Back on the treadmill Thursday morning — three miles running, total of four with the walking. Legs feel good. Kept the pace light — about 28:30 or so for the run.
Next stop: Run with the Vikings 5K at SBHS.
South Brunswick Post, The Cranbury Press
The Blog of South Brunswick
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If you read between the lines in this story that we did on local EMT reaction to a state report on emergency services, you should come away with the impression that the state is on the money in its criticism of the current setup.
The state study
cited, in particular, financial problems, a shortfall in volunteers, a lack of comprehensive EMS legislation, and sub-par Advanced Life Support services as the main causes for concern. It also listed 55 recommendations to revamp the EMS system, which includes 1,500 certified paramedics and 22,000 emergency medical technicians statewide.
Local volunteers acknowledged all the problems that the state cited, but then lapsed into defensive mode:
local squad leaders said the recommendation to save expenses by merging smaller operations would not improve services in the area, because they already work closely together. They also questioned the feasibility of paying the salaries and benefits of additional career EMTs, another move urged by the report.
According to Mr. Wolfe, “You’re not gonna gain a lot in the way we operate. We already have the mechanisms to draw on the pool of available volunteers.”
As for more career EMTs, he said, “Someone’s gotta pay for that, and it’s already a burden to pay for police and fire.”
Al Low-Beer said it would be impossible for the Kendall Park squad to include career EMTs.
”The study forgot to mention one thing, and that’s how to pay for everything,” he said. “You couldn’t run the squad without a major increase in taxes.”
He also criticized the study’s recommendation to appoint a regional director to oversee the squads.
”If somebody was telling us what we need to do, that would definitely be a problem,” he said.
The study seems to me a start. Anyone who thinks that a state as populace as New Jersey, with as many people commuting as we have, or working multiple jobs, can continue to rely on volunteers for our emergency services is just fooling themselves. While we might not like to admit it, we will have to go to a paid system at some point. We should have the discussion now and include as many of the main players as we can so that when the time comes, we have something that will work.
South Brunswick Post, The Cranbury Press
The Blog of South Brunswick
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Check out Dispatches for more on my experiences in the LBI 18-Mile Run.
South Brunswick Post, The Cranbury Press
The Blog of South Brunswick
E-mail me by clicking here.
This report offers some encouraging news about truck traffic. While the number of trucks on the roads has been on the rise, there appears to be a move by the states to tackle the issue, which in turn may force the courts to rethink their rather narrow conception of what can be done about the problem.
South Brunswick Post, The Cranbury Press
The Blog of South Brunswick
E-mail me by clicking here.
Another piece of the puzzle, another bit of evidence to support the truth. The Earth is not only getting warmer, but more humid — and the global warming thesis just gets stronger and stronger.
Climate scientists have now seen the man-made fingerprint of global warming on 10 different aspects of Earth’s environment: surface temperatures, humidity, water vapor over the oceans, barometric pressure, total precipitation, wildfires, change in species of plants in animals, water run-off, temperatures in the upper atmosphere, and heat content in the world’s oceans.
“This story does now fit together; there are now no loose ends,” said Ben Santer, a scientist at Lawrence Livermore National Lab and author of the September study on moisture above the oceans. “The message is pretty compelling that natural causes alone just can’t cut it.”
Man is changing the climate and choking us all.
I know. Not a pretty picture, but that’s just the way it is.
South Brunswick Post, The Cranbury Press
The Blog of South Brunswick
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