Introducing: Millie Opperman & Jeanne Kahana | Published September 30, 2013 Five in a series of articles spotlighting Borough of Palmyra employees, volunteers and community members. Mayor Karen Scheffler and Borough Council, the Palmyra Police Department, and Borough staff would like to introduce and at the same time say goodbye to two well-respected members of our Crossing Guard Unit; Captain Millie Opperman and Guard Jeanne Kahana. Both have been Crossing Guards serving the Borough’s students since the 1980’s and both will begin their retirements on Tuesday, October 1, 2013. Millie Opperman started with the Borough as a substitute Guard in September of 1981 and within two months was made a permanent Guard. Millie has served under three different Police Chiefs including Chief Robert Fow, Chief Richard Dreby and Chief Scott Pearlman. Millie has also worked for two previous Guard Captains, Lee Cosky and Janet Scott, before she was named Captain in March of 2011. Millie says being a Crossing Guard has had its moments but she has learned a lot both professionally and personally. She has loved every minute of her time with the Borough from the moment she started as a substitute Guard through her time as Guard Captain. She feels that this was the best job while her children were in school, giving her the opportunity to see them as they were going and coming to school and being off when they were off from school. Her best memories are of the children and parents she has met and gotten to know throughout the years. Millie has been married for 43 years to her high school sweetheart, Glenn. They have three children, eleven grandchildren and one great-grandchild. Her husband Glenn has worked at PSE&G for twenty-nine years; her two sons are both supervisors for Philadelphia Sign Company and her daughter is an Office Manager at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. Millie is not the only family member to have worked for the Borough. Her mother Patricia was a long-time Crossing Guard who retired with more than nineteen years of service. Millie’s brother Raymond Tubic, Jr. works for the Borough’s Department of Public Works and has been with the Borough for twenty-three years. As her retirement begins Millie says she is going to start by relaxing. But she and her husband have plans to perform some renovations to their house and are looking forward to a cruise with friends. They have a motorcycle and plan to take road trips and are hoping to purchase an RV. Jeanne Kahana started as a substitute Guard in 1988 and worked for two years before having to stop to provide assistance to her parents. She returned as a Crossing Guard in 1996 as a substitute and became a permanent Guard in 2001. Jeanne worked the corner of Cinnaminson Ave and Charles Street for several years and loved her corner. Jeanne says the best part of her job was watching the kids and families grow year after year and has made some wonderful friends. Jeanne was moved to the Walnut Street door of Charles Street School for the last couple of years. Jeanne said that it has been great to work with her fellow Guards and to meet new Guards through the years. She will take with her fond memories of the children she has crossed, the parents she has meet and her co-workers through the years. So as another chapter ends in her life she is ready to move on to the next. Jeanne and her husband have nine wonderful children, as she says “his, mine and ours”. Together they have twenty-two grandchildren and four great grandchildren. We are sure that Jeanne will be quite busy in her retirement, but she wants Millie to know she’ll be over in the AM for coffee. Our Crossing Guards are often taken for granted. This is a position that requires our members to be on corners not only on nice days, but on the most miserable days of the year. Both Millie and Jeanne have performed their duties throughout the years with the utmost in professionalism as do all of our Guards. We can only wish both these great employees good luck in their long and well-earned retirements. Millie Opperman
Posted on: Mon, 07 Oct 2013 14:10:44 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015