NorCo Deputy Sheriff Saves Two Lives in Two Days

NorCo Deputy Sheriff Scott Kuehner

Experts caution that you should never write when you are tired, sick or angry. I find that's when I do my best work. Last night's NorCo Council meeting did all three to me. I was so upset that, at Ken Kraft's suggestion,  I hurled myself off the courthouse roof . Some bastard Deputy Sheriff caught me. We've both been hospitalized. I'm under observation for the next 48 hours. This will give me the opportunity to meet Presidents Lincoln and Jefferson, both of whom are in adjoining rooms. The poor deputy is less fortunate. It's touch and go, but I'm puling for him. My jump may also have cracked the sidewalk outside the courthouse.

I will tell you about the NorCo Council circus after I cool down in weekend posts, assuming that doctors allow it. But for now, I want to tell you about another Northampton County Deputy Sheriff. One who is uninjured.

His name is Scott Kuehner. His main duty is to serve civil papers in the Easton area. As The Express Times reported, he responded to an overdose call on Wednesday morning, and administered Narcan to a man who was slumped over in his car, saving his life.

All NorCo Deputy Sheriff vehicles contain supplies of Narcan, and Kuehner just happens to be the department's first aid instructor.

Believe it or not, he did the same thing again on Thursday.

Kuehner was in the 100 block of S.16th St in Wilson Borough or West Easton when he heard a 911 report that a female in a white SAAB was slumped over in her car. This area is like a no man's land that is covered by Pennsylvania State Police, who would take some time to respond. Kuehner raced to the scene and arrived at the same time as Wilson Borough police officers.

Officers and Kuehner could see that the woman was slumped over, with a tourniquet in her arm. He administered Narcan and was able to bring her back.

In plain view, officers also saw eight decks of what appeared to be heroin.

The woman was transported to a hospital by EMTs.

Whether she will be charged is unknown.

"This woman does not know how fortunate she is," said Sheriff David Dalrymple.

What I'd like to see is more police vehicles equipped with automated external defibrillators (AED). Drug overdoses killed 59,000 people in 2016, but sudden cardiac arrest killed 350,000. Unlike the addict, those people have done nothing illegal. But that's a story for another day.

In two days, Deputy Kuehner has saved two lives. In 2014, he and other deputies were able to use AEDs to resuscitate Bethlehem Attorney Rich Schaedler after he suffered a sudden cardiac arrest.