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EMS, prison to work together in Maine town

By Emily Sapienza
VillageSoup/Knox County Times
Copyright 2007 VillageSoup/Knox County Times

WARREN, Maine — Warden Jeffrey Merrill of the Maine State Prison in Warren has extended an offer of assistance to the town of Warren and in particular its volunteer ambulance service after a court ruling caused ill feelings between the two groups.

The Maine Supreme Judicial Court ruled in late August that the Warren Ambulance Service was required by law to provide the same service to inmates of the prison as it would to any other public citizen, stating that the prison effectively was the public.

The town of Warren and its small group of dedicated volunteer emergency medical service responders reeled at the decision, because emergency calls from the prison, coupled with the recent population growth in Warren, have burdened the ambulance service almost to the breaking point.

Full Story: Two sides to reach service resolution