Two Central Pennsylvania chapter board members of the American Red Cross presented a local update to Lebanon County Commissioners during their Thursday, March 7, meeting.
Jason Bugg and Mark Hipple discussed chapter activities within Lebanon County and highlighted services the agency provides to local residents in recognition of March as American Red Cross month.
Following their presentation, commissioners issued a proclamation in recognition of the month-long tribute to the organization that was founded in 1881.
Bugg said the Red Cross has responded to eight local disaster events that supported 33 individuals since July 1.
“Those are primarily home fires,” added Bugg. “We’ve had seven disaster health and mental health services, and we’ve had 114 services to armed forces cases. Those are mostly sending messages to deployed troops.”
Bugg noted the nonprofit collected 493 units of blood at 22 blood drives and served 37 people through the Home Fire campaign known as Sound the Alarm. Bugg said those 37 contacts were made during an event in Lebanon about a year ago.
Bugg also noted that the agency has 40 volunteers from Lebanon County who support the organization’s mission.
Hipple announced some opportunities that exist with the agency’s proactive programming initiative. The first is a plan to expand their free Youth Preparedness Education and other community-based preparedness programs.
“This is more what do we do in advance of a disaster as opposed to reacting to a disaster?” said Hipple. How can we be prepared? Do we have our families prepared? Do they know where to go? Do they know who to call? Those are free services we offer to help the community as well as the youth to be prepared and get organized in advance of a disaster.”
Hipple noted the Red Cross also offers free smoke alarms and installation in people’s homes.
“We had a recent Sound the Alarm event that went through a local neighborhood,” said Hipple. “But individuals can call the American Red Cross and ask for them if theirs are malfunctioning or if they don’t have sufficient amounts. Those are the No. 1 opportunities to prevent those fire disasters we experienced in the county.”
Hipple said the organization is constantly working to expand its volunteer base.
“We know disasters are becoming more frequent, more regular, unfortunately,” said Hipple. “So the more volunteers we have on the ground in the county, the faster we can respond – the more effectively, the more efficiently we can respond – to those disasters.”
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Hipple said the Red Cross is looking to expand its shelter agreements with local entities when disaster strikes.
“We need the community to engage in those shelter agreements so that we can put these affected people into temporary housing to get them fed, to give them a little bit of relief in a time of stress and disaster,” he added.
Hipple highlighted a county-specific initiative that serves the VA Hospital in South Lebanon Township.
“We have a specific committee on our board that’s dedicated to serving veterans,” he said. “We do a lot of things around the holidays. … We make connections, have opportunities to get service members back to their families in times of disaster, death and otherwise. There are success stories of us helping there as well.”
Hipple said the organization also seeks donors given the ongoing blood shortage crisis.
“It goes without saying,” he said, but “opportunities for blood drives in the community are gratefully appreciated by the American Red Cross. In this time of shortage, it would be very helpful to partner with any organization in the county to run those drives.”
The proclamation noted that in 2023 the local chapter throughout its eight-county footprint helped more than 1,000 people after home fires; installed 1,800 free smoke alarms, taught over 1,300 students emergency preparedness, hosted nearly 800 blood drives and collected over 21,000 units of blood, and provided over 1,700 services to military members, veterans and their families.
The local chapter expanded to 11 counties when it added Centre, Juniata, and Mifflin on Jan. 1. The other eight counties that make up the Central Pennsylvania chapter are Lebanon, Adams, Cumberland, Dauphin, Franklin, Lancaster, Perry, and York.
Following the presentation from Red Cross representatives, commissioners temporarily adjourned the meeting and convened its Election Board to discuss a new drop box location at the county municipal building.
Read More: County commissioners commit to new drive-by drop box for mail-in ballots
Following the lengthy Elections Board meeting, commissioners reconvened and voted to approve a VOCA budget for the 2024-25 funding period, Oct. 1, 2024, to Sept. 30, 2025. The VOCA grant covers direct services for victims and witnesses of crimes.
Brian Deiderick, first assistant district attorney, presented the following items as part of that budget:
Personnel ($75,866.45)
The funding covers three employees, an on-call advocate and potential overtime for the three staffers.
Benefits ($35,072.96)
Deiderick said these were calculated for the three employees, which is a 9.2 percent increase over the previous year.
Travel (including training) ($468)
This covers annual mandated training through the Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency.
Supplies ($5,866)
Supplies include case management, printing/copier, mobile hotspot, on-call cell phone and related cellphone accessories and miscellaneous supplies.
Deiderick said the amount budgeted by VOCA is $117,318 and the projected costs are $117,273.41. He noted the remaining $44.59 will be placed under miscellaneous costs.
In other county business, the commissioners voted to:
- Authorize the county’s planning department to apply for funding for the county’s new comprehensive plan in the amount of $88,500 through the state Department of Community and Economic Development. That figure represents half of the cost-share funding for the estimated $177,000 project cost. The county would cover the balance.
- Accept a change order totaling $33,015 for dehumidifiers for the new 911 Center that were necessitated after delays in the delivery of critical switch gear.
- Approve a Department of Emergency Services hazmat designation agreement for the hazmat unit.
- Sign a letter of support for Kenbrook Bible Camp’s application for Neighborhood Assistance Program grant funding through DCED for conversion of an outdoor pavilion into an all-season meeting space for school groups, homeschool co-ops and community groups.
- Have Rick Clay Realty Group provide appraisals for properties at 336 and 340 S. Eighth St., Lebanon, in the amount of $575 per property.
- Issue a proclamation to Lebanon Transit recognizing March 18 as National Transit Day.
- Provide a hotel tax grant request to Lebanon County Historical Society, doing business as Friends of Union Canal Park, totaling $1,250 of a projected $1669.16 cost to promote the 34th Union Canal Day at Union Canal Park. The event is scheduled for May 18 from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m.
- Name Holly Leahy, administrator of Mental Health/Intellectual Disabilities/Early Intervention, to fill a seat on the county Housing Authority. Leahy will fill the remaining term through 2028 following the resignation of Amy Leonard from the authority’s board of directors. Leonard is now the solicitor for the authority following the resignation of Donna Long Brightbill, who was elected last November as a judge on the Lebanon County Court of Common Pleas after the retirement of Judge Samuel A. Kline.
- Exempt five individuals from payment of real estate taxes under the disabled veterans program.
- Approve the treasurer’s report, the minutes of their Feb. 15 meeting and workshops on Feb. 21 and Feb. 28, and various personnel transactions.
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