Mahaska County CERT Team Continues To Grow and Organize

Jim Walker speaks before the combined meeting of the Mahaska County CERT Team on Monday evening

The Mahaska County CERT Team continues to grow and improve itself in hopes of being there in times of need.

The all volunteer force trains and studies everything from CPR to manning an Emergency Operations Center. Their jobs, in a time of disaster, are to be extra hands that the professionals can depend upon to help them complete the job.

They have also been called upon to help the community and individuals in need of assistance. Last summer they helped to clean out the home of a local resident that had lost everything. More recently, they have volunteered to help at the Special Olympics and they also helped with getting 16 miles of cars parked at the cemetery for the Eric Stein funeral.

The group consists of teams that cover New Sharon and Oskaloosa. The New Sharon group is primarily high school students with a teacher that is also an EMT. The Oskaloosa group is primarily adults, but they are looking to expand and become more visible in the area.

This regular meeting is one step of many yet to come for this group and its future. If you are interested in becoming a member of CERT, visit www.mahaskaready.com for more information on the program.