Down River

More Good News:
We’ve had quite the recent run of good news stories to pass along on the pages of The Record and therecord-online. A couple weeks back we shared the story of Nick Walker who has turned his life around and is now giving back to the Haven Summer Youth Program (you should know the final edition of the program is scheduled for Flemington Park this Saturday at 10 a.m.). Last week’s Record sports page told us about Chance Marsteller and the obstacles he has overcome to become a national champion wrestler.

This week how about a shoutout to the Clinton County Camp Cadet program which last week staged its annual six-day run providing some discipline and fun for 50 or so young people, ages 11 to 15, from all across Clinton County.

You can read in this week’s print issue about The Record visit to the camp last week, the day camp counselors took the cadets to the federal fish hatchery just outside Lamar for a day of fishing and a visit from a state police helicopter and its pilot.

It was enlightening for those in attendance, counselors and media types included, to learn about how the state police utilize their aviation units around the state, how the copters are used in a variety of capacities, from pursuing criminals to life-saving efforts. What was most impressive was the rapt attention from the cadets. And they asked, without prompting, really good, intelligent questions. Often at such communal sessions, audience members sit on their hands. Not these kids, they were engaged, listened politely, and posed questions any newsman would have been proud of.

You want a comparison? How about a younger version of the Leadership Clinton County program? Both started a few decades back and both have accomplished their respective goals, providing a positive training ground for both the 11 to 15 age group and younger adults in our community.

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Let’s Monitor This One:
Are you following what looks to be dueling ambulance services in western Clinton County?
It’s an unusual situation. Correct Down River if in error, but Bucktail Medical Center, alarmed about the loss of ambulance service in the western end of the county, a while back announced plans to set up its own service at the South Renovo facility and last week announced the service is up and running with a staff of emergency medical technicians. It’s understood that BMC began the ambulance process when service through the Renovo Fire Company was in some level of doubt.

BMC went ahead and purchased a new ambulance, due to arrive in South Renovo in the near future, meanwhile utilizing its present vehicle as of Thursday of last week. Meanwhile, Corey Aungst, a long-ago briefly serving school board member from the lower end of the county, went before Renovo Borough Council recently to detail plans for an upgraded Renovo Fire Company service featuring ALS (advanced lifesaving) capabilities.

How will this play out? Are there enough patients to support two ambulance services in western Clinton County?

We know BMC has the staffing for its service. Where has the Renovo Fire Company found its needed paramedics?

Will they be on hand when needed in their service area?

For the sake of healthcare service in the Renovo area, we hope the two organizations can at the least co-exist in an amicable manner. Let’s hope politics don’t get in the way of servicing the community. Not sure two services in an area with a declining population, staggered by word of the loss of the Renovo Energy Center project, can both make a go of it. Here’s hoping it all works out for the well-being of the Renovo area community.

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The Passing of a Good Man:
Down River joins the community in extending its condolences to the family of the late C. Grant Miller who passed away last weekend in his Mackeyville home at the age of 89.

Grant was one of the really good ones, a man who worked hard for what he earned, a man who had to overcome the occasional challenges presented by the up-and-downs of the automobile business. But a man who absolutely found his niche when he established his Central PA Auto Auction back in 1987.

What was truly remarkable about Grant, even when things were tough, he was always helpful to those in need. And he helped quietly, never boasting, never looking for a photo op, never looking for his name on a building or on a plaque.

He just gave back to the community, to hundreds of individuals and community organizations, all without fanfare, just happy to help, just happy to be a friend.

A modest, kind man with a huge heart, that was Grant Miller. One of a kind, sadly missed by family and friends.