New ambulance base started

Ray Grisham of Grisham Construction and Concrete, pictured here on the heavy equipment, and partner Greg Simpson, standing alongside the trench, began work March 30 to pour concrete footers for the new Ozark County Ambulance base building. The 1,680-square-foot structure will replace the old building, which was condemned after hazardous mold was detected there in late 2015. The ambulance district recently secured a $300,000 loan to finance the construction of the new ambulance base on the site of the old building. The new structure, with office space, sleeping rooms for ambulance personnel, two bathrooms and a conference room, will be about half the size of the old building, but board chair Ray Peter told the Times, “That’s all we could afford.” Ambulance personnel currently operate out of a three-bedroom mobile home set up behind the site of the original building.