There are more than 300,000 reasons why Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine must help Lawrence County taxpayers get what they are owed.

Well, maybe not reasons so much as dollars. As in dollars owed directly to the citizens of our county.

This staggering figure comes from what Athens and Jackson counties owe Lawrence County for more than three years of subsidizing the ambulance service provided through the Southeast Ohio Emergency Medical Services, an agency that is now defunct and essentially bankrupt.

But that doesn’t change the fact those counties still owe for services rendered.

The Lawrence County Commissioners have basically done all they can to encourage these neighboring counties to honor their responsibilities and pay what they owe.

So far these requests have been met with blatant refusal.

The entire SEOEMS structure was always concerning for exactly this reason. It opened the door to an inequitable distribution of costs, with Lawrence County subsidizing the others, according to a report by Ohio Auditor of State Dave Yost.

Hopefully DeWine and his office will assist in this process by first simply asking a little less nicely and secondly by taking legal action if necessary.

Lawrence County’s taxpayers are just as burdened as any others. They deserve every penny to be spent right here for our services.