** Texas paramedics remember fallen colleague with scholarship fund
** Australian paramedics in Tasmania reach agreement on contract
UNITED STATES NEWS
** EMS responders in Paris, Texas have created a scholarship in memory of a fellow EMT killed in a motorcycle crash this past October. That is the word from KXii (December 17) which said paperwork for the bursary was signed Monday. The fund honors the memory of Joe Howard who had worked for Paris EMS for 12 years prior to his demise. Paramedic Lindsay Goodson said Howard was a friendly man who never met a stranger. So far, practitioners have raised $1,300 for the initiative which will be known as the Joe Howard Paramedic Endowment. Fundraising is ongoing.
AUSTRALIA NEWS
** Tasmanian paramedics have stopped job action after accepting the government’s latest contract offer. The Herald Sun (Duncan Abey/December 17) said the deal includes an increased meal allowance, a commitment to give meal breaks and a doubling of the time required for scheduling changes. A 2 per cent wage increase had previously been offered, though rostering and meal breaks were the main sticking points. Paramedics union spokesman Tim Jacobson said he was glad the dispute had ended before Christmas. Prior to the agreement, industrial action had included such things as paperwork bans, but no actual service interruption.
