Mercy One Crew Conducts Sheridan EMS Training

The Mercy One Crew came to Sheridan Thursday evening to conduct a training for local EMS crews on how to work with each other during an emergency and to facilitate communication. The pilot is Marty Iske, an Army veteran of 14 years; of those 14 years, 10 of them were spent flying a Black Hawk. He said that when he left the Army, his present job opened up and it worked out perfectly for him since he is from Clarinda. Other members of the crew were Wes Skarda, Flight Nurse and A. Qualseth, Paramedic.

Skarda said that the main two things they wanted to know when going into a situation were the weight of the person and where they were headed. Iske said that he wanted to know where any obstacles were in the landing area such as trees, buildings, and power lines. "Just get us to a safe landing zone," said Skarden. Once they get the call, it takes them 5-10 minutes in optimal conditions to get off the ground safely and another 15 minutes to get from Clarinda to Sheridan. It could be 10 minutes more in the event of bad weather.

Iske had never been to Sheridan before a few weeks ago; however, his Army training helped him as he knew where Hopkins was and he knew to follow 246. One paradox is that it is easier to find a scene during the night; he said that during a clear night, he can see the scene once they get airborne at 2,000 feet. It is more of a challenge during daytime.

Contrary to popular belief, the strangers hanging around with Fire Chief Butch Thomas were not SWAT team members trying to protect everyone during the drama of the prisoner escape. Instead, it was the Mercy One crew members picking out a landing site for Thursday night's meeting. Mercy One crew members are not First Responders; it is the job of the local EMS crews to get the victims stabilized and onto cots so that they can be transported. From Sheridan, Mercy One typically goes to St. Joseph since it is closer; however, they can go to Des Monies as well.

One of the most important things in life flight rescue situations is crowd control. Either one of the crew members or a Fire Department member stands near the helicopter to make sure that people stay away from the back of the helicopter. The rudder can hit someone and cause death or serious physical injury if someone gets too close while the craft is running. "Don't worry about equipment falling off; your only job is to keep people away from the back of the helicopter," said Skarda. He said that on occasion, he has had to tackle someone who had gotten too close to the craft. They don't mind people watching; however, they ask that people stay away from the craft. If a piece of EMS-owned equipment winds up at the hospital in St. Joseph or Des Moines, one of the jobs of the crew members during rainy days is to sort through it and mail it back to people on days in which there is nothing else to do.

Qualseth said that they were partners with the local crews. He said that there was no need for people to scatter too far, although people should stay at least 100 feet away from the craft for their own safety. The job of crews is to keep working even as the craft arrives. "We'll work around any situation we encounter," he said. When they arrive, the Mercy One crew will figure out what happened and conduct a head to toe assessment of the victims. They will ask for people with different skills to help. Sometimes, all they need is for someone to do light tasks for them like open packages so that they can concentrate on their work. The job of the EMS and the Mercy One crew is to stabilize the victim so that they can be transported to the hospital.

Skarda said that it was better to pull the trigger too quickly on calling the Mercy One crew instead of waiting until it was too late. He said that in that event, the only thing they lost was the fuel on the craft. It is routine for them to get a call and then halfway there, find out that the situation was not as serious as initially believed.

Crew members showed EMS personnel how to help load a patient on the craft. The craft is running at that point as the pilot wants to take off as fast as possible in order to get the patient to the hospital; therefore, it is not possible to communicate verbally due to the noise of the craft. In that event, it is essential for the crew members to communicate with taps and hand signals and for local EMS crews to understand those signals.

One of the questions the crew got was on transporting people who weighed a lot. They actually turn down more patients for being too big than being overweight. The crew is licensed to fly with so much weight; if they have to, they can fly around until they've used up enough fuel so that they can fit the patient into the craft. The only time they have had to turn someone away for weight was on an occasion when a victim weighed around 400 pounds. They have flown people close to 300 pounds. On the other hand, if they fly someone who is too big, their feet will be on the pilot's controls, which creates a hazard to the entire crew. "We don't blindly turn anyone away; we come to the scene and we try to make it work," said Iske.

Tornado Spotter Training in Worth County

Worth County will have tornado spotter training at the Worth County Fairgrounds Building March 29th at 6:00 p.m. The program is different every year and everyone is welcome. The training is for the general firefighters as well as the firefighters.

KCP&L OFFERS TIPS FOR WEATHERING SPRING STORMS

Spring storm season is upon us, and customers in KCP&L’s service territory have already endured a few early spring storms. KCP&L wants to help its customers be prepared for storm season. In the Midwest, severe storms are most likely to occur April though July.

Customers can take several steps to prepare themselves and their homes for a storm. A few tips include:

• Compile a list of emergency phone numbers; include 1-888-LIGHTKC (1-888-544-4852) for reporting an outage to KCP&L. Customers’ phone calls are the best way for KCP&L to know they are without power and they allow the company to better determine the full extent of damage in their neighborhood.
• Assemble a storm kit that contains a battery-powered radio or TV, flashlights, blankets and other essential items. Keep it centrally located, and ensure all family members know where to find it.
• Register with KCP&L as a Medical Customer by calling (816) 471-5275 if you are homebound and rely on medical- or life-support equipment that isn’t supported by back-up power supplies. KCP&L wants to remind those who are already registered as Medical Customers that the program requires an annual enrollment process. For more information visit www.kcpl.com/residential/medicalcust.html.
• Enroll in KCP&L’s Meter-based Surge Protection program to safe-guard sensitive computer and electronic equipment. More information about Surge Protection is available at www.kcplsave.com/residential.

When a storm threatens in your area, keep the local news on for weather updates. After a storm, stay clear of downed power lines. If the lines are on the ground, they may be energized and deadly. Contact KCP&L immediately to report a power outage or downed power lines.

If the power is out at your home, disconnect or shut off appliances that will automatically come on when the power is restored such as a washer or dryer, air conditioner and television. If all appliances come on at once, it may overload the circuits.

When inclement weather, such as thunderstorms, arrives, significant damage to the KCP&L electrical system may occur. KCP&L has also taken steps to prepare the utility for the spring storm season.

“KCP&L recently reviewed its storm restoration plan and emergency response plan in preparation for the upcoming storm season,” said Bill Herdegen, KCP&L vice president of Transmission & Distribution. “Before storm season hits, KCP&L takes several preventative measures such as trimming trees near power lines, examining our transmission lines and patrolling to ensure equipment is maintained and functioning properly.”

During an outage, KCP&L does everything possible to quickly and safely restore power. The electric utility is a leader in the Midwest for storm response and is recognized nationally for system reliability. In fact, KCP&L recently received PA Consulting Group’s 2009 Plains Region ReliabilityOne award, for the third consecutive year. The award recognized KCP&L as a national leader in delivering reliable electric service to its customers. Also in 2009, KCP&L received Edison Electric Institute’s Emergency Assistance Award for providing outstanding assistance to fellow utilities impacted by disaster events.

For the most up-to-date information about power outages and restoration, view our real-time PowerWatch map at www.kcpl.com.

Sheridan Holds Initial Strategic Plan Meeting

Arnie Kreek of the Northwest Missouri Regional Council of Governments led the initial Strategic Plan Meeting for Sheridan with over ten community leaders and guided them through a brainstorming session about the town’s strengths and weaknesses Monday. His main point was that when communities plan, they would be in a better position to deal with changes rather than simply reacting to random events. He said that when towns do a strategic plan, they would be able to filter out unnecessary work that did not fit into the plan.
The first exercise he led the participants in was to develop a mission statement, which he said give an ongoing guide to the city without the limitations of a time frame. "In other words, how do we define our community?" asked Economic Developer Charity Austin, present at the meeting. Tim Brogan said that it was a matter of what the town can be, and Dave Thomas said that a good mission statement would also teach youth lessons, such as about citizenship, for instance.
The group agreed to meet for each of the next four weeks to discuss each of the areas of focus. Participants agreed to focus on physical appearance, parks and recreation, public services, and community development. The first two meetings were set for August 25th and September 8th at Sheridan City Hall at 6:00 p.m.; all Strategic Plan meetings are open to the public. Participants encouraged people who were not present to attend one of the upcoming meetings. Each of the participants will work on a possible mission statement for the town. After each of the four meetings are over, Kreek will meet again with the participants to work on the mission statement for the community and discuss the results of the brainstorming sessions.
Thomas said that it was important for towns to give the youth some structure; he has led hunter educations classes in the area and is starting an Archery in Schools program for the Worth County School this year. Candy Martin pointed to the Roxy Theater as an example of something that can be accomplished when communities work together. "Just because we don’t have thing doesn’t mean we can’t have them," added Austin.
Among some of the cultural aspects of the community, Jeff Blaine said that the town had a cowboy culture, pointing to the success of the annual Mud Run. Austin said that there was interest in restarting the Little Dinner Theater. Brogan said that he was worried that the history of the town was being lost, and Thomas added that most people didn’t even know about the significance of the Grist Mill in the park.
Turning to public services, Butch Thomas, who serves on the Emergency Services Board, said that the target date for starting the Enhanced 911 service for the county was April. Kreek said that another issue to consider was the Hazardous Mitigation Plan that the Regional Council was developing for the area. In local terms, for instance, how does the City of Sheridan react to reduce the threat of disaster, such as a tornado, another ice storm, or a chemical truck turning over? Or, how does the city react to special needs people who are on oxygen in the event of an extended outage?
The next topic was community development; Thomas noted that when he was young, there was a store, a gas station, and a restaurant in Denver; now, "you can’t even buy a can of pop there." In other exercise, Kreek had participants lay out strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats to the community. Kreek will then categorize them and they will be brought up at the upcoming meetings. Some aspects are already being addressed; for instance, Thomas and Austin are part of the Sheridan Park Restoration Fund, which is seeking to purchase a Noah’s Ark for the park.
Blaine said that it was important for the mayor and council to back the plans; "or this will all be for nought." Mayor Bud Allee said that it was a matter of figuring out where the money was going to come from. Austin said that previous plans have been effective for the community; for instance, 85% of the goals set forth in the 1999 Strategic Plan for Grant City were accomplished, including the Dollar Store and the Gunstock Factory.

SEMA Announces Disaster Donation System

SEMA today announces Missouri has become the fifth state to use a new donations management system, AidMatrix. AidMatrix is a web based program used to register, track, and link undesignated and unsolicited donated goods and services. This new program was launched with a grant from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).
"Anyone wishing to make a donation to the disaster response in Missouri can go to SEMA’s home page at: http://sema.dps.mo.gov and click on the link to Donations for Missouri Flood Response. Citizens or businesses can donate to either the immediate flood response or to long term recovery efforts in Missouri. This software allows Missouri receive donations from all over the country and the world. The donor can track the items and make sure they are delivered to a specific community in a timely manner," Ron M. Reynolds, SEMA Director said.
Reynolds noted that Missouri’s 211 system was able to use AidMatrix to match a donation with community during the recent March/April flooding in Southern Missouri.
"Currently, cash donations are urgently needed for long term recover services for flooding victims," said Dante Gliniecki, SEMA Statewide Volunteer Coordinator.
The AidMatrix Network can manage donated goods, and cash donations. Eventually, it will also help match volunteer capabilities to communities. For example, it will be able to match a transportation company volunteering to transport donated goods to a specific community.
The donor can log onto Missouri’s Donations website to make a donation offer and within minutes their donation offer will be acted upon. These donations may take the form of goods, services and cash. This summer the volunteer component will allow those willing to volunteer their time to also log onto the website to volunteer.
Local governments and volunteer agencies can log onto the system to accept a donation, arrange transportation and have it delivered directly to the location where most needed. Also, the AidMatrix software allows local governments and volunteer agencies to post items needed from the public.