By Dennis Brown

Vanceburg Fire Chief James “Bubbles” Switzer died unexpectedly last week, resulting in an outpouring of sympathy from all around the area and a firefighter’s funeral with a procession including fire trucks from some 25 emergency and fire departments.

Switzer, 52, had served as Chief of the Vanceburg Volunteer Fire Department for the past 25 years. He was a member of the department for ten years prior to becoming chief. He died Sunday afternoon, August 23.

Carl Chaney, who is Vanceburg’s Assistant Fire Chief and Lewis County’s EMS Director, said he had known Switzer for about 40 years and had known his parents and other family members well. Over the years, he said, he came to know Switzer as a friend, professional and dedicated member of the community.

“For those of us who knew him, as closely as we worked with him, he never did anything for personal gain,” Chaney said. “He always had everyone else in mind.”

Chaney joined the Vanceburg Fire Department in 1997 after moving to the Black Oak area from Garrison, where he was also a firefighter. “Bubbles really had an interest in the fire department. He was continually involved in bettering the department as well as all emergency services in the county,” he said.

Switzer had worked for Shunks Blade Division in Bucyrus, Ohio, and was a bus driver for the Lewis County School District. He had worked as an EMS technician for Lewis County Ambulance and Conley Ambulance Service in Vanceburg for several years.

A former member of Vanceburg City Council, he was a CPR instructor and also a member of the Lewis County Volunteer Fire Department. He was most recently a dispatcher for the Lewis County E-911 Dispatch Center. He was a member of Happy Hollow Church.

Chaney said Switzer had worked his regular shift at the dispatch center Friday night and had participated in activities at the Lewis County School and Agricultural Fair throughout the previous week.

Switzer’s compassion for kids in the area was exemplified by the annual Christmas toy drive for donations of toys for underprivileged children and he would often reach into his own pocket to help out youngsters who might not have enough change to purchase a treat.

Chaney said firefighters, especially younger ones, respected Switzer’s experience and training and took direction .

from him well. He said Switzer’s main concern at a fire or accident scene was for the safety of the firefighters

He added that Switzer would also often try to recover some personal items for families when their homes and other belongings were destroyed by fire. “He was just an all-around good guy,” Chaney said.

Chaney added that he and Switzer would often get together just to chat or to talk about events going on with fire and EMS services in the area. “Bubbles always had some good ideas,” he said.

Switzer was visible at community events around the area as a champion for fire and EMS services and served as the grill chief for the fire department food booth turning out barbecued ribs and bratwursts.

Tuesday would have been Switzer’s birthday. Friends and family members held an impromptu get-together and release of balloons on that day at the firehouse on Front Street in Vanceburg where Switzer had spent countless hours.

A memorial had earlier been placed at that same location where anyone could light a candle in Switzer’s memory.

Hundreds turned out for the visitation and funeral. Switzer’s fire-engine red casket was carried on the back of a fire truck past the firehouse on Front Street and rejoined the procession to the Lewis County Memory Gardens where he was laid to rest.

Second Street in Vanceburg east of Court Street was blocked off to allow for the parking of emergency vehicles line up to be in the procession to the cemetery. Many in attendance at the funeral waited outside after the funeral home filled to overflowing.

Chaney said it was an honor driving the truck carrying Switzer’s body. He said he was asked to do so by Switzer’s son Eric, who is also a Vanceburg Volunteer Firefighter.

The procession, which included numerous fire and emergency response vehicles and stretched for more than a mile, traveled through Vanceburg and up the AA Highway to the Ronald Reagan Memorial Highway, then passed beneath an enormous American flag held aloft by ladder trucks from the Maysville and Grayson Fire Departments.

Vehicles parked along Ky. Rt. 8 after the roads in the cemetery were filled. The mourners gathered in and around the tent set up for the graveside and committal service.

Lewis County Fiscal Court approved property tax rates for property owners last week in a special session. The rates are mostly unchanged from the previous year.

County tax rates for Lewis County real estate remained at 13 cents per $100 valuation after a motion by Magistrate Milt Stanfield to keep the rate unchanged from the previous year. The rate on tangible personal property and public service companies was also left the same as the previous year at 14.1 cents per $100 valuation.

Magistrates generally followed the recommendations of the governing boards in adopting rates for taxes which will help to fund those entities.

The Lewis County Board of Education requested a rate of 40 cents per $100 valuation on real estate, up slightly from the previous rate of 39.8 cents; 40 cents for tangible property, down from 40.3; and 49 cents for motor vehicles and watercraft, unchanged from last year.

Rates for the Lewis County Public Library remained unchanged at four cents per $100 valuation on real estate; 7.1 cents for tangible personal property; and 1.76 cents per hundred on motor vehicles and watercraft.

The Lewis County Health Department also requested rates at the same level as the previous year: 3.4 cents per $100 valuation on real estate; 3.8 cents on tangible personal property; and 3.8 cents on motor vehicles and watercraft.

In each of the fire tax districts in Lewis County, property owners will pay a tax rate of 10 cents per $100 valuation on real estate. The county’s fire tax districts are protected by the Firebrick, Black Oak, Kinniconick, Camp Dix, Tollesboro, Garrison and Lewis County Volunteer Fire Departments.

The rate on timberland and forested acres was unchanged at three cents per acre.

Adopting the rates for the Lewis County Extension District resulted in some discussion concerning the compensating

 tax rate, which allows taxing entities to effectively receive the same amount of funding each year although the rate may fluctuate while taking into account total property valuations for the county.

Thomas Massie addressed magistrates and said the formula the state uses to determine the compensating rate is incorrect and would result in tax increases for property owners each year. He added that any rate increased by more than four percent could be recalled by voters.

Massie said the library board had contacted Frankfort concerning the compensating rate and learned of the discrepancies.

Although the extension board had requested a rate of 5.6 cents per $100 valuation on real estate, magistrates set the rate at 4.8 cents, an increase of four percent over the previous rate of 4.6 cents.

The extension board requested 8.45 cents per $100 valuation on tangible personal property and was awarded 8.6 cents by magistrates, four percent more than the 8.27 percent rate from last year. The rate on motor vehicles and watercraft remained unchanged at 3.12 cents per $100 valuation.

Massie also addressed the court concerning the county’s insurance tax and noted that some Lewis County residents license their autos in Ohio and are able to avoid paying the local tax.

The insurance tax, Massie said, “… is the most regressive tax we have. Whether you have a clunker or a $30,000 SUV, you pay the same amount for state required liability insurance.”

Judge Executive Steve Applegate responded that he was aware that some people skirted the law in registering their autos because of the lower tax rates in Ohio.