Burns delivers $116,872 for Summerhill Borough, Forest Hills EMS
Will fund Freedom Park renovations, ballpark lighting, EMS ballistic vests
Rep. Frank Burns September 10, 2024 | 10:35 AM
EBENSBURG, Sept. 10 – After meeting with Summerhill Borough officials and afterward attending their Little League All-Star game for a firsthand assessment of their request for funding, state Rep. Frank Burns worked singlehandedly in Harrisburg to deliver a $116,872 state grant.
“This funding will provide new lighting to a ballpark used by several youth teams and will upgrade Freedom Park with a gazebo, benches, sidewalks and handicapped accessibility,” Burns said. “It will also fill another need by enabling purchase of ballistic vests for members of the Forest Hills Area Ambulance/EMS, increasing their safety when responding to incidents.”
Burns, D-Cambria, said the third component of the grant is important because the ambulance service covers 92 square miles and serves 15,000 people in Summerhill, Ehrenfeld and South Fork boroughs, and Summerhill, Croyle and Adams townships.
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“Frank Burns had everything to do with these grants … there were no other legislators involved. If it wasn’t for him, we would not have been able to secure funding for any of these three projects.” – Mayor Eric Miller, Summerhill Borough.
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Eric Miller, who serves as Summerhill Borough mayor and Forest Hills ambulance service manager, said Burns was key in obtaining the grant funding for all three projects.
“It’s been a two-year process with Frank to get all of it done. He’s been working for two years to find us money for the ballistic vests,” Miller said. “The other stuff was more recent, but when we met with him about our concerns, Frank was right on it trying to get us something.
“Frank had everything to do with these grants. He and I worked on this from day one together; there were no other legislators involved. It was strictly Frank, and if it wasn’t for him, we would not have been able to secure funding for any of these three projects.”
An appreciative Miller added, “Frank’s honest with you – and he’ll work for you and get it done. When you know Frank for real, when you know the person he is, you know what he does to help.”