TRUMBULL COUNTY Officials to prepare a plan for disaster

Residents have asked city officials if they are prepared.
By PEGGY SINKOVICH
and STEPHEN SIFF
VINDICATOR TRUMBULL STAFF
WARREN -- Top city and county officials will start preparing Monday for the event of a disaster.
Mayor Hank Angelo, the county commissioners, the county sheriff, chiefs of Warren's fire and police departments, and directors of Trumbull County's 911 center, emergency management agency and the hazardous materials team all have been asked by the commissioners' office to attend a meeting.
"It's important with what is taking place in the world that we are prepared," said Michael O'Brien, a county commissioner.
Angelo said public concern over preparedness has filtered to the mayor's office.
"We have had calls and people walk in asking about what procedure is in place," he said.
Airport: The meeting is, in part, a reaction to events at Youngstown-Warren Regional Airport on Sept. 11, when six jets were forced to land amid confusion and bomb threats. At a meeting last week called by Vickie Allen Sherlock, a Mahoning County commissioner, elected officials spoke in glowing terms about how police and public officials reacted.
Police Chief John Mandopoulos said he wanted to have the meeting Monday to discuss how they can respond better than they did Sept. 11.
"No one knew who was in charge," Mandopoulos said. "We don't want that. It's very important to have a plan and make sure everyone knows where they fit in."
He said local emergency response could be improved if there were a countywide list of police officers with special skills, like sharpshooting or knowledge of a foreign language. He said he also would like to see a plan to allow agencies to share equipment.
Office size: "I'm also very concerned that our emergency management office is in a closet-sized office in the basement of the board of health," Mandopoulos said. "We have no equipment in that office. This can't work. We need to do better."
On Thursday, a committee of local fire and police chiefs discussed with state Sen. Tim Ryan of Warren, D-32nd, what they need to do to feel prepared, and also the kinds of additional equipment they would like to have. Ryan said that billions of dollars likely will soon be passed from the federal government down to the states for distribution.
"Before we go ask for money, we need to be able to say 'This is how we would handle an event in Trumbull County,' " he said.
"Our real responsibility as leaders in a community is to protect our citizens," Ryan said. "We need to be able to do it."