The Fayette County Emergency Telephone Systems Board held a meeting on Thursday evening at the Fayette County Courthouse with the most time-consuming topic of the night centering on ambulance service in the county. Kevin Jenne informed board members that he had received a call from JD Weldon of Altamont Ambulance at 8am on Monday morning informing him that as of 7am on Tuesday, they would be dissolving service. To help fill the void left by Altamont Ambulance service, Rural Med EMS of Farina brought a rig to town and had set up at a local hotel to provide service when needed in the county to back up the Fayette County Hospital ambulance service. Vandalia Police Chief Jeff Ray voiced that he would like to see a committee formed that would include emergency medicine professionals to look at the situation and maybe contracts of other area counties. County Board Chairman Jeff Beckman was on hand for the meeting and said he had talked to States Attorney Josh Morrison and due to possible liability issues, the county did not want to be involved in any contract situations. Amy Schaal of Fayette County Hospital agreed with Jeff Ray that the county board has a responsibility as to the health and safety of the county residents. Mike Schabbing brought up that Effingham County had a contract with Abbott Ambulance and also Jasper County and Hillsboro both use an Ambulance Oversight Committee. One of the four members of Rural Med on hand for the meeting did voice his opinion that some rules and regulations could protect the county and keep companies from pulling out on short notice as Altamont Ambulance done. After much discussion, Beckman did say that the board could look further into the possibility of forming a committee. The Fayette County Emergency Telephone Systems Board will hold their next meeting on December 14 at 6pm at the Fayette County Courthouse.