Jamestown  (CSi)  The week of April 29th has been designated “Severe Summer Weather Awareness Week” for the State of North Dakota.  This annual event is intended to remind the public of the dangers associated with severe summer weather.  And as the weather warms up, the potential for severe summer weather will rapidly intensify.

Friday’s Wayne Byers Show on CSi Cable 2, Stutsman County Emergency Manager Jerry Bergquist said, as part of the week’s observance, on Wednesday May 1, 2019 a Tornado Drill will be held at approximately 11:15-a.m.

Local law enforcement and first responders will follow the procedures in place, as if an actual tornado warning was in effect.  The CSi Cable interrupt system, activated by the Law Enforcement Center in Jamestown will also be tested during the drill.  Warning sirens in Jamestown and Stutsman County will also be tested at that time.

He pointed out that the warning siren at Frontier Village has been replaced by a new nearby rotating siren located west of the water plant, that provides more coverage to Southwest Jamestown.

 

Jerry added, to help prepare, for severe weather, the Bismarck National Weather Service has scheduled a SKYWARN Weather Spotter Training Class for Monday, April 29th, 7:00 p.m., in the lower level of the Law Enforcement Center in Jamestown.  The class is free and open to anyone who wants to become more familiar with severe summer weather in North Dakota.

 

The approximately two-hour class will focus on recognizing and understanding the different types of severe summer weather including:  lightning, thunderstorms, down-burst winds, flash floods, hail, and tornadoes.  All of which, can cause severe property damage, personal injury, and even death.

 

Attending this class does not require an individual to become an official National Weather Service weather spotter.  If you’ve attended this class in the past, attend again.  It’s a great refresher that keeps you aware of the types of severe summer weather events in North Dakota.

 

For more information contact the Stutsman County Emergency Manager’s Office at 701-252-9093.

 

Also on our show, Jerry said, Jamestown High School’s Teen Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) Disaster Drill Exercise and Graduation will be held on Thursday May 2, 2019 at the Jamestown High School Gymnasium.

 

This spring, 95 JHS freshmen students participated in the Teen CERT program.  These students have been learning how to respond and take care of themselves, their family and their neighbors in the event of a disaster.  This hands-on course has taught students about emergency preparedness, fire safety, medical triage, disaster medical, search and rescue, disaster psychology, and terrorism by professional emergency responders from Stutsman County.

 

As the ninth year of JHS Teen CERT comes to a close, these freshmen will participate in a disaster exercise where they will be acting as the responders during a simulated bleacher collapse scenario.  This will give each of them the opportunity to utilize the skills that they have learned throughout this 6-week program.  The event will be overseen by personnel from various local emergency response agencies and school staff.  The JHS Drama students will be performing as the injured victims in the scenario.  Each of the Teen CERT students will also be presented with Certificates of Completion in a graduation ceremony.

 

Due to the number of students in the program, the classes have been separated into two groups, each with their own exercise and graduation.

 

Thursday, May 2, 2019

 

Jamestown High School Gymnasium

1509 10th St. NE, Jamestown, ND

 

Group 1:  9:01 am – 10:21 am

Group 2:  10:24 am – 11:40 am

 

For more information contact:

Kim Franklin, Assistant Emergency Manager

Stutsman County Emergency Management

(701) 252-9093

kfranklin@stutsmancounty.gov