Tuesday 27th April

Today was our last day in Cortland before we transferred to Owego.
Jim our generous host had prepared some vocational trips for us so Barbara, Tom, James and I began our day with the pleasure of the Cortland City Fire and Rescue Department. Caroline had a vocational morning herself so headed off on her own.
The Fire and Rescue Department covers four square miles from where it is based. There are approximately seven people to a shift and they have 30 volunteer reserves who are on call and will attend from home.
Captain Carl Grantham and Fire Officer David Jensen showed us round the station and discussed the issues concerning modern emergency services. They also gave us a ride in the engine to City Hall. I was like a child in a sweet shop so a big thank you to both of them for taking the time out to be with us.
We have then called in to the 911 dispatch centre in Cortland. We were shown round and the intricacies of their job roles was explained to us.
Whilst there I discovered a T-shirt with the insignia to the left on it. I personally think it expresses feelings felt by emergency services both in the US and the UK, we share a common purpose.
The dispatch centres are slightly different to those in the UK. They deal with police, fire and rescue. Our dispatch centres tend to be individual for each emergency service i.e. the police have their own dispatch centre. This allows the UK centres to have access to more information, the police centres have access to police records and information systems and are trained to do so. In the US they can access certain systems but the police are expected to do a lot of the identity checks etc on their own in-car computers. However, the US also have an immediate overview of all the services in their district, which is only obtained in the UK through interlinking between the various centres.
Following this we have then gone to visit the Mayor of Cortland Susan Feiszli. She was very
welcoming (especially after the extensive search we had on entry to the building- I am getting a bit of a reputation for setting off every security alarm we go through at least three times before being allowed to pass) and discussed the difference in the systems in the UK and US systems of local government.








We have then headed straight to Cortland Rotary Club where we gave our presentation and exchanged banners with the club and their President Doug Larison. A very enjoyable lunchtime.

From here we have been whisked away to our next stop, Owego.
We have been welcomed by John Spencer the owner of Riverow Books. He has made Caroline's year by stocking two books which she has been trying to obtain for some time in his highly interesting shop. We have spent the first couple of hours having a well deserved coffee at the most fabulous shop, the Hand of Man and having a browse through the shops (the boys were thrilled at this).

We have then headed to Jo Ellen Rose and her husband Paul's for dinner (my new hosts). This was a fabulous reception, where the food was absolutely superb and the company was even better. Paul is a very talented musician and sung for us with guitar accompaniment (played by him).
An evening enjoyed by everyone. Thank you very much to my wonderful hosts for looking after me so well and providing such a warm welcome.