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Emergency Management plans storm spotter, fire department meeting Tuesday

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Residents will have the opportunity to engage in storm spotter training as well as take fire department volunteer applications this Tuesday at the Wallace building. The event, Office of Emergency Management Director Randy Rowe said, will be from 6:30-8:30 p.m. at the Wallace Building. “We encourage all citizens to attend, and that way they’ll better understand how fire protection works, and we will be training for stationary weather spotters through Office of Emergency Management,” Rowe. Rowe clarified that the department is not looking for storm chasers but rather those who can spot storms from residences or safely nearby in a stationary manner. He also said that the training would count as a post-certification course for law enforcement. He also added that the department plans to install the Bennett Spring storm sirens either February 13 or 20. These sirens as well as other weather protection measures will be discussed at the meeting. Rowe explained that O.E.M., the Laclede County Commission, Lebanon Rural Fire Protection Chief Phillip Pitts and Nebo/Falcon Fire Protection Chief Sonja Christlieb are also collaborating to inform the public on county fire dangers and the need for volunteers. He added that there is a need for volunteers in fire departments across the county. Most volunteers have a day job and are thus more limited in their fire responses. “There will be applications available that evening and an opportunity to become part of the firefighting community in Laclede County,” Rowe said. For more on this story, see Saturday's LCR.