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CUMBERLAND – During the September Board of Supervisors meeting, Cumberland Fire & EMS Chief Andy Aigner reported that call totals, call times and scene times have stayed the same but hospital times have gone up. This is due to the hospitals getting busier this time of year as the flu, COVID-19 and other illnesses are going back around. 

In the latest chief’s meeting, they coordinated an introduction between the new emergency medical services vendor, DRT, and the volunteers to ask some questions. This month is when they officially switch over. According to Aigner, the county won’t feel an impact in coverage of this transition as ambulances will still be in service every day.

CPR training is still going on as they trained the food bank with first aid and are working with the sports league to get coaches trained as well as the volunteer stations. The plan is to help other organizations that have expressed interest, including the Cartersville Ruritan Club. 

“We are trying to iron out some of our stuff before we go for a large crowd like that,” said Aigner. 

Cumberland County Public Schools

Superintendent Chip Jones also gave an update on how the district is doing so far this year, As we reported earlier in September, Cumberland County Public Schools (CuCPS) was accredited again by the state. In light of this achievement, the CuCPS is celebrating the progress while working where improvement is needed.

Students and their families are staying busy as they’ve had family engagement activities. Fall sports are up and going and the marching band is preparing for competitions. The Certified Nursing Assistant (CNA) students began their clinicals in Dilwyn. 

School improvements are finishing up, including the new middle school playground that the students are already enjoying. Community members are also enjoying the finished track. 

“The track is getting a lot of use and I see a lot of community members out there walking,” said Jones. “One person told me this morning they were having some knee issues and it felt just soft to walk on that track.”

The schools have received donations lately from various community organizations including the Cartersville Ruritan’s Club for the high school’s physical education equipment and the Cumberland County Public Library donated Legos. 

What about the library?

The library is still in the process of migrating everything from its integrated library system to a new version, since the old one is no longer supported by the Library of Virginia. Central Virginia Regional Library is helping with this process. During this process, they go over titles in the collection to organize what they have and purge what’s no longer being checked out. 

“At the end of the day, this will minimize our cost,” said Glenn Mozingo, chair of the library board of trustees.

The library participated in Patriot Day with a booth to give out books and have community members sign up for library cards or be a part of the Dolly Parton Imagination Library. According to Mozingo, all the staff were there showing their commitment to the library.

Veterans or active military have an opportunity to share their stories. The library is working with a program called Home Abroad that gives opportunities to take these stories so that generations to come can remember them. The seminar is tentatively set for Monday, Oct. 2, at the library. This program will put together all the shared stories to put in a book that Longwood will print. 

Mozingo is also talking with author Ruben Watson to come to a book reading. Watson is known for his children’s books including “Friendly Skies & Sunny Days.” Both parties are still working on a date for him to come and are looking for a day when school isn’t in session so that more children can come.