By Joy Hampton
May 6, 2009 — A first, vital step was taken toward safer schools in Rogers County Tuesday as a joint project between Mike McElhaney of the Rogers County Sheriff’s Office and Emergency Management Director Bob Anderson produced a school mapping and emergency contact information handbook.
McElhaney and Anderson are coordinating with county schools to compile critical information and make that information available to emergency responders.
Tuesday, McElhaney passed out handbooks that are a first step in the creation of emergency response strategy and protocol. The books contained aerial maps of schools provided by the Rogers County Assessor’s Office. School buildings are labeled to simplify identification for emergency responders.
Also included in the handbooks were emergency contact numbers for police, fire and school personnel.
Sheriff Scott Walton commended McElhaney and Anderson saying that recent bomb threats at Foyil Schools brought the problem emergency responders face to the fore. Oftentimes, a school campus consists of multiple structures. Knowing where to respond can be an issue. Knowing who to contact about school problems during off hours can also be a problem.
The handbook is expected to alleviate these basic problems, but McElhaney said this is just the beginning of the process.
“We’ll eventually have schematics (of schools) for all personnel,” he said.
Schematics and evacuation plans will help schools and emergency departments follow the safest procedures to protect children and staff in the event of an emergency.
