Tornado siren at lake to be updated
Staff reporter
Marion County Commission approved the updating of the tornado siren activation system Monday at Marion County Lake.
Marion County Commission Chairman Randy Dallke said he discovered this past weekend that the tornado siren at the lake had to be activated by hand. He suggested it be activated by county dispatch.
Later in the meeting, Dallke asked county emergency communications director Michele Abbott-Becker about her department being responsible for the activation of the siren. Abbott-Becker said her department could not be responsible for that.
She informed the commission that other smaller communities that were faced with the same dilemma are able to activate it through fire personnel. When dispatch notifies all listeners on the radio of impending severe weather, it is up to the individual fire departments to activate siren equipment through telecommunications such as a telephone.
