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| High School Hosts Safety Summit |
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| News - Osawatomie | |||
| Written by Travis Perry | |||
| Tuesday, 10 November 2009 08:00 | |||
Gary French is planning for the worst. No one ever wants a disaster to hit a school, but it’s a possibility that the Osawatomie USD 367 superintendent knows could come at any time.  “We’re not trained to deal with some of the things we need to deal with,” French said, noting that with students and employees, the district’s four buildings house roughly 28 percent of the town’s population each weekday “We’re not bragging about that; it’s just the way it is. If something bad is going to happen in Osawatomie, it’s very likely it’s going to happen under one of those four roofs.” It is because of this scenario that French invited city leaders and area emergency personnel to a Safe School Summit last week at Osawatomie High School. The event was made possible by a $1,000 grant the district received. Maintaining a safe environment, preventing drug and alcohol use and abuse, administering background checks, handling bomb threats and managing food security are just a few of the unknowns the district faces, French told the crowd of more than 100 people at the summit Thursday. “These are things we deal with every day,” he said. The vast majority of USD 367 staff members are only trained to deal with teaching students, he said. “We’re not nervous, we’re scared, and when we need help, we need help.” French said this is where city and county leaders and emergency crews come into play. Several representatives from entities across Osawatomie and Miami County introduced themselves to the audience, explaining who they are, what their organization does and in general who handles what in an emergency situation. Among those who spoke Thursday was Miami County Sheriff Frank Kelly. While the focus of the event was on school security, Kelly and many other speakers, pointed to the cooperation emergency crews showed during the 2007 flood as evidence that the School Safety Summit was a continuation of collaboration among different organizations. Kelly praised the summit, saying it should be implemented in every school district in the area. “I think this is not just a great start for this district, but Paola should be doing it, Louisburg and Spring Hill should be doing it — everyone in the country,” Kelly said. Jason Jenkins, Miami County Emergency Services chief, and DuWayne Tewes, Osawatomie Police Department lieutenant and chief of the Osawatomie Fire Department, also took time to detail the duties of their departments. They even informed the audience of some of the lesser-known services they offer. Specifically, Tewes touched on the fact the fire department is responsible for all water rescues in Miami County, which he joked shouldn’t be necessary in the OHS gym, where the summit was conducted. “If we’re doing water rescue in the gym, we’re having a very bad day,” Tewes said. In addition to first-response crews, several county administrators — including Elizabeth Sweeney-Reeder with the Miami County attorney’s office and State Fire Marshal Brian Love — detailed the roles they play before and after a disaster. “You’ve got to step out of your comfort zone and learn how to have a bad day,” Love said about the proactive policies enforced by the fire marshal’s office. “We must remember that the fire prevention methods were not installed for a good day at school.”
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