Grant would establish response teams

Topeka Capital-Journal, The, May 27, 2004 by Tim Hrenchir Capital-Journal

By Tim Hrenchir

THE CAPITAL-JOURNAL

Just days after heavy hail and a tornado struck parts of Shawnee County, commissioners will consider accepting a grant to establish and equip Citizen Emergency Response Teams that would help deal with disasters and other emergencies.

County commissioners will consider the grant when they meet at 9 a.m. today at the Shawnee County Courthouse, 200 S.E. 7th.

Kathryn Allen, homeland security planner for Shawnee County Emergency Management, wrote in a memo to commissioners that the Kansas Division of Emergency Management recently awarded the Shawnee County Citizens Corps Council a federally funded grant of $32,900 to establish and equip the teams.

The citizens corps council is part of the Freedom Corps, which was established by President Bush in early 2002, Allen's memo said.

CERT members work during disasters to check on neighbors, put out small fires, conduct light urban search and rescue, and give neighbors psychological comfort and emergency medical aid.

Gary Middleton, director of Shawnee County Emergency Management, said the grant would finance the formation of a CERT training program in Shawnee County.

"It would not only provide for the classes and class materials and instructors, but it also would provide some equipment for those teams to operate," he said.

Tim Hrenchir can be reached

at (785) 295-1184 or tim.hrenchir@cjonline.com.