On Saturday, September 17, members of the North Royalton Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) were joined by members of the Strongsville, CERT along with other officials from the North Royalton, Strongsville and Olmsted Falls Police Departments, the North Royalton Fire Department, the MetroParks’ Rangers, North Royalton Safety Director, Bruce Campbell, Strongsville CERT commander Dale Hawk and North Royalton CERT commander Nicholas Phillips for a training program, which take place annually, according to North Royalton CERT Commander, Nick Phillips. The North Royalton School District also participated through the use of a school bus, and school bus driver/CERT member Robert Craddock, who was the volunteer bus driver for the day. Both North Royalton and Strongsville CERTs have coordinated efforts for some time, said Phillips.
About fifty people participated in the event, which started at the North Royalton High School. Members were then bussed to Aukerman Park, where North Royalton Detective Dave Sword, who is also head of the NPPD bomb squad and an expert on explosive devices, gave a presentation on the types of bombs that have been used by terrorists. “Usually, these are homemade and comprised of easily acquired material,” said North Royalton CERT member, Ken Wolnik. “He showed several examples while explaining the nuances of such devices.”
Metroparks Ranger Chief Dave Viskovski, then led a line search and grid search drill, which are said to be very efficient in a wooded area. He has a long history with North Royalton CERT, said Phillips. He taught the members what to look for and how to search and then what to do when things, such as articles of clothing, or the person being searched, are found. There were a number of people who’d already gone through this training, so it was a great refresher. The drill involved searching a missing child.
A presentation was then given by North Royalton Patrolman, Scott Cerrito, on traffic direction procedures. “Not only is he is the police department’s traffic officer,” said Wolnik, “but also its communications expert.” The information was valuable, as CERT assists police in traffic control at such local events as high school football games and the annual summer festival. Cerrito also presented information about proper radio procedures. A tour of the mobile communications vehicle then took place.
Currently, the North Royalton CERT has 86 active members. Phillips continues to seek new CERT Members. “If you want to have something done, give it to a busy person. Those are the kinds of people we are looking for. We try to set up a schedule that is most reasonable. We schedule the meetings starting in January, but then wind down before the summer. Then it will ramp up again in the Fall and end before the holidays,” said Phillips. “People should be aware of CERT is and what the time-commitments are and should be willing to make that commitment. With that, we are trying to ramp up our tng program to make sure it is easier to attain,” said Phillips. New member will be assigned to help navigate the program.
“Any North Royalton resident 18 years of age or older, who is interested in serving their community as a volunteer member of the North Royalton CERT is welcome to submit an application to the North Royalton City Hall,” according to Phillips. The applications are available online at www.northroyaltoncert.org or from the North Royalton Police Department, located at 14000 Bennett Road at the corner of Bennett and Rt. 82. Anyone interested in more information about the North Royalton CERT can log into the www.northroyaltoncert.org or call Phillips at 440 243-2800.

By GLORIA PLEVA KACIK
Contributing Writer