Warning sirens could save lives in an emergency

On March 15, 2007, I presented a letter to Westlake City Council requesting that the City install warning sirens to give Westlake residents and visitors/shoppers a chance to get to a potentially safe place in the event of a tornado or citywide disaster.

At the April 5, 2007, Council meeting, I asked what City Hall’s intentions were regarding the warning sirens and was told that the idea was in the Safety Committee. This isn’t rocket science – the towers/poles are there – please install the sirens! Heaven forbid a tornado strikes while this issue is “still in the Safety Committee.”

The entire town of Greensburg, Kansas, was leveled in May 2007; residents credited the low number of fatalities (10) to the fact that they had 20 minutes to take cover after the warning siren sounded.

This is a project that would use Westlake’s taxpayer dollars for the health and well being of the entire community and the people visiting to shop and dine.

I checked with the Westlake Fire Department on April 7 of this year and found that Westlake still does not have warning sirens. With terrorism on the rise throughout the country, now it isn’t just a matter of warning against a tornado – it is much more serious. What’s taking so long?

– Carol Corpus, Westlake