of silence was held after the pledge and prayer to start the meeting and donations were collected for a tribute to Moore.

“On behalf of the board we want to express our sympathy to the administration for the passing of Roger. They have been real nice to work with, and Jeff Wagner his teammate up there at City Hall, has been a really good board member and we express our sympathy,” Miller said.

In LifeStar’s report there were 173 requests with 128 transports averaging 5.8 calls per day for the month of April.

The Central Joint Ambulance District meeting will be held at 6:30 p.m. on Wednesday, June 18.