Citizen Corps hoping to increase CERT, neighborhood watches

The Pennyrile Regional Citizens Corps Council is looking to increase the number of people involved in neighborhood watch programs and community emergency response teams in the region.

It was one of the many topics discussed at Thursday’s meeting at the Pennyrile Area Development District Office and Executive Officer Dan Nicholson says it’s their hope to revamp the program. He says the corps council is searching for volunteers but more importantly, looking to educate individuals on what to do in the event of a disaster.

Nicholson says response teams, or CERT, can help in the event of emergency as emergency officials are on the way. He says the corps council often hosts events to get people involved and educated.

Several response teams and neighborhood watches exist in Christian and surrounding counties, but more are always welcome.

Christian County Sheriff’s Captain Chris Miller says they’re looking to grow and start more neighborhood watch programs, which help deter crime and helps law enforcement in numerous ways.

March is disaster preparedness month and the council is urging citizens to review their emergency plans in the event of bad weather such as tornadoes or ice storms, particularly in light of recent damages. Anyone interested in starting CERT or a neighborhood watch program can go online to peadd.org or call 270-886-9484.