Letters from the issue of Thursday, March 13, 2008

Why has the New Times failed to do followup stories on Rural/Metro Corporation? This is an organization that commits a 2007 Thankgiving Massacre removal of dozens employees without notice, demands they never say anything against the company, in exchange for a generous severance of seven days pay. Why nothing on the war between Rural/Metro and its appendage Southwest Ambulance, and major stockholders Stadium Capital Management and Accipiter Capital Management? Why nothing on cities like Tempe, Litchfield Park, Avondale, Queen Creek, Paradise Valley, deciding life is better without Rural/Metro than with it? There's a story line here begging for someone to put the pieces together. Go for it New Times!

Ditto the remarks about the MCSO needing a housecleaning. Why Joke and his minions have been allowed to persist in their personal and bureaucratic empire building is a deep, deep mystery...

Indeed, someone else has realized Southwest Ambulance needs looking at. On Christmas morning of 1989, Southwest Ambulance forcibly removed me from the scene of a minor traffic accident (just me and my motorcycle, no other vehicles involved) and took me to the way overpriced Barrow Institute, despite the fact I was only a short walk from the V.A. Hospital, where I have lifetime benefits.

The ambulance attendants got entered into my chart that I was "combative" and "uncooperative"...damn right ! I was telling them, I'm walking over to the V.A. or maybe I'll call a friend.

No dice! I was manhandled onto the gurney and into the ambulance. Barrow dropped the charges because the chart said I protested I couldn't pay for a private hospital. But Southwest? They said their "experienced" crew "made a judgement call"...

I said go suck a wall for the grand you want for a three-block ride ! The collection notices never came and the credit report remained clean...HA ! Who are those people and why do they operate like freebooters ?