Athens County Commissioners announced an interim replacement for the county emergency medical service director Thursday after the former director declared his resignation last week.
Emergency medical service station chief Rick Callebs will serve as interim director until a permanent replacement can be found, Commissioner Larry Payne said.
Callebs applied for the EMS director position in 2011, but lost to Lenigar.
“Since we had interviewed him before, we figured he would be the best and most logical short-term solution,” Payne said. “He was willing to step in and help us out temporarily.”
After reports of Lenigar’s lack of communication skills and failure to implement
basic training programs, Payne said Callebs must fix these issues as the new head of the department.
“It is obvious to me that I will never meet the expectations you gentlemen have for the position I took,” Lenigar said in his resignation letter.
Though Payne said he intended to have a widespread search for a new director, Lang suggested that the station could not afford to wait because of the quickly approaching Ohio University fest season.
Several EMS employees mentioned their concern in postponing the announcement of an official director.
During Callebs’ tenure as interim EMS director, the commissioners have agreed to circulate applications for the position via advertisements in local publications and on the Ohio Department of EMS website.
“There are a lot of little issues at hand that we’re hoping will be addressed,” Payne said. “The commissioners are always the ones to contact if there are any concerns.”
Applications for the director position are due May 31.
