Search and rescue dog nets $15,000 in grants

BY KATHY BARATTA
Staff Writer

Search and rescue dog
nets $15,000 in grants
BY KATHY BARATTA
Staff Writer

PLUMSTED — The work of Plumsted police Sgt. Robert Pintye and his search and rescue dog Max in the aftermath of the terrorist attack on the World Trade Center has resulted in grants being awarded to the township to promote the use of police dogs.

Mayor Ronald Dancer said the trustees of the Lombardi Foundation read about how Pintye, the township’s deputy emergency management coordinator, and Max participated in the rescue efforts following the attack on Sept. 11, 2001.

Plumsted has received a $13,000 donation to provide for continued training, transportation and other expenses related to Max and canine care, Dancer said. A $2,500 donation will provide funding for ongoing training expenses for canine drug detection, he added.

In other news, Dancer said Plumsted will adopt a conservation element to its master plan with $26,000 in funding assistance from the Dodge Foundation, the Smart Growth Assistance Program of the Association of Environmental Commissions and the Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission.

Dancer said the purpose of the conservation plan will be to identify the township’s natural resources such as soil, water, air, forests and fields, and recommend methods for their preservation and conservation.

"The conservation plan adds another tool to the township’s prudent planning toolbox," Dancer said.

In other business, Dancer announced that the first aid squad, which has been serving Plumsted since 1938, answered a record 1,120 emergency calls in 2003.

"Our first aid squad members donated 26,547 hours of volunteer time during the past year and traveled 29,745 miles in providing their lifesaving services," Dancer said. "Please consider serving the community by joining the first aid squad and supporting their fund-raising with a donation."