In St. Petersburg, new and proposed programs to further encourage first responders | Community News

When: St. Petersburg Council meeting, March 1, in person at the St. Petersburg Community Center.

What happened: Council received an update on emergency medical services and first responder training.

Penn State Life Lion: Adam Marden, who runs Penn State Health Life Lion, said the EMT training academy is going well — there are nine students and he hopes to get six. “That’s how it is,” he added. The Penn State Health brand appears to be helping attract students, who are paid while training and have a new career after graduation. Susquehanna Valley EMS, the borough paramedic, joined Penn State Health on August 1. Marden also said three ambulances reported the traffic crash in East Hempfield Township last month that claimed the life of 10-year-old Libby Miller. First responders struggled to realize that a child had died and they were slow to recover.

Encourage volunteers: John Kottmyer, Chief of the Hempfield Area Fire Service Commission, true to his goal of attracting and retaining young volunteers in the fire service, described a proposed program in which applicants would accept a 10-year engagement with a fire department and would receive a “piece of money” after completing it. Kottmyer was in a Zoom meeting to discuss the tax rate of the payment, as he does not want the funds “disappear” for beneficiaries after taxes.He did not seem optimistic that he could reduce the tax rate enough to achieve his goal.

Community learning: Kottmyer also said that people have been asking for more “Stop the Bleed” programs. This interactive course is taught to the public so that they can intervene in a crisis and effectively help a seriously injured person. He gave the example that they were once taught that “tourniquets were bad”, but that is no longer the case when it comes to saving lives.

Don: Borough Superintendent Karen St. Clair said S. Clyde Weaver, a smoked meat and cheese maker, donated $10,000 for park improvements.

And after: The board committee meeting is at 6:00 p.m. on March 24 and the regular board meeting is at 7:00 p.m. on April 5. The public is welcome to attend the North Lancaster County Regional Police Commission meeting at the East Pete Community Center at 7 p.m. on March 10.