Letter to the Editor: Drivers nearly cause wrecks with their misguided ‘courteousness’

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Newport Township receives funding for mine reclamation, flood protection

For nearly 10 years Chad Spencer has made people laugh in his role as Tux, the mascot of the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins.On Tuesday, Spencer used his people skills in a different way.While hiking in Ricketts Glen State Park in the afternoon with his dog and fiance, Spencer, who was not in his Tux mascot costume, came upon an injured, 76-year-old woman who had fallen off the trail down approximately 30 feet.Spencer didn&#8217;t hesitate to help.&#8220;I bolted down the hill and immediately started talking to her and trying to comfort her,&#8221; he said. &#8220;I remembered when I was a kid and banged my head and woke up in an ambulance with someone trying to keep me awake, so that&#8217;s what I tried to do for her. Keep her conscious.&#8221;Spencer did that by offering the woman, who was in extreme pain and couldn&#8217;t move, water, kept her warm with blankets and talking about her favorite television shows and her family. Anything to keep her mind off the current plight, Spencer said.All the while, Spencer and others who were on the scene formulated a plan to get help. The incident took place about 1.5 miles inside the park from route 118, near Erie Falls, and no one had cell service, Spencer said. People sprinted to other areas where they could reach 911 and Spencer remained with the woman, waiting for emergency personnel to arrive.&#8220;I was with her for about 2 hours and it seemed like forever. While we were talking I just wanted that stretcher to come,&#8221; he said.When emergency personnel arrived with a stretcher, Spencer said another group of hikers also happened upon the scene and helped form a line to pass the woman back up the steep hill to a waiting ATV.As the woman was driven out of the woods to a waiting ambulance, Spencer raced back to meet the woman&#8217;s husband and offer his support. News reports stated the woman was flown to Geisinger Medical Center in Danville, and Spencer said he plans on paying her a visit this week.&#8220;I just did what I was capable of doing, as did everyone else that helped,&#8221; Spencer said. &#8220;There were a lot of heroes there and it all worked out.&#8221;Spencer&#8217;s willingness to help came as no surprise to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton CEO Jeff Barrett, who has known him for 10 years.&#8220;I talked to him about the incident and that&#8217;s the kind of person Chad is. He&#8217;s used to giving his time to help people, and that&#8217;s exactly what he did in this instance,&#8221; Barrett said.<div class="metaInfo"><subheadMeta>Chad Spencer, who plays Tux, helped injured woman at Ricketts Glen State Park</subheadMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta>By Tom Veneskytvenesky@www.timesleader.com</bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta>Reach Tom Venesky at 570-991-6395 or on Twitter @TLTomVenesky</shirttailMeta></div>

WBS Pens mascot comes to aid of injured woman