afternoon update
MOMENTUM is growing in the push to get more paramedics for Orange.
Orange newsagency owner Tony Jones and his wife Dot have already collected hundreds of signatures from customers supporting the petition.
Mr Jones said he had no hesitation in putting up his hand to have a petition based at his business.
"Twelve months ago my wife and I were on our way home to Spring Hill when we came across a motorbike rider who had crashed," he said.
"We called an ambulance and it took an hour and a half to get there.
"We didn't want to move him because we thought he had neck and spinal injuries.
Orange City Council has endorsed the petition by placing it at council-run facilities across the city, after voting overwhelmingly to lobby the state government to boost paramedic numbers in Orange, which have remained static for 20 years.