John Meaney Jr. To Teach EMT Curriculum

By Susan BushPrint Story | Email Story
EMT education lead instructor John Meaney Jr.
North Adams – The North Adams Ambulance Service was designated as an accredited emergency medical technician training facility on Dec. 1, and the first basic level EMT training session is slated to begin on Jan. 10. The state Office of Emergency Medical Services awarded the three-year accreditation after a thorough review of the planned curriculum and a November site visit. The accreditation allows the NAAS to offer both basic and intermediate EMT training. John Meaney Jr. Lead Instructor John Meaney Jr. of North Adams will be the lead instructor for the training program. Meaney is a state certified instructor and coordinator and is a paramedic with the NAAS. Assisting Meaney with training sessions are NAAS general manager Michael Gleason, who is a paramedic, office manager and EMT Paige Gleason, and EMTs Michael Tessier, Lynn Richardson, Rob Luckritz, and Robert Dobbert. The EMT training program will be offered from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m. on Tuesday and Thursday evenings; the enrollment cost is $600. The program is scheduled to conclude on April 27. Each training session may enroll a maximum of 20 students and so far, 40 individuals have expressed an interest in the training, Meaney said. “I can’t say that all these people will follow through, so I would encourage anyone who is interested to pick up an application,” Meaney said during a Dec. 13 interview. News of the accreditation was met with an “ecstatic, thrilled” reaction from Gleason and Meaney, the two said. “We need more basic EMTs,” Gleason said. “The whole area needs more basic EMTs, and we want to produce good EMTs. That is my concern, that we produce good EMTs.” NAAS Program Exceeds State Requirements The NAAS program will exceed state requirements, Meaney said. State requirements permit an instruction hour range of 110-150 hours; the NAAS training session will require 140 hours of instruction. The NAAS training will also include mandatory ambulance ride-alongs as well as some mandatory observation time at the North Adams Regional Hospital Emergency Department. At the end of the program, Meaney will administer a test and prospective EMTs must also pass a state examination before EMT certification is achieved. Gleason said that the NAAS could use about 10 part-time basic level EMTs and he believes that ambulance services such as the Village Ambulance Service in Williamstown and the Adams-based Adams Ambulance Service has need for more part-time basic EMTs. Kudos From State Officials Earning state accreditation meant that Meaney spent about six months assembling curriculum and establishing procedures and protocols. All aspects of the training program had to be prepared prior to launching the accreditation process, Meaney and Gleason said. "It's a long process and you have to have everything set up before you can even begin with seeking accreditation," Meaney said. “I think that this is a feather in our cap,” Gleason said. A letter from Russ Johansen, education and training program coordinator for the Office of Emergency Medical Services, offered praise for the program designed by Meaney. “I would like to add that the accreditation review team was extremely impressed with your presentation and the up-to-date training facilities and equipment reviewed during our site visit,” Johansen’s letter states. Those enrolled in the upcoming session will hear lectures and receive practical, hands-on training in cardiopulmonary resuscitation, use of automated external defibrillators, splinting, backboarding, bandaging, and wound care techniques, and other essential skills. The NAAS is currently the only Berkshire region facility with an accredited EMT education program open to the public. Williams College offers an accredited program to students of that college only. Meaney said that he is very eager to begin the training sessions. Additional sessions will be scheduled once the first training is finished, he said. “We are very excited to have this teaching opportunity,” he said. Those interested in enrolling in the EMT training may contact Meaney or Gleason at 413-664-6680. Applications to the program may be e-mailed to prospective students or may be picked up at the NAAS headquarters at 10 Harris St. [off of River Street next to the Salvation Army building]. Susan Bush may be reached via e-mail at suebush@iberkshires.com or at 802-823-9367.
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EPA Lays Out Draft Plan for PCB Remediation in Pittsfield

By Brittany PolitoiBerkshires Staff

Ward 4 Councilor James Conant requested the meeting be held at Herberg Middle School as his ward will be most affected. 

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — U.S. The Environmental Protection Agency and General Electric have a preliminary plan to remediate polychlorinated biphenyls from the city's Rest of River stretch by 2032.

"We're going to implement the remedy, move on, and in five years we can be done with the majority of the issues in Pittsfield," Project Manager Dean Tagliaferro said during a hearing on Wednesday.

"The goal is to restore the (Housatonic) river, make the river an asset. Right now, it's a liability."

The PCB-polluted "Rest of River" stretches nearly 125 miles from the confluence of the East and West Branches of the river in Pittsfield to the end of Reach 16 just before Long Island Sound in Connecticut.  The city's five-mile reach, 5A, goes from the confluence to the wastewater treatment plant and includes river channels, banks, backwaters, and 325 acres of floodplains.

The event was held at Herberg Middle School, as Ward 4 Councilor James Conant wanted to ensure that the residents who will be most affected by the cleanup didn't have to travel far.

Conant emphasized that "nothing is set in actual stone" and it will not be solidified for many months.

In February 2020, the Rest of River settlement agreement that outlines the continued cleanup was signed by the U.S. EPA, GE, the state, the city of Pittsfield, the towns of Lenox, Lee, Stockbridge, Great Barrington, and Sheffield, and other interested parties.

Remediation has been in progress since the 1970s, including 27 cleanups. The remedy settled in 2020 includes the removal of one million cubic yards of contaminated sediment and floodplain soils, an 89 percent reduction of downstream transport of PCBs, an upland disposal facility located near Woods Pond (which has been contested by Southern Berkshire residents) as well as offsite disposal, and the removal of two dams.

The estimated cost is about $576 million and will take about 13 years to complete once construction begins.

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