Englund, Plante square off for county commission in District 3

Nov. 3—Among the issues dividing an incumbent Cheshire County commissioner from his Republican challenger in Tuesday's general election is whether the county should establish itself as a regional EMS provider.

Democrat Robert Englund, 80, of Stoddard, who is finishing his inaugural four-year term as commissioner, faces a challenge from Leo Plante, 76, of Dublin, a founder of Lionheart Classical Academy in Peterborough. Both are running for a two-year term as county commissioner for Cheshire County District 3, which has been redistricted to cover Alstead, Dublin, Gilsum, Harrisville, Jaffrey, Marlow, Nelson, Rindge, Stoddard, Sullivan, Surry, Walpole and Westmoreland.

Englund, a retired physician who worked for more than 30 years for Cheshire Medical Center/Dartmouth-Hitchcock Keene, said his decades in medicine locally have made him aware of the strong need for a centralized EMS provider in the county.

County officials originally pitched Cheshire EMS late last year as a public takeover of the privately operated DiLuzio Ambulance Service in Keene, but when that deal fell through, the county this spring moved forward on its own.

In March, the county spent $1.1 million in American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds to purchase property in Swanzey and construct a home base for the new ambulance service there. By next year, Cheshire EMS is expected to be operational and will be equipped with seven ambulances and a paramedic intercept vehicle, according to county officials. A chief was hired to lead the department in August.

Englund said that when it comes to saving lives, every second counts, so having an ambulance nearby when someone needs it is essential. And advances in medicine over the years mean providing care can require more expertise than it used to, he noted.

"The current infrastructure is spotty at best and some of the towns do have pretty good [ambulance] services, some have none and some are volunteer only," Englund said, noting the county established Cheshire EMS after years of talks with area EMS providers.

But Plante, who said he's a former investment banker and economics professor, questioned whether Cheshire EMS was necessary. Although he said he has not talked to fire chiefs or private ambulance services in the region about the issue, Plante said the private sector and local governments are enough to meet the county's EMS needs. He also criticized the county for having spent ARPA funds on the EMS service's startup.

"If you have a one-time source of funds you don't go off and build something that is going to last for a generation," Plante said. "At some point the two-year grant from the feds will end [and] taxpayers will subsidize it."

County officials have said that Cheshire EMS — which is expected to be doing interfacility transports by the end of the year — will operate as an enterprise fund, meaning its operational costs will be covered by contracts and fees paid by those who use it, not taxes.

Plante said if elected one of his main focuses would be on keeping young people in the region. He said he would work with the N.H. Department of Education to connect high-school students to internships with local employers.

"It's kind of sad in a way; we have a lot of high-school students, but they don't stay," Plante said. "There's no reason for them to stay. They go off to Massachusetts or Hillsborough County."

But, Englund questioned whether his opponent has a real understanding of the job of county commissioners and said education is not within the commission's purview.

"The state of New Hampshire has an excellent division of labor between the responsibilities for towns, county and state governments," he said. "The county government has zero responsibility for schools. The schools are managed by the cities or the supervisory unions."

The three-member commission is a part-time elected body responsible primarily for overall supervision of county departments, buildings and land, as well as budgetary oversight, according to the county website.

Plante also suggested that the county could look at privatizing the jail and nursing home.

"My own experience is that government does a poor job in delivering those kinds of services," he said. "So I would explore it. I would hope someone else has explored it."

Englund said he would not support privatizing either facility. In his time as a doctor, Englund said he spent a lot of time at Maplewood Nursing Home in Westmoreland, which the county oversees. Just like Maplewood, private nursing homes are also struggling with a shortage of nurses, he said.

"I am so impressed with the organization of the Maplewood Nursing Home," he said. "It is superior to the other nursing homes."

At the county jail in Keene, Englund said he has been involved for years with medication-assisted treatment, a program that allows inmates with substance-use disorders to take Suboxone, a medication used to treat opioid addiction. Suboxone, which Englund said blocks the pleasurable effects of drugs like fentanyl and heroin, has been very effective for inmates at the jail and has helped reduce recidivism rates, he said.

Englund said he sees serving as a county commissioner as a way to remain involved in the community where he has lived since 1976 and where he and his wife, Alfrieda "Dita" Englund, raised four children.

"Keene and Cheshire County have been very good to us," he said. "In turn, in our more senior years we are just wanting to give back to the community which continues to be a fabulous place where we live."

With two of the districts for Cheshire County commissioners shifting with the recent state-wide redistricting, which takes place every 10 years, the county commissioner for District 1, Jack Wozmak of Walpole, will no longer live in the district he represents as of 2023. Walpole is now part of District 3. However, under state law, he will be allowed to fulfill the remaining two years of his term.

Find information on the candidates, voting, sample ballots and more at sentinelsource.com/vote

Ryan Spencer can be reached at 352-1234, extension 1412, or rspencer@keenesentinel.com. Follow him on Twitter @rspencerKS