The Boone County Commission and Office of Emergency Services agree for the most part that a telephone warning system designed to alert Boone residents in case of emergency is a good thing. The main sticking point continues to be, how do they fund it? Last week, however, Boone OES Director Greg Lay brought commissioners their answer. He recently discovered a grant program that will help pay for the system.

For a few years, community activists and county officials have been concerned about how to evacuate, or simply warn rural residents of Boone County in case of an emergency. With the numerous, and massive coal slurry impoundments overlooking numerous small communities, the groups felt it was necessary to be able to alert people in case of possible problems. Currently, if a small community, such as Van, or Clinton Camp was in danger from a chemical spill, flooding or from a possible mine breach, it is problematic to be able to alert the most residents in the least amount of time.

The county can use the emergency public broadcast system over television or radio, however, what if the alert happens in the middle of the night and the majority of residents are sound asleep?

The WARN system, which generally refers to a method where officials can alert homeowners by mass phone calls, can be done in a number of ways. Lay, Sheriff Rodney Miller, or another designated official can log onto an Internet site, choose a specific area in the county, type in an emergency message, and it will be sent. The system can call an entire small county in minutes.

During a June 17 meeting of commissioners, Lay told them he had been made aware of a federal grant that could conceivably fund the first year of the program, if the county commits to pick up an additional five years. Lay said the first year of a WARN based program would be the most costly, because of the start up costs involved. Start up fees for the first year would be nearly $18,000 and an $8,000 a year maintenance fee thereafter. If the county receives the grant to start this program, Lay said they would save nearly $20,000 in taxpayer funds.

County Administrator Jim Gore told CVN that commissioners are totally committed to getting a project like this one started, and are giving serious consideration to the WARN system. “We are responsible for the safety of a lot of people who live downstream from containment ponds, and near creeks and rivers that tend to flood quickly,” Gore said. “The flooding this spring shook us up a little more as to how easily we could have a disaster on our hands. The sooner we get a WARN type system up and running the better.”

In other commission news, Gore said the Day Reporting Center, located next to the courthouse, is on track for a July 1 opening date. “We’ve been wanting this center for a while now, and I’m excited about it finally getting started. It’s going to be great for the non-violent offenders they will be assisting, not to mention giving a break to the county jail bill.”