Mock bus wreck planned for Tuesday

Saturday, September 20, 2014
Mike Hueston gives a presentation on the Community Emergency Response Team at the LEPC meeting Wednesday. Gloria Tucker/Daily Mail

Nevada Daily Mail

The Vernon County Local Emergency Planning Committee will manage a mock bus wreck on M Highway, 14 miles from Nevada on Tuesday.

"It involves a bus rollover with entrapment," Dennis Kimrey, of Vernon County Emergency Management, said at the LEPC meeting Wednesday. "It's our exercise, but there's going to be training involved too. We have invited the schools and the rural fire departments to come out and watch."

In other business, instructor Mike Hueston presented information on the Community Emergency Response Team classes in Vernon County.

CERT trains individuals with skills to help emergency responders save lives and protect property in the event of a disaster or crisis.

"We do extensive training," Hueston said. "We have eight classes in four weeks with a drill at the end of the course. We're going to graduate six Thursday. We have about 15 CERT people in Vernon County."

In addition to the classes, the ambulance district gives monthly trainings to the CERT volunteers.

"I believe in it 100 percent," he said. "We're just another set of hands in a disaster or crisis. We urge corporations to have their own CERT to help responders who arrive at those facilities."

Started two years ago, the ambulance district funds CERT, but the district is looking into grants for federal and state funding. Another class will start up soon, and anyone interested can contact the ambulance district.

"We like to have eight people in a class," he said. "We can have from 15 to 20, or we can have two classes. The instructor can travel to an organization if that's more economical. This is a good opportunity to help your community or others in their time of need."

In other business, Kimrey asked the committee if he and other members interested could have funding to attend the Missouri Hazmat Symposium on Dec. 9-11 in Columbia.

"The cost will be $650 per person," he said. "Vernon County has not been represented in the last two or three years."

The committee approved funding for four slots to attend the symposium.

Kimrey also brought up the Four Corners Emergency Management Conference on Nov. 19-21 in Branson.

"It's an excellent little conference that pertains to the emergency management in the four corner states, Kansas, Missouri, Oklahoma and Arkansas," he said.

Respond to this story

Posting a comment requires free registration: