TORRINGTON – If we were to briefly reflect on certain happenings in Goshen County over the course of maybe the last seven months or so, we could probably agree there are certain things we just can’t control.

We can’t control certain things, but we must be prepared for them.

Throughout the course of the summer, Goshen County experienced our share of severe weather affecting us one way or another.

Now luckily nothing too severe occurred where anyone was injured, but these things always remain a possibility.

It always helps for us to be prepared in moving forward, especially now that winter is in sight and right ahead.

The Goshen County Emergency Management Team headed by coordinator, Tom Bozeman, along with Torrington Emergency Management Coordinator, Chuck Kenyon, have spent the past several months ensuring that Goshen communities have both the staff, and equipment they need in preparation for any curve-balls winter may decide to throw.

“Things have been going very well,” Bozeman stated. “I think we have a lot of grants that are coming to fruition. We were awarded some grants from the state that we knew of from about a month ago, but the paperwork is finally coming through. They consist of helping us teach de-escalation and escalation techniques for law-enforcement. On the county side of things, we have communication enhancement equipment for the Emergency Operation Center (EOC).” 

It should be noted the EOC is located in the basement of the courthouse, and is a fixed facility in which Bozeman obtained grants to update communications equipment. The EOC acts as a command post for larger, long term incidents with backup dispatch facilities for the county. Additionally, Yoder Emergency Manager/County Commissioner, Justin Burkart also obtained grants to update the Goshen County Type-3 team trailer communications equipment. While the EOC is a fixed location, the Tier-3 trailer operates as a portable office for incidents across Goshen County. According to both Bozeman and Kenyon, the center is an essential element to be had at all times and with all weather conditions throughout the year.

“This Type-3 communication trailer is a command post that has been completely refurbished with all new communications equipment,” Bozeman said. “It has the capability of basically handling all communication anywhere in the county, while enhancing command control and communication like we’ve never seen. The point of us doing this is where we can pull the trailer, operate the command post and have full communication for state, local and incoming federal resources that come into assist.”

“We have a communication cache of radios,” Kenyon added. “We have WyoLink and analog-type radios that can be issued on a scene. When you open the boxes, we have got eight radios and antennas, battery backs, all that stuff. We also have new laptops in there replacing our old ones that were out of service. Technology has changed, and we needed to move towards different equipment.” 

 When it comes to winter emergencies however, the EOC is especially important when it comes to assisting residents who may become stranded and far away from places of service. 

“This is our command post where all our decisions can go into the room, and where we can communicate to the outside world,” Bozeman continued. “We will have a snowmobile with a sled for rescue where we can pull more supplies, as well as people who need help. Maybe things or people that have been snowed in. This is a current grant. We don’t have the equipment yet but will be purchasing soon.”

According to Bozeman and Kenyon, deputies over the years have had to travel through snow on foot to check on residents, ensuring that they were alright.

“So having this new sled will allow us to take food, supplies or medications to folks in similar situations,” Bozeman said. “Also last year, there were some people at the wrong place at the wrong time, and someone had to spend a night in their vehicle. This is for when that sort of thing occurs, and where vehicle traffic is impossible.”

When it came to obtaining the proper modern equipment for emergency situations in Torrington, Kenyon continued with a further notion. 

Paying incredibly close attention to community finances, as well as maintaining strong compliant relationships with the state is crucial in ensuring that Torrington, as well as Goshen has all of their potential emergency needs.

Kenyon added with such interesting, or even intense weather occurring over the course of the summer, it would be wise to not underestimate the dangerous power of winter in the upcoming months.

This as well as ensuring that all emergency centers have all proper preparation in order.

“We’ve applied for enough money to buy six ballistic vests, or bullet resistant vests for responding EMT’s,” Kenyon stated. “We were awarded a grant and were notified of that recently, and will be buying six vests for responses to different situations. So much of the grant writing that we do involves a lot of planning. We have to think in terms of how we have running water when there is not electricity, or something like that. How do we keep dispatch running? Grants have been written to put generators on wellpoints, generators on water towers, and communication for our water points. But also, it’s the safety of our first responders. We have to have a good dispatch center to keep track of everybody. We have done things like impact-resistant film on the west side windows of the police department. We also have emergency lighting in the dispatch center to keep stuff running during a blizzard when the power goes out for a long period of time. It’s about the safety of people with our responding.”

“We made it through summer which was very interesting storm-wise,” Kenyon continued. “According to the National Weather Service, we had the second highest number of severe weather warnings, but not quite as bad as 2019. We haven’t had any huge incidents, which is a good thing. When we write these grants part of the grant agreement says our agency has to be compliant, so we have to be trained up to a certain level. So it’s kind of introductory, and is done by the Federal Emergency Management Agency. We do these online courses, and elected officials need to have them as well. They need to understand their role, and other employees need to have them too. This is so people don’t get blindsided. It is a quid pro quo for the grants. If you accept the money, then we have to do this. The fire departments do it all the time as well as the police.”

When it came to the discussion of city compliance with the state of Wyoming, both Bozeman and Kenyon stated that although the town continues to improve regularly, total compliance with emergency management really isn’t practical or logical in the long run.

“We increased city compliance by introducing reasonable policies, but we will never be 100 percent in compliance. We do have strong attempts however. It’s important for the elected to understand their role. When I came on I told Mayor Adams, ‘I’m here to be an advisor and planner, not to take over your role so to speak. There’s not an automatic delegation of authority. We are here to coordinate, not to run the show.” 

With a portable command center in full effect for when communication with others may be difficult, the managment team has also ensured that law enforcement and first responders continue to have the essential gear in order to do their jobs resourcefully.

As the temperatures continues to drop, and with Wyoming snowstorms always a certainty within the near future, Kenyon had reasonable words of awareness and responsibility for residents of Torrington, as well as Goshen County when it comes to winter preparedness and travel.

“Be careful with that winter travel,” Kenyon stated. “Know before you go and check the Wyoming Information Sharing Platform. It is a one stop shop where you can get weather conditions and road conditions. It contains all sorts of information about anything going on in Wyoming. Everything is on there such as drought info, flooding info and lots of other things. It started up during Covid, and since then it’s grown. It pulls up on a dashboard, and you just click on what you’re looking for. It’s the newer generation of online communications, and a lot of people should use it.”

Lastly when it came to helping the communities stay moving and running when the snow begins to pile, Bozeman stated that while keeping all snow removal supplies properly in stock, there will also be positions of seasonal employment in the upcoming months.

“There’s not a strong projection on there being heavy precipitation yet, so we are waiting to see how it plays out,” Bozeman said. “Some preparation on the county side have been working to get sufficient amounts of sand and road treatment stock, and we’ve been doing pre-maintenance with plow machines and blades. We’ve addressed that to make sure that they are ready, and we still have vacancies. Not only do we have vacancies, but also for people who live in other parts of the county who are willing to work part time.”

For further questions or information regarding the Goshen County Emergency Management Team, feel free to call 307-532-7030, or visit www.goshencounty.org. 

Also, if interested in snow removal positions, please visit Val Hankins at Goshen County Road and Bridge located just behind Goshen County Fairgrounds.