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By Jerry Curry, Staff Writer

More first responders are called out on runs today than ever before. This includes EMS, police (city or county), and fire department. They work tirelessly 24/7 365 days a year. Salem has warning sirens but not every municipality in Washington County has sirens. According to Deni Stempowski, director of Emergency Management for Washington County, making sirens available in every municipality would cost $8.3 million. On WSLM’s November 14 Coffee Club, she said each siren is only good for a 4-mile radius. The solution is CodeRED.

CodeRED is a wireless notification system that uses land and cell phones. Citizens can choose what type of notifications they would like to receive and method of delivery. The choices include weather, chemical releases, evacuation notices, missing children and street closures just to name a few. Contact may be made by text, voice or email. The calls, text or email are able to provide explicit instructions on what to do depending on the situation.

Stempowski took over as director of Emergency management in January of 2024, however, she has plenty of experience in the field. Originally from Ohio where she was on the Emergency Management team there, her background covers 40 years of experience in emergency management. One important aspect of her position is that she collaborates with all departments when it comes to planning for emergencies, and she believes CodeRED can make a large difference in how the public is notified.

One of the more attractive aspects of CodeRED is its cost. Running at only $21,625 dollars for a five-year contract with no installation cost, it is vastly cheaper than installing enough sirens to cover all municipalities. Duke Energy has already sent a partial grant to cover this expense. Donations and other grants may make this possible in 2025. The National Weather bureau can use this as well as local emergency management teams.

Also discussed was school closure notifications, which is not as simple a decision as looking out the window. Washington County is a large area; different areas may have more critical problems than other parts of the county. So, drivers are sent out to test the roads in different areas. A major problem, especially on bridges and roads that get very little sun, is black ice. Clearing the roads of snow for EMS is very important, and streets with residents with known problems are made a priority.

Checking roads has become an easy task. Simply check the Indiana travel advisory website and click on the county of interest. Another site of information is the Washington County Emergency Management Facebook page.

Finally, it is important to have the proper tools in your vehicle. Stempowski gave some examples of what your car should be equipped with. These include a flashlight, blanket, water, food, small shovel, ice scraper, battery powered radio, and plenty of fuel in the tank. Another piece of advice Stempowski gave was in regard to vehicle exhaust. While warming the car up be sure to have backed the car out of the garage enough so the deadly exhaust fumes are able to exit the house.

Screen Shot 2024 11 14 at 11.53.07 AM Deni Stempowski (Right).

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The annual Jim Smoak Concert and Open House at The Depot Railroad Museum will be Saturday, Dec. 7, from 1to 3 p.m. The museum is located at 206 S College Ave, Salem.

Jim Smoak and the Louisiana Honeydrippers will be presenting their annual concert. There will be a variety of Country, Gospel, and Bluegrass music that includes banjo picking, guitar strumming, harmonica blowing, and of course, some singing!

There will be refreshments of cookies and cider forv isitors to enjoy, as well as a chance to roam The Depot Railroad Museum and see the HO model trains in the basement!

Admission is only a monetary donation to The Depot.

The public is invited.

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Beef and dairy cattle producers are invited to attend Purdue Extension’s Calving Academy. This hands-on event will cover topics including cow restraint, calf manipulation, and triaging the neonatal calf. Dr. Bethany Funnell (DVM, DACT), clinical associate professor of bovine theriogenology at the Purdue College of Veterinary Medicine is the program instructor. Cost to attend is $50 per person. Attendance with a set of OB chains and handles is $200. Attendance with a stainless-steel bucket, cup and beta dine scrub is $150.

There are four locations to participate in a Calving Academy. The closest location to Washington County is:
Saturday, December 21, 2024 at the Feldun Purdue Ag. Center (1117 State Road 458, Bedford, IN 47421) from 1:00-4:00 pm.

Other locations include:
Saturday, December 14, 2024 at the Don Strauss Animal Center at Huntingburg University in Huntington, IN from 1:00-4:00 pm.
Saturday, January 4, 2025 at the Decatur County Extension Office (545 S. County Road 200 W., Greensburg, IN 47240) from 1:00-4:00 pm.
Saturday, January 11, 2025 at the Purina Pavilion in Creighton Hall at Purdue University (270 S. Russell St., West Lafayette, IN 47907) from 1:00-4:00 pm.

Registration is required before Thursday, December 5, 2024 via https://web.cvent.com/event/cb611d3b-9f26-4ab1-8641-861acf9df1aa/summary.

For more information contact Nick Minton at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or 765-494-8179.

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Grants totaling over $55,000.00 were awarded to non-profit organizations serving Washington County by the generous donors of the Washington County Community Foundation for the Fall 2024 grant cycle. Grants are awarded from the Foundation’s Touch Tomorrow Funds, which were established by several outstanding donors.

Washington County Helping Hands was awarded a $3455 to assist in purchasing a new HVAC system to replace the extremely outdated system at the Helping Hands House.

Dare to Care will once again be filling school pantries thanks to a $10,000 grant to provide needy students necessary nourishment.

Small Group Tutoring will be available through CAST thanks to a $7580 grant to hire six individuals to provide the tutoring to students that are struggling with reading and math.

A $10,345 grant has been awarded to Washington County Historical Society which will enable them to update technology and digitize historical documents including old newspapers, genealogical research records, and books.

Jackson Township VFD has been awarded a $13,594.71 grant to purchase rope and water rescue equipment to be used throughout Washington County and surrounding areas.

A $6,225.00 grant has been awarded to The Warming Station in order for them to receive their 501c3 nonprofit status as well as providing needed supplies to the center as well as patrons of the center.

Washington County Community Foundation is a nonprofit public charity established in 1993 to serve donors, award grants, and provide leadership to improve Washington County forever

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The Washington County Community Foundation recently presented a grant check for the Washington County Historical Society at its Annual Meeting of the Membership this past Saturday, Nov. 9.

On Oct. 22, the Washington County Historical Society was announced as one of the grantee's for the WCCF's 2024 Fall Grant Cycle. This grant awarded $10,345.00 for the Digitization Initiative, which will allow for the purchase of updated computers, laptops, scanners, archival materials, and software to begin the digitization of the incredible records stored at the Stevens Memorial Museum Genealogical Library. There is an array of bound newspapers, scrapbooks, photographs and more that will be further protected by being digitized. This will allow better access to materials when assisting visitors with genealogical research.

The historical society staff is grateful to the Washington County Community Foundation for the grant, and they are very excited to get the process underway. It is hoped the initiative will inspire the community to get involved with the digitization process. There are plans to accept new volunteers, have training sessions, and "Scan-a-thons." The community is asked to watch the group's social posts and website for more information as the project gets underway.

Kaylee Seabolt, office manager and librarian at The John Hay Center, also thanks the public and members for donations to the project.