Many thanks

Dear Editor,

The mission of McCook Public Schools is to equip all students to succeed. To accomplish this mission all students and staff must work in a safe and secure environment.

Although lessons were learned, the recent district-wide evacuation drill went very well. The success of this drill was due in large part to the cooperation the school received by neighboring businesses agreeing to allow their facilities to be used as evacuation sites. Unfortunately, due to future security issues, we cannot publicly identify those businesses.

We can however thank the City of McCook, Police Chief Ike Brown and his staff, as well as the Gazette and radio media for their roles in the drill and informing the public of the drill. Also, thanks to our "actors" who took all or a large part of their day to play distraught parents.

Those individuals include Sharlyn Coleman, Traci Stevens, Michele Norgaard, and Bryan and Traci Loker. Also, thanks to Southwest Health Department for the "Shelter in Place Kits."

The McCook Public Schools have research-based plans for nearly every imaginable event. The crisis/emergency teams are trained and devoted to insuring the safety of every child in the system.

Again, thank you for the cooperation extended in this community-wide drill.

Sincerely,

Dennis Berry

Co-Chair

McCook Schools Crisis Team