THE MILAN RESCUE SQUAD:
ANSWERING EMERGENCY CALLS FOR OVER THIRTY-THREE YEARS
Part 2:  Where the Rescue Squad Is Now—
An Interview with Peggy VanBuskirk, Milan Rescue Squad’s Current Captain
By Evelyn Bartin, August, 2009 

My earlier posted “Part 1” interview with Milan Rescue Squad’s first captain and one of its founding fathers, Bob Haack, was certainly an eye-opener.  In short, I learned that it was no less than a Herculean effort to get the operation up and running back in 1976. . . one that was fueled by a high-octane mix of need, passion and community spirit.  So, readers, I ask you to fast-forward to the Milan Rescue Squad of 2009 and imagine—with twenty-first century training demands, and current-day legal and financial considerations—how much continued hard work, money and devotion it takes to keep things running today.

Lest you think our little town’s emergency medical service is anything short of state-of-the-art, a conversation with Peggy VanBuskirk, Milan Rescue Squad’s current captain, will immediately disabuse you of that notion.  In my interview with Peggy, I was apprised of the following facts:  the Squad’s 2009 roster lists 24 active members—18 first responders, nearly all of whom are New York State Certified EMTs (Emergency Medical Technicians), and 6 auxiliary members, who do not give “hands on” medical care but help in many other ways; regular attendance at Squad meetings and drills (held twice a month) is required for continued active status; the Squad’s chief piece of equipment is a fully-outfitted ambulance, purchased in 2006 for $119,000.  In other words, things have come a long way since the days of that 1965 Caddy!... READ MORE

Peggy VanBuskirk Captain Milan Rescue Squad

NEW LANDSCAPE PLAN FOR MILAN TOWN HALL AND RECREATION CENTER

By Frank Margiotta, August 2009

By now you have probably noticed the new look of the landscape around Town Hall and the Rec Park. The Town Board decided to not do the usual frequent and costly mowing of the many acres of lawn around town-owned property. Instead, they developed a natural landscape plan—free of chemical fertilizers, insecticides and herbicides—that has financial and biological advantages.

The meadow grasses and seeds they produce begin a series of interwoven food chains (food webs) that attract diverse insects, reptiles, birds and mammals. As a result, the unmowed areas have transitioned into meadow grasses with wildflowers and have created an ecosystem with a great biodiversity of plants and animals.

In fact, if you stop by the parking lot at Town Hall and look eastward, you will probably observe numerous Swallows flying over the meadow. Swallows eat as they fly by taking insects, particularly mosquitoes, out of the air. It is reported that they can consume 2000 mosquitoes a day. READ MORE

SENIOR NEWSLETTER
MILAN, NEW YORK
SEPTEMBER 2009

CLUB PICNIC

On Tuesday, July 14th, the Milan Seniors had a wonderful time at Wilcox Park at the Clubs first picnic. We give "special" thanks to Vinny Corso, Tony Torres and Nick Leno for all their hard work in purchasing the food, cooking, cleaning up and being the "perfect" hosts. They also had some help from Camille and Bob Elliot, Micky Torres, Betty Leno and many others. There was a lot of good food and no one should have gone home hungry.

Also, thanks to all the members who made and brought desserts. It was truly a feast to behold and everyone appreciated all the hard work put into making it a great day (including the weather) which was fantastic. In addition, Margaret Knoll was the winner of $55 in the 50/50 raffle. The other $55 will be sent to the local food pantry. We hope to do this again next year. Much fun was had by our members. READ MORE

Mary Ellen Herlihy Flag Project for Quadracentennial Celebration.

REPORT ON THE 2009 MILAN DEMOCRATIC CAUCUS

TOWN BOARD MEETING REPORT
August 2009

Roberta Egan, Deputy Supervisor opened the monthly town board meeting at 7:30. In addition to Egan, in attendance were Councilpersons David Byrne and Diane May. Supervisor Barrett and Councilperson Williams were absent.

Public Comment:
Former Town Supervisor, Van Talmage, stated he had sent a letter to Supervisor Barrett and the board members regarding Mr. Barrett’s lack of understanding of the Bond Interest Reserve Fund (BIRF) created in 2003 by former Supervisor Jim Jeffreys. (Note: For a full explanation of BIRF, please see Mr. Talmage’s video and letter.) Mr. Talmage made a particular point of asking the supervisor to please stop blaming him for the current financial problems in Milan.

Next speaker was Jack Campisi, another former Town Supervisor. Dr. Campisi addressed the issue of retirees’ medical contributions being reported in the monthly financial statements as income. These contributions are not income, stated Dr. Campisi.

Financial Report:
The July Financial Report was rejected by the board. (Note: The board has not accepted any financial reports since November 2008.) Board members Bobbi Egan and Diane May noted a variety of mistakes in the report. Many of the mistakes in the July report are the same mistakes identified in prior months’ reports – to date no corrections have been made. Of particular concern are mistakes in the rate of pay for two employees. These mistakes were pointed out at the beginning of the year, a resolution was passed requesting the supervisor to contact the payroll service and correct the errors, but to date these payroll corrections have not been made. READ MORE