Welcome to the Voters Beware Site for the Southern Manatee Fire District

Welcome to a blog designed solely to enlighten the taxpayers of the Southern Manatee Fire District as to the truth in their district - from those candidates running for their fire district positions to whatever's going on in the fire district.
The elections are almost over again but continue to visit ... this site will continue and always be the inside line to the district truth!
ONE PEICE OF ADVICE: if we'd learned anything from the last election- don't elect whoever they recommend because it's union backed... elect the opponent please. We don't need the unions plans to come completely full circle!
Don't go down the wrong road, like we already have, just because you don't know!
Another election has come and gone and voters have proven they are lazy and simply follow the recommendations cos it's easier... well folks when the market comes back and your real estate taxes go up, remember now... remember how you just followed all these recommendations and just shake those union folks' hands and thank THEM for our higher fire taxes! Remember that and then look back fondly to the past years when we didn't have taxes like Cedar Hammock but do now... its coming.

CURRENT NEWS

CURRENT NEWS:
(03/21/2013) Former Southern Manatee Fire Commissioner Mark C. Ruben Trial Date WAS set for May 13th... then suddenly all charges were dismissed in a filed Nolle Prosequi by the DA's office. For what reason? Who knows?


http://www.manateeclerk.org/DesktopModules/AwsModules/Clericus/document.aspx?returnUrl=http://www.manateeclerk.org/PublicRecords/CourtRecordsSearch/tabid/57/ctl/detail/mid/484/Default.aspx&did=MjgxMzA0NjU%3d-QVtBnCF1UCA%3d

(10/31/12) Former Southern Manatee Fire Commissioner Mark Ruben Trial Date set:
08/17/2012 COURT EVENT Event: JURY TRIAL Date: 01/07/2013 Time: 9:00 am Judge: NICHOLAS, EDWARD Location: COURTROOM 4-A


(Feb 2, 2012) South Manatee fire commissioner suspended after sex charges. Gov. Rick Scott made the announcement Tuesday that Mark D. Ruben has been suspended after his arrest last week on sexual assault and molestation charges. http://www.baynews9.com/article/news/2012/february/376928/South-Manatee-fire-commissioner-suspended-after-sex-charges


(Jan 27, 2012) SMFD Commissioner Mark D. Ruben arrested for Sexual Assault & Sexual Battery.

http://www.bradenton.com/2012/01/27/3825608/photo-gallery-inmates-booked-into.html#http://media.bradenton.com/smedia/2012/01/27/06/24/lSuJ4.St.69.jpg

According to the charges filed against Commissioner Ruben as a matter of public record - see above- or go to http://www.manateeclerk.org.... you have to agree to the privacy issues, then go to court records and research Ruben, Mark & his record will show itself. There are a total of 8 counts : 4 of Sexual Battery & 4 of Lewd & Lascivious Behavior. He is being held without bond.

These charges date back to events beginning in 2005 and ending in 2011, against TWO minors. These are public record in the Manatee Clerk's files.

I commend those who have worked hard to remove another sexual predator! And I pray for his victims' recovery from this nightmare.


(Feb 17, 2011) Department Disciplines are being handed down, Interim Chief Johnson takes action.


Firefighters throughout Southern Manatee who had made the grave error of exhibiting poor judgment in sharing the various vulgar emails that were part of the THREE charges that convicted & convinced Chief Gover to resign from his duties, have been recieving their disciplines accordingly. The discipline was very simple: one day suspension without pay and a write up in their records for this behavior. This has surely sent the message throughout the department that this kind of behavior will not be tolerated anymore.


(Jan 30, 2011) Cyclist Killed in Manatee County Crash... Sondra Thompson, 66, of University Park, died in the crash that occurred at around 1:45 p.m. at Whitfield Avenue and Treymore Court in Manatee County, FHP said.

Thompson was riding her bicycle on Whitfield Avenue when she was struck from behind by Mark Ruben, who was heading in the same direction on Whitfield Avenue, FHP said.

(Jan 11, 2011) Former Fire Chief, Pension Board Cleared MANATEE — After months of rumor and speculation over the $1.6 million lump sum retirement payment to a retired fire chief, the investigator Tuesday cleared the Southern Manatee Fire and Rescue District Pension Board and the former fire chief of any wrongdoing.

The investigation concluded the pension board did nothing illegal in awarding the lump sum payment, which was allowed under its policies. And the former chief, Tom Hennessy, did not misuse his position or coerce the pension board in securing the lump sum payment, said the investigator, Interim Chief Michael Johnson.Read more: http://www.bradenton.com/2011/01/11/2868169/former-fire-chief-pension-board.html##ixzz1AvSnE4ln


Big surprise! NOTHING WRONG WAS DONE! Thank you Chief Johnson!

(Dec 16, 2010) Chief Gover Foster voluntarily resigned, on his terms, from Southern Manatee Fire District. With respect and dignity, but sadly, the Chief offered his own solution to the issues at hand after the extensive investigation that taken place at the behest of the union and it's members (the firefighters). All too quickly the NEW commissioners pounced on this opportunity to remove the Chief, by making sure the UNITY of their 3 votes to the opposing 2 votes of the veteran board members agreed to the Chief's offer to resign.

In a mildly determined debate amongst the board members, that saw some wisdom prevail by new board member Charles Durant, Mark Ruben tried to make his buddy, Tim Berry the chief immediately. The notion was defeated for the time being but not before Ruben made an ass of himself trying to insist upon Berry becoming the chief immediately.

Funny (not really) but wasn't all this predicted right here from the start?





(Nov 10, 2010) Old Commissioners still seated til Nov, 12, 2010. Then New Commissioners will assume positions.



( Nov 8, 2010) Union Contract passed in Special Board Meeting. Firefighters recieved the 3% raise they were asking for.



Tuesday, January 11, 2011

Anonymous Strikes Again! No Guts, No Integrity, So What's New? NOTHING of course... It's all coming true!

It's so sad when what's predicted comes true and it's just not good for the department or district because it's so extremely obvious it all personal agenda's. While I've  watched this entire mess unfold in the Southern Manatee Fire District, I have  been dismayed at the audacity of Commissioner Mark Ruben and Battalion Chief Pete Donchenko, Jerry Bennett and Union President Merv Kennel. At the December Fire District Meeting, Fire Chief Foster Gover resigned with dignity.He has sat through these meetings listening to the charges being rattled off that mostly occured several years ago when he was in another position.He proffered up the solution to a bad situation full of some poor judgments that had cost him his position.   I would have sought relief from staying there too were I the chief.  Gover Foster left with dignity, and SMFD has mud on it's face as there are just as many lower ranking people guilty of the same things the chief was found guilty of.

Yet they're too busy going back over my old posts and correcting me and then continuing to pick at me with ANONYMOUS posts about facts they think I misconveyed about my own physical condition during an event in which I depended on the services of the SMFD. (Trust me, THAT won't ever happen again! EVER.)  Once again, Anonymous just doesn't have any backbone to sign their name! Seems to me there aren't any backbones, integrity and guts in all the anonymous posters who have to HIDE behind ANONYMOUS! Lots to say but nothing to own. Just cowardly.  In this case, it may be an EMT, in which case, what was the point except to pick on medical technicalities.

Just a little fyi... your heart rate cannot be 70/38. Your blood pressure can be though. Oh and we dont give epinephrine for symptomatic bradycardia (which is what your attempting to describe) we give atropine. And I love my brothers at SMFR, however they dont tell "EMTs" what is needed on a call. SMFR are first responders and trained EMTs. The people who gave you medicine and made the decision to transport you were an ALS (advanced life support) team. This means one charge paramedic and either one EMT or a second paramedic. I dont know enough about the politics of all of this to make any comment on that. However if your posting facts, then light needed to be shed on your mistakes when it came to EMS and your treatment. Anonymous.

First off to Anonymous, thank you, you are correct about the heart rate as I miswrote in my haste and have since corrected it. But, were you there at my house when the ambulance showed up with the personnel at my door? (I'm sorry but I'm not going to attempt to try to keep straight everyone's individual potential titles! To me an EMT is in an ambulance and I happen to know SMFD train their firefighters to be EMT's and first responders too.) Were you there when the firefighters greeted them at my door? They doublechecked the same things the firefighters had done and got all the same readings on my blood pressure and then mutually helped each other get the stretcher and me together as my front entrance isn't very conducive to it. Were YOU the one who was administering the ECG to me in the ambulance and couldn't get a good reading so that after the third attempt, I finally asked why the confused look and you explained "too much noise" on the reading, so then I explained the internal tremors (ANOTHER MS factor!) that no one see but I can feel. And that's when the injection came out for my IV site and my blood pressure suddenly jumped to "normal" so we could proceed on to the hospital. I ASKED what that was and was told, epinephrine. I always ask as an informed patient is better off than one who isn't.

But now you tell me you would never do that so I'm intrigued. I researched it and found this: "...so bradycardia and salivation are unwanted side-effects. It is much more appropriate to give atropine (or glycopyrrolate), which deals with all the parasympathetic side-effects, than it is to give epinephrine, which deals only with the bradycardia. Epinephrine is very short-acting, and needs to be given by infusion for a sustained effect, whereas a single injection of atropine often has sufficient duration. http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20090510012718AANHm7q " 

Since I wasn't having a full blown heart failure and only experiencing the bradycardia, then, I believe the personnel did the right thing! Epenephrine- short term stabilization for the trip to the hospital. It was shot into my IV too (which if I remember correctly is by infusion so that appears accurate also).  Had I not had tremors he probably could have seen my heart was fine and not shot me with anything. You're arguing MY HEALTH with me which anyone who knows me, isn't wise. Even my doctors know they've got to explain themselves cos I don't blindly follow unless I understand. So please, for brevity, I was simply making a complimentary point to the good service I got. But, that won't happen again.
Read more »
Posted by at No comments:
Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)