Dane County Plow Operator Praised for Blazing Blizzard Trail to Help 11-day old Girl

March 08, 2007
Jerry Mandli, Commissioner/Director, Dane County Department of Public Works, Highway and Transportation, (608)266-4039 Joanne Haas, Office of the County Executive (608) 267-8823
County Executive

A Dane County Highway Department plow operator today is being hailed for his outstanding service in blizzard conditions when he lead a Green County ambulance transporting an ill 11-day old girl to the University of Wisconsin Hospital in Madison. “Joe Cockroft’s exemplary service that night in the height of the dangerous storm is another example of the great job our Highway Department does to keep our roads as safe as possible in all types of weather,” Dane County Executive Kathleen Falk said. Cockroft was working the night of February 25 as blizzard conditions gripped the south-central region when Green County emergency crews got the call to get the girl to the Madison hospital. “Your contribution as a snow plow operator, escorting our ambulance in the face of a blizzard with 8-foot drifts, made it possible for us to get this baby girl to a hospital where she could receive the best care possible,” Carrie Schwartz, chair of the Board of Directors of the Green County Emergency Management Service, wrote to Cockroft. “The two hours you spent waiting for us at the Dane County line was certainly not a waste of time.” To request a copy of Schwartz’s letter by fax, contact Joanne Haas at 267-8823.