It may not feel like it’s hockey season with the warm weather we’ve been having, but a new season of skating has begun. Our goal, pun intended, is to keep all our skaters and fans safe. As an organizer of a few of the adult league nights, I am writing to express thanks and my appreciation to Deputy Chief Walker Randall and the Middlebury Regional EMS service for conducting a CPR/AED training last week at the Memorial Sports Center. 

I reached out to several people to conduct the training and Walker and his team generously donated their time in memory of Derek Bartlett, who was a hockey community icon and friend of many. We held training at the town rink on two evenings last week and thirty-two adult members of the hockey community attended this important life-saving training — learning CPR protocols and practicing using the AED (automated external defibrillator) equipment. There are two AEDs in the rink, and 32 adults trained in case of an emergency. May we never need them.

Matthew Biette

Middlebury