The Starke County Community Organizations Active in Disasters (COAD) group has been working in conjunction with the County’s Emergency Management Agency (EMA) to establish a fund intended to provide assistance during emergencies.
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With chilly temperatures right around the corner and a plethora of holiday cooking coming up, it’s important to be aware of how to prevent fires and how to react if they strike.
Every year the National Fire Protection Agency (NFPA) recognizes Fire Prevention Week during the month of October. This year’s theme is “Look. Listen. Learn. Be Aware -fire can happen anywhere.”
The theme identifies three simple but essential ways that people can reduce the risk of fire and be prepared in the event of one. Continue reading
The Starke County COAD is looking for local restaurants and businesses willing to donate food, beverages and other resources to first responders during lengthy emergency situations.
This would be a local effort similar to canteen services offered by the Red Cross. Starke County EMA Director J. Nier would assist the COAD with this initiative. When a major incident occurs and responders are expected to be out in the field for an extended period of time, she would call on COAD members to get resources to the scene as soon as possible. Continue reading
Local individuals driven to help in the event of an emergency recently attended a Red Cross volunteer training session held at Our Redeemer Lutheran Church in Knox. Continue reading
The Starke County Community Organizations Active in Disaster will meet tonight at 6 p.m. where members will review a recent Red Cross Volunteer training session that was held at Our Redeemer Lutheran Church at the end of September.
Members will also discuss efforts that have been made to get food for the Local Emergency Planning Committee’s Hazardous Response Exercise on the COAD’s behalf and plans for providing food to first responders in the future. Continue reading
If you’re interested in preparing yourself to provide assistance in the event of an emergency, you should consider attending the free Red Cross volunteer training session scheduled for Sunday, September 23rd.
This training course is being held in conjunction with the Starke County COAD’s efforts to form a local Disaster Action Team. The course will be held at the Our Redeemer Lutheran Church in Knox. Prospective volunteers should show up around noon CST. Continue reading
The Starke County Community Organizations Active in Disasters (COAD) will meet tonight at 6 p.m. where members will continue to discuss the development of a board.
Though Starke County EMA Director J. Nier has helped form the COAD by reaching out to some key people in the community, the organization is meant to be run by community members. Continue reading
Members of the Starke County Community Organization Active in Disaster group established a more consistent meeting schedule when they convened Tuesday night.
Previously, the COAD was meeting every other month due to various obligations during the summer months. However, in order to keep people more engaged, members opted to move to monthly meetings. They will now meet the first Tuesday of every month at 5:30 p.m.
Additionally, members discussed the development of a COAD Board. Continue reading
The Starke County Community Organizations Active in Disasters meeting scheduled for tonight (8/7) had to be rescheduled due to unforeseen circumstances.
Starke County EMA Director J. Nier proposed rescheduling the meeting for next week with a tentative date of Tuesday, August 14th. Continue reading
If you’re looking for a way to get more involved in your community, you should consider joining the Starke County COAD.
The group will be meeting this coming week on Tuesday, August 7th in order to coordinate more about local efforts.
Starke County COAD, or Community Organizations Active in Disaster, aims to encourage collaboration among local residents and officials in order to strengthen the community to be better prepared for disaster response and recovery. Continue reading
Starke County COAD is looking to establish a board that will be responsible for running operations.
Starke County EMA Director J. Nier has been getting the organization off the ground but she said ultimately, it is meant to be run by community members. Though the idea was brought up during their meeting Tuesday night, the current members decided to wait to establish a board until more members are in attendance. Continue reading
Starke County COAD is seeking caring community members to join their ranks!
At Tuesday night’s meeting, members discussed why having a localized group of volunteers can be beneficial to a community during a disaster. Continue reading
Members of the Starke County Organizations Active in Disaster or COAD will meet tonight at 5:30 p.m. CT.
Facilitated by Starke County EMA Director J. Nier, members of this organization are working to develop a local network of individuals who will be ready to act when a disaster strikes.
The group met for the first time back in April, where some government officials, church leaders, members of the medical community and other concerned citizens discussed the areas that need improvement when it comes to disaster response in the county. Continue reading
When Starke County COAD met for the first time Tuesday night, a question from one of the county’s amateur radio operators prompted a discussion about the communication systems utilized by the county’s emergency personnel.
Hamlet Fire Chief and Starke County Council President Brad Hazelton explained that some emergency personnel, such as the Sherriff’s Department, use radios that run on the 800 megahertz spectrum while others, like the fire departments, utilize very high frequency, or VHF technology. Hazelton said, “We can talk to EMS, because they’re VHF and 800 but the police are only 800 and we’re only VHF.” Continue reading
Starke County Emergency Management Agency Director J. Nier hosted a meeting with community members who interested in participating in a group focused on local disaster preparation and response efforts.
Church representatives, members of the medical community and concerned citizens were among the individuals who attended the first Community Organizations Active in Disaster or COAD meeting on Tuesday night.
Director Nier explained that Starke County COAD was actually established a while ago. However, she said when she took the position in October of last year, the group had been inactive for some time. During the flooding event in February, she realized that there were certain needs that were being unmet so she’s attempting to revive the organization. Continue reading
