The Citizen, 2009-08-27, Page 31The next stage of the PRISM 911system in Huron East is coming.The emergency notification
system, bought by Huron County
and adopted by Huron East, has
been tested and has passed with
flying colours, says Huron County
emergency medical services
manager David Lew, and now it
needs contact information.
Forms, to be filled out and
returned to Huron East, will be
reaching every household in the
municipality, as they will be
enclosed with this fall’s tax bill in
preparation for the program’s
official November launch.
The form asks for basic contact
information so that citizens can be
included on PRISM 911’s contact
list in case of boil water alerts,
missing children or any number of
emergency situations.
The system can reach further and
faster than any notification system
Huron County has ever had in place
and those involved feel this is a real
turn of the corner in local emergency
services.
The system is ideal for widespread
community notifications like boil
water advisories, missing children
alerts, flood events, chemical spills
and crime alerts. PRISM will
multiply the amount of people
notified in an hour by the old
system, often flyering or door-to-
door notifications, being capable of
reaching at least 400 houses per
hour.
PRISM, which stands for
Protective Response InteractiveServices Management, will bedependent on public co-operation,needing Huron County residents tofill out information forms with theirnames, addresses and phone
numbers to equip the system with
what it needs to perform.
Huron County warden Ken Oke
announced the system in March in
Goderich, calling it fiscally-
responsible, but reiterating that it
will need the public’s support to get
off the ground.
“With up to 430 calls going out
per hour, we could inform everyone
in the affected area about a boil
water advisory in an hour or less,” he
said. “This whole process should
cost about $100, compared to the
thousands we would have paid
before.”
Not only can the web-based
PRISM system reach hundreds of
people in one hour, but calls can
begin less than 20 minutes after an
emergency. The affected area can be
identified and once the message is
recorded by a member of the staff,
calls can begin going out within
minutes to those in the area.
The system has been in place in
Quinte West, where it was
developed, for years now. Huron
County has been working
extensively with the developers to
implement the system and adapt it to
Huron County.
PRISM was initially developed by
Quinte West city staff in late 2006.
For the development of PRISM, the
City of Quinte West won the E.A.
Danby award in 2008. The award is
given in recognition of outstandingachievement in improvingperformance in the category ofmunicipal administration.For more information, visitwww.huroncounty.ca or contact
David Lew, emergency medical
services manager for Huron County
at 519-524-8394 extension 507 or
Huron East treasurer Brad Knight at
519-527-0160.
Forms can also be filled out online
on the Huron County website at
www.huroncounty.ca/prism
On Aug. 28, the Taste of Huron
weekend of food and fund starts off
with a good ole-fashioned barn
dance on Airport Line in Hensall.
The masters of the grill, Pineridge
BBQ Company will be serving
barbecued pork, fresh corn-on-the-
cob and baked beans until 10 p.m.
The licensed bar offers draft beer
and wines.
The headlining act on stage is the
critically acclaimed Canadian Cajun
band, Swamperella.
Also appearing are the Wheel n’
Dealer Square dancers from Clinton.
The corn and pig roast starts at 7
p.m. and will run until 11 p.m.
Tickets are just $20 and can be
purchased in advance through the
Blyth Festival Box Office at 1-877-
862-5984. A limited number of
tickets can also be purchased at the
door on a first-come basis.
Things continue on into Saturday
with The Village Market on
Saturday,Aug. 29 from 1 to 4 p.m. at
the Bayfield Town Hall. Entrance to
this event is free and visitors can
check out displays by local
organizations and listen to some live
music.
Best of all, a number of local
establishments will be offering
tasting samples for the minimal cost
of $2 each. Sit down in our on-site
café and enjoy a little bit of
everything on offer.
Television personality and
cookbook author, Ken Kostick will
be special guest at the Village
Market at 3 p.m. Kostick will be
talking about his soon-to-be
published cookbook as well as
sharing stories from his career in
television and food and signing
autographs.
The celebrations wind down on
Sunday, Aug. 30 with the Locavore
Brunch at Bluewater Shores Resort
near Bayfield from 11 a.m. - 12:30
p.m. Guests will be spoiled with
eggs benedict à la Huron with
peameal bacon or a mouth-watering
vegetarian frittata. Second course is
crème brulee French Toast served
with maple-infused fruit.
All the food is prepared using
local ingredients by some of the
county’s best young chefs.
Renowned Canadian chef,
Michael Stadtländer will be the
special guest speaker for the event.
Stadtländer will be sharing his
stories about running Eigensinn
Farm, his successful combined farm
and restaurant, and about the
importance of using locally-
produced ingredients in Canadian
cuisine.
Tickets for the brunch are $25 and
can be purchased in advance by
calling the Blyth Box Office at 1-
877-862-5984.
Taste of Huron is a seven-day
festival of flavours and feasts on
Ontario’s West Coast from Aug. 24 -
30 promoting locally-produced
foods. For more information about
events and locations visit:
www.tasteofhuron.ca
THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, AUGUST 27, 2009. PAGE 31.HE on next step for PRISM 911
Tricksters
It was time to showcase some skills last week at the
Athletes In Action soccer camp at Huron Chapel Evangelical
Missionary Church in Auburn. The group was there all week
teaching Huron County youth the flashier aspects of soccer,
including this move, “the rainbow.” (Shawn Loughlin photo)
Sample a Taste of Huron
Happy 80th
Birthdary
Mom
(Enid MacDonald)
August 27
Love your family
Celebrating
50 Years
Together
Wayne, Ron,
Kim and Patti
along with their
families invite friends
and family to an
OPEN HOUSE
on Sunday, August 30, 2~4 p.m.
to celebrate the
50th Anniversary
of their parents
Gerald and Carol McDowell.
The celebration will take place at Auburn Hall.
In lieu of gifts donations to the Auburn Playground Fund will be gratefully accepted.
Happy 25th
Anniversary
Gary & Sandra
Nicholson
September 1
Love
Lindsay & Lisa
By Shawn LoughlinThe Citizen