The beloved Santa Parade through Fanwood brought awe and smiles across town on Saturday, December 16th. A coating of snow brought an extra holiday touch to our annual tradition which goes back some 50 years. With his helpers from the Fire Department, Rescue Squad and PBA Local 123, Santa delivered over 1,000 gifts to about 380 homes across town. Thanks to everyone who makes this possible every year but mostly the Fire Department and the family members of the firefighters who collect, sort and box the gifts and arrange everything into an orderly route for Santa and his helpers.
Rescue Squad participants: Brian Downing, Jeff Downing, Karolyn Buckridee, Shreya Kachroo, Dante Clausen, Ed Winsor, Tom Kranz, Lisa Walker, Joan Lozowski, Ken Gorman and Nick Tripodi. Thanks, all!
Rescue Squad members Ian Lewis, Ed Winsor, Nick Route and Madison Lawton took part in a startlingly real enactment of a distracted driving crash outside Scotch Plains-Fanwood High School on December 12th. Sponsored by the Scotch Plains and Fanwood Police Departments and emergency personnel along with the Distributive Education Clubs of America (DECA), students from Scotch Plains – Fanwood High School, the Municipal Alliance Committee and the Scotch Plains-Fanwood PTA Chemical Dependence Committee, the event took place on Happel Court, which was closed to traffic for much of the day.
The scene included a car that slammed into a tree, students acting as patients, one of whom “died”, and a distraught mother, also an actor. Fanwood Police, Fanwood Rescue Squad and Scotch Plains Fire Department responded to the scene and staged a full extrication of the patients, who were made up with fake blood. The scene was repeated for each high school gym class and was designed to show the real effects of distracted driving. Fanwood Police Chief Richard Trigo and Scotch Plains Police Chief Ted Connelly spoke to the students after each enactment. Also present were the Mayors of Scotch Plains and Fanwood, other local officials and parents.
The Rescue Squad was among Fanwood volunteers celebrated at an annual holiday dinner held this year at the new Fanwood Grille on Martine Avenue. Mayor Colleen Mahr and the Borough Council hosted the dinner to thank the town’s many volunteers, who populate our commissions and boards in addition to the Rescue Squad and Fire Department. The Mayor and Council are also volunteers. Rescue Squad members in attendance were incoming president Ed Winsor and members Jamie Pedinoff, Shreya Kachroo, Lisa Walker, Dante Clausen, Nick Tripodi, Rob Villegas and Ralph Palazzi.
