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| May 05, 2024 |
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General News: Seniors Find Warmth at COVAC
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| The scene at COVAC over the weekend. |
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| The COVAC vehicle that got stuck in the snow. |
March 03, 2010
At the height of the snowstorm on Friday morning, the manager of the Idlewild Apartments, home to senior residents, called emergency services to report that numerous elderly residents needed to be evacuated because without power the temperature had fallen into the 40s in some housing units.
The Cornwall Volunteer Ambulance Corps responded and helped the residents over to a warming shelter it had opened on Thursday at its headquarters on Clinton Street in Cornwall, where for the next two days they provided three meals a day, entertainment and a place to sleep.
COVAC chief Jack Boyle said a total of 21 people stayed at their warming center, including five people who were brought over from a shelter in New Windsor. On Friday, 16 people slept on Army cots set up in the COVAC bays, he said. After state senator Bill Larkin intervene on their behalf, Boyle said, more comfortable Red Cross cots “magically appeared” and the site was designated a fully operational shelter.
About two dozen COVAC members and their friends and family helped buy food, prepare meals and assist the people in the shelter, some of whom required oxygen tanks and other medical attention. The members played old movies on a television to help pass the time, Boyle said.
As power was restored at private residences on Saturday, people began to return home. A half dozen people spent the night at COVAC again on Saturday and Sunday nights. Ambulance staff had to transport one woman to a nursing home on Monday and another, who had nausea, to the hospital.
While the volunteers at COVAC ran the warming center round the clock, COVAC drivers faced their own challenges out on the snowy streets. Chief Boyle said that on one medical call their vehicle got stuck on an unplowed road, Merrill Street. With snow as high as the door handles and the patient being cared for by a paramedic inside, three neighbors, Jim Kimple, Neil Halpin and Steve Cooper, who brought his tractor, helped dig the vehicle out of the snow.
COVAC would like to recognize the following people who donated not only their time and services but also food and supplies:
Chief John Boyle
Lt. Tiffany Williams
EMT Tara Gardner
Capt Kristen Sebesta-Boyle
VP Victoria Kartis
Greg Sharfenburg, Attendant
CFO Brian Fiorio
Sean Boyle, Attendant
Asst Chief Laura Lapre
EMT Kevin Kukkonen
EMT Karen DeLaunay
EMT Jen Shamburger-Rindt
LT. Shaina Skopin
Allison Kartis, Civilian
Amber Kartis, Civilian
Karin Sharpsteen, Civilian
Peggy Sebesta, Civilian
Paul Sebesta, Civilian
Paula Sebesta, Civilian
Employees from Transcare EMS
Driver John Olley
Driver Bob Galvin
Comments:
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Even after living in this community for over 30 years, the level of commitment, dedication and caring on the part of our volunteers never ceases to amaze me. How lucky we are to have the men and women of COVAC, Highland Engine, Mountainville, and Storm King Engine, as well as all the other folks who give so generously to our community. We should also give a big round of applause to Bobby Conley and Dave Halvorsen and the crews in the Town and Village, for the amazing job they did in keeping our roads passable under truly awful conditions.
posted by Wynn Gold on 03/03/10 at 10:52 AM
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