NCORP and Manchester College help focus emergency preparedness and response | 10.18.2006 | 07:55:11 | Views: 6376 | ID: October 18 '06: Local responder officials, private sector crisis management chiefs and members of private organizations and the religious community gathered in Indiana to discuss emergency response, preparedness and management during a Crisis Response Summit co-hosted by the National Council on Readiness and Preparedness and Manchester College in Indiana on Monday. The Crisis Response Summit is part of a larger, national campaign sponsored by NCORP which focuses on the ability of communities to respond and prepare for an emergency, whether man made or natural. The Manchester College's website, reported that the "North Manchester summit will demonstrate how local government can partner with the private and community sectors to multiply responder capability." The Journal and Gazette in Fort Wayne, Indiana reported at the summit that two three-member panels helped to focus the discussion on community response using already-existing private sector and government channels to communicate and prepare communities. The first panel "included Bishop Brice Bedke of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints in Huntington, Huntington County public health coordinator David Ross and John Nowalan with the Northeast Indiana Chapter of the American Red Cross. ... The second panel included North Manchester Town Manager Dan Hanaford, Huntington County Emergency Management Director Brandon Taylor and Bruce Menshy of Raytheon." One example given by Bishop Bedke during the summit explained that members of his congregation "who come from a 65-square-mile area, are divided into 'communities' with a leader trained to operate a Ham radio. ... Each community also has specialists - focusing on water, food, shelter and other necessities," the Journal Gazette reported. WANE News Channel 15 quoted Huntington County Emergency Management Director Brandon Taylor, "People just need to learn to take care of themselves for 72 hours. Food shelter, and stuff like that, plan, family disaster plans. ... A lot of people don't even think about it. They don't have 72 hour kits." Taylor also said, according to the Journal Gazette, that he is working "to compile a resource list of equipment, supplies and expertise available within Huntington County business community, as well as securing that information from other nearby communities." After the summit, James Gilmore, the former governor of Virginia and the Chairman of NCORP spoke the the student body at Manchester about personal preparedness and emergency response, national security and civil liberties. A question and answer session followed.
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