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Letter to the editor: How much longer are we, the citizens of this area, supposed to sit quietly while incompetence and personal politics destroy the very services that protect our lives? The Ambulance District, once a source of pride and community trust, has been run straight into the ground under the so-called leadership of Board President Joyce Barnett. Let’s call it what it is: a complete failure of leadership. The state’s negative findings and the dissolution of the special district didn’t happen by accident. They happened because this board forgot what it was elected to do. Instead of governing, setting policy, and ensuring fiscal responsibility, they’ve spent their time meddling in day-to-day operations, areas that should be left to the professionals. While they play manager, our community’s emergency medical services hang in the balance. And then there’s County Commissioner Phyllis Davis, who continues to inject herself into ambulance district matters even though she was part of the same leadership circle that caused this (alleged) mess in the first place. That’s not leadership; that’s a blatant conflict of interest. How can someone who helped break the system be trusted to fix it? Even worse, Davis has made a spectacle of herself by filing a complaint over a state EMS award nomination for a local dispatcher, someone who’s out there every single day helping save lives. Her gripe? That someone else had been there longer and was “more deserving.” Let’s be clear: the award wasn’t chosen or controlled by the ambulance board. This was nothing more than pettiness and ego at the expense of a hardworking public servant. That kind of behavior has no place in county leadership. Meanwhile, while the board and commissioner are busy pointing fingers and protecting their turf, the Operations Chief has been quietly doing the real work: connecting with state regulators, cleaning up the chaos, and ensuring that our ambulance service not only meets but exceeds state standards. He’s rebuilt morale, restored public trust, and even brought in nearly $200,000 in grants and donations this year alone. Money that’s kept our ambulances rolling despite years of bad financial planning and misplaced priorities. Let me be perfectly clear: every claim in this letter is supported by receipts, all of which are documented in open public records for anyone who cares enough to look. The facts speak for themselves; the leadership failures are not rumor, they’re recorded. This community deserves better. We deserve leadership that works for the people, not against them! It’s time to clean house. It’s time for Joyce Barnett to resign as Board President. And it’s time to recall Phyllis Davis before she does more damage to the credibility of this county. Our ambulance crews, our dispatchers, and our citizens have done their jobs with heart, courage, and professionalism. Now it’s time for our so-called leaders to do theirs, or step aside and let someone who will. Enough is enough.
Concerned Citizen of Dove Creek Ambulance District
Henry Daves