Lyndonville Police Chief Jack Harris is more than a neighbor

Lyndonville Police Chief Jack Harris is more than a neighbor to Doug and Patricia Stetson; he’s their hero. The chief’s quick response to Doug’s cardiac event last week is credited with saving Doug’s life. It was about 6:15 p.m. on Dec. 4, Patricia went into the kitchen and found Doug in a chair, slumped forward and unresponsive. She unsuccessfully tried to rouse him and called 9-1-1 to communicate the medical emergency. Fortunately for the Stetsons, Chief Harris, their neighbor four houses away, was home, and despite being off-duty, he had his scanner on. “I knew that with the road closures it was going to take a while to get someone there, and I knew the husband and wife live there alone so I told my wife that I was going to go see if I could help her out in any way until the ambulance could get there.” Patricia said Chief Harris was at her house in less than five minutes from the time she dialed 9-1-1. Harris said he found Doug unresponsive, sitting at a table. He got him on the floor and began CPR, which he continued until paramedics arrived.  Doug was taken to NVRH before being transported to Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center. Patricia told the doctor about Chief Harris being first on the scene and what he did. The doctor said, ‘if the chief had not done what he did at the time, she would be planning a funeral.