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Friday, 16 January 2009 |
By MIKE BURKHOLDER
Managing Editor
ST. MARYS — As winter sets in, local safety officials say welfare checks become a little more common.
“I wouldn’t say it’s a spike, but every winter we go through this,” St. Marys Police Chief Greg Foxhoven said. “We get a lot during the winter so we are pretty much on track with them.”
Typically, the police department receives requests for welfare checks from family members who live out of town, Foxhoven said. When a request is made, Foxhoven said officers act promptly.
“It’s a priority for us because if it’s prompted a loved one to call who lives out of town it is important,” Foxhoven said. “We place great emphasis on that and respond.”
During periods of extreme temperatures, Foxhoven said loved ones often contact the police department to check on elderly family members. Missed connections, whether telephone calls or appointments, also prompt requests.
“Usually they will hear about the weather and that we are getting freezing temperatures and they tried to call and didn’t get an answer,” Foxhoven said. “Usually they know that their parents won’t venture out in these conditions and they get concerned.”
To help family members stay connected, Foxhoven encouraged them to develop a contact list. Foxhoven said he developed a list with his elderly neighbor so family members can contact him if necessary.
“We always encourage folks that they should know who their loved one’s neighbors are and do a phone contact,” Foxhoven said.
“They can be your eyes and ears.”
The St. Marys Fire Department makes daily phone calls to more than a dozen residents as part of Operation Safeguard.
Fire Chief Ken Cline said the program has been in existence for more than three decades.
“We call people at 8:30 a.m. and 9 a.m. — which ever time they request,” Cline said. “There have been a number of times over the years where we checked on someone and they had fallen out of bed the night before. So it does give peace of mind.”
To sign up for the program, Cline said a family member can contact the fire department and a firefighter can walk them through the process. Once some basic information is collected, the loved one will be added to the call list.
“There is some paper work for contact information,” Cline said. “If we make a call and cannot get a hold of them, we will try to make contact with a person on the list. If we cannot contact anyone, we will send a guy over to check on them.”
Cline said the program is open to anyone who lives in St. Marys. Residents in St. Marys and Noble townships also can sign up.
“We have in the past let them sign up,” Cline said of township residents.
“If we have to do a check on them, we will usually send law enforcement.”
For more information, residents can contact the St. Marys Fire Department at 419-300-1274.
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Last Updated ( Wednesday, 21 January 2009 )
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