Page 4 THE VILLADOM TIMES III • March 4, 2009 Saddle River The New Jersey State Police Office of Emergency Management recently conducted a two-day Multi-Hazards Emergency Planning for Schools seminar at the Law & Public Safety Institute in Mahwah. The introduction and course overview was given by Lieutenant Kevin Fowler, NJSP/OEM North Region Supervisor, who is also a Ramsey resident. “I believe that the program we have developed to assist each and every one of you in responding to a variety of school emergencies, from violent incidents, weather-related problems, severe health issues and other life and propertythreatening scenarios is solid and realistic,” Lt. Fowler stated, “And as the parent of three children in the Ramsey School system, I am proud to offer this type of training.” Educators, police superior officers, and public safety department officials from Ramsey and Saddle River split into small groups of each agency and developed contingency plans, tested them through table-top exercises, and then critiqued their responses and the resolutions to the various crises. The Incident Command System, in which a command post is established and all operations are initiated, was tested repeatedly to ensure all departments were on the same page. Participants in the two day training session included: Anthony Kemps, administrative assistant, Ramsey Board of Education; Ramsey High School Principal Richard Lio; Eric Smith School Principal Richard Wiener and Vice Principal Kari Scimanico; Dater School Principal Michael Gratale; Hubbard School Principal Molly Dinning; Tisdale School Principal Susan Morton; Karen Kurtz, Saint Paul R.C. School senior teacher; Wandell School Vice Principal Robert Schoendorf; and Kenneth Flug, Saddle River Day School administrator. Also in attendance were Captain Raymond Bailey, Lieutenant Robert Hennessy, Lieutenant David Stitz, Sergeant Brian Lyman, Sergeant Kevin Cherven, and Patrolman and DARE Officer Timothy Shoemaker, Ramsey Police Department; Lieutenant Timothy Haruthunian and Detec- State Police seminar benefits Ramsey, Saddle River Officials from Ramsey and Saddle River who attended the emergency planning seminar. tive and School Resource Officer Timothy Gerity, Saddle River Police Department. OEM Coordinator Michael Adams, Deputy OEM Coordinator Glen Karpovich, Senior Planners Ernest Larrat and Jim Keeney, Ramsey Emergency Management; Chief Jonathan Krehel and Captain Eamon Daul, Ramsey Rescue Squad; Deputy Chief Michael Migliaccio and Lieutenant Erik Bergsten, Ramsey Ambulance Corps; Assistant Chief James Dougherty and Captain Randy Sterbinsky, Ramsey Fire Department; and Richard Silvia, Saddle River Borough Fire Inspector were also involved in the training session. The intensive workshop was presented by Lt. Fowler, Sergeant Nicholas Arbolino, Sergeant Mario Sinatra and Trooper II James Dunham, New Jersey State Police OEM North Region; Michael Anderson, New Jersey State Police Recovery Bureau; and Sergeant Barry Leventhal, Bergen County Police Department Office of Emergency Management. Ramsey Mayor Christopher Botta, who attended one of the sessions, observed, “There is tremendous teamwork and a strong feeling of everyone working together, which is a trademark of those officials who lead our borough. And I would also like to point out that I have three children in the Ramsey school system.” ree f