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Mayor proclaims emergency services week

LEWISTOWN – Mayor Deb Bargo issued a proclamation Monday that declares May 19-25 as Emergency Medical Services Week at the Lewistown Borough Council meeting.

Fame EMS representatives Alan Sunderland and Ryan Barlett were present and were thanked for their duties.

“The Emergency Medical Service teams in our area are the best trained and most dedicated.” Bargo said, “The residents of our area appreciate the immediate response and care we receive.”

Bargo later announced a memorial that will take place for fallen members of the police force in past years. Bargo said two officers lost their lives in the line of duty, one borough police officer and one state police trooper.

These officers will be honored at a memorial at noon on Wednesday, at the park next to Angelo’s Hollow Inn on state Route 103, Lewistown. The public is welcome to attend.

The council then attended to the business of the evening.

Lewistown Police Department Chief Bill Herkert, Councilman Larry Searer and Council Vice President Gregg O’Donnell were very vocal while the council discussed vehicle issues with the Lewistown Police Department and borough workers.

Herkert said there are two vehicles in the LPD fleet that are about to reach 100,000 miles driven very soon and some vehicles need major repairs.

Searer was adamant about getting new vehicles for borough workers and it has been too long since a brand new vehicle was purchased.

“Why do we have to buy a police car when we can’t have any of our other workers driving around in anything decent?” Searer said.

O’Donnell backed the police force by responding, “They work five days a week, eight hours a day. These guys are 24 hours a day, seven days a week.”

Herkert said new lights were needed because of new requirements. The old lights cannot be reused, he said.

The council voted to go ahead with a $4,000 down payment, three-year lease with CoStar on a vehicle and to get quotes on the lighting boards for that vehicle, by a vote of 4-2 with votes against from Searer and Justin Trego. Lee Bollinger abstained from voting.

The council approved the authorization to move approximately $75,000 from the Pennsylvania Local Government Investment Trust account to First National Bank. The council is attempting to get a credit card through First National Bank rather than somewhere else because it said it wanted to do business locally. The new account will have a lower interest rate than PLGIT account. No reason for why the council is attempting to obtain a new credit card was given during the meeting.

In other business, the council:

Approved a parking space for the disabled at 46 Shaw Ave.

Authorized the addition of a dozen new “No Smoking” signs to Rec Park.

Lewistown Borough Council normally meets at 5:30 p.m. on the second and fourth Mondays of each month at the Lewistown Municipal Building on East Third Street.

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