Trees in Raynor Park were removed last year due to the Wild Ash Boar.

The Bethel Township Trustees of Clark County happily announced last week that they will accept a generous offer of free trees from Scarff’s Nursery in order to help replace nearly 70 Ash Trees that had to be removed from Raynor Park last year.

The board unanimously voted to approve the offer from Peter Scarff at last Tuesday’s meeting, accepting more than 60 trees and shrubs that will be installed primarily in the Park Layne park. The Ash Trees at Raynor Park were removed last year after succumbing to the devastating effects of the Emerald Ash Borer, which created a potential safety hazard of falling limbs to those who visit the public park off of Styer Drive.

Board President Dave Phares said the park situated in a very wet location due to its proximity to a creek, which flooded in the severe rainstorm in May of 2014. The trees range in variety and their tolerance for wet or dry soil will determine where they are planted, Phares said.

The board said Scarff offered them several Elm, Buckeye, Maple, Weeping Willow, and Flowering Pear trees, as well as many evergreens and shrubs. Also included in the variety are four Ivory Silk Lilacs, which are the same trees planted along Main Street in downtown New Carlisle, bearing striking white flowers in the springtime that produce a strong sweet scent.

“We’re very grateful that he’s giving us these trees,” said Trustee Nancy Brown of Scarff’s offer.

Also during the meeting, Assistant Fire Chief Jennifer Cotterman discussed an issue that arose in her department regarding an EMS billing error. Cotterman, working with Township Fiscal Officer Melanie Cochran, said the fire department’s EMS billing is performed by the McKesson company, and that a training error on McKesson’s part caused the township to owe thousands of dollars to Medicare.

Cochran said the township has been overpaid by Medicare by roughly $7,000 through McKesson’s billing errors, noting that Medicare is now demanding their money back. She said the error was the result of a McKesson billing representative being trained incorrectly, as that representative documented all of the township’s EMS bills as “advanced,” when in fact, most of the runs required only “basic” care.

Cochran said that Medicare would begin taking their money back automatically from the next applicable bills that arise, and that the township has no say in the matter. She said that while McKesson instructed the township to resolve the matter with Medicare, she will consult with the County Prosecutor’s office in an attempt to make McKesson handle the error instead, saying that McKesson is already equipped with the facts and figures, as well as it being their error originally.

The board voted to submit the related documents to the Prosecutor’s Office, as the Prosecutor acts as the township’s legal counsel in such matters.

The Bethel Township Trustees of Clark County meet the second and fourth Tuesday of each month at 7 p.m. Their meetings are held at the fire house, located at 3333 Lake Road in Medway, with the public always welcome. Call the township at 937-849-9499 for more information.