Mercer County Ambulance Service
Squad 7 - Coldwater

 Squad 7 is the ambulance service for the Franklin Township area (south side of Grand Lake St. Marys). It is part of the Mercer County Ambulance Service, which coordinates all the emergency ambulance service in Mercer County. Because this is the first time we have appeared in the newsletter, we want to explain our situation to you.
 Squad 7 is an all volunteer squad, which services the Coldwater and Franklin Township areas. We have two vehicles that are housed in Coldwater at the Squad House at the address listed above. Currently, we have 20 members. Although we are getting by with the limited number of members, we are very seriously looking for new members. Being an all volunteer service, the fewer volunteers we have, the more work those few are required to perform. If we had more volunteers, the workload could be tremendously reduced, which would make it much more appealing to be a volunteer for the ambulance service
 Another concern we are experiencing is about one-half of
all of Squad 7’s calls are not true emergencies needing an ambulance. Being very short of volunteers, and responding to non-emergency calls, causes the volunteers to work even more hours causing our volunteer shortage to worsen. The ambulance service is for emergencies, and we expect you to call when there is an emergency, but we are not just for transportation (a way to get to the hospital) in a non-emergency situation. I hope you understand our concerns, and we look forward to continuing to serve all of you in a very professional and caring way.
 If you or someone you know is interested in helping. Squad 7 as a volunteer, please contact the above number.

Larry Stelzer, Director
101 North Main Street Courthouse Room 102
Celina, Ohio 45822
Phone 419-586-4209 FAX 419-586-1714
email mercered@bright.net
www.grandlake.net/mercercountyed

Assistance available - Mercer County has funds available for buying and rehabilitating homes as well as emergency home repairs. These and other programs are available to existing single family homeowners who are planning to reside within Mercer County. Rehabilitation assistance is available to bring properties up to residential rehabilitation standards. Home repair assistance is available for emergency repairs that pose an immediate threat to the health and safety of the occupants. Following are some items that can be done with program funds.
Private Owner Rehabilitation - Updating electrical, plumbing, septic and well systems, heating, foundations, hot water heaters, roof repairs and replacements, siding and windows.
Emergency Home Repair - Replacement of non-working furnace, hot water heaters, roof repairs or replacements, water/sewer hook-ups, installation of septic systems or well, handicap ramps and accessibility improvements, updating hazardous electrical.
Home Buyers - Down payment, closing costs, rehabilitation, reduced interest rates, deferred loans.
For more information about these programs, contact Susan McKenna at the contacts listed above.