Here’s the Owensboro video referenced in the post below — it’s produced by the Greater Owensboro Economic Development Corporation and highlights Owensboro’s colleges. Good stuff:

Check out KWC students Marybeth Powell and Matt Mistretta in this 14 WFIE news story about Owensboro’s attempts to attract college students to town:

Today, September 17, 2010, is Constitution Day in the United States.  The occasion, also known as Citizenship Day, commemorates the formation and signing of the U.S. Constitution by thirty-nine men on September 17, 1787.

You can find out more about the day and the Constitution itself at www.constitutionday.com.  You can read the Constitution, check out the Bill of Rights and the other 17 amendments and learn about the 39 Founding Fathers who signed the Constitution.

You can also buy lots of Constitution-related items, including books and DVDs.

If you’d like a free copy of the Constitution, fill this form out and you’ll get a free pocket-sized edition of the Constitution and Declaration of Independence.

Take a minute and read at least the preamble:

We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.

Majestic words that helped to found our country. Read them, know them, think about them — that’s what Constitution Day 2010 is all about.

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Just one of many emergency vehicles at KWC during the drill

By James Mayse
Published: Friday, March 19, 2010
Messenger-Inquirer

Owensboro police and firefighters tested their emergency response plans on the campus of Kentucky Wesleyan College Thursday, during a mock disaster drill that included a simulated chemical spill, a bomb threat and a hostage situation in one of the college’s buildings.

The drill included ambulances services from four counties, helicopters, Owensboro Medical Health System and the fire department’s hazardous materials team, as well as the Owensboro Police Department’s emergency response team. The scenario also tested Kentucky Wesleyan’s emergency plan.

“This gives us a much better way to evaluate” the college’s plan, said Kathy Rutherman, public relations director for the college. “Going through a drill makes your evaluation much more effective.”

The scenario, which was kept secret from the agencies participating in the drill, involved a man with a gun who causes a chemical spill in the science building. The armed man then goes to a different building looking for his wife, beats a student and leaves behind a backpack he claims contains a bomb. In the administration building, the man opens fire, shooting students and a police officer before barricading himself in a classroom full of students.

The SWAT team clears a classroom of hostages

Steve Leonard, battalion chief and fire marshal for the Owensboro Fire Department, said the drill makes firefighters aware that a seemingly routine situation — such as a fire alarm call — could spiral into something larger.

“It makes us aware a routine situation can change at any point,” Leonard said. “It keeps us from being so complacent.

“The best thing for us is it gives all our personnel the opportunity … to train in as near a realistic situation as we can create,” Leonard said.

The drill was held during the week of Kentucky Wesleyan’s spring break.

“I really tried to do this when (school) was in session, but it was going to be too much chaos,” said David Knight, Kentucky Wesleyan’s director of facilities. “We’ve been working on this for six months,” he said.

Emergency medical personnel aid a "pregnant" student who was injured

About 45 college students and staff members acted the roles of victims during the drill. Cindra Stiff, the college’s director of finance said the drill helped college administrators review the emergency plan and response system, which includes sending e-mails, text messages and voicemail calls to every student and faculty member when an crisis happens.

“We’ve been sending ‘one-call’ (messages) every 10 minutes,” Stiff said. The messages inform campus members and families that the school is locked down and to stay where they are safe.

“We’re not disclosing enough details that would cause curiosity,” Stiff said.

David Thompson, deputy chief for OPD, said the exercise allows the department to evaluate how officers responded and what needs to be changed.

“We’ll take some of the problems that may have arose from this exercise and try to correct them, so when we get to a real situation, some of those problems will have been worked out,” Thompson said.

During a debriefing Wednesday afternoon, representatives from the agencies discussed issues such as communication difficulties and the need to maintain security for responders. Paul Nave, who will be director of the city and county’s combined 911 dispatch center when it opens later this summer, said the drill was valuable “because we learn from them and no one gets hurt.”

“It was a great training experience for us,” Nave said. “We saw some defects we need to improve and some positives we have in place.”

Gordon Wilkerson, a spokesman for OMHS, said the hospital set up a decontamination tent outside the emergency room to clean chemicals from people playing the role of victims of toxic gas.

“We hadn’t tested that previously,” Wilkerson said. “ … I think things went really well. We involved the emergency department … the administration and the entire organization.”

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Here’s a quick video of one of the helicopters taking off as it transports a wounded student to the hospital:

For more photos of the mock disaster, visit KWC’s Flickr gallery.

KWC’s new AED (Automated External Defibrillator) program was featured on the 14WFIE news this week. Thanks to a $10,000 grant from OMHS, we are making campus life safer for students.

Watch a video clip of the news segment below:

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The images from the aftermath of the magnitude 7.0 earthquake that hit Haiti on Tuesday are stunning. As much as we’d like to jump on a plane and go help on the ground, that’s not practical for most of us.

So how can we help from here? A few ways:

 [Photo: (REUTERS/Eduardo Munoz)]

- Donate Money

Easiest way to do it is on your cell phone — text HAITI to 90999 and a $10 donation to the Red Cross will show up on your next phone bill. Or, text YELE to 501501 for a $5 donation to earthquake relief.

A few other places to give online: Red Cross, Doctors Without Borders, World Vision, Compassion International ($35 sustains a family for a week), Kentucky Adoption Services (in Owensboro).

- Donate Supplies

Medical supplies are one priority. In Owensboro, you can drop off donations at Walnut Memorial Baptist Church, 519 W. Byers Ave. (926-0010). 

The Red Cross at 416 W. Third St. is also accepting donations, as is Missions of Love in Hartford (200 Main St.).

- Stay Informed

Follow news coverage to help keep Haiti in your prayers and actions. Great photo blog here: http://bit.ly/5MLKiA (some photos are graphic).

Also, here’s an updated blog from a small rescue center in the heart of the disaster.

- Pray

It’s one of the most accessible and powerful things you can do.

Other ideas? Add them in the comments.

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