Commissioners appoint new Troy dispatch board member

The Lincoln County Commissioners on Wednesday unanimously approved the appointment of a new member to the Troy Dispatch District Board of Directors.

The commissioners appointed James Ward, 57, to fill the remaining term left by Jerry Wallace. Wallace is stepping down from the board for health reasons and Ward said he’s happy to step up for the job.

“I just wanted to add my knowledge to the board,” Ward said. “I’m looking forward to working for them.”

Ward currently serves the as the training officer for the Bull Lake Fire District, which supplied him with a letter of recommendation for the board member position. He’s accumulated 28 years of experience in firefighting and emergency medical services. Most of those years were spent in California, where Ward grew up after moving away from Missoula in his youth.

Since moving back to the area seven years ago, Ward said he and other community members have established an interagency system in preparation for forest fires in the area.

Ward said he’s well aware of the current issues regarding the Troy dispatch center. In recent weeks, a handful of county residents have attended the Lincoln County Commissioners meeting hoping for the county to dissolve the Troy city dispatch center and allow it to be absorbed by the county. While Ward said he sees the intentions of that effort are for the good, he said there might be other solutions before shuttering the center.

“My personal feeling is: let’s look at the whole system before we shut it down,” Ward said.

Ward was one of two people who applied for the position left by Wallace. While considering the applications on Wednesday, Wallace, who was in attendance at the commissioner’s meeting, told officials that he joined the board in order to better represent the rural area surrounding Troy that is also served by the dispatch center.

County Commissioner Mark Peck agreed with Wallace.

“I think there needs to be rural fire representation on there,” Peck said of the board’s composition.

The commissioners unanimously voted to approve Ward as the new board member.

Reporter Seaborn Larson may be reached at 758-4441 or by email at slarson@dailyinterlake.com.