Volunteers played huge role in evacuation effort
Dear Editor;

As reported, many of you are aware of the recent evacuation of James Bay residents to Stratford and St. Marys. When the request came into Perth County, we did not hesitate to lend a helping hand to our fellow citizens in need. Many organizations work closely as part of the town and county emergency partners in preparedness. One such organization is St. John Ambulance. Our primary role is to provide on-site first aid and medical assistance to those in need.
We received the call at our Stratford-Perth administrative centre on Saturday, April 26, that our assistance would be needed at both the Rotary Complex in Stratford and the Pyramid Recreation Centre in St. Marys. It was also expected that centres would be opened in Milverton and Mitchell to accommodate the more than 1,000 evacuees expected.
Our volunteers in Stratford, St. Marys and Woodstock provided on-site, 24-hour coverage starting at 1 p.m. Monday when the first aircraft arrived.
Many of them stayed overnight at the facilities and took time away from work (thank you employers as well)! We had several Kashechewan residents use our services and they were very appreciative of our presence.
As the administrative manager for Perth County, I was most impressed with our volunteers and the time and effort they put forth to do their part to help in this situation which we all know could have lasted much longer with many more evacuees.
Special thanks to Kayla Smith, Nicole James, David King, Jason Kroft, Don Stephen, Chris Thomas, Mel Hazlewood, Rick Ball, Mike Rumble, Larry McGill, TJ Bradley, Tammy Benny, Bonnie McIntosh, Jessie Seys, Caitlin Bray, Dorie Woolrich, Rob Lusk and Ryan MacLean for taking the time to care.
For further information on how you can become a volunteer medical first responder, contact St. John Ambulance Stratford-Perth administrative centre at 519-271-2290 or stratfordsja@cyg.net.

Sincerely,

Terri Finnie
St. John Ambulance
Stratford-Perth Admin Centre