TRUMBULL COUNTY Agencies will work on communications

All Trumbull County police and fire chiefs have been invited to attend the forum.
By PEGGY SINKOVICH
VINDICATOR TRUMBULL STAFF
WARREN -- Law enforcement agencies in the county are planning to meet and talk about ways to improve communications between departments in case of a disaster.
Trumbull County Sheriff Thomas Altiere and Chief Deputy Ernie Cook said the Trumbull County Disaster Preparedness Forum is scheduled for 10 a.m. Oct. 12 at Kent State University Trumbull Campus.
The sheriff's department has invited all county police and fire chiefs, as well as officials from the Youngstown Air Reserve Station and the Army Corps of Engineers, to attend.
A good time: Cook noted that because of the Sept. 11 terrorists attacks, officials think that it is a good time to review the county's emergency plan.
Several Trumbull County officials were unhappy with the lack of communication Sept. 11, when several commercial airlines were forced to land at Youngstown-Warren Regional Airport.
Cook said the sheriff's department wants to make sure "everyone is on the same page."
"We want to make sure that we are all in agreement to how things should be done and who should be called," he said.
Several law enforcement officials have noted that Vienna's fire chief, by state law, should have been in charge at the airport during the alert, but he was never contacted. Fire Chief Richard Brannon said he went to the airport on his own after he saw the Youngstown Bomb Squad go past his station.
Air Force One: Also, other officials said they received information that Air Force One was going to land at the airport but they couldn't reach anyone at the airport to verify that information.
"We need good communications so we can handle any type of disaster or emergency," Cook said.
He said that during the forum, Tim Gladis, 911 director; Linda Beil, Trumbull County Emergency Management director; and Altiere will talk about how county agencies should react in an emergency.
An FBI official also will speak about proper responses to emergencies, and state Sen. Tim Ryan of Niles, D-32nd, will talk about the disbursement of disaster preparedness funds.
"Senator Ryan has informed us that the federal government will be releasing monies for disaster services in the near future, and he will let us know what we should expect," Cook said.
Ryan could not be reached to comment.