Donations Still Needed

For  Exchange Trip To China

In two weeks Jim Crouch will be on an airplane on the first leg of his trip to visit China with the People to People Ambassador program.

Mr Crouch, who is director of Newtown’s 911 emergency dispatch center, said his visa is almost ready and international reservations have been booked. He and a dozen other members of the Association of Public Safety and Communications Officers (APTCO) International and guests will visit Beijing, Shanghai, and Hong Kong.

In Beijing they will meet with officials from the Chinese Ministry of Public Security. Included will be representatives from the ministry’s Telecommunications Center of Communications, and the China National Security Protection Alarm Technology Standards Committee of the Beijing Security Protection Products Quality Inspection Center. The delegation also will meet with Motorola Beijing, representatives of SOS Beijing Alarm Center, and Chinese counterparts, including local police, fire, and ambulance dispatch units.

In Shanghai, the delegation will meet with representatives of the Shanghai Municipal Post and Telecommunications Administration Bureau, and will visit the Shanghai Guomal Communication Company. They also will meet with the operators of the communications center at the Shanghai Public Security Department.

In Hong Kong, the delegation will meet with representatives from Hong Kong Telecom, as well as representatives of the city’s fire services department and ambulance command.

The People to People Program was established more than 40 years ago by former President Dwight D. Eisenhower as a private-citizen effort to promote international understanding and cooperation. Because he is going as a private citizen, not as a town employee, Mr Crouch has asked for donations to help him pay for the trip.

“I would like to thank all those who have partnered with me financially on this trip,” he said. “Initially I was seeking to raise $4,497 to cover airline ticket costs and expenses that will be incurred and [I’m] now down to seeking $2,838.”

Anyone who wants to help, can mail a check to the People to People Ambassador Program, Attention Marcia Hillestad  re#82312,  Dwight D. Eisenhower Building, 110 S. Ferral Street, Spokane, WA 99202-4800. Donations also can be made by credit card by including the type of card (MasterCard, Visa, Discover, American Express), card number, expiration date, and signature and mailing them to People to People or faxing at 509/534-5245. Locally, donations can be sent in care of Chris Crandall, 105 South Main Street, Newtown 06470.