Lebanon Enterprise

LEBANON — Scott Lawson and some local firefighters believe Marion County Emergency Management Director J.T. Whitlock did a disservice to the residents of Marion County when he dismissed certain members of the rescue squad.

"The city and county is hurting right now," Lawson said. "The members he has are not experienced."

Lawson was not one of the handpicked 19 to be a member of the restructured squad. Whitlock dismissed several members of the squad Sunday night after months of bickering over who was in charge of the membership.

Lawson, the former squad's commander, said he was insulted by the process would not reapply for a spot on the squad.

"It's a political, ego thing," he said. "He never gave us a reason. He just said he was disbanding the old squad and starting a new one.

"He had to have a reason to kick us off," he said. "How can you kick a volunteer off the squad and not give him a reason."

Whitlock called a meeting Sunday to announce his plans. He said he was prepared to call the meeting off when several firefighters arrived.

"(Lebanon Fire Chief) Ricky Mattingly called all the fire departments and had all the firemen there to protest this reorganization," he said. "There were 25 to 30 of them."

Mattingly said he did not call any firefighters and ask them to attend the meeting.
"He's a lying son of a _____," Mattingly said. "I did no such thing. He's a bald-faced liar. This is just more of the lies he's been telling."

Lawson is also a member of the Lebanon Fire Department.

"The fire departments were there because if county government can do that to (the rescue squad), what can they do to other departments," he said.

Tommy Moore, a longtime member of the former rescue squad said he also believes the level of service will decline with the new squad.

"If someone is in a wreck, do they want someone coming out there to get them out or someone to try to get them out," he said. "They got rid of all the experienced ones. After 12 years of experience, I wasn't asked to be on it.
"They smacked the firefighters in the face. They went to all of that training just for the rescue squad."

Moore said he would not reapply for membership with the squad because "he still hasn't shown me proof that he can kick me off."

Squad Commander Chris Coyle said accusations that the restructured squad doesn't have enough experience are an exaggeration.

"We've got 15 members that have served on the squad in the past," Coyle said. "We're talking about 95 percent on the list having served before. We have two previous commanders and two previous vice commanders. A total of six more have been officers before.

"The least amount of experience any of those 15 have is four years. We have one that has 22 years of experience and the rest fall in between. We have a very experienced squad."

Lawson said he and other former members would be researching "the legal aspects" of Whitlock's actions.

A message left on the answering machine of former Vice Commander Dan Lawson had not been returned as of press time.

The conflict between Whitlock and the former rescue squad that led to Sunday's action began when Whitlock dismissed Dan Lawson.