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
The combined offices of the Starke County Probation Department and Starke County Community Corrections are helping to fund a new Computer Aided Dispatch (CAD) system for the Starke County Sheriff’s Department.
The Local Emergency Planning Committee determined a few more details about the tabletop exercise scheduled for later this year that will allow local emergency responders to test the county’s All-Hazards Plan. Continue reading
Starke County EMA Director J. Nier alerted members of the Local Emergency Planning Committee that she has received permission to proceed with the LEPC Grant process.
She mentioned that the grant is due July 13th and it is offered through the Indiana Emergency Response Commission. She said she wasn’t given a specific cap but she was told they could potentially apply for up to $10,000. Continue reading
Members of Starke County’s Local Emergency Planning Committee will meet this afternoon to discuss details surrounding a recent hazardous material incident and how it was handled successfully.
The LEPC will meet at 2 p.m. in the lower floor of the Starke County Annex Building #2 (the old jail) in the Purdue Extension Office meeting room.
The members were scheduled to hold their meeting last week but there were not enough members there to have a quorum so the meeting was rescheduled. Continue reading
FEMA recently issued a public notice in regards to the major flooding that occurred earlier this year and the subsequent public and individual funding assistance being offered to several counties including Starke, Pulaski, Marshall and La Porte.
The notice, provided by Starke County EMA Director J. Nier, reportedly concerns activities that may affect historic properties, ones that are located in or affecting wetland areas or the 100-year floodplain and critical actions within the 500-year flood plain. FEMA officials report that such incidents may adversely affect the historical property, floodplain, or wetland or could result in continuing vulnerability to flood damage. Continue reading
The Local Emergency Planning Committee of Starke County was scheduled to hold a meeting on Wednesday but there were not enough members present to have a quorum.
However, since no quorum was required to hold the first planning meeting for a tabletop exercise that will be held to test the County’s All-Hazards Plan, members went over some preliminary information about that.
A tabletop exercise is a meeting to discuss a simulated emergency situation where officials talk about their individual roles and responsibilities when it comes to responding to a situation. 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
According to the Indiana Department of Homeland Security, Individual Assistance from FEMA is now available to 13 more counties, including Starke and Pulaski.
Now that Starke and Pulaski counties are eligible for Individual Assistance, homeowners and renters whose primary residence was damaged by the flooding that occurred between February 14th and March 4th can apply for federal disaster assistance.
The funds are intended to cover uninsured losses for flood damages. Individuals are encouraged to register with FEMA before the deadline of Thursday, July 5th. 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
Starke County Emergency Management Agency Director J. Nier is still waiting to hear back from FEMA representatives about individual assistance for the county.
When FEMA initially declared which counties were eligible for individual assistance for flood damage, Starke County was not included. However, Nier explained that was due to an error with the organization’s reporting app, not because the county didn’t need the help. Continue reading
Starke County Emergency Management Agency Director J. Nier and EMS Director Travis Clary attended a briefing with FEMA representatives on Thursday in order to learn more about the public financial assistance that is available to the county to help with flood relief.
EMA Director Nier explained that in order to be eligible for public assistance, the county had to reach about $85,000 spent dealing with flood recovery. Nier said that number was not only reached, but it was surpassed, with close to $2 million spent during the immediate response. 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
As the flood waters start receding, emergency management officials are beginning to plan out ways to assist those most severely impacted by the recent floods.
The Salvation Army recently delivered a few clean-up kits to emergency management officials in both Starke and Pulaski County. Starke County EMA Director J. Nier and Pulaski County EMA Director Sheri Gaillard said they will be handing those out to the citizens who need them in the near future.
They also said they’ll be conducting more thorough damage assessments once the water recedes more. However, residents are still reminded to fill out damage assessment reports through the Indiana Department of Homeland Security to assist with relief efforts. Only uninsured property damage should be reported. Continue reading
According to Starke County EMA Director J. Nier another anticipated river surge will no longer impact the area.
Director Nier said that the strong winds we experienced last night into today helped push back the river and prevented another major surge from hitting. Continue reading
