February 2017
www.branchburgnews.com
Township Government Reorganizes, Tom Young is Mayor Early every January, the Branchburg government officials who were elected in November are sworn into office at the Municipal Building. Also, volunteers on committees and commissions officially take office. Two reelected members of the Township Committee were sworn in – Tom Young and Bob Petrelli. Further, Young was chosen by the committee as mayor, succeeding Petrelli who was mayor for 2016. Young noted that after about 20 years in municipal government, he was beginning his fourth mayoral term. The Township Committee chose James Schworn as deputy mayor. Young, Schworn and Petrelli spoke at the meeting and all paid tribute to four notable township volunteers and luminaries who passed away during 2016 – Ray Bateman, Herb Vollers, Bob Anczarki and Paul Crandall. They noted that it really is time to attract some younger volunteers to help fill the gaps these intelligent, visionary people left behind. Said Young from the dais, “We need to get some more younger people involved in the service of the town. There are probably 200 people who volunteer, from the Rescue Squad to fire, to the planning board, the zoning board. If you extend that into recreation, you probably get into a couple hundred additional people who are involved. I want to challenge the Township Committee and the rest of the volunteers to reach out to the 25 to 40 crowd. We want to see more of those people serving, and I think that’s what will continue to make this town a great town.” Schworn agreed on the demographics. “In terms of the succession and the future of Branchburg, getting the people in the 25 to 40 age group engaged is key. And I think you (Young) hit the nail on the head when you said we have to change the rules of participation. I’m looking forward to that.”
It’s Heart Health Month: Help Save Some Hearts in Branchburg The Branchburg Rescue Squad has launched a “Go Fund Me” donation campaign for the month of February to help offset the rising cost of lifesaving medical equipment. An example of the state-of-theart equipment that benefits patients of the Rescue Squad are two new Lucas Chest Compression Systems. Squad President and Life Member Carol Waechter wrote: “We have purchased two batteryoperated Lucas machines. These are mechanical devices that replace a rescuer’s hands in providing chest compressions as part of cardio-pulmonary resuscitation (CPR). Once the patient has been evaluated and is determined to be without breathing or a pulse, the device will deliver precise chest compressions at the rate of 100 per minute and the ration of 30 compressions with two breaths of air given by a rescuer.
“This allows the adequate circulation of oxygenated blood to reach the brain and other important vital organs. It will allow an EMT/rescuer to apply other lifesaving modalities as in the use of an AED/automatic external defibrillator and delivering oxygen to the patient. “Many CPR calls can be lengthy in duration with the EMT/CPR skills in conjunction with the application of cardiac medications by the Mobile Intensive Care Unit from a hospital, all for the benefit of the patient. Thank you for your support in donations for this campaign. “To donate, please go to www. gofundme.com and type in Branchburg Rescue Squad. We are on face-
Branchburg Rescue Squad member Rohit Nallmala, in the back of a rig, shows one of the new Lucas Chest Compression Systems. – photo by Carol Waechter
book and www.branchburgrescue. org to see our training device. You can also visit www.lucas-cpr.com to view the operation video.”
Rescue Squad Lists Officers for 2017 Submitted by Carol Waechter The Branchburg Rescue Squad has named the following officers for 2017: President Carol H. Waechter, Vice President Grantley Nurse, Recording Secretary Jordan Kaplan, Treasurer Reed Conley, Assistant Treasurer David Allaway, Chief Ed Winters, First Lieutenant Matthew Hoffman, Second Lieutenant David Allaway, Education & Compliance Sergeant Robert Lyle, EMS Sergeant Liz Mikaliunas, Rescue Sergeant Joseph Shreve, 5th year Trustee Gerry Dowding
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Reorganization photos: Top left: New Mayor Tom Young, 2016 Mayor Bob Petrelli and Municipal Clerk Maggie Schmitt. Top right: Mayor Tom brought out his giant rough-hewn gavel, a gift from the DPW during one of his earlier terms, Above: Maggie Schmitt swears in a group of volunteers.