Mars police receive first gift of Christmas
MARS — Santa Claus came to the borough early this year, both to meet the children of the area at Mars’ annual light-up night, and to deliver a present to the Mars police department, in the form of a new automated external defibrillator.
The Rich-Mar Rotary Club presented Mars police with a new AED Saturday, Nov. 30, during the borough’s annual Light Up Mars event. Rotary club members learned the police department had only one AED, which had to be transferred between patrol vehicles between shifts. The organization raised money to buy a new one, so two vehicles could be stocked with the lifesaving device.
Mark Lint, chief of the Mars police, said the department may need two patrol vehicles to be stocked with an AED during events like Light Up Mars, so either vehicle can administer aid when needed.
“We have a lot of large events like the one we’re having tonight where we have two vehicles out,” Lint said Saturday. “If we have somebody that’s on a call and we have no AED in a police car, and being the first responders on the scene for a lot of these calls, then it’s nice to have the option of a second AED available to us.”
Although temperatures never left the 20s Saturday, Mars was filled with people and vendor tents, which came to the borough to kick off the holiday season. Mayor Gregg Hartung said Light Up Mars is a tradition that has not only gotten bigger over the years, but has become a must-attend event for locals who want to see the tree light up for the first time.
“It used to be just hot chocolate and cookies for the kids; now we’ve grown it to where we have vendors and all kinds of market items,” Hartung said. “It’s really expanded a lot, and depending on the weather, we get anywhere from 800 to 1,000 people.”
Hartung said any donation to the borough or the police department is helpful, especially when the donation is a lifesaving device. Dave Hein, president of the Rich-Mar Rotary Club, said the club undertook the endeavor to buy an AED for the police department after learning the equipment is needed by many police units across the state.
Hein delivered the AED to Lint underneath the clock the Rich-Mar Rotary Club bought for Mars earlier this year, and made a speech shortly before Santa Claus lit up the Christmas tree placed near the Mars UFO.
“When we heard of some recent events in the Greater Pittsburgh area where AEDs in police cruisers saved lives, we contacted police in the areas we serve,” Hein said. “Our hope is that this AED aids in the assistance offered to the Mars community for years to come.”
Hartung said the borough also receives a donated Christmas tree each year, which is another demonstration of the close relationships that exist within the Mars community. At 5:30 p.m. Saturday, Santa Claus counted down, “five, four, three, two, one, Merry Christmas” before lighting the tree in the middle of town, officially kicking off the holiday season.
“It actually helps us appreciate the Christmas tree that Stick City gives us each and every year,” he said. “It’s a combination of business and families and residents all coming together.”
