Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Community Recognition topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Long Branch honors library staff and first responders after life‑saving rescue
Summary
Long Branch City on July 9 recognized library employee Thalia Sweet for a 2025 New Jersey Library Association award and presented meritorious service certificates to police officers and civilians who helped save a resident on May 31, 2025. The rescued resident, Kumar Singh, told the council he is “forever in debt” to the responders.
Long Branch City presented a certificate and congratulated Thalia Sweet on July 9 after Sweet received the 2025 New Jersey Library Association Library Service Award. The council also honored police officers and civilians who performed life‑saving measures for a man who collapsed on May 31, 2025.
The library’s technical processing manager, Thalia Sweet, was recognized for 22 years of service to the Long Branch Free Public Library. Tanya Garcia, the library director, told the council the renovated library has seen a strong community response since reopening four months ago: "In the month of June alone, we welcomed 7,533 visitors. We saw 9,157 items borrowed, and we hosted 53 programs with 856 attendees," she said. Garcia said the library’s collection exceeds 80,000 items and invited residents to use free services including study rooms, computer classes and a range of digital resources.
Council members presented meritorious service awards for a May 31 medical emergency in which several officers, volunteer EMTs and civilians coordinated to revive a man who was unresponsive and not breathing. Captain George Silverio introduced the honorees. Sergeant Patrick Vaccaro was commended for performing CPR upon arrival and helping the patient regain a pulse. Corporal Eric Wedemarke was recognized for preparing and deploying an automated external defibrillator (AED); police credited the AED shock with aiding the patient’s recovery. Officers Devin Wright and Thomas Wright were also cited for immediate CPR and support; several officers and volunteer EMTs coordinated transport to a hospital.
Volunteer EMTs Michael Morris and Giuseppe Eliado were recognized for assisting on scene as members of the Elbron First Aid squad. Civilians Marilyn Ayers and Alejandro Gomez Rodriguez were honored for alerting emergency personnel and calling for help; Gomez Rodriguez was not present to receive his certificate.
Kumar Singh, the patient involved in the May 31 incident, addressed the council and thanked responders. "I just can't ... state how grateful and how forever in debt to these to all these guys, these officers, and the civilians that I will be," Singh said. He told the council that before the incident he had experienced chest pain during exercise and later learned he had an approximately 80 percent blockage in his left anterior descending artery.
Council and staff said the awards were meant to recognize teamwork between police, volunteer emergency responders and residents and to emphasize community safety. No formal motions or votes were required for the presentations.
