VIDALIA, La. – As of Friday, only two people knew which way the Concordia Parish Police Jury’s consideration of an occupational license for Med Express might go — and neither person was talking.

&uot;We did receive an opinion from the (Louisiana) Attorney General’s Office, but I’d rather the other jury members know what it said before reading it in the media,&uot; said jury President Charlie Blaney.

And Robbie Shirley, secretary-treasurer of the Police Jury, said she had only mailed jurors their copies of the opinion, and of the agenda for a special meeting set for 6 p.m. Monday to deal with the license, on Friday morning.

Last Monday, the jury delayed a vote until it could receive an attorney general’s opinion on whether or not a license could be granted to a company suing a subdivision of parish government.

Med Express is suing Riverland Medical Center in Seventh Judicial District Court, charging that the hospital owes the company $40,087 for transporting non-insured patients in cases Medicare and Medicaid would not cover. The jury voted on Aug. 14 and Sept. 25 to delay voting on the license until it received the opinion.

The jury must grant Med Express an occupational license before it can do business in the parish again.

Even if Med Express gets its occupational license, the Concordia Parish 911 Communications Board will have to vote on adding Med Express to the parish’s 911 rotation.

Med Express discontinued service in Concordia Parish Aug. 16, 1999. Company officials announced during the jury’s July 24 meeting that the company wanted to reestablish service in the parish. But so far, that has not happened.

&uot;We’re still waiting to see what the jury does,&uot; said Shannon Pennington, public relations director for Med Express.

As it now stands, Concordia Parish has two ambulance services, American Medical Response and the Vidalia Fire Department, the latter of which operates within Vidalia’s town limits.