Local Government TV

Monday, May 01, 2017

Hanover Tp Thanks First Responders With a Park

 First Responders Park is the product of the efforts of, from left to right, Supervisors John Diacogiannis, Michael Prendeville, Mark Tanczos and Jack Nagle, as well as Manager Jay Finnigan. Supervisor Steve Salvesen was unable to attend. 
Numerous Lehigh Valley municipalities think pretty poorly of your own need for public safety. Many of them have no police, choosing to let you wait for the time it takes Pennsylvania State Police to respond to what could be a life-and-death emergency. You could live in Bath Borough,which has scheduled a special Town hall. Or you could live in Allentown, whose fire engines are breaking down because Mayor Edwin "Fed Ed" Pawlowski slashed their operating budget by 65.52% since 2008. That's just a tragedy waiting to happen. But things are different in Hanover Township, which is blessed with excellent police, fire and emergency medical protection. Instead of ignoring or maligning them, Hanover Township thanked its first responders on Saturday with a park named after them.

A large contingent of Colonial Regional officers came,including retired Chhief Dan Spang.  
Supervisor Michel Prendeville came up with the name for this park, which was built almost entirely with grant money.

Firefighters, cops and EMS personnel pose together. The white-shirted man in the center is
Joseph Moser,a 48-year veteran of the Hanover Tp Volunteer Fire Co.  
As the park was being dedicated, sirens wailed all over because first responders were spending their Saturday morning drilling for a hospital disaster that hopefully will never happen.

Prendeville's stirring words:

"Thank you for turning towards things that most people turn from. Thank you for bringing and maintaining order in times of chaos. Thank you for providing compassion for complete strangers in a time of dire need. Thank you for making the world a better place. Thank you for being role models. Thank you for the countless hours of training and education. Thank you for protecting us. Thank you for making us feel safe. Thank you for providing service above self. There is no greater contribution to society than to be in the service of others."

Colonial Regional Police Chief Roy Seiple said that, unlike many other communities, Hanover Township has always gone out of its way to make first responders feel welcome. "The last few years have been very difficult for men and women in law enforcement," said Seiple. "Officers have been preyed upon at an alarming rate." In the midst of all the controversy over police nationwide, Chief Seiple said he arrived at work one morning to see the yellow line replaced with a black and blue line painted in the road outside of the police station.

Jim Millot is the Township Engineer who turned this dream into reality, on time
and under budget. He always claimed he was"on target," which became a running
joke for Supervisors.But it is an apt description of township governance.  
That was Prendeville's idea, too.

Seiple thanked the people of Hanover Township

After the event was over, Finnigan told me first responders will be able to visit the park for free.

So will every one else.

He also told me the Township is considering naming something after me - a dumpster.

The colors of Colonial Regional and Hanover Tp Volunteer firefighters are unfurled. 

17 comments:

  1. A park named for first responders is a great idea. It certainly is cheaper than having to pay for full-time firemen when you can rely on volunteers. Give credit to Hanover for shrewd thinking.

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  2. They are not a third class city. Hanover also doesn't have the population nearly the size of the Cities. And lastly the response times to fires and other incidents is nowhere near that of a full time Fire Department.

    Ask the Allentown, Bethlehem, and Easton residents if they would like to wait until Volunteers where able to respond to a station to respond to an incident as their house, apartment, high rise apartment structure,burned with loved ones including pets trapped. Not to mention the cars with entrapment, medical emergencies, Bomb responses, Hazmat responses, Under Water Recovery, Technical Rescue, and any other new situation that arises in a day that full time Firefighters must mitigate in a timely fashion.

    Please educate yourself before you so ignorantly respond. It is clear you must be a manager of one of the Lehigh Valley cities and is to be expected that you have little respect for your Firefighters. Just look at the Mayor of Allentown laughing at the safety of his city. I for one would pay for full time fire and police protection knowing what quick response times can mean in life and death situations.


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    2. Nope just knowledgeable. Your disdain for any type of Firefighter speaks volumes. Paid or not paid facts are facts whether or not as a corrupt politician you can manage the facts is your problem. You made the promises, fulfill them or get out. Stop whining.

      By the way it is refreshing to see a township honor First Responders the way Hanover. Others chose to eliminate them.

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  3. Wow I have heard that the leaders in Hanover Twp. are an arrogant bunch that have think skins, I can see the comments are true. I think 1:26 was just stating an opinion. You guys need to remember you were elected by the people not anointed by God.
    The reason they don't have full-time paid firefighters is they don't want to spend the money.

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  4. Some of this pride in first responders should trickle down to Allentown where a delusional mayor who plays with the safety of all first responders and citizens alike.

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  6. The negative comment at 5:25 states that Hanover leaders are arrogant and he can see so by the comments. There were two comments before his,and none of them demonstrated any sort of arrogance. The park honors ALL first responders, both career and volunteer. Comments by one group taking shots at another are of topic, and are intended to drive a wedge and keep you from focusing so that assholes like Fed Ed can continue to ignore you.

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  7. Hanover Twp has great and dedicated people in the Volunteer Fire group. My wife and I support them every year. I believe the Twp supports them as well. The council is not made up of arrogant people, they will talk to anyone. All you have to do is be respectful if you have a problem and not be hot headed.

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  8. Bernie,you are a wise man that gets his sleep and also up before the cock crows! Not like some that can't sleep for fear of there DEEDS catching up to them before the cock crows.

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  9. I attended this ceremony as my child was scheduled to play lacrosse after the dedication. It was very gratifying to see the mutual respect these individuals showed towards each other. This event wasn't staged, there was genuine respect by all. Proud to live in Hanover. Armed Services Park honors those that have and are serving and now First Responders Park honors those that serve other, whether paid or career. Another example of the strong leadership in Hanover.

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  10. I don't believe any of the comments cast any doubt on the responders. Whether they are volunteer or paid. People respect the work that they do. Rather, I think the comments were more about the government of Hanover, like most townships they look for the cheapest way to get service. The idea of the Park was very nice however it could also be a smart move by the supervisors and manager to find an inexpensive way to get volunteers. The comment about thin skinned leaders seems on the mark. Everytime Bernie writes a story about Hanover and he writes many complimentary stories, if someone makes a comment critical of their leadership, one of them is immediately on the blog attacking the individual. I think they should also head the advice given another official and,"suck it up cupcake". It goes with the job.

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  11. How dare they defend themselves against your anonymous slurs! Do you realize how goofy you sound? Save your bile at Supervisors for something else.

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  12. So Trachta was right? Do you know how silly you sound. Should Nazareth officials go after you or other citizens that have a different opinion.
    I guess, "suck it up cupcake", depends on whom you like and dislike in government.

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  13. Yawn. This is not about me or Hanover Supervisors, but our first responders. Your comments here indicate you take them for granted.

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  14. I doubt people take first responders for granted but they are skeptical of elected officials.

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