By Rich Wicks | Times Vedette
During the July 22 meeting of the Guthrie County Board of Supervisors, Supervisor Steve Smith asked about the county’s status on efforts to create a countywide EMS service plan.
“Either we close the book on it, or we dive in again, starting very soon,” Smith said.
Board members discussed that if they choose to actively pursue an EMS plan, there are many steps to the process with specific timelines. No formal action was taken at this time.
Guthrie County Attorney Dana Minteer provided a quarterly departmental update. Minteer said exact case counts are difficult to specify at any given moment because of the various types of cases and how they are coded.
“We have approximately 30 active district court cases, which are B felonies and above, roughly 80 district associated court cases, and then approximately 32 magistrate cases,” Minteer said. “We have 96 active payment plans. We have 33 payments plans that have prepared and sent out, and we’re just waiting for those individuals to get those back to us. We have 57 plans that have been revoked.”
Minteer talked about the value of body camera video footage for any jury trial cases. She said juries in Guthrie County seem much more likely to vote for a conviction when video evidence is available.
Minteer was asked about the most common illegal drugs seen in Guthrie County cases.
“A lot of meth. We see a fair amount of marijuana,” Minteer said. “We have had a few fentanyl cases, but not many, which is good.”
Health Services Director Jotham Arber gave a departmental update. He shared information on plans for upcoming health fairs.
“We are going to be doing a health fair at every one of our school districts this fall,” Arber said. “The goal is, one, to offer free dental screenings through Crawford County. Two, is to offer a physical. Three, to bring our own health professionals out there to talk about what resources we have.”
Jessi Heimerman, Chief Deputy in the Assessor’s department, presented a list of the various credit and exemption applications received, including the Homestead Tax Credit and other similar credits/exemptions. After discussion, the supervisors approved the applications as recommended by Heimerman.
The supervisors meet regularly on Tuesdays at 9 a.m. The public is welcome to attend in person or via remote technology. To join remotely, call 323-792-6123, then use meeting code 547029216#.