School and emergency personnel to take training

A number of school employees, and personnel from other agencies, plan on spending a week-long training session at the FEMA Emergency Management Institute in Emmitsburg, Maryland, beginning the first week in March, Superintendent Paul Turner advised the Grand Coulee Dam School District board Monday night.

The plan, Turner said Tuesday, “is to get the same training for all the emergency responders that we depend on in this area so everyone is on the same page.”

Going from the school district in addition to Turner are Lisa Lakin, elementary principal; Randy Bowman from maintenance; Stephanie Duclos, from bus services; and Tammy Norris, secretary.

Randy Russell, from the Colville Tribes; Rick Parris, volunteer fire chief from Grand Coulee; and Dale Carriere, from the Bureau of Reclamation fire department, will also all attend.

The Institute will host a number of school districts from across the country in an effort to develop all the necessary response needed in any case of emergency.

Turner said that the district has finished with its scheduled drills for the year, and the specialized training will be an added boost to the effectiveness of responders.