Minooka welcomes first disaster response volunteers
By Kris Stadalsky Correspondent November 30, 2012 8:36AM
Updated: December 1, 2012 5:46PM
The village of Minooka graduated Grundy County’s first Community Emergency Response Team on Nov. 17. Twelve of the 14 graduates came together again last week to be introduced to village trustees.
“Being the first class in Grundy County is something to be proud of,” said Minooka Police Chief Justin Meyers.
CERT members were trained in multiple emergency areas so they can assist first responders during an emergency. Along with the village’s Emergency Management Agency, team members are ready for disasters such as flooding that happened on the East Coast from Hurricane Sandy as well as the tornado that hit Plainfield in 1990, Meyer said.
“A lot of volunteers helped (during those disasters),” he said. “First responders need that help as well.”
The training program was a joint effort between the Minooka Police Department and Minooka Fire Protection District, with the assistance from the Will County EMA.
Some of the qualification exercises included search and rescue, fire safety, disaster response skills, triage psychology and basic first aid, said Community Policing Officer Denis Tatgenhorst, who also graduated from the program.
The final exam included a written test and a simulated plane crash scenario.
The county’s first CERT members are Ginger Apa, Barbara Bush, Carl Bush, Roberta Dettman, Ray Dilday, Christine Dunworth, Jim Ferencak, Sandra Gross, John Knapp, John M. Roche Jr., Andrea Stille, Ken Stille, Denis Tatgenhorst and Jermaine Williamson.
Animal control pact
A new contract with Grundy County for animal control services will save the village of Minooka $30 a month over the previous agreement, at an annual fee of $6,316.
The village has one problem with the agreement, said Village Administrator Dan Duffy. Somewhere in a previous year the agreement stopped providing for out-of-county service for village residents who reside in Will or Kendall counties.
Board members agreed they would like to include service to those areas on an as-needed basis and would pay for it over and above the contract amount.
Duffy is negotiating with Grundy County Board Chairman Ron Severson on the issue.
The board unanimously passed the agreement pending approval of out-of-county service.
In other action, the board:
Amended its budget to include $20,000 to participate in the Brisbin Road transportation study with Grundy County.
Approved a contract with Robinson Engineering LTD for design of the Minooka Road/Interstate 80 water main and sanitary sewer forced main relocation, at a cost not to exceed $38,625.
Approved purchase a 2013 580 Backhoe at a cost of $82,360.
