Around Town 3 - Eye On Monroe

Lions Club to Screen Pre-Schoolers
For Early Eye Abnormalities

The Monroe Lions Club will be offering free eye screening of children 2 to 5 years old enrolled in Monroe child care facilities.

This unique program funded by the Connecticut Lions Eye Research Foundation and its Lions Eye Health Program utilizes Pedia Vision Photo Screening equipment.

The Pedia Vision equipment will screen for a variety of eye abnormalities:

Astigmatism (irregularity corneas or lenses)
Myopia (nearsightedness)
Hyperopia (farsightedness)
Strabismus (misalignment of the eyes)
Amblyopia (lazy eye)
Anisocoria (pupil size anomalies)

Marie McCarthy, immediate past president of the Monroe Lions and coordinator for the program, noted that most children in this age group do not receive eye screening, yet early detection of problems can lead to correction. Parents who are interested in  this pediatric screening program should contact their daycare, nursery school or pre-school provider.

Monroe to Train Residents for its First
Community Emergency Response Team

The Department of Emergency Management for the Town of Monroe will be holding a free training program for residents interested in being part of a local Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) beginning April 12.

Training covers a variety of emergency skills such as disaster psychology, first aid, CPR and AED, fire safety, traffic control, hazardous materials awareness, emergency shelter activation, and light search and rescue. Disaster scenarios and terrorism will also be covered.

CERT certification  requires a minimum of 20 hours training. The class is limited to 25 people. Participants must be 18 years or older.

CERT members are trained to help family, friends, neighbors in the community as they actively assist Monroe’s Emergency Services during emergencies such as snow storms, floods or natural and man-made incidents.

"It is anticipated that CERT volunteers will provide valuable
assistance to our first responders," said Monroe Emergency Management Director (EMD) David York.  "They will  be  trained and ready to help Monroe Police, Fire, Volunteer Emergency Medical Services (VEMS) along with shelter personnel, residents and neighbors when a disaster strikes."

Ernest Heidelberg, President of the Westport CERT and DEMHS-certified CERT Trainer will lead the sessions.  Local instructors from the Town Police, Fire and EMS will assist in the training.  

Training sessions will be held on selected Thursday evenings in April and May as well as two Saturday mornings in May.  Classes will be held at various locations. Click here for the schedule.

Those interested in training to be part of Monroe’s CERT should email CERT@Monroect.org or call Emergency Management Director David York (203) 650-8474 or Deputy EMD Captain Flick (203) 261-3622.   To apply online visit www.Monroect.org/cert.aspx and scroll to the bottom of the page.