NOTES ON PEOPLE (05/07/06)

NOTES ON PEOPLE

Retired Coast Guard reservist authors book

GREENVILLE, N.C. - Dan Kozak, a retired U.S. Coast Guard Reservist and author, has published a book titled, "Ice Fire - N.Y. Harbor: What Happened Beneath the Verrazano Bridge," based on Mr. Kozak's article about actual events involving a container ship and an oil tanker in New York Harbor on June 2, 1973.

This is an adventure story about a collision between a drug-smuggling freighter and a Russian liquid nitrogen gas (LNG) tanker in New York Harbor. The consequences of the mishap threaten the City of New York with acts of terrorism.

The book was stimulated by the premise that people must always be mindful of the inherent dangers of handling, transporting and storing dangerous cargo like LNG.

Mr. Kozak began his career aboard federally owned vessels in 1945, moving through the ranks over the course of 12 years from apprentice seaman to captain. Almost 22 years of his service was spent on New York City fireboats, with eighteen of those years in the uniformed rank of pilot (a promotion from fireman 1st grade). He gained further experience from 1954 to 1957, when he served as a city correction officer. Mr. Kozak retired from the USCGR in 1990 with the rank of lieutenant.

During his career, Mr. Kozak and two other Marine Co. 6 members were decorated by the Fire Department of New York in 1978 for capturing a rapist in the act of attacking a woman near their fireboat headquarters in lower Manhattan's FDR Park.

In addition, Mr. Kozak has authored a 3,000-word article, "Heroism At Sea," in Firehouse Magazine, which was adapted into the curriculum of the United States Coast Guard/ United States Air Force Search and Rescue School and other maritime institutions in 1980.

Many of his over 100 poems have appeared in national and international periodicals.

The author is now working on a sequel to "Ice Fire" titled, "Don Evins, CGI," depicting the USCG's search, rescue, drug interdiction and homeland security adventures in the southern Florida area.

For more information on this book, (ISBN: 1-4208-6898-5) which sells for $18.49, or to order, readers may contact Ingram's Books in Print Database, or contact AuthorHouse publishing by calling (888) 280-7715; or logging on to www.authorhouse.com.

Colorado dermatologist aids colleagues in Lviv

PARSIPPANY, N.J. - Dr. John J. Schmidt, a dermatologist from Pueblo, Colo., was recently highlighted by the American Academy of Dermatology in its magazine, Dermatology World, in December of 2005. Dr. Schmidt was on a genealogical trip to Ukraine in 1996 when he was first introduced to an English-speaking dermatologist Dr. Andriy Horodylovskiy of Lviv. It was then that Dr. Schmidt was made aware of the lack of equipment at local clinics.

In 1998 Dr. Schmidt accepted an invitation to return to Lviv, where he had been searching for his family's roots, to lecture to dermatologists at Lviv's main dermatology clinic. Since then, he has returned three times each year to Lviv for three to four weeks at a time. In addition to his lectures, Dr. Schmidt offers hands-on training at the affiliated hospital on surgical techniques.

Each time he goes to Lviv, Dr. Schmidt assesses the needs for equipment and determines what he could affordably obtain, safely transport and train dermatologists to use. Out of this need, in 1999 Dr. Schmidt established The Veselka Foundation, a non-profit corporation that provides equipment and supplies to dermatology clinics and hospitals in Ukraine. Much of the equipment is donated from local dermatologists in the U.S. with some pharmaceutical representatives donating samples.

In 2002 Dr. Schmidt was elected a fellow in the Ukrainian Academy of Dermatology and Venerology in recognition of his contribution. An exception to their by-laws had to be enacted for a "foreign" member to be admitted.

Currently, Dr. Schmidt is working on translating a dermatology textbook into Ukrainian.

For more information on Dr. Schmidt and The Veselka Foundation, readers can log on to www.veselkafoundation.org.

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