Hoelscher appointed EMA coordinator
<span>CHESTER -- Former Randolph County Sheriff Mike Hoelscher was appointed to the Randolph County Emergency Management Agency on Friday by the Randolph County Board of Commissioners.</span>
<span>Hoelscher was appointed to a one-year term as the EMA coordinator, which expires Nov. 30 of this year. Nancy Schilling and Rick Grah were also appointed as EMA assistant coordinators, also with one-year terms expiring on Nov. 30.</span>
<span>The EMA offers assistance to first responders to help coordinate efforts and acquire unmet needs to lessen the impact of a disastrous event. </span>
<span>The office is the liaison between Randolph County and state and federal agencies. It is changing from a two-person team to a three-person team, and an operational group of four instead of five.</span>
<span>"We're excited to look at a little reorganization of the EMA," said Board Chairman Marc Kiehna. "I feel we already had a strong group, but this will make us stronger."</span>
<span>On Thursday, Kiehna sent out a news release to local media advising of the appointment.</span>
<span>"We are fortunate that Mike has committed to help us in our readiness planning. His experience in law enforcement and his relationships with first responders, city officials, and school leaders will be invaluable as we plan for future emergencies," Kiehna said in the news release.</span>
<span>The EMA will focus on a revamp of the Randolph County Hazard Mitigation Plan during 2015, Kiehna said in the release.</span>
<span>Information collected for the plan will include a survey of the raw materials, chemicals, petroleum products and bulk goods being transported through Randolph County by rail, roads, and rivers.</span>
<span>The mitigation plan must be submitted to federal and state authorities in order for the county to qualify for disaster funds should a significant event happen.</span>
<span>"As you know, I'm retired now and when they approached me about it, they asked if I could be of any assistance with my experience with the schools and contacts throughout law enforcement," Hoelscher said in an interview after the meeting. "They said 'We have a position in EMA we would like to expand' and I said 'Well, let me look into this,' because when you're retiring, you have to be careful with (the Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund) when you come back into another entity.</span>
<span>"I said I wouldn't mind being involved on a part-time basis and they said this is exactly what they wanted to do."</span>
<span>The last mitigation plan update occurred in 2005. The update process will begin in February, with a planning group that includes community officials, city mayors, fire chiefs, police chiefs, public works officials, county commissioners, levee districts, highway departments, health departments, hospital staff, churches and residents of Randolph County.</span>
<span>"We're kinda taking slow baby steps in stepping in," Hoelscher said. "Hopefully, I can contribute some good things to it."</span>
<span>Hoelscher will attend the required training for new EMA coordinators within the next six months. Grah and Schilling will complete their Illinois Professional Emergency Management certification this year through the Illinois Management Agency.</span>
<span>Both Grah and Schilling already hold their Professional Development Series certification and are current with all FEMA training required for the Emergency Management Grant.</span>
<span>The grant funds up to $23,000 of the administrative work and equipment for the administrative part of the emergency management program.</span>
<span>"This survey will be very important to see exactly what is being transported through our county," Kiehna said.</span>