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March 16, 2006

New warning sirens to be installed

By Bob Gibbins, Press Staff Writer

Local emergency management officials are working with a company today to install two new outdoor warning sirens.

Gary Dotson, Tahlequah-Cherokee County Emergency Management director, said much of this morning would be spent putting the equipment on the poles, which will be set in place this afternoon. One will be erected near Moccasin and Pendleton for close proximity to Tahlequah Junior High and Tahlequah High School, and the second will be in Wheeler Addition on the northeast side of the city.

“We hope the new sirens will greatly enhance our capabilities to warn people in the event of an emergency weather situation,” he said. “These are being put in areas where we have little or no coverage.”

Other sirens are on West Fourth Street, Grand Avenue near Doc Wadley Stadium, South Muskogee Avenue, and at Ross and the Bertha Parker Bypass.

The Daily Press received a call Tuesday afternoon from a man asking why warning sirens weren’t sounded when the National Weather Service put Cherokee County under a tornado warning Sunday night. Dotson said Hulbert officials are responsible for sounding that siren, and he or a designee sound the sirens in Tahlequah.

“Neither the city of Tahlequah nor the town of Hulbert were ever in danger as a result of the tornado warning,” Dotson said. “That’s why the sirens weren’t sounded.”

Dotson said the sirens can be activated from the Emergency Operations Center or emergency management vehicles. The range is such that people in the paths of the storm would not be able to hear the sirens.

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The use of cell phones while driving is increasingly becoming an issue. What do you think about cell phone use by emergency personnel, like law enforcement officers, EMTs, firemen, etc.?

• If the law allows the common citizen to use cell phones while driving, emergency personnel should be able to also.
• Emergency personnel should be held to a higher standard. Since they are often driving faster than normal, they should not be allowed to use cell phones while driving, even if other citizens can.
• They should be allowed to use them like anyone else, but their host entities (hospitals, fire departments, cities, etc.) should carry extra insurance for this reason.
• Don't know.
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