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    Thomason’s plans growth and with it, a broader distribution of its famous baked beans

    Thomason’s plans growth and with it, a broader distribution of its famous baked beans

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    WEHT/WTVW employees rally for their union

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    Good News: Habitat breaks ground on another build; future owner ‘overwhelmed with joy’

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    Pittsburg uses new construction process to build a new type of water storage tank

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    Pitching ace Kemp uses bat to send Lady Cols to state again

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    Blazing-fast broadband services now available to the majority of homes in the city and county

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    HMP&L signs initial agreement to build a battery energy storage system on South Green Street

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    The Gnomes of Audubon Forest, a Henderson Tourist Commission initiative, is a scavenger hunt for all ages

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    Executive director says this year’s arts alliance lineup gives people what they want

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    Summer Sunset Series, SummerFest ratchet up Henderson festival season this week

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    May the summer blockbuster season begin!

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    The Gnomes of Audubon Forest, a Henderson Tourist Commission initiative, is a scavenger hunt for all ages

    The Gnomes of Audubon Forest, a Henderson Tourist Commission initiative, is a scavenger hunt for all ages

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    HCHS grad Tyler Brocato currently competing in a national chef competition

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    Thomason’s plans growth and with it, a broader distribution of its famous baked beans

    Thomason’s plans growth and with it, a broader distribution of its famous baked beans

    BRIEFS: HCPL hosts Veterans Resource Fair; City High class of ’75 reunion; HPD wants help finding car thieves

    WEHT/WTVW employees rally for their union

    WEHT/WTVW employees rally for their union

    Good News: Habitat breaks ground on another build; future owner ‘overwhelmed with joy’

    Good News: Habitat breaks ground on another build; future owner ‘overwhelmed with joy’

    Pittsburg uses new construction process to build a new type of water storage tank

    Pittsburg uses new construction process to build a new type of water storage tank

    Pitching ace Kemp uses bat to send Lady Cols to state again

    Pitching ace Kemp uses bat to send Lady Cols to state again

    Trending Tags

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    Blazing-fast broadband services now available to the majority of homes in the city and county

    Blazing-fast broadband services now available to the majority of homes in the city and county

    HMP&L signs initial agreement to build a battery energy storage system on South Green Street

    HMP&L signs initial agreement to build a battery energy storage system on South Green Street

    In some parts of the U.S., the grid of the future might be closer than you think

    Trending Tags

  • Entertainment
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    • Movie
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    Henderson joins West Kentucky Film Commission with hopes of luring movie makers here

    The Gnomes of Audubon Forest, a Henderson Tourist Commission initiative, is a scavenger hunt for all ages

    The Gnomes of Audubon Forest, a Henderson Tourist Commission initiative, is a scavenger hunt for all ages

    Executive director says this year’s arts alliance lineup gives people what they want

    Executive director says this year’s arts alliance lineup gives people what they want

    2000 baseball Cols remember fondly state championship season a quarter century later

    2000 baseball Cols remember fondly state championship season a quarter century later

    Summer Sunset Series, SummerFest ratchet up Henderson festival season this week

    Summer Sunset Series, SummerFest ratchet up Henderson festival season this week

    May the summer blockbuster season begin!

    May the summer blockbuster season begin!

  • Lifestyle
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    • Fashion
    • Food
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    • Travel
    The Gnomes of Audubon Forest, a Henderson Tourist Commission initiative, is a scavenger hunt for all ages

    The Gnomes of Audubon Forest, a Henderson Tourist Commission initiative, is a scavenger hunt for all ages

    No Kentucky Home, Part 4: A missing bench comes to symbolize missing solutions to homelessness

    No Kentucky Home, Part 3: A church called its vision for housing a ‘Beacon of Hope.’ The mayor had concerns.

    No Kentucky Home, Part 2: After living outdoors for weeks, she got a place to sleep, a shower — and a job

    HCHS grad Tyler Brocato currently competing in a national chef competition

    HCHS grad Tyler Brocato currently competing in a national chef competition

    Flying through ATL this travel season? Lucky you

    Flying through ATL this travel season? Lucky you

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Henderson Emergency Management set to unveil a plan for the entire nation

Vince Tweddell by Vince Tweddell
December 9, 2023
in Local, News
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Henderson Emergency Management set to unveil a plan for the entire nation

Henderson Office of Emergency Management Director's Assistant Jill Ward inspects a document as Director Kenny Garrett looks on. (Hendersonian Photo/Vince Tweddell)

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The Henderson Office of Emergency Management, working with the National Weather Service, is ready to release a new emergency preparedness program that will be made available to all 3,000-plus counties in the country.

The goal is for the program to be introduced nationwide in early 2024, pending approval from the National Weather Service in Washington, D.C., said Kenny Garrett, the Henderson OEM director.

The program is called Weather Ready Community, and it will replace the Weather-Ready Nation program of which StormReady County is a piece, Garrett said.

Henderson has achieved the designation of a StormReady county, Garrett said.

The new program came about, Garrett said, after the deadly tornadoes that ravaged western Kentucky on Dec. 10, 202. He started to receive calls from business owners who were concerned about protecting their employees and didn’t want their buildings to get demolished like Mayfield Consumer Products, the candle factory that was flattened.

A couple months later, the deputy director for Henderson OEM, Tim Troutman, spoke with a connection of his in the Washington, D.C., office of the National Weather Service, according to Garrett. They spoke about the need to update the Weather-Ready Nation program and what that may look like—and who would create it, Garrett said.

That’s when Troutman volunteered the Henderson OEM to write the new program, according to Garrett.

The Weather Ready Community program is an initiative in which a community, with a great deal of work from emergency managers, assesses its buildings in terms of emergency preparedness.  

Assessments occur locally when Garrett, Troutman and Henderson OEM Director’s Assistant Jill Ward complete an analysis of a facility. That walk-through analysis can take an hour, or for larger facilities, more than three hours, Garrett said, adding the main point of the assessment is for a facility’s employees “to figure out the best way to protect themselves.”

Once a facility is analyzed, OEM creates a report that details the building’s needs and makes other recommendations to keep its employees safe during an emergency.

The report also points out errors in methods that the organization may already have in place, such as an unsafe location to shelter during an emergency, Garrett said.

Garrett said after a recent report was returned to a local industry, the company built a new FEMA-certified, hurricane-rated shelter to protect its 100 employees during an emergency.

The report contains the headings: Sheltering Goals, All Hazards Safety and Preparation Recommendations, Warning Reception Sources and Location Recommendations and Safety Analysis Recommendations.

After reports are created, organizations housed in those buildings are designated as Weather Ready Ambassadors, Garrett said.

Another piece of the program involves the entire community. The NWS designates communities in three different levels—bronze, silver and gold—based on the percentage of its buildings that have been assessed by emergency managers.

A bronze level is awarded to a town or community if 25% of one category of buildings have completed a facility needs assessment.

If a town or county has an assessment rate of 25% of two to five categories, it is awarded the silver ranking, and if a town or county has a 25% assessment rate of more than five categories, then it is awarded the gold rating.

The categories of buildings, as designated by FEMA, are local government, non-governmental organizations, day care facilities, schools, government buildings, non-profits, general public (residences), faith-based organizations (churches) and health care organizations (hospitals and clinics), Garrett said.

He said the more organizations that are certified as Weather Ready Ambassadors, the more the entire community is ready for emergency events.

Emergencies looked at in the assessments are more than weather-related, also including active shooter and workplace violence, Garrett said. “All hazards.”

Garrett said that Henderson County has some 2,000-3,000 organizational facilities that can be analyzed. So far, Henderson OEM has assessed about two-dozen, Garrett said.

He said the program will allow homeowners to complete an online self-assessment to receive a Weather Ready Ambassador designation.

Garrett said the initial plan for the Weather Ready Community program was drawn up on a napkin.

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Vince Tweddell

Vince Tweddell

Vince Tweddell is the founder, publisher and editor of the Hendersonian.

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