News & Events

Family Emergency Preparedness Plan

Friday, 23 September 2011 10:01

NEWS RELEASE

Campbell County Office of Emergency Management

P.O. Box153

Alexandria, KY  41001

For more information contact:

William R. Turner, Director

859-635-1111

Family Emergency Preparedness Plan

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Alexandria, KY — September 19, 2011  — September is National Disaster Preparedness Month and the Campbell County Office of Emergency Management reminds citizens that disasters happen anytime and anywhere. William R. Turner Director of the Campbell County Office of Emergency Management warns that “When disaster strikes, you may not have much time to respond.” Turner continued “We watch news reports about areas of the country hit by disasters, have you ever wondered if your family is prepared for such an emergency? If a flood, earthquake, tornado, winter storm or other disaster strikes your home and family, do you know what to do? Any number of natural disasters can strike here in Kentucky, thus the need to be prepared. A Family Emergency Preparedness Plan can protect your family.”

Answering these four questions will tell you if your family is prepared to handle an emergency situation:

• Do you have a family emergency plan for emergency and disaster situations?
• Do you have emergency supplies on hand, including flashlights, batteries, a radio, water, and non-perishable foods?
• Do you have a safe or shelter area designated in your home to go to during an emergency?
• Does every member of your family know what to do in case of an emergency?

If you can't answer yes to these questions, it's time to sit down with the whole family and develop a Family Emergency Preparedness Plan.

Emergency preparedness isn't only about supplies, but they are a big part of being ready and knowing what to do when a disaster strikes. Here is a list of essentials items that you should have packed and stored in a safe place in your home in case you need them:

• Plenty of bottled water
• Non-perishable food items
• Manual Can opener
• Clothing and shelter items like blankets and sleeping bags
• Toilet paper and wipes for clean up
• First aid kit
• Flashlights, a portable radio, and lots of batteries
• Infant and pet supplies, if necessary
• All medications, and glasses or contact lenses
• Implements for preparing and cooking food, as well as plates, and utensils
• Water Proof Matches
• Copies of your bank and credit cards, driver's license, and other ID cards
• Cash

Make sure you have enough supplies, particularly food and water, for at least three days. Allow at least one gallon of water per day for each family member.

Prepare your auto, with an emergency supply of food and water, a first aid kit, jumper cables, flares, and blankets or sleeping bags to keep warm.

Here’s what to consider when making your emergency plan and what details to include:

• Make a list of the disasters that it makes sense to plan for, based on where you live; consider tornadoes, earthquakes, excessive heat, fire, floods, forest fires, ice and snow, hazardous materials accidents and terrorism threats, as appropriate.
• Come up with an evacuation plan for the most likely emergencies.
• Decide on how family members will communicate with each other if separated when disaster strikes; establish an alternate meeting place for the family in the event of an emergency where the family can’t not return home.
• Come up with a plan to protect yourself at home, in case of a tornado or an earthquake; include shutting off utilities when necessary. All adult members of the family should know how to turn of utilities.
• Develop an escape route plan; draw it out on paper.
• Make plans for pets in emergencies; keep vet records on hand, along with identification tags, a carrier, leash, and food.

Now that you've got supplies and a plan, does everyone in the family know what to do? Make sure that each family member, from adults to children, know what to do in an emergency, including where to go and what responsibilities, they have. For instance, make sure everyone is aware of whose job it is to take care of the pets and who’s in charge of shutting off the gas line, electricity, and water.

Once everyone knows his or her role in each emergency plan — whether it's for a house fire or a natural disaster, stage a couple of drills. This way, if disaster strikes, you’ll know that your emergency plan works.

Campbell County Library Board Public Meetings

Friday, 09 September 2011 09:23

The Campbell County Library Board is holding  six public meetings to discuss the new library to get feedback and answer questions about the new South Branch Library to be built in Southern Campbell County.  Everyone is encouraged to attend to meet with the Library Director to get their questions answered.  The meetings will be:

7PM Tuesday Sept 13^th- John W. Reiley Elementary School- 10631 Alexandria Pike, Claryville

2PM Wednesday Sept 14^th- Plum Creek Christian Church, 961 Nagel Road, Butler

10:AM Wednesday Sept 28^th - Main Street Baptist Church, 11093 Alexandria Pike, Claryville

7:PM Thursday Sept 29^th- Grants Lick Elementary School, 944 Clay Ridge Road, Grants Lick

7:PM Tuesday Oct 4^th- Alexandria Community Building, 8236 West Main Street, Alexandria

7:PM Wednesday Oct 5^th- Newport Branch of the Campbell County Library, 901 E. Sixth Street, Newport.

Senior Picnic

Wednesday, 10 August 2011 12:31

CAMPBELL COUNTY’S 44^TH ANNUAL SENIOR PICNIC

SEPTEMBER 21, 2011

PENDERY PARK, MELBOURNE, KY

NOON – 5 PM

Tickets in advance $8.00

At the Gate $10.00

Tickets are available 9-3 at

Campbell County Senior Center
3504 Alexandria Pike

or

Campbell County Fiscal Court
1098 Monmouth

Chicken Dinner, music, games, corn hole, dancing, snakes and fun for all.  Get your group together for a great time, or come to meet new friends.

Here is the official flyer

Outdoor Warning Siren

Thursday, 04 August 2011 15:57

The Emergency Management departments in Boone, Kenton and Campbell Counties maintain OUTDOOR Warning Siren systems for their respective jurisdictions.  These systems are only intended to alert persons involved in outdoor activities.  The systems are not designed to provide an audible alert for those persons indoors.  The purpose is to TAKE COVER, TUNE IN to local TV or radio to become informed and then TAKE ACTION for their safety based on this information.

To ensure receipt of severe weather watches and warnings, every occupancy should have a Weather Radio with a tone alert and battery backup that will broadcast alerts directly from the National Weather Service (NWS) over their NOAA Weather Radio broadcast system.  NOAA Weather Radios with tone alert capability can remain on and silent until the National Weather Service activates the system.  The weather radio then sounds an alarm and gives immediate information.  NOAA Weather Radios are available at most retail electronic stores.  Improvements in technology allow for the purchase of weather radios with S.A.M.E. (Specific Area Message Encoding).  S.A.M.E. weather radios can be programmed by the user to limit the alerts received to only the county or counties of interest to them.

Effective immediately the Outdoor Warning Sirens in Boone, Campbell and Kenton Counties will be only be activated for severe weather when a TORNADO WARNING has issued by the National Weather Service or a funnel cloud or tornado has been sighted by a local public safety official.  When a Tornado Warning is issued the outdoor warning sirens will sound for five (5) minutes.

Testing for the outdoor warning sirens will continue to be the on the first Wednesday of each month, at 12:00 p.m.  The tests are not conducted when there is the possibility of severe weather on that day.

Each County will retain the discretion to activate their Outdoor Warning Sirens for other significant emergencies (i.e. hazardous materials incident or enemy attack).

Whenever sirens sound citizens should TAKE COVER, TUNE IN to local TV or radio for emergency information and then TAKE ACTION for their safety based on the information received.

Citizens are also reminded that Outdoor Warning Sirens are not used to give an “ALL CLEAR” signal.  This information can be obtained from local TV and radio.  Repeated sounding of the sirens indicates additional warnings are being issued.  Lastly, Please DO NOT call 911 to inquire why the sirens are going off.  This can prevent true emergency calls from being answered.

JOINT MEDIA RELEASE
Campbell County Office of Emergency Management
Boone County Emergency Management
Kenton County Homeland Security/Emergency Management

For more information contact:
William R. Turner, Campbell County EM Director 859-635-1111
Mark E. Ihrig, Boone County EM Director 859-334-2279
Steve Hensley, Kenton County HS/EM Director 859-392-1488