City, Venedocia see siren upgrades

Van Wert EMA news

Thanks to Homeland Security dollars, a siren upgrade is taking place in the city of Van Wert this week, according to Van Wert Office of Homeland Security & Emergency Management Director Rick McCoy. According to McCoy, this is a project he has been working on for about three years and now has the federal dollars to complete the project. He said the entire cost of the siren upgrades is from grant dollars and no local funds were needed.

The upgrade includes a new Federal Signal siren at a cost of $18,683.40, which is being placed at the Van Wert Early Childhood Center (former Jefferson School) building on Buckeye Drive in Van Wert to cover the southeast side of the city.

That siren will replace the current siren at Franklin School, which must be removed because of the school closing. McCoy said the siren at Franklin School would be moved to Smiley Park at a cost of $2,900. He said the move is being made to cover the southwest side of the city, since the siren at Washington School must be removed because of the closing of that building.

The final move will be the 1975 Civil Defense siren now at Washington School, which will be refurbished and moved to Venedocia at a cost of $5,775.

With the new layout of sirens, McCoy said he felt this gives the city of Van Wert good coverage, allowing anyone outside during a tornado warning to hear a siren and get inside to seek shelter.

Sirens in Van Wert are now located at the following sites: the county engineer’s facility at the intersection of Kear and John Brown roads; a siren at Jubilee Park, a siren at The Times-Bulletin, a siren at the Van Wert Early Childhood Center and a siren at Smiley Park.

McCoy noted that all of the city sirens now have a backup system so, if the power goes out, they will still provide a warning signal for an additional 30 minutes.

The EMA director thanked the following individuals for helping him complete this project: Van Wert Mayor Don Farmer and Safety-Service Director Jay Fleming, Superintendent Ken Amstutz and Randy Stemen from Van Wert City Schools, and Venedocia Mayor Larry Eutsler and Randy Koenig, owner of Ohio Electro Polishing Company in Venedocia, where the siren will be placed in that village.