08/31/2007

Groups get radios with GT Band grant

By VICTOR SKINNER

vskinner@record-eagle.com

LELAND — Patients at Leelanau County's Tender Care skilled nursing home might feel a bit safer next week.

The federally funded long-term care center in Suttons Bay will be one of 50 Leelanau County facilities or organizations to receive early-warning weather radios to improve awareness of weather-related emergencies.

"I think this is absolutely a wonderful community service. Just to have it specifically to Leelanau County is going to be a great benefit,” said Dianne English, Tendercare administrator. "When a weather pattern comes in that requires us to do things like move people to a safe area ... it takes a lot of time. So the sooner we know that something is possibly going to happen, the safer the residents are going to be.”

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration radios, known as NOAA radios, were purchased by the county with a $4,000 grant from the Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians. The $45 units will be distributed to Leelanau County day care centers, adult care homes, fire stations, government buildings and other community facilities Sept. 4, said Tom Skowronski, the county's director of emergency management.

"We chose those locations because those are facilities that normally house larger numbers of people,” Skowronski said. "It is important to get them out in the community for public safety reasons. If we can get early notification out there, people can seek shelter. Our hope is to minimize injuries from weather-related events.”

Keith Berger, meteorologist for the National Weather Service in Gaylord, said the radios emit a loud warning tone followed by crucial information on warning and watch notifications for severe thunderstorms, tornados, winter and ice storms, as well as marine hazards.

"Basically, we promote it as a 24-hour warning system. We think of it as kind of a smoke alarm,” Berger said. "It is going to wake you up in the night if there is a weather emergency.”

Berger believes the radios are about the fastest way to get information on weather-related emergencies.

"When the decision is made at the office ... it goes through our weather radio computer system that disseminates the warning,” Berger said. "I would say that whole process ... is less than 30 seconds.”

Skowronski said the county eventually plans to tap into the broadcast system to warn residents of other types of local emergencies.

"Eventually the hope is these will migrate into other service notifications such as a chemical release, an Amber Alert or other types of emergencies,” he said.