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After reconsideration, I do think conventions should be held in areas where people can go out after the day's activities. This adds camraderie, and builds relationships with professionals from other agencies. However, I still feel that SOME people have the wrong priorities while attending conventions, this goes for both the paid and volunteer sectors.

Is this the brand new Shoprite across Route 59 from the Palisdades Mall? Rockland has been busy lately! Excellent photos, thanks for sharing!

EMTBravo is going to equip Truck4 with this 2008 Ford F-550 Super Duty/Pierce Contender Mobile IA/Photo Unit. He'll be able to edit and upload photos right from the scene with his aresenal of equipment! One compartment has a sick video editing kiosk. Don't forget the laptop with instant access to update IA's. Oh yes, and it has plenty of room for friends... (For the humor impaired: this is just a delusion of mine)

2008 Ford F-550 Super Duty/Contender By Pierce. I would love to know who it's going to myself.

Ego? I think he was expressing something called his opinion. Doesn't the convention have training classes as well? Do many people attend those? Personally, I love the educational oppurtunties at a lot of the conferences. However, I've grown to HATE the exhibit hall. I like to go to check out new products, apparatus, etc. However, those that insist on toting their entire family along and those who feed the vendors who make cool stickers, embarrasing t-shirts, and useless helmet doo-dads really ruin it for me. Rarely do I see people actually using the expo part as an educational tool. It's also fun to see departments going to Morton's Steakhouse, and billing it to the department. That's one of the reasons I hate Baltimore (expo, not the training). I do love the JEMS conference exhibit hall, because it's mostly professionals who are making use of the oppurtunity. As far as the NYS convention goes, holding it in Lake George is a distraction. Personally, I feel it should be held in a more professional enviroment, in a different location each year so it's accesible to all given it's such a big state. But hey, money talks.

I never knew this site existed: http://www.fdnyinsider.org/ You can read a bunch of department orders, training articles, etc....some very interesting and informative stuff!

Wow. This is a blow to making Stewart the "fourth major airport", and a big loss for those in Orange and Dutchess Counties. Gives jetBlue more reason to raise their fares from Stewart, and in turn, Westchester. FULL STORY: http://www.lohud.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article...EWS03/806130458

Spectacular photos. I remember Handlemans quite well. I have memories of my Grandma and parents taking me there for Halloweens and Christmas. I believe they had a haunted house, which changed to a Santa-land them at Christmas. Since I was born in 1979, they must have rebuilt after the fire. Also remember the "Five And Dime" that used to be there.....and the Finast. Was sad when it was all demolished for Stop And Shop.

I wonder how often this happens and people DON'T get caught. Personally, I think there's way too many drunk drivers out there, and not enough cops. I'd like to see NYS give more funding to Westchester County PD for ground and aerial anti-DWI operations if they're going to skimp on troopers (which I believe are spread very thin at times in the Lower Hudson Valley region). Place a tax on alcohol or larger DWI fines to help fund this. Maybe if they sporadically sealed off major exits from White Plains on a Friday or Saturday night with checkpoints, it would get more people to think twice.

Anything new to this area being displayed up there?

FINALLY, a delivery shot, from http://www.firehouseapparatus.com . Looks great! 2007 Spartan Gladiator/4 Guys (Photo from Firehouse Apparatus, 4 Guys Dealer for the Hudson Valley area)

This posts marks my 5,000th, and I want to cermoniously mark it by making this ostentatious post. My fingers sure do a lot of typing! (Best internet related alternative I could find to "big mouth" or "windbag", lol)

Fox has been airing clips of this Tuesday's episode of their disgusting show, "Moment Of Truth", in which contestants sell themselves and ruin relationships for money by exposing secrets. This is done by asking a canidate a question on stage, and verifying it via lie detector. On this Tuesday's episode, there is a canidate they are promoting as an "Emergency Medical Technician". Two of the questions they asked him on the promo were: 1. "Have you ever touched a female patient more then you had to?" His apparent answer, "Yes". 2. "Have you ever knowingly falsifed a report?". His answer, again, was an apparent yes. Both questions were confirmed by the "lie dectector" as "true". This is a nationwide show, and seen by millions. This guy is representing the entire Emergency Medical Services community. And, for the money, he possibly just ruined his career, and damaged credibilty of EMT's in a lot of peoples eyes. Also, by admiting what he did- I wonder if any criminal or civil reprocussions will follow? I certainly hope so. I realize we're all human, but to conciously do this, not to even get started on actually doing what he admitted, is just disgusting, and I also blame Fox for exploiting anything for money.

From a friend who works for the agency this EMT does.......he does transports, and that's it. I felt bad for his girlfriend. As for the Volunteer Firefigter, she admitted to shoplifting on several occasions, and that she enjoys the male attention around the firehouse. I think the question about ignoring emergency pages wasn't fair, because all volunteers do it at some point (have to pick up the kids, etc) Disgusting show and I'll never wast an hour of life watching it again.

So far, the opening was hyped by the host as "Those who are sworn to protect us"............. Also, there's actually two contestants- one's an EMT and the other is a volunteer FF.

Last I had heard when the apparatus was being spec'd, is that the strobe works and is very visible. There is some combination with LED's however. LED's don't make every other warning device obsolete.

And I thought Sonic was a drive in resturant! Nice shots.

According to the Journal News article... I agree basejumping in the fashion this guy did can place demands on emergency services. However, I feel that basejumpers should have to accomplish some training, meet some qualifications, sign a waiver and pay a fee.....and that the (or a) bridge should be open to basejumpers a couple of times each year, like is done in other parts of the country (ever see that MTV True Life episode?)

There's no doubt that current fuel costs are impacting PD budgets across the country. Additionally, the pollution that PD cars create can be lessened. So, with that said, do you think you'll ever see the day of a Police Cruiser that uses hybrid technology, a diesel engine, or a smaller vehicle/engine?

LOL. I wouldn't even be able to fuel this Powerstroke 6.3 liter diesel on my Ramen Noodles budget with diesel fuel prices skyrocketing! But I wish I could....it would make one heck of a tailgate (party) truck!!

I completly understand what you're saying...but that's not how the show portrays it and that certainly isn't how America is going to see it when it airs, based on the show's previous history. EMS is a struggling professions, and this kind of stuff doesn't help.

You do have a point- Fox can edit anything into something. Regardless of what happens on the show, the commercial which airs frequently prominetly displays that he is an Emergency Medical Technician and implies that he answered "Yes" to the question(s). We'll see what happens....the commercial has already done some damage....

Many people on this forum comment on a lot of things, including myself at one point, and don't have to pay fire taxes. Now that I've been paying a fire district tax the past few years, and having worked for the same district, I see things a little differently. I'm curious to know if anyone else sees waste in their own department (if they live in the same jurisdiction), and ties it to their wallet? Does it make you more encouraged to cut costs, or apathetic?

Westchester is split up by the "Battalion" system, yet I'm still not 100% sure of the logic or benefit behind this from a response standpoint. However, does any department show pride in the battalion they are in by displaying it on their rig, lettering, sticker, whatever???

FULL STORY: http://www.lohud.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article...WSFRONTCAROUSEL