According to the report, rescue squad representatives asked the court to provide the group $5,000 for operating expenses this year. They explained that they were not eligible for the same funding allocated from various sources for volunteer fire departments, 

Daniel, noting his disappointment at the outcome of last Tuesday's vote on a proposed fire district tax in the W.R. Castle Fire Department service area, told the squad members that the county was in no financial position now to approve the request.

"I'd like to recommend that we give you the money," the judge said, "but I can't do it until we get a feel for the situation. Are we going to have to do this for every fire department, too?"

Daniel added that he "wish we had some funding mechanism in place, and we are pursuing that. But the situation we're in is critical, too." The judge referred to "a lot of bills" the new administration inherited when it came into office in January, adding that the court was just "getting a handle on those."

"I'm not saying you won't get your request, or part of it, anyway," Daniel said. "We're just trying to put things together.

"This is an issue facing all volunteer (organizations) in the county," he added. "People never stop and think what it takes to maintain these departments. Everybody wants these departments to operate, but they don't want to pay for them. At the same time," Daniel said, "if those departments are going to ask us for money, they're going to have to show us what they're doing to deserve it."