JAY — Selectmen voted 4-1 Monday to accept Fire Rescue Chief Scott Shink’s
resignation with regret.

Selectman Steve Barker opposed the vote because he didn’t agree with the
chief’s resignation. But Barker said he knew his opposition wouldn’t change anything.

In his resignation letter, Shink wrote “As I have stated in several
conversations with you (Town Manager Ruth Marden) over the past year that the
position of a volunteer fire chief is becoming more difficult each year with
mandates, training, and the declining number of volunteers. My passion to serve
in this role has diminished and it has become just another time consuming
job.”

Shink said he will take a leave of absence to see if his desire to be a
firefighter resurfaces and to let the new chief settle in.

“I would also like to thank you and the select board for their support over
the past four years,” Shink wrote.

His brother, Deputy Chief Jim Shink is the new fire chief. Scott Shink had
followed another brother, Brian Shink, as chief.

According to the Fire Rescue Department’s bylaws, the chief and deputy chief
positions are posted every two years, Marden said. She believed the position
would be posted in December and applications would be accepted. She would then
bring the names of the chief and deputy chief to the board for appointment.

In other business, selectmen voted 4-1 with Tom Goding opposed to give $200
out of the selectmen’s contingency fund toward the start up of a new Web site
listing health services in the Jay, Livermore and Livermore Falls area.

David Robie, a representative of the Franklin Community Health Network,
presented the idea as a way to make information about health care services in
the area accessible to anyone who may need a service.

Hospitals around the region would also be listed on the site.

“What we’re looking to do is develop a simple Web site,” Robie said.

It would cost $750, a one-time fee, to develop the site.

Franklin Memorial Hospital cannot own it, he said. It would be totally
separate from FMH, he added.

He also plans to ask Livermore and Livermore Falls to contribute $200 toward
the project. The Jay, Livermore, Livermore Falls Chamber of Commerce would also
contribute $200, he said.

Goding suggested that businesses that would be listed on the site pay for it
rather than the towns.

Robie said they want the site to be all inclusive and not every small health
care service provider could afford to contribute.

It’s not the market for businesses but to assist the community, he said.

Vice Chairman Warren Bryant said the site would be good for new residents. He
suggested that veterinary services also be listed to assist people.

“Why couldn’t Jay be a leader for once . . . I think it is a wonderful idea,“
resident Hyla Friedman said, after being asked by a selectman what she thought.

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