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Photo by Michelle Zlomke
Custer County LEPC members pictured above, first row, from left, are Troy Smith, Carol Allen and Angela Redman; second row, Deb McCaslin, Linda Leavister, Elaine and Ron Price; third row, Mac McMeen, Tami Schendt and Steve Osborn; fourth row, Paul Landrigan, Steve Scott and Tim Schafer; and fifth row, Andy Holland, Jim Ingram, Joe Shea and Leon Meyer.
A state agency has affirmed the efforts of a local emergency planning team and its efforts to improve community safety.
The Nebraska Emergency Response Commission recognized Custer County’s Local Emergency Planning Committee as the Outstanding LEPC for 2008.
“The members and their willingness to see the organization do something sets them apart,” said Angela Redman.
Redman has worked closely with the group in her role as the area-wide emergency response coordinator for the Loup Basin Health District.
In the last two years, the group crafted a small pox response plan and staged a multi-agency mock pandemic drill.
Later this month, the group will invite area agencies and officials to participate in a table-top crisis exercise.
“I like the fact we work so well together,” said Custer County Emergency Manage-ment Director Troy Smith.
“If someone says something can’t be done, the members start finding a way it can be done,” he said.
Group members include school officials, law enforcement, medical professionals, government and community leaders and emergency response personnel.
“They (the state) were impressed with the diversity of disciplines of our members,” Smith said. “Nearly every profession in our community is represented on our county’s LEPC. With so many different professions, people see things differently. Folks see challenges from different perspectives.”
Many of those perspectives will be evident Oct. 30 when representatives from up to 80 entities participate in the table top exercise.
“That drill will encompass a natural disaster and a man made disaster,” Smith said. “Both events could occur in Custer County at the same time.
“It will require departments to find out what’s actually out there for them to call upon in an emergency.”
Smith is a firm believer in practice, drills and mock scenarios.
“I do them all the time and I even do them in my head,” he said. “If you show up on the scene and you’ve never experienced it before, you don’t know what to do. But if you practice something like this, you know what everybody is going to be doing.”
Smith said those types of exercises also allow agencies and businesses to become familiar with their strengths, deficiencies, resources and plans.
“It accomplishes a lot of things (to practice) when you aren’t under any pressure,” he said. |
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