Hopatcong Council Praises Emergency Services

First came the hard work. Then came the love.

Hopatcong's council heaped praise on the borough's emergency services and volunteers at the end of Wednesday's meeting at the . Almost each member highlighted the quick response and extra hours put in my many across Hopatcong.

Councilman Mike Francis said the grew tired of waiting for Sussex County authorities to remove a tree on Lakeside Boulevard—a county road. So they did it themselves.

"They never seem to amaze me," he said. "That storm was like a whiteout. I was out there for a little bit. But before you knew it, our roads were clear and dry.

"I cannot praise them enough. Every time they step up. And we don't have to ask them to do it."

Councilwoman Marie Galate-Ryder made sure to mention each of the borough's emergency services, including the Community Emergency Response Team, which manned Hopatcong's warming center Sunday, Monday and Tuesday.

"Hopatcong is a place that comes alive and where neighbors become neighbors and the community starts taking care of each other," she said.

Mayor Sylvia Petillo also acknowledged the police department's dispatchers, who she said are often forgotten.