Local News
County’s new sirens will get first test
CLINTON — Less than a year and a half after a meeting was held in Grand Mound to determine if there was a need and desire to pursue the purchase of outdoor warning sirens for Clinton County, the siren system is complete and will be tested for the first time Tuesday, Jan. 5.
The purpose of the sirens is to alert citizens who are outdoors to a dangerous situation. When the sirens sound, it means that you are to go indoors, turn on your radio or television and find out what actions need to be taken to protect yourself and your family.
The sirens are designed to give warnings outdoors. For indoor warnings, citizens should consider purchasing a NOAA weather radio.
The siren system will always be tested on the first Tuesday of the month at 10 am.
This project was accomplished through a partnership between all of the cities in Clinton County, the County Board of Supervisors, and the Clinton County Emergency Management Commission. Sirens were placed in Andover, Bryant, Calamus, Charlotte, four in DeWitt, Delmar, Elwood, Goose Lake, Grand Mound, Lost Nation, Low Moor, Teeds Grove, Toronto, Welton and Wheatland.
The turnkey system was installed by RCSystems, a radio communications company based in Waterloo and Cedar Rapids. All of the sirens are American Signal, TempestTM T-128 outdoor warning sirens. All are equipped with battery backup so that they are still operational in the case of a power failure.
Some of the funding for the sirens was obtained through the USDA Rural Development Grant and a Community Disaster Grant from the State of Iowa following the storms and floods of 2008. The sirens will be maintained by the Emergency Management Agency and operated by Clinton County Communications. All of the communicators staff members were recently trained on the system by Rick Claasen of RCSystems.
Rick Laurion, the Clinton County Building maintenance coordinator, and Ed Reuter, a Maintenance II worker with the county, have recently received training at the American Signal facility in Wisconsin in preparation for their duties. The individual cities have agreed to provide power to the sirens that are in their communities.
Any questions can be directed to emergencymanagement@clintoncounty-ia.gov or 242-5712. It should be noted that the siren system that covers Clinton, Camanche, Folletts, and Elvira will be undergoing changes as of Jan. 5 also. This system is owned and maintained by Exelon Nuclear and is separate from the new countywide system.
- Local News
-
-
Police seek 3rd robbery suspect
Police are seeking a third individual for questioning about her involvement in a bank robbery Thursday afternoon in Andrew.
-
Culver: It’s all about jobs
With less than two months before the Nov. 2 election, Iowa Democrats came out in full force this weekend to kick start their fall campaigns.
-
Dad charged in boy’s death dies of natural causes
A 32-year-old man facing charges in connection with the death of his 4-year-old son has died.
-
MEET YOUR NEIGHBOR: Bob Krajnovich helps with Labor Congress picnic
Bob Krajnovich, 66, of Clinton, has been a “union man” all of his life and is a member of the Clinton Labor Congress.
-
Police arrest three in prescription drug sales sting
Clinton police have arrested a DeWitt man, a Cedar County woman and her son on felony drug charges for allegedly working together to sell prescription drugs.
-
Police release description of bank robbery suspects
Police are seeking two men they say robbed a bank in Andover before fleeing in an SUV Thursday afternoon.
-
Sewer rate freeze, burn ban on committee agenda
A citizen-led push for a sewer rate freeze for seniors and disabled Clinton residents on a fixed income will be taken up by a city committee.
-
Dorms to replace Frontier
The Best Western Frontier Inn will be closing its doors to the public, if a purchase agreement between its owners and Ashford University goes through at the end of the month.
-
Armed robbery reported at bank
Police are reporting two men committed an armed robbery Thursday afternoon at a Maquoketa State Bank branch in Andrew.
-
Child injured after being struck by car
A 6-year-old received minor injuries after darting into traffic last week and striking a car on North Third Street.
- More Local News Headlines
-
Police seek 3rd robbery suspect
