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Many
of the individuals and organizations attending the Dec. 16
banquet were members of Logan County Fire, Rescue and Police
departments and took part in the services held outside the
courthouse on Sept. 14, in the fund-raising drive for families of New
York City rescue workers who died in the World Trade Center tragedy
and took part in the candlelight ceremony that saw the unveiling of the
$32,540 check for the rescue workers.
In
honor of those groups, candles were lit on the same large
candelabrum that was used in the ceremony presenting the check. One
candle, the only black one amid a field of white, had remained unlit
during the check presentation ceremony on Oct. 18. At the
December ceremony, ESDA Director Dan Fulscher asked Rep. Jonathan
Wright, speaker of the evening, to light the black candle as a sign
that New York and the nation were recovering from the tragedy.
Wright,
who said he was speaking not as a politician but “as a citizen who
benefits from what you do,” encouraged the fire, police and rescue
workers to “stay the course.”
“You
represent the best,” he told the rescue workers. He especially
commended the volunteers who work without pay.
“Sept.
11 brought some positives along with the tragedy. Once every kid
wanted to be a firefighter or a policeman. Today kids are keyed on
athletes and entertainers with big salaries. But on Sept. 11
children saw what firefighters, police officers and rescue personnel
are really all about.”
Perhaps
now young people will want to grow up to be firefighters, police
officers and rescue personnel, he said.
Wright,
who recently announced he would not run for state representative
next term, said, “I decided not to run again, and it only hurt my
pride. If you decide not to do what you do, the whole community
suffers. Lives depend on you. Stay the course.”
Fulscher
presented awards in two categories, special merit and volunteer of
the year, to members of many of the organizations and individuals
who were present. Receiving awards were the following:
Lincoln
Police Department, lead agency for the Logan County Terrorism Task
Force; Rep. Jonathan Wright for assistance in fund-raising for New
York City Police, Fire and EMS disaster families; county board
chairman Richard Logan for leadership in the fund-raising for New
York City families.
Also
Weather Watch Team awards, Gerald Hubrich and Debbie Craig, special
merit, and Rick Kempf, volunteer of the year; Underwater Search and
Recovery Team awards, Denis Bailey and Gary Knauer, volunteers of
the year; Snowmobile Team and Search and Rescue awards, Gene Hickey
and Lynn Buse, special merit; Lincoln Railsplitter REACT awards, Don
Begolka, special merit, and Devin Vannoy, volunteer of the year.
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article]
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Also
Mounted Horse Search and Rescue, Lori Schaub and Nathan Reinhardt,
special merit, and Tammy Buse, volunteer of the year; Lincoln Rural
Explorers awards, William Hutcheson and Adam Wessbecher, special
merit.
LEPC
awards went to the Logan County Health Department for the
outstanding work they do to help make LEPC valuable to the
community, with Lloyd Evans and Debbie Cook receiving special merit
awards. Community service awards also went to Lincoln Daily
News, Jan Youngquist and Joan Crabb, and to Insight Communications, Tim
Rogers, Jim Ash and Mike Fak, special merit.
LEPC
volunteer of the year went to Lisa Funk of CILCO; ESDA volunteer of
the year went to Ed Houchins; and an honorary award to all New York
City Fire, Police and EMS.
The
Larry Schroyer Award, given in honor of the man who was the first
Civil Defense director in Logan County, who set the Civil Defense
unit (which has since become ESDA) on the path it is now, went to
Everett Kennett and Gene Bathe. Kennett is a former Lincoln
City Fire chief and is now a trustee of Lincoln Rural Fire
Department. Bathe has been on the Hartsburg Fire Department for 38
years, served as chief and also head of the rescue squad.
Special
thanks also went to those who helped with two major emergencies
during 2001. On April 3, a tanker truck filled with gasohol
overturned on Route 136 west of McLean, and Fulscher recognized the
following people for their help with this incident:
Robert
and Renee Stubblefield; Chief Dave Leach of McLean Fire and Rescue;
Shelly Barger of Atlanta Fire and Rescue; Chief Bucky Washam of
Lincoln City Fire; Chief Bob Thomas and Dave Hurley of Lincoln Rural
Fire, CILCO dispatcher Lisa Funk; and Emergency Management
Coordinator and Assistant Director Terry Storer.
Seven-year-old
Austin Mollet received a special merit award for the assistance in
getting help for his grandmother. On Nov. 25, he was at her home
when she stopped breathing. He was able to call 911, talk to
dispatcher Mark Mann and give him all the information needed to send
help to the home immediately. Austin, who was at the banquet,
presented Mark Mann with a special merit award for his leadership in
handling the call.
Organizations
represented at the awards ceremony included Armington Fire and
Rescue; Atlanta Fire, Rescue and Police; Beason Fire and Rescue;
Broadwell Fire; Chestnut Fire and Rescue; Cornland Fire; Elkhart
Fire, Rescue and Police; Emden Fire and Rescue; Hartsburg Fire and
Rescue; Latham Fire and Rescue; LEPC; Lincoln City Fire, Rescue and
Police; Lincoln Rural Fire and Rescue; Logan County Government; ESDA;
Logan County Paramedic Association; Logan County Auxiliary Police;
Middletown Fire and Rescue; Mount Pulaski Fire and Rescue; New Holland
Fire and Rescue; San Jose Fire, Rescue and Police; and Williamsville
Fire and Rescue.
[Joan
Crabb]
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