GOVERNMENT SERVICES
By the middle of the 1960's, Mariposa County had a professional
Sheriff's Department, although it would take a few more years before
the Sheriff and his men and women would all be professionally
trained. Ann Means became the first women Deputy and it was hard on
the Sheriff's to bring professionalism to the department. But it
came.
The next function to change significantly was the Ambulance Service.
Almost from the inception in l950, John C. Fremont Hospital offered
Ambulance Service in Mariposa County. John Menzies, a local service
station owner, had a Plymouth side loader that passed for Ambulance
service before the hospital district was formed. Somehow the
Hospital acquired a Packard Ambulance, probably a war surplus
vehicle, that spent most if its time in Al Crofts Garage. I can
remember being hauled to Merced in the rig after a particularly bad
auto accident involving eleven high school students on the Old
Highway in l951. There are a few still around that were involved.
It was the night of the Senior Play and some of us were in the cast.
Needless to say we got the cast alright but not what we expected.
All during the l960's and 70's the Hospital had either a station
wagon or other vehicle that served as an ambulance. It was often
driven by one nurse or another or the maintenance man from the
Hospital. Doug McElligott drove ambulance in the early days. It was
determined that using a passenger car or even a carryall would not do
for an ambulance so the Mariposa Lion's Club took on the chore of
acquiring a real ambulance for the Hospital. The old Ambulance was
sent to the North Side. The first ambulance was built for flat land
and did not have sufficient brakes, but it served well for a number
of years.
Again, it was staffed by hospital personnel including Arlis
Parker who I worked with. Arlis was a determined maintenance man and
great friend. Some of the rides I had with him were interesting.
A call came in that Orie Hamilton, who had been living in the old
Webb's Station on Merced Falls-Don Pedro Road and was working for
Dravo, the contractor for the raising of Exchequer Dam, had suffered
a stroke and was lodged between his bed and the wall. The difficulty
of the extraction of Orie was that he had about a dozen dogs that by
the passage of time were quite hungry. Their favorite was Ambulance
Drivers and Pharmacists or Nurses. Arlis was a resourceful man and
went to Trabucco's Shopping Center, acquiring a case of canned dog
food. Upon arrival at Webb's Station, the dog food was opened and
spread around for the dozen dogs to be happy while Orie was extracted
from his 24 hour prison behind the bed. Why the dogs hadn't nibbled
on Orie was a subject for discussion later. But since Orie had been
a construction worker on the dam project and since there was no
running water at Webb's Station, the first task upon arrival at the
Hospital was a dipping in the whirl pool bath before treatment could
begin.
Often times, when crusty old pensioners would come in to the
Hospital to get out of the wet and cold, they would get the whirl
pool treatment. A certain percentage did not survive the immersion so
it became common knowledge among the old timers downtown that if they
were heading for the hospital, try and be as clean as they could
because often the treatment was worse than the cause. There were
some of the old boys who would emerge from the whirl pool in a pink
condition and would comment that they hadn't actually seen their
natural color in years.
What caused everything to change were standards. Now standards are
the set of specifications which the professionals wish to apply to
everything that we do. Such things as road widths, or gaps in spark
plugs, or how many beans are in a package, or how soon an ambulance
can arrive at the scene, are considered standards. As time went on
some of our standards for ambulance service seemed to be missed. For
example, having a dead battery or being out of gas or the engine
would not start, or the ambulance driver who was a volunteer took
twenty minutes to get to the Hospital before he could leave with the
ambulance. Stuff like that.
So, our new Health Officer and the President of the Hospital Board
came to the Board of Supervisors and said that things had to change.
First, we needed to apply standards to ambulance service. For a long
time Sheriffs Deputies, when available, took the run. But this was
not always convenient for the Deputies since they were often already
at the scene of the accident, having gone in their patrol cars
instead. How many times victims were transported in the back seat of
the patrol car to the Hospital with out benefit of oxygen, drugs and
nursing is not worth wondering about, but believe me it happened.
Good for the fine officers that delivered the service, often life
saving, but below standards.
Secondly, the Hospital was having a difficult financial time and
having a service that needed far more investment then it was able to
accomplish. Could the County take over the Ambulance service? After
a bit of discussion it was well understood that the only way to offer
ambulance service that met the standards required by a modern system
was to bring in a professional service and subsidize them. That is
what was done. First Riggs Ambulance Service of Merced was the
provider, then some years later Mercy Ambulance came to Mariposa.
So now we have a situation that is much like these other service
provisions. If we are to be a county that offers quality
professional service in the various fields of law enforcement, health
care, water (Saxon Creek and the Water companies that are under State
Health Care standards), Sewer, Health Services provided by our County
Health Department, and for that matter, standards in construction or
roads and buildings, education and many other activities that define
a modern society, then what about the life and property preserving service provided by competent well staffed and equipped emergency services.
There is no question that our volunteer fire departments have served
us well for the last fifty or so years. But things are changing.
Mariposa County has its second professional Fire Chief who has
advised us that trouble is brewing in the provision of the life and
property preserving service of fire protection. It is not a problem
of desire on the part of our volunteer companies but simply a problem
of numbers. There are not enough volunteer firemen to properly staff
the level of service desired by the citizens of our county. We have
an experienced Fire Chief, well trained and caring. He has given our
Board of Supervisors a report that paints a difficult picture of the
future of fire services in Mariposa County. Two things can happen.
One, more volunteer fireman can be recruited, trained and equipped if
possible. Failing that, paid fireman will have to be acquired by the
county as employees, housed in properly outfitted stations, and given
the tools to do the job.
If Mariposa County is not prepared to develop a professional fire
and medical aid service, CalFire, (the old CDF), is. For years the
state has been our partner in life saving fire and medical aid
services. This year they announced that they were staffing three
fire stations 12 months of the year. This does not mean that they
are changing their wild land responsibility but are indicating that they
can be available if needed to assist Mariposa County Fire. This has
to be on an availability basis because they are often called away to
other areas of need. This announcement took the Board of Supervisors
a bit by surprise but they should not be. The problem of
professional fire services in Mariposa County has been around for
some time. The only reason that it hasn't gotten worse is because
the state has always been there as back up on structure fires through
OES (Office of Emergency Services) equipment and off season
assistance when available. CalFire has always been our partner in
life and property saving services.
The ball is in the county's court. It will be a tough one to handle
because the county has to deal with other decisions made either by
the State or our own past BOS's. There are plenty of citizens of
Mariposa County willing to assist in making the decisions about the
future concerning fire service. It is probably time that the
rhetoric ends and the hard work begins.
Leroy Radanovich
Leroy Radanovich Email:
Leroy Radanovich
To Read More By Leroy Radanovich:
Leroy Radanovich's Mariposa Life Archives
To learn much more about Mariposa County along with
historical photos:
A signed copy of "Images of America" - Mariposa County,
By Leroy Radanovich can be purchased at his web site:
Radanovich Galleria & Books
This is a early day photo of the Mariposa Mine in
Mariposa County
that is mentioned in the article to
the left by Mr. Radanovich.
This photo and others can be purchased in various sizes.
All prints are archivally printed on fiber based paper, given a selenium wash which renders the photographs permanent with a
warm tone ready for framing
Radanovich Galleria & Books
Mariposa in 1920
This photo and others can be purchased in various sizes.
All prints are archivally printed on fiber based paper, given a selenium wash which renders the photographs permanent with a
warm tone ready for framing
Radanovich Galleria & Books
Mariposa County Courthouse written by Leroy Radanovich and
Scott Pinkerton is a book about the oldest courthouse in California that is still in use today.
The book is signed by Leroy Radanovich.
To purchase the book:
Radanovich Galleria & Books
Mariposa in 1860
This photo and others can be purchased in various sizes.
All prints are archivally printed on fiber based paper, given a selenium wash which renders the photographs permanent with a
warm tone ready for framing
Radanovich Galleria & Books