Monroe County Citizen Corps PO Box 1508 Bloomington, IN 47402

Press Release

Date: November 28, 2006

Area volunteers get prepared for emergencies

Peggy Welch first State Representative to get CERT trained

Bloomington, IN - Monroe County volunteers are preparing for disaster, whether it’s a flood, fire, tornado, or terrorism.

On November 5, 2006, 10 more volunteers completed the 21-hour CERT course and joined Monroe County’s Community Emergency Response Team (CERT), a volunteer group trained in fire suppression, disaster medical operations, disaster psychology, light search and rescue, emergency preparedness, and terrorism, said John Hooker, Director of Monroe County Emergency Management. This is the fourth successful CERT class in Monroe County and the first to target a specific neighborhood. Georgia Schaich of the Green Acres Neighborhood Association spearheaded the efforts to get her neighborhood CERT trained.

“Monroe County has ramped up its efforts to train neighborhood CERT teams throughout our community and we hope to train 3 – 4 more neighborhood groups in 2007”, said Mark Brostoff, Chair, Monroe County Citizens Corps and CERT instructor.

This class was more unique since it included Peggy Welch, local State Representative, and Lois Sabo-Skelton, MCCSC School Board member. “We believe that Peggy was the first Indiana State Representative to complete CERT training and we know that Lois was the first school board member to be CERT trained. We were honored to have both Peggy and Lois in this training,” said Georgia Schaich, volunteer coordinator for the Monroe County Citizen Corps.

After the final class, trainees respond to a simulated disaster, Brostoff added. “I love this because it’s a way to help no matter what the situation,” he added.

In addition to Brostoff, the other CERT instructors included John Hooker, Monroe County Emergency Management Director, and firefighters with the Bloomington Township Fire Department. .

How to join

CERT training is free. Trainees must be at least 18 and live or work in Monroe County. For more information on CERT, contact John Hooker at 349-2546 or visit Monroe County Citizen Corps www.bloomington.in.us/~mccc or www.fema.gov.

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