Leaving in June...
Jeff Turner - QEM Fire
Gents –
I wanted to let all of you know that my family and I are moving back to Colorado at the beginning of June. It’s the best thing for my family and I will truly miss you…
I want to specifically thank Mark Mackintosh and Gerry for their mentorship of me and truly showing me the way… You two took a lot of time out of your personal schedule and for that I thank you…
Personally I think that Mark should be a lot more involved in training with his skills but then again, as one officer has said about me – I’m just a probie… I guess that some think that I’m the only one on probation and he isn’t… Remember that this is a volunteer department and if you don’t pass your probation with me, I won’t volunteer my time here…. If I was staying here, you would still be on probation…
It’s weird to think that I’ve been here over and year and never had a fire in the burn tower, but, you see other departments coming down on a regular basis to use it… Godfrey comes to mind… Maybe if we did more live fire training we’d be more respected in the area like Brighton and Godfrey…
A General Officer told me once when I worked at the Pentagon, when you are the boss, surround yourself with the most successful people and you will be too… I don’t think that is the case here or else someone with Mark’s energy, experience and drive for the community will be more utilized… Never gotten frustrated with me and is always patient as I learn and forgotten things that he’s told me a few times… Thanks Mark… I will always call you friend. Come have a beer in Colorado…
Gerry – Man, you always were there when I needed you… Always answered the phone, the radio, email and if you were at work, you always called me back right after the call, you took care of me and came to visit me in the Emergency room when I fell out at the fire… Communication is the key to success and you got kudos for that… I’m sorry however that you have such a short leash… Maybe someday you will be able to run a call with out having someone call you for status 90 times while you are tending to patient care. Aren’t you a Captain? Never mind…
It’s pretty bad when the officers are as frustrated as the firefighters, or at least most of them… I don’t claim to be the voice of the men, this is just my opinion.
Jason – Thanks to you as well man… I know you are frustrated too, but, thanks for tuning me in to the history of the department and the County; it surely helped me and helped make my decision to leave. You came to visit me in the emergency room too… Thanks for that, that’s what we are supposed to do with each other… Be there and take care of each other… One team…
There is a GREAT group of people here, and if the red tape wasn’t so think and the BS so deep, (like getting the lights on for the American Flag, don’t forget there are people fighting for your freedom… Over a year and no lights) I bet the station time would be sky high and the trucks would sparkle as the ride down the road showing what a truly great department this could be…
One officer has mentioned that there isn’t enough commitment to come and wash the trucks at the station and do station time to cut the grass and take care of OUR station (not YOUR station) and to that officer, I would say, ask yourself why that is… Dig deep and I bet you will find the answer… This is supposed to be fun… Helping people as a volunteer is supposed to be rewarding, as it is right now, It’s not as much as it could be and one day, the pager may go off and no one will call in responding but you… My opinion….
I’ll be removing my computer from the dispatch room in the next few days, it’s been there for several months and I guess it’s not important enough for us to replace it… So when the chief has time, I’m sure that he will find a new one… Probably about the same time as the lights get put on for the flag… Am I bitter about that? Yes, I served my country and it pisses me off that people don’t have the same heart that I do when it comes to showing it…
Anyway, back to the computer, the old one has been cleaned and is back in the office, Jason, you mentioned donating it to a school, and I know the Chief said ok, but, recently I heard from him he wanted to recycle it… So, I’ll leave that in your hands and the decision can be based on the way the wind is blowing that day…
The website will be handed off to Dan… Thanks for stepping up to the plate, I will truly miss you and your wife’s awesome cooking. We needed her when we were helping the community in Grafton and please send her my regards… As far as the website is concerned, my only recommendation is that if the board and the chief want to moderate what goes on there make it an un-official website for and by the volunteers… Not wanting to put Principia Fire Alarms on there and already public information is wrong and creating additional work for the public that fund us to get that information is BS. Again, in my opinion…
Lastly, I surely hope that the board votes in Rob Hedger as the new board member, I can’t believe that the Chief has something to say about it… I wish that I could pick MY boss… If someone call’s Rob a conflict of interest, I’d invite you to look at the relationship between the Chief and one of the current board members, and if anyone has been to a incident command course provided by the federal government, you would know that the relationship between the Police Chief and the Fire Chief isn’t an issue if you are both professional enough to handle it… Rob will look out for the volunteers, get some traditions going, etc…
Ok, I’m off my soapbox… Sorry to have rambled for so long… I’ll see all of you before I leave I’m sure.
Jeff
Mark H Mackintosh
I hate to see Jeff go!!!
We would not have the web site for the dept. going like it is if he had
not spent the time doing it, I think it is important for the members to be
able to have a place to go to check things out; if they are unable to make
a meeting and chat with each other ect. (and I know I have not done much
of that) also a place for anyone to look us up and see the progress the
dept. is making, and what to look forward to in the future, or any other
public anointments/fire safety prevention.
Its going to be hard to replace you man.....
I think everyone should remember that this is a volunteer dept. It's bad
we are losing one when we are already so short,
everyone should be involved with what's going on good or bad, its not just
a one man show, we all need to work together to continue to help build the
dept. a lot of good things have come our way with equipment and a nice
place to keep all of it. We have a lot more to look forward too.
So I hope everyone keeps pushing forward and looking for the beast in
every situation, the community is counting on us to pick them up when they
are down...
> Gents -
>
>
>
> I wanted to let all of you know that my family and I are moving back to
> Colorado at the beginning of June. It's the best thing for my family and
> I
> will truly miss you.
>
>
>
> I want to specifically thank Mark Mackintosh and Gerry for their
> mentorship
> of me and truly showing me the way. You two took a lot of time out of your
> personal schedule and for that I thank you.
>
>
>
> Personally I think that Mark should be a lot more involved in training
> with
> his skills but then again, as one officer has said about me - I'm just a
> probie. I guess that some think that I'm the only one on probation and he
> isn't. Remember that this is a volunteer department and if you don't pass
> your probation with me, I won't volunteer my time here.. If I was staying
> here, you would still be on probation.
>
>
>
> It's weird to think that I've been here over and year and never had a fire
> in the burn tower, but, you see other departments coming down on a regular
> basis to use it. Godfrey comes to mind. Maybe if we did more live fire
> training we'd be more respected in the area like Brighton and Godfrey.
>
>
>
> A General Officer told me once when I worked at the Pentagon, when you are
> the boss, surround yourself with the most successful people and you will
> be
> too. I don't think that is the case here or else someone with Mark's
> energy,
> experience and drive for the community will be more utilized. Never gotten
> frustrated with me and is always patient as I learn and forgotten things
> that he's told me a few times. Thanks Mark. I will always call you friend.
> Come have a beer in Colorado.
>
>
>
> Gerry - Man, you always were there when I needed you. Always answered the
> phone, the radio, email and if you were at work, you always called me back
> right after the call, you took care of me and came to visit me in the
> Emergency room when I fell out at the fire. Communication is the key to
> success and you got kudos for that. I'm sorry however that you have such a
> short leash. Maybe someday you will be able to run a call with out having
> someone call you for status 90 times while you are tending to patient
> care.
> Aren't you a Captain? Never mind.
>
>
>
> It's pretty bad when the officers are as frustrated as the firefighters,
> or
> at least most of them. I don't claim to be the voice of the men, this is
> just my opinion.
>
>
>
> Jason - Thanks to you as well man. I know you are frustrated too, but,
> thanks for tuning me in to the history of the department and the County;
> it
> surely helped me and helped make my decision to leave. You came to visit
> me
> in the emergency room too. Thanks for that, that's what we are supposed to
> do with each other. Be there and take care of each other. One team.
>
>
>
> There is a GREAT group of people here, and if the red tape wasn't so think
> and the BS so deep, (like getting the lights on for the American Flag,
> don't
> forget there are people fighting for your freedom. Over a year and no
> lights) I bet the station time would be sky high and the trucks would
> sparkle as the ride down the road showing what a truly great department
> this
> could be.
>
>
>
> One officer has mentioned that there isn't enough commitment to come and
> wash the trucks at the station and do station time to cut the grass and
> take
> care of OUR station (not YOUR station) and to that officer, I would say,
> ask
> yourself why that is. Dig deep and I bet you will find the answer. This is
> supposed to be fun. Helping people as a volunteer is supposed to be
> rewarding, as it is right now, It's not as much as it could be and one
> day,
> the pager may go off and no one will call in responding but you. My
> opinion..
>
>
>
> I'll be removing my computer from the dispatch room in the next few days,
> it's been there for several months and I guess it's not important enough
> for
> us to replace it. So when the chief has time, I'm sure that he will find a
> new one. Probably about the same time as the lights get put on for the
> flag.
> Am I bitter about that? Yes, I served my country and it pisses me off that
> people don't have the same heart that I do when it comes to showing it.
>
>
>
> Anyway, back to the computer, the old one has been cleaned and is back in
> the office, Jason, you mentioned donating it to a school, and I know the
> Chief said ok, but, recently I heard from him he wanted to recycle it. So,
> I'll leave that in your hands and the decision can be based on the way the
> wind is blowing that day.
>
>
>
> The website will be handed off to Dan. Thanks for stepping up to the
> plate,
> I will truly miss you and your wife's awesome cooking. We needed her when
> we
> were helping the community in Grafton and please send her my regards. As
> far as the website is concerned, my only recommendation is that if the
> board
> and the chief want to moderate what goes on there make it an un-official
> website for and by the volunteers. Not wanting to put Principia Fire
> Alarms
> on there and already public information is wrong and creating additional
> work for the public that fund us to get that information is BS. Again, in
> my
> opinion.
>
>
>
> Lastly, I surely hope that the board votes in Rob Hedger as the new board
> member, I can't believe that the Chief has something to say about it. I
> wish
> that I could pick MY boss. If someone call's Rob a conflict of interest,
> I'd
> invite you to look at the relationship between the Chief and one of the
> current board members, and if anyone has been to a incident command course
> provided by the federal government, you would know that the relationship
> between the Police Chief and the Fire Chief isn't an issue if you are both
> professional enough to handle it. Rob will look out for the volunteers,
> get
> some traditions going, etc.
>
>
>
> Ok, I'm off my soapbox. Sorry to have rambled for so long. I'll see all of
> you before I leave I'm sure.
>
>
>
> Jeff
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> >
>
--
Mark H Mackintosh
Q.E.M. Fire/Rescue
Firefighter
Jason Shumaker
choice to leave. This is not our fault nor could we change this. The
eventually by some of his remarks are not happy in Jersey County, I hate
to see this. Yes Jersey County has it problems but what part of the world
does not have issues. We will survive with out him. I hate be be blunt but
we have survived when others have left. yes, Jeff has done a good job with
the website. Can someone else do this? Yes, they can. We had a site before
and if for some unknown reason some day we lose this one, we will find a
way to have another. I do not want to lose it or let it die like the last
one because someone did not want to let us continue to use it or for what
ever reason Matt did not want to let it go. But as I have stated before
very bluntly and again I am sorry if this causes hard feelings. I know WE
WILL SURVIVE AND CONTINUE TO FIND NEW MEMBERS. WE WILL CONTINUE TO GROW.
It may take a while but we have always been able to find at least one to
two people a year to put on the department. We have already gained Nick
and Greg this year. Lets all do our best to continue to help these guys
learn as much knowledge as we can give them from what we have learned.
Again I am sorry if I have caused any hard feeling with what I have said.
And for Jeff, I am sorry your feelings are this bad towards are great
department and as far as how we are respected. JCH EMS is always glad to
see us show up to help. I have heard this many times from several of the
EMTs and Paramedics that work there. I am not saying this because I work
there. Other departments in the county are feeling the same crunch on
personnel and are not responding. So keep up the good work guys. Jeff, see
ya and good luck. I hope you can find a department that you feel meets you
standards. We do have a very good department and please nobody forget
this. We have made great strides in the years that I have been on the
department.
Jason Shumaker
Mark H Mackintosh