The continued rains have left many area farmers up a creek, so to speak. Starke County Emergency Management Agency Director Ted Bombagetti told the county commissioners last night many have sustained significant losses as a result of standing water. He adds it will be too late for them to replant by the time their fields dry out. Bombagetti has made a formal request for “saturated soil” assistance to the Indiana Department of Homeland Security and is waiting for a response. Continue reading
Tornado Activity Confirmed in Starke County
“Tornado activity” was confirmed by the National Weather Service as the cause of extensive damage from Monday night’s storms in the Grovertown area.
Starke County EMA Director Ted Bombagetti told WKVI News that he conducted an assessment in the Grovertown area late Wednesday afternoon and he observed rotational damage in the area. That information was forwarded to National Weather Service officials who confirmed “tornado activity” occurred in the area.
Moderate Flooding Expected for Starke County
Flooding from the recent rainfall shouldn’t be too big of a problem in Starke County. Emergency Management Agency Director Ted Bombagetti expects the Kankakee River to crest sometime today.
“It shouldn’t go more than into the moderate level, which probably will affect some of the state park area out there on 8 and 39 and maybe some agricultural property. The Yellow River here in Knox we’re looking at sometime Monday, and it’s only expected to go into the minor. I don’t expect anything to happen there.”
District 2 Incident Management Team Continues Recovery Efforts in New York
The District 2 Incident Management Team arrived in Long Beach, New York Friday morning to assist Long Beach First Responders in recovery efforts from Hurricane Sandy.
Starke County EMA Director Ted Bombagetti, who is one of the 54 members of this team and the District 7 team out of Indiana, said the Nassau County Commissioners asked that the team also help in Atlantic Beach and Lidio Beach.
Local Emergency Responders Providing Aide in the Wake of Hurricane Sandy
Several local emergency responders are in various parts of the East Coast to tend to situations due to Hurricane Sandy.
The District 2 Emergency Management Team left Winamac Sunday around midnight and arrived in Baltimore, Maryland at Noon. The responders, which include those from Starke, Pulaski, Marshall and St. Joseph Counties, participated in several briefings with local emergency staff, on-site FEMA representatives and the Mayor of Baltimore. Starke County Emergency Management Director Ted Bombagetti is one of those emergency responders in the City of Baltimore and he indicated that District 2 will be conducting emergency operation planning and providing the city with damage assessment and debris management support starting this morning.
Indiana District 2 Task Force Called to Duty
Members of the District 2 Task Force in Indiana have been called to duty to provide aide to those in New Jersey as Hurricane Sandy could wreak havoc on the East Coast.
Starke County EMA Director Ted Bombagetti, who is a member of the District 2 Task Force, said ambulance support deployed out of Indianapolis yesterday. A total of 50 ambulances are making their way to New Jersey and five of those ambulances are coming out of the District 2 Task Force which encompasses Starke, Pulaski, Fulton, Marshall, and St. Joseph Counties.
Starke County to Re-Band Radios
Starke County EMA Director, Ted Bombagetti has made the county officials aware that all two-way radios will need to be re-banded. Bombagetti was asked what the deadline is for having them re-banded.
“2013 is our deadline,” replied Bombagetti. “What’s happening is that two-way radios have become so popular in use in industries other than emergency services that there’s not enough open frequencies for the FCC to sell out. What they’re doing is they’re moving the signals closer, or narrow-banding. They’re narrowing the banding so more licenses can become available.”
National Earthquake Drill Scheduled for Tomorrow
The Indiana Department of Homeland Security will be taking part in an earthquake drill tomorrow. The drill will be conducted throughout the United States.
You can register online at this website and you will receive information on how to plan a drill and how to tell others about earthquake preparedness.
FCC Mandates New Radio Band Frequencies; Starke County to Change to Narrow Banding
Firefighters and others using radio communication equipment attended a meeting Monday night called by Starke County EMA Director, Ted Bombagetti, to explain the future mandate to change radio bands. Because of space demands, the FCC is compressing the bands down to what is called “narrow-banding.”
“There’s too many people that want to get radios and there’s not enough frequencies open,” explained Bombagetti. “So the FCC has decided that they’re going to cut the space in half between each frequency. Right now, we’re operating in a space of 25 mhz and they’re going to cut it to 12 1/2. This allows more licenses to become available to the public.”
Cost of February Storms in Starke County Nears $81,000
Starke County EMA Director Ted Bombagetti said this week that the total cost during the storms the first week in February was almost $81,000. Almost $7,000 was overtime pay. The rest was in materials and fuel.
On a related topic, County Highway Superintendent Steve Siddall implored the County Commissioners to set up a meeting with the Bass Lake Property Owners Association to explain the right-of-way situation at the lake. Siddall said it’s been about 10 years since residents were notified that the county has 40 to 60 feet of right of way to plow snow. Since that time, many of the property owners have been encroaching on that space to place fences, trinkets, rocks and boulders.
