Bethlehem Township may be pondering a tax hike, but commissioners scored a major coup at their Oct. 19 meeting. By a 4-0 vote, they accepted Chief Dan Pancoast’s recommendation and appointed Northampton County Deputy Sheriff Gretchen Kraemer to their police force. Northampton County’s loss will be Bethlehem Township’s gain.

Kramer, who started her career as a clerk in Northampton County’s Criminal Division, became a Bethlehem city police officer. She probably would still be there today except for circumstances in her family life that required her to be a caregiver. Unable to work the shifts expected of new police officers, she was able to return to Northampton County, but this time as a deputy sheriff.

Whether it was courtroom security or manning the door, she performed her duties cheerfully and professionally.

She is one of the deputies whose quick thinking saved the life of prominent Bethlehem Attorney Rich Schaedler. In 2013, he suddenly collapsed outside a courtroom. She was part of a team of 10 deputies who would not give up, even though Schaedlers heart had stopped beating for seven minutes. They used CPR, first aid, oxygen administration and an AED (Automated External Defibrillator) until a faint heartbeat returned.

Once her family situation improved, she applied with Bethlehem Township’s police department. Chief Pancoast called her his first choice, and told commissioners she is “well qualified as a police officer.”