CERT VOLUNTEERS MAKING A DIFFERENCE IN THEIR COMMUNITIES!
Adam Hutton, Olathe Daily News

If Homeland Security Undersecretary Michael Brown had the power to do anything to get more Americans to volunteer for Community Emergency Response Team training, he said he would clone Olathe's Rita Hoffman.

Hoffman, Olathe's emergency management coordinator, stood with about 40 emergency response volunteers when Brown visited Olathe Thursday to announce that President Bush's budget will include $19 million to support Community Emergency Response Training (CERT) programs.

Brown said he chose to announce the financial backing for volunteer training in Olathe because the city's program was "incredibly good."  To elaborate, Brown said it was "a perfect example of how CERT works in disaster response and preparedness" when Hoffman helped lead a team of about 100 local volunteers to clear debris after tornadoes tore through the area earlier this month.

"I've never been so proud as I was of these people on those days," Hoffman said of the volunteers who attended the press conference Thursday. "We've seen the program come from a dream to a reality, and we have the vision to take CERT, run with it and do more. And we will because we work together."

Brown also praised the efforts of the volunteers who cleaned up after the storms that caused "overwhelming destruction" in Wyandotte County. The undersecretary said he toured the disaster area about three weeks ago, shortly after recovery had begun and again Thursday morning. The difference, he said, was "amazing."

"I believe, as President Bush believes, that we will win the war on terrorism," Brown told the volunteers. "We will never win the war against Mother Nature, but we can mitigate the impact mother nature can have through people like you. God bless you for everything you do."

Brown acknowledged that $19 million split 50 ways to the states, then further dispersed to local governments, doesn't seem like a lot of money. However, Brown said, the "most efficient and effective use of federal money" is applied to help local police, fire and emergency response departments meet needs at the community level.

After the press conference, Brown said he thought Kansas communities likely would compete for about a quarter of a million dollars for emergency training.

Fire Chief George Bentley, director of Olathe emergency management, thanked Brown, saying the city's work in training civilians to respond when disaster strikes wouldn't be possible without federal money.

About 350 people have been trained through the city's CERT program since its inception in March 2001. Volunteers learn skills such as how to put out different kinds of fire, simple emergency medical procedures, search and rescue tactics and crisis counseling.

The next training course will run from 7 to 9:30 p.m. beginning June 12 and every Thursday night thereafter, excluding July 3, through Aug. 14. Volunteers interested in participating in the training, who can make the nine-week commitment, should send an e-mail to rhoffman@olatheks.org to request a registration form.

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