AMBULANCE GIVES TIME AT HOME FOR THE HOLIDAYS

DEXTER -- The Stoddard County Ambulance District will conduct its fifth annual "Home For the Holidays" on Dec. 24-26.

The service will take patients who are unable to travel except by ambulance from their nursing homes to their homes. Visits can last from a few hours to overnight.

Stoddard County Ambulance District Manager David Cooper said, "Our board of directors feel that Christmas is a time that families should spend together." The service is offered at no charge to the patients or their families.

All arrangements should be made through the appropriate nursing home, who will then contact the ambulance office. Families are asked not to contact the ambulance office directly.

The "Home for the Holidays" ambulance will be manned by EMT/Paramedic volunteers. Deadline for final arrangements is Friday.