Editor’s Note: I call this a “Gossip Report” to protect the identity of my sources. However, I believe the report is 100% true. What a shame it is that everybody that works for a Cleveland County governmental agency has to fear for their jobs if they tell anybody anything about the innerworkings and shortcomings of that agency. Retaliation is illegal, but is practiced by everyone in Government it seems like!
It was mid afternoon Monday, October 18th, 2021 when the call came in. A source familiar with the Cleveland County Rescue and EMS reported what appears to be a hostile takeover of the Kings Mountain Rescue Squad upper management by the County Fire Marshal Perry Davis and Donna Rose (an EMS Instructor at Cleveland Community College) who are in cahoots with an un-named woman whose father is influential with many in the County agencies. My first and last thought was this is exactly what is wrong with Cleveland County. It is the same story everywhere you go. Just change the names and circumstances a little, but it is always the same old corruption rising to the top. Just like the “chunks” in a septic tank.
The report started off disclosing what appears to be a hostile takeover of the Kings Mountain Rescue Squad leadership that began with removing the Chief from that role and replacing him with Donna Rose. Which has caused a critical loss of staff in the process. On top of a Cleveland County EMS service that was already understaffed.
It was also noted that the KMRS was already ParaMedic qualified due to the efforts of the former Chief, but now some of the KMRS “Trucks” are down to a one-person operation. Meaning that one person is required to drive the truck as well as to attend to the well-being of the passenger. An impossible task. And dangerous to the passenger too as the driver must now drive the passenger to a Hospital and nobody is giving that passenger any necessary care while the truck is in transit. I was also told that the one passenger trucks were increasing, not only for the KMRS but Rescue Squads all across Cleveland County.
All this reminded me of a report given at the last Commissioner’s Meeting by former Commissioner Jason Falls regarding the details of Cleveland County’s service to the newly opened Kings Two Catawba Casino in Kings Mountain. Falls’ presentation mentioned phenomenal emergency healthcare response times to the Casino. But Falls made no mention of One Person Trucks or how the Driver of a one-person truck would have to wait until the arrival of another truck before a passenger could be loaded into a truck and carried swiftly to a hospital with a trained person also attending to the passenger along the way. Such delays would often mean life or death to a medically challenged passenger and Jason Falls never said a word about that in his presentation of the response times. Since Falls lives in or near Kings Mountain, could this new controversy be derived by unhealthy and corrupt competition between Shelby and the County against Kings Mountain for the rights to serve (and collect) from the Casino???
Perhaps Jason Falls, the Kings Mountain Town Council and even the County Commissioners do not know about the corruption problems and other problems facing Rescue Squads and EMS in Cleveland County. So now I am telling them. Telling them ALL so NOBODY can claim ignorance of this growing problem that might some day be the basis of another lawsuit against Cleveland County. Or cause taxpayers to wonder why, after the major 2021 property tax increase as well as Casino funding, all this is happening.
Commissioners, all eyes are now upon YOU. Straighten-out this mess immediately-if not sooner.
