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LEPC Hears Presentation From Critical Response Group

By Randy Rutherford - Staff Writer | Jan 15, 2025

The Tyler County Local Emergency Planning Committee met for their first monthly meeting of the new year in the Senior Center in Middlebourne on Thursday, January 9th.

The meeting began with breakfast for all attendees sponsored by Antero. The previous meeting’s breakfast in December was sponsored by Momentive and the February breakfast will be sponsored by Panhandle Cleaners & Restoration. If any business or individual would like to sponsor the LEPC breakfast, the cost is $200 and is tax deductible. Contact OEM Director Tom Cooper if you are interested in becoming a sponsor.

Following the breakfast the meeting began with updates from Director Cooper regarding the regional transportation issue. Tom explained that the program is moving forward and hopes to have additional information on the progress at the February meeting.

Next, the group held a discussion on homeless issues in Tyler County. While Tyler does not have the number of homeless as in other counties, it still exists and help is needed to identify individuals that appear to be struggling. On January 28 & 29 a national count will take place to identify the number of homeless folks across the country. If anyone has information regarding a homeless person or family, they are encouraged to contact either Jill Ash with the FRN (Family Resource Network) at 304-559-6147 or Tom Cooper at the LEPC office at 304-758-5155

The Mountaineer Food Bank Mobile Unit will be in Sistersville at the First Baptist Church parking lot on Thursday, January 30th from 10:00 AM until 11:30 AM. These are the new hours for the mobile unit. In the past the hours were from 11:00 AM until 12:30 PM. Also, the Mobile Unit will be in the parking lot of the Senior Center in Middlebourne on March 27, 2025, from 10:00 AM till 11:30 AM.

Mr. Cooper then shared the progress of the Middlebourne Senior Center LED message board located along Route 18. The long-awaited sign is up and running and will be a great informational tool for the county. Look for important messages on the sign daily.

Planning exercises are underway for the Genesis Center, Sistersville and Tyler Consolidated High School. During the first planning meeting, it was announced that the exercise for Tyler County schools will take place at A.I. Boreman with a date to be announced later. Exercises are designed to train employees in how to respond to emergencies, with both on site and virtual training scheduled before the active intruder exercises at A.I. Boreman in the spring of 2025.

This month’s presenter was Zach Query, Regional Director of the Critical Response Group (CRG). CRG provided an update on critical incident maps that have been developed for Tyler Consolidated High School. These maps pinpoint the location of any emergency within the building, displaying all rooms and providing first responders with exact directions to ensure a quick response.

Mr. Querry spent over a decade in Army Special Operations. One of the CRG’s goals is to map all schools, hospitals, etc. across the country to create a safer environment the students and employees. Zach went on to say that the current floor plans on file have two problems. One, they were not accurate and two, were not in the hands of the right people. The CRG has partnered with Tyler County Schools to provide accurate maps and floor plans. Since they started this program, they have mapped over 35,000 schools across the US. The secret to mapping is that everybody uses the exact same map for their building. This enables everyone to have the same information and avoids questions when under stress to handle emergencies.

Following the presentation the meeting was adjourned. The next meeting of the Tyler County LEPC will be held on February 6, 2025 in the cafeteria of the Senior Center in Middlebourne.