Subject: [NEXTEL-1] The need to be connected We have to talk

From: [email-masked]
Date: Wed, 18 Feb 2004 00:40:55 -0500

Published Wednesday, February 11, 2004
The need to be connected We have to talk

Grand Island Independent, NE

Case made at town hall meeting for statewide radio system to connect
emergency workers

Last modified at 12:35 a.m. on Wednesday, February 11, 2004

By Robert Pore
[email-masked]
In an emergency not only is time of the essence,
but so is communication.

But for many state law enforcement and public safety providers, being able to
communicate with emergency personnel from different agencies at the scene of an
accident, disaster or criminal manhunt can be challenging if not downright
impossible.

On Monday in Grand Island, a town hall meeting
was held at City Hall to discuss a proposal before
state lawmakers that could go a long way in
improving communication for public safety
providers in Nebraska.

The meeting of the Statewide Communications Alliance of Nebraska, or SCAN, in
Grand Island was co-chaired by Col. Tom Nesbitt, superintendent of the Nebraska
State Patrol, and Gen. Roger Lempke, adjutant general of the Nebraska National
Guard.
According to Roger Derr, Wood River fire chief, the bus accident early Monday
morning on Interstate 80 between Wood River and Shelton is a good example of the
inability of various public safety agencies to communicate with one another at
the scene of an emergency.
"There were seven agencies there and we didn't have a common frequency among all
of us," Derr said. "Communication was the most difficult obstacle we had to
overcome."
Lempke said Nebraska's lack of interoperable communication, or a system that
allows public safety responders to communicate with one another, threatens the
ability of first responders to effectively carry out their responsibilities.
"When you go out beyond a certain region, the radios may not work in that area,"
he said. "The big thing we are after here is that ability to go into a region
and have everybody able to talk with each other."
SCAN's plan is to implement a statewide, interoperable, wireless communication
network for public safety. The proposed system is designed to provide consistent
and quality communications and enable responders from different agencies to work
together during a crisis.
"If you have a situation that involves a terrorist incident, the quicker you can
get together and organize for the incident, the quicker you can evacuate people
and move them out.," Lempke said. "If you have a major accident, the quicker you
can get people to major care if you can talk."

Lempke said state lawmakers are looking at several ways to fund the statewide
communication plan, including a surcharge on all electrical bills and federal
funding from Homeland Security grants.

He said bids to hire a contractor to implement the statewide radio network could
be received later this year.
Lempke said under the proposal, communities can join the statewide radio system
when they are ready. He said Nebraska is long overdue to implement a statewide
radio system.

"When you look at the states around us, the entire nation is building toward
inoperability," Lempke said. "We need to do the same if we are going to keep
pace with everybody else."

Lempke said there is also a public safety issue. "When people become more mobile
throughout the state, chances of major accidents are always there," he said.
"This is what we need to minimize loss of life."

Also attending the meeting was Hastings Chief of Police Larry Thoren.

"Public safety and communications are most critical to the safety of the
citizens," he said.
Thoren, who has been Hastings police chief since 1998, said there have been a
number of incidents where interoperability would have helped.

"Anytime you get more than one agency involved, there could be a problem because
here in Nebraska we can't talk to each other without a statewide system to
facilitate that," he said.

http://www.theindependent.com/stories/021104/new_scan11.shtml

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