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If a tornado, ice storm or other disaster hit Trimble a few months ago, chaos could have taken over the city of 550.

But if a massive, unfortunate event occurred now, the city would at least have a plan.

The city recently came up with an emergency management plan, including designating the community center as an emergency shelter.

“We really needed to have a shelter here. A lot of people in our downtown area don’t even have basements. And there wasn’t anywhere for them to go,” Trimble mayor Terry Banks said.

Banks decided to start an emergency management committee in Trimble after attending similar meetings in the area, including ones in Edgerton and Clinton County.

“I thought, even though we are small, we need to have something here,” she said.

A couple of weeks ago, the city held an emergency management training session, where a representative from the American Red Cross in St. Joseph went through details that could become crucial if disaster hits. Those details included how to access and set up cots in a shelter as well as rules on who can and can’t come into a shelter.

“We went through all this so that we can be as prepared as possible,” Banks said. “When you get into a disaster and everything is helter-skelter, you want some idea of what you’re doing.”

The committee has made efforts to get information about the emergency management plan and emergency shelter to the community, such as putting notices about the training in the city sewer bills. The committee plans to put signs in the community center windows, letting people know to go there if there’s a disaster.

Marilyn Hake, a Trimble resident who’s on the committee, said the training earlier this month taught her many things she didn’t know, including that those running a shelter can’t give out information on who’s staying at the shelter.

“You really don’t realize the do’s and don’ts of shelters,” Hake said.

Smithville Editor

Nancy Hull Rigdon can be reached at 532-4444 or This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

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