August 21, 2019

Volunteers needed to prepare for the next disaster

Volunteers needed to prepare for the next disaster

By Ashleigh Plemper
Farmer Staff Writer

No one knows better than Karolin Jappe, McKenzie County Emergency manager, how important it is to have a group of trained volunteers ready to spring into action following a disaster.
And that was never more evident to Jappe than when she says that she watched people come together after an EF2 tornado packing 127 mph winds along with heavy rain and hail tore through the Prairie View RV Park on July 10, 2018. That tornado, which completely destroyed nearly 100 trailers and sent dozens more tumbling like tumbleweeds, resulted in 25 injuries and the death of an infant.
The memories of that tornado and the lack of trained volunteers is why Jappe is now beginning to offer CERT (Community Emergency Response Team) training courses monthly. The first course will be offered from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. and 6 to 7:30 p.m. on Wednesday, Aug. 21, at the McKenzie County Courthouse.
“I’m going to host two classes so that people who work during the day can come at night,” says Jappe. “This is the 21st century. I think back to 1958 when we lost the last child to a school fire. And why is that? Because we started fire drills.”

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