Area schools observe severe weather week

Originally published in the Piqua Daily Call March 6, 2014

By Bethany J. Royer
PIQUA It may be hard to imagine under current conditions but this week is Spring Severe
Weather Awareness week which began Sunday, March 2 and will run until Saturday, March 8.
According to Rick Hanes, superintendent for Piqua City Schools, in observance of the week,
tornado drills had already been underway in many of the buildings over the last few weeks. And
all city schools participated in the state-wide drill on Wednesday morning, including students at
Nicklin Learning Center who practiced tornado safety at 9:50 a.m. sharp.
For Nicklin kindergarten teacher Miss Gay, her 23 students along with all the other dozen
classes, hunkered down in the school hallways with heads tucked to the floor, hands wrapped
around the back of their necks after the alarm sounded.
We discuss weather all the time, explained Miss Gay of daily weather observance lessons
performed each morning. Since spring is coming weve been talking about the severe weather
coming up. She had also prepared her students beforehand on the state-wide tornado drill,
including staying quiet and putting their heads down in case of an emergency.
While Miami County was part of the state-wide drill some areas did not hear tornado sirens at
the appointed 9:50 a.m. observance schedule including the city of Piqua.
The Miami County Emergency Management Agency Management and Communications Center
was looking into the cause after the failure, with sirens to be (re)tested at the usual monthly
appointed time next Wednesday.
As severe weather awareness week wraps up, National Flood Safety Awareness Week will be
held from March 16-22.
For more information visit www.weathersafety.ohio.gov.
Bethany J. Royer may be reached at 773-2721 or on Twitter @TheDailyCall