County’s emergency software tested during fair
Since the Phillips County Fair is a multiday event with a huge turnout and involvement of numerous different agencies, the Office of Emergency Management took advantage of the opportunity to run an exercise with its Salamander accountability software.
In all, 65 people from 16 different agencies, including medical staff and fire and police departments, participated over the five-day exercise. Using the software allows the County to track employees and volunteers responding to an incident, emergency manager Bob Heldenbrand explained.
At the end of the exercise — or a real-life emergency — reports can be quickly and easily generated outlining personnel, hours, equipment and the associated dollar value of all that went into the response.
Salamander is still relatively new to Phillips County, and the process of credentialing emergency responders and City and County employees is ongoing. Heldenbrand estimated that about 80% are already in the system. Equipment is also to be entered, and that progress is at about 30%.
The State of Colorado estimates that counties across the state are about 10%-20% complete, Heldenbrand said, so Phillips County is at the forefront of the efforts. He’s been pleased to see great buy-in from local agencies as Salamander has been implemented.
He was also grateful for the opportunity to run the exercise at the fair for large-scale practice. In the past, he’s used Salamander for the bomb cyclones, but that involved only about 20 people. For a larger event, such as the March 2017 fire, many more people are involved. The County did not have Salamander at that time, and Heldenbrand said it took two weeks to attempt to track time and resources put into the response. Now with Salamander, tracking is instantaneous.
Before the fair, the County also installed the brand wall, Heginbotham Trust Annex and temporary donor wall in the pavilion and the sign at the front entry of the fairgrounds, the Phillips County Board of Commissioners reported at its July 31 meeting. Commissioners also reported that the fairgrounds RV park has been fully utilized by harvesters and fair participants.
Commissioners encourage voicing transportation concerns
This summer, Colorado Department of Transportation is taking a fresh look at its investment priorities and is asking people from across Colorado for their thoughts on transportation.
Phillips County commissioners are urging residents to visit YourTransportationPlan.com and complete the survey. The more people from the area that do so, the better off the county will be, they said.
Extension office has 2 vacancies
Commissioners reported that the local Colorado State University Extension office will soon have two vacancies to fill. One is for the position of Phillips County Extension agent, which was held by Tracy Trumper until July 29. The other is the 4-H coordinator position held by Kindra Plumb, who will be leaving Aug. 30.
Other business
In other business during the month of July, Phillips County:
— Had the landfill’s compactor repaired, and it is back in service.
— Hosted a 4-H horse clinic July 13 at the pavilion.
— Hired Anabel Figueroa and Johnathan Hicks as part-time employees, custodial and maintenance for the fair.
— Approved a 3-acre subdivision exemption from Bryan and Tami Wilkening to Twisted T Trucking LLC 5 miles south and 5 miles east of Holyoke.