A CERT is coming to Washington County. Last night the Emergency Management Commission approved moving $3,250 in the budget to serve as seed money for the Community Emergency Response Team. Larry Smith, Washington and Keokuk Counties Emergency Management Coordinator, explained the funds set aside for the program were originally budgeted for the emergency text alert system called WENS, but it has been announced that the state will be providing the text service to all counties in Iowa.

Washington County Supervisor and director of the Washington County Ambulance Service Richard Young explained CERT is a group of trained volunteers who can assist emergency personnel with a variety of tasks, from clearing roads to setting up shelters, to checking homes to see if evacuations need to be conducted. Young said there is a federal curriculum for the group that takes 20 hours of training.

For more information about CERT click here and here.