Code Red alert program to be in place by 2009

by Dolores Hamilton
By the end of the year a new program will be in place in Iowa Park that warns citizens of impending danger such as gas leaks, chemical spills, and others.

The program, called Code Red, works in reverse of 9-1-1 and allows the city to contact citizens and warn them of possible danger. Another feature in conjunction with this program is Weather Warn where residents can receive a call if their home is located within 15 minutes of an approaching thunderstorm, tornado or flood.

During a meeting Monday night, City Administrator Mike Price told the council that Wichita Falls and Burkburnett already have this program which costs $5,800 to $5,900 a year, and would be paid by the city.

“This is a great program to warn our citizens about the possibility of impending disaster,” commented Mayor Joe Ward.

Last week, Price, Police Chief Robert Johnson and Communication Supervisor Amy Schultz attended a meeting with representatives from Wichita County, Electra and the Town of Pleasant Valley to discuss participation in the program.

In addition to Code Red, the city will also join the “A Child is Missing” alert program that is free to all law enforcement agencies. This program assists in all missing cases such as children that are abducted, lost, wander-offs, or run-aways , as well as elderly (often with Alzheimer’s) and mentally challenged, college students or disabled individuals.

Schultz played a taped demonstration of a Child Warn call for the council.

The council members voted unanimously to accept the program. Price said the Code Red program should be up and going by the end of the year, and Schultz said the “Child is Missing” program will be ready to go by the end of the week.

At the beginning of the meeting Police Sergeant Sherry Fowler and Patrol Officer Josh Barnes were recognized for their efforts in obtaining funds for the hazmat trailer for the police and fire departments. “I’d like to thank the community for pulling together to make this possible,” Fowler said. Fowler and her fellow officers were also commended for their work recently following an armed robbery.

A new patrol officer, Steven Jones, was sworn in by Mayor Ward.

During a public hearing to determine if a structure on E. Pecan should be declared substandard and abated, the owner, Freddie Simmons, told the council that he was having trouble with vandalism. “I boarded everything up,” he said, “and they keep tearing it up.”

Simmons said he could board it up again or tear it down, but it would cost $5,000 to have it torn down, and the property is only worth $6,000. When the council asked him what he wanted to do, he said he had boarded it up a number of times and it hadn’t been effective.

The council voted to give him 60 days to decide what he wants to do with the structure. They told him the city could tear it down for $2,500 or less and send him the bill.

In the public hearing on a Ford pickup abandoned on private property at 700 W. Louisa, Price said that he had received no response from letters sent to the owner of the pickup or the property owner. The council voted to give the owner of the vehicle 30 days to respond before an abatement was ordered.

The next public hearing on a vehicle was cancelled because the vehicle in question had been removed from the property.

In other business, Amy Schultz was appointed representative from Iowa Park to serve on the Homeland Security Advisory Committee through the NORTEX Regional Planning Commission. Robert Johnson will serve as the proxy.

An ordinance approving the replat of Block A of the Country Hills Estates, Section A of the city, was approved.

The council will meet in a called meeting next Monday to canvas the votes of the successful Home Rule Charter Election.