Cole County leaders meet behind closed doors to discuss school safety

Cole County leaders want to make sure they are communicating if a mass emergency hits a local school.

County commissioners met behind closed doors with the Cole County Sheriff’s Department and Health Department on Monday to discuss a response.

“We just never know what’s going to happen, and we need to be prepared. If we didn’t have a plan in place, some agency that could help could be left out, and we we don’t want to do that. We want to make sure everyone is there and is ready to respond,” said Kristi Campbell from the Cole County Health Department.

Emergencies involving an intruder or even an a terrorist attack were also discussed. The sheriff’s department says every Cole County school has procedures for these emergencies.

“There’s times to evacuate; there’s times to lock down, and there’s also times to resist,” said Cole County Sheriff Greg White.

White says the sheriff’s department often aids schools to ensure that they will be prepared in the event of a crisis.