Annandale, NJ – Chief Thomas DeRosa, Chief of the Clinton Township Police, and Chief Frank Setnicky, Chief of the South Branch Emergency Services, announce the return of the Clinton Township Junior Police & Emergency Services Academy.

The program will run from June 27 th through July 1 st , 2022, from 9:00 am to 5:00 pm and is open to individuals age 12-16 who have an interest in learning more about the public safety career path.

Planned activities for the week include marching, physical training, exposure to simulated police work, emergency first aid training, classroom time, guest speakers, presentations and a trip to the Freedom Tower.

Applicants will be screened and preference will be given to Clinton Township residents.

There is no charge, however class size is capped at 30 participants; all applications received from qualified applicants will be processed on a first-come, first-served basis.

The application process will close on June 10, 2022 at 4:00 pm and participants will be notified of their acceptance thereafter.

Applications are available at the Clinton Township Police Department, 1370 Route 31, Annandale or online at www.ctpd.org 

Hunterdon County, NJ...Hampton Emergency Squad, which provides emergency medical care in Hampton, Glen Gardner and Bethlehem Township, will merge with South Branch Emergency Services on January 1, 2022, leaders from both organizations announced. The resulting organization will operate under the South Branch name and provide coverage to all areas currently served by the two entities.

“We’re very excited about it,” said Hampton Chief Penny Tampier. “The people are going to get better service.”

Residents served by Hampton are already familiar with South Branch, whose EMTs provide daytime coverage from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m.  Currently, Hampton volunteers respond to nighttime emergencies from home, heading first to the station and then to the call.  After the merger, on-duty squad members will respond directly to emergencies. “Response times should be much quicker,” Tampier said.

A decline in volunteers – gradual for years, and recently abrupt – led Hampton Emergency Squad leaders to seek the merger, Tampier said. The gradual decline in volunteer numbers and daytime availability is a problem faced by all volunteer-based emergency services, and what led Hampton to seek a daytime coverage partnership nearly two decades ago. Then in 2021, Hampton’s volunteer roster dropped sharply, from 20 EMTs. Some volunteers moved or went back to college. 

“We want to be able to give the same high level of care that we were always able to in the past, the level of care that people expect from us, and this merger allows that to happen” stressed Chief Tampier.​

South Branch Emergency Services (SBES)  is led and largely staffed by volunteers who donate their skills and time to save lives, but what they do is not free! From ambulances and rescue trucks to air masks and bandages, SBES has many expenses to cover and needs the help of the community to do so.

“We are asking community members to consider making a tax-deductible donation,” said Chief Frank Setnicky. “Whatever a household can afford will help us afford the apparatus, equipment, and supplies we need to respond to medical and other emergencies.” Last year, South Branch’s 159 team members responded to 3,736 calls for help in Clinton Township, the Town of Clinton, High Bridge Borough, Lebanon Borough, and portions of Franklin Township and Union Township, amongst several others.  Residents of those townships should have received information about donating in the mail.  Donations can also be made online at www.sbes365.org.

SBES volunteers donate more than 30,000 hours annually to on-call shifts, response, and training. Even at minimum wage, that’s equivalent to more than $250,000 in savings to taxpayers.

“Their generous contribution is one leg of a stool, but the stool can’t stand without it’s other legs: municipal funding, ambulance billing, and financial support from our community,” said SBES President Sharon Burham. “Community support also shows the volunteers who take time away from their family, friends, hobbies, and sometimes even sleep to help their neighbors,” she said. 

Looking for other ways to assist SBES?

• To include SBES in your will or other estate planning, email treasurer@sbes365.org and someone will contact you.
  
• ​Donate your time and talent as a volunteer. SBES always needs more EMTs, rescue and water rescue associates, teen cadets, and non-emergency volunteers! Visit www.sbes365.org to learn more or sign up.

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Annandale, NJ – Lt. Thomas DeRosa, officer in charge of the Clinton Township Police, and Chief Frank Setnicky, Chief of the South Branch Emergency Services, announce the return of the Clinton Township Junior Police & Emergency Services Academy. The program will run from August 2 nd through August 6th, 2021, from 9:00 am to 5:00 pm and is open to individuals age 12-16 who have an interest in learning more about the public safety career path. Planned activities for the week include marching, light physical training, exposure to simulated police work, emergency first aid training, classroom time, guest speakers, presentations and field trips. Applicants will be screened and preference will be given to
Clinton Township residents. There is no charge, however class size is capped at 30 participants; all applications received from qualified applicants well be processed on a first-come, first-served basis. The application process will close on July 23, 2021 at 4:00 pm and participants will be notified of their acceptance thereafter. Applications are available at the Clinton Township Police Department, 1370 Route 31, Annandale or online at www.ctpd.org.

Thank you to all who watch and supported the #Hunterdonstrong telethon.  It was an amazing event to celebrate these eleven non-profits and our county’s first responders, like South Branch Emergency Services, who are the frontline serving our community.     

​When you support #Hunterdon Strong, your donation is helping the following organizations listed below.  In this season of giving, it is not too late to support the Hunterdon Strong campaign. 




To donate, please visit www.hunterdonstrong.org.

• America’s Grow-A-Row
• Family Promise of Hunterdon County
• Flemington Area Food Pantry
• Hunterdon County First Responders
• Hunterdon County YMCA
• Hunterdon Healthcare Foundation
• Hunterdon Helpline
• Meals on Wheels in Hunterdon
• Norwescap
• Prevention Resources
• Safe in Hunterdon
• United Way of Hunterdon County

Congratulations Adrian VanNatta of Union Township, who graduated earlier this month from North Hunterdon High School.  Adrian currently services as a Cadet member and joined us through High Bridge Emergency Squad in October 2016.  

Cadet VanNatta joins a long list of family members who have served in the Hunterdon County EMS community, and we are proud to have him as part of our team.  

He has helped in many ways with our social media and web presence over the past couple of years, and produced the inspiration behind what has become the new department patch for South Branch Emergency Services.  

​Adrian will be headed off to school for Automotive and Diesel mechanics in the near future.   Way to go Adrian! 

Congratulations out to our latest volunteer Briana Bothe on your graduation for Hunterdon Central High School.  Briana joined the Clinton First Aid & Rescue Squad as a cadet member in 2018, and completed her EMT Training last year.  

Graduating from HCRHS with Honors, EMT Bothe also received a $1,000 scholarship from the George Daly Memorial Scholarship Foundation.   

The George Daly Memorial Scholarship Fund was established to honor a cherished son, brother and friend whom was lost on February 12, 2015.  George graduated with high honors in 2013 from HCRHS, where he was a member o the National Honor Society, Student Council, and was a team leader in Teen PEP.  

At the end of the summer, Briana will be headed off to the University of Georgia!   WAY TO GO from all your fellow members of South Branch Emergency Services! 

By working together as a single organization, the same dedicated group of EMTs and Rescue Associates will bring faster and better emergency care to both communities.

​Clinton and High Bridge, NJ…Throughout each of their decades-long histories, Clinton First Aid & Rescue Squad and High Bridge Emergency Squad have pursued the same goal: Serving their communities by protecting the health and safety of the people who live in, work in, or visit their communities.  Now, with the guidance of local residents, business owners, government officials, they are joining together to create one new organization to serve those communities better.
 
South Branch Emergency Services will officially launch on July 1.  

Discussions that led to this important and necessary step began nearly two years ago. In the face of shifting populations, growing demands on limited resources, and a decline in the number of volunteer EMTs and rescue associates nationwide, the leadership of both organizations knew something had to be done to insure they could continue to provide high quality emergency services for many decades to come.  In January 2019, a Steering Committee comprised of community residents, local business leaders, elected and appointed officials, and representatives from both emergency service organizations was formed. After reviewing current conditions and considering ways to improve them, the committee concluded that a merger was the best option. The committee, Clinton First Aid & Rescue, and High Bridge Emergency Squad, began forming a new organization that will build on the strengths of its two predecessors and seamlessly serve both communities.