The Assembly convened on Thursday in the first ever ceremony to honor first responders from across the state. The new award, First Responder of the Year, gives each Representative in the Assembly an opportunity to honor a first responder from their district.
I had the honor of presenting the First Responder of the Year Award to Chief Joe Knitter of the South Milwaukee Fire Department for his service and heroic actions taken over the course of his illustrious career.
In February 2019, Chief Knitter was a passerby of a single vehicle crash. He stopped to assist and found the driver had suffered cardiac arrest. Chief Knitter, with the help of an officer, immediately pulled the unconscious driver from the wreck and administered CPR before the driver was taken to the hospital.
Despite being off-duty, Chief Knitter showed us what it means to serve your community and help people in-need no matter the situation. His actions demonstrate his selflessness and relentless desire to help others in-need. Chief Knitter epitomizes what it means to be a public servant with his tremendous character and noble acts.
The Chief has worked in fire service for 39 years and joined the South Milwaukee Fire Department more than 34 years ago. In his free time he teaches fire certification classes at MATC and incident management for the state of Wisconsin. He also holds degrees in fire science and fire service management, and is a graduate of the National Fire Academy’s Executive Fire Officer Program.
We are proud to have Chief Knitter representing our community and thankful for his many years of service to the South Milwaukee community!
Recognizing Mental Health
October 10th, 2019, is World Mental Health Day, an international day to recognize and raise awareness for mental health and erasing the stigma associated with mental health issues. Suicide, closely tied to mental health, has risen in many parts of the country.
In Wisconsin, the Speaker's Task Force on Suicide Prevention is doing its part to address the crisis by introducing a package of bills that aim to reduce suicide rates in Wisconsin and improve mental health. The package includes various proposals that call for funding for the suicide hotline, grant funding for a number of different suicide prevention programs and licensing changes that will improve access to mental health professionals.
I look forward to learning more about this package of bills as it begins moving though the legislative process.
October In-District Office Hours
Monday, October 14, I'll be holding in-district office hours in South Milwaukee to hear your thoughts and concerns on any issue related to state government. More details are included below.
Rep. Rodriguez State Capitol, Room 204 N PO Box 8953 Madison, WI 53708 Toll-Free (888) 534-0021 or (608) 266-0610 Rep.Rodriguez@legis.wi.gov| Read Online |
