January 31, 2024 Issue, Page 8 of 8

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8- The Elk City News Community January 31,2024 Rotarians Host Community Preparedness and Public Outreach Manager of Okla. Dept. of Emergency Management and Homeland Security fourth, Will it be BEN Wall cone Billy Sizemore ing with Tracey Bender. Kirby McBroom. Tracey Bender. By Sheryl Ponce take out America, and that’s all but I keep it to seventh (grade) had their information. ‘The sit- life. The situation was real, and do these. They have two sched- they talk about. You see noth- and above because most of uation ruined a person's abili- unique that the young lady was uled this year. They are free to Elk City Rotary Club met for ing but all the things that hap- those kids have phones. We ty to get a job because the kid found just in time. chaperones andhigh schoolers, their regular meeting Thurs., at pen that are horrible things, had sent a photo on his phone, ‘The cases she talked to the Ro- especially for those who want a go into the process of sexting noon, in the Elks Lodge where child trafficking things. You sent, the sextortion piece. We which followed the adult who tarians about were examples of must monitor all that, but you even go into the human traf- actually owned the phone. career as a first responder. Kirby McBroom was the Rotar- the talks she gives to schools ian of the Day. His guest speak- can’t do anything except moni- ficking piece,” she said. Bender is available for talks Bender also talked about hu- and communities about cyber er was Billy Sizemore, Dept. of tor it,” she continued. Additionally, Bender talks man trafficking, and she gave security. She said that they within the community. Con- Emergency Management, who As part of the department that about how the phones are not another example of a teenager offer camps, which is part of tact Billy Sizemore with the brought Tracey Bender with Bender oversees, she said that usually their own phones, but being taken. The case ended the community emergency re- Oklahoma Dept. of Emergency him, Dept. of Emergency Man- they offer help in the area of in their parents or grandpar- with the girl being found in sponse team camps. They have Management for the contact agement and Homeland Secu- disasters, no matter what type ent's names. This leads to the California, who almost lost her teamed up with universities to information. rity, Community Preparedness of disaster. Everything they do consequences not only for the and Public Outreach Manager, is free of charge. kids, but also for the person to talk to the club about being “Besides natural and manmade who owns the phones. prepared on the domestic side disasters, one of those things “This is a tech world we live in, of disasters. is cybersecurity, which is a na- and you are banking online a “Manmade disasters are not tional priority right now. As lot of times. It’s very easy. I'm something we can prepare for you know, technology is the sure that you guys all have necessarily. We try to do our first place that a predator goes banking apps. Whenever you best when we have the fusion to these days. This is because give your kid your Apple ID, or center. We now have analysts they can be lazy, and they can whatever it is, so they can put that pay attention. They do watch and monitor if they have apps on your phone, keep in nothing for 24/7 but watch the any kind of savviness in the mind that it is also tied to your dark web. They have nothing to tech world. They have the abil- bank account. So, we want eat, but all they do is watch all ity to get into your stuff, if you to make sure that they know the things that are happening will. So, cybersecurity is one what cybersecurity means as around the world,” Bender be- of our number one priorities,” far as making sure that you gan. Bender explained. have passwords that you know, She said that at first, she She continued to say that she that are certainly unique, and thought it would be a cool job does educational programs nobody else will recognize it. to watch what was going on with students that are in the We want to go into all of it, around the world until she was seventh grade to seniors in the phishing, the emails; make able to see what they see, Then high school, to talk about cy- sure that you have the pass- she decided it was not some- bersecurity. This includes cyber words on all of those things be- thing she would want to do for bullying and understanding cause of the consequences, not even six hours a day because of the consequences of it all. only for them, but for you guys the things that they watch. “We want them to understand as well,” Bender added. Pictured are the 23-24 Basketball Homecoming Queen Emily Lowrance and King Blake “All you see are people who the reputation of that. We She then went into a couple of Redd with flower girl Sloane Stephens and ring bearer Cole Sanders. Courtesy photo The Virtual want to invade America. They want them to understand that real examples of what has hap- hate America. They want to it is not a place you want to be, pened to parents of kids who Elk City Fire and EMS Merritt Teacher Of The Year Updates Local Events On Monday, January 22nd, 2024, at ap- ‘This information was brought to light to proximately 11:45 am, Elk City Fire & EMS display the Importance of teamwork amongst crews received a mutual aid request from Roger EMS and Fire Departments as well as Blood Do- Mills County. Elk City Fire & EMS were called nation- which is where we all can step in and upon to aid them with an individual that was contribute to saving lives. This incident under- entrapped underneath a bulldozer. scores the vital role collaboration plays in emer- Our dedicated team quickly responded, gency situations. sending a command vehicle, rescue unit, and We are incredibly fortunate to have such paramedic unit to aid in the critical situation. positive working relationships with our near- ‘The victim was able to be rescued from under by towns such as the one we have Roger Mills the 20-ton dozer with the aid of airbags and EMS. The exceptional relationships we've fos- heavy loading equipment that was at a nearby tered were instrumental in this life-saving mis- job site. ‘The urgency remained as the need for the sion.Let's Together, we make a difference. also take a moment to acknowledge highest level of trauma care available was well over two hours away at OU trauma hospital the importance of trauma patients receiving in OKC. Collaborating seamlessly with Roger timely and critical care, including the invalu- Mills County EMS, ECFD paramedics, along able role of blood donation through Oklahoma with the assistance of newly acquired medica- Blood Institute. Your support through blood tions like tranexamic acid (TXA), ensured the donations truly saves lives. patient's stability during the journey. On April 12th 2024, the Elk City Fire De- Ina remarkable display of Oklahoma collab- partment will be hosting the inaugural blood oration, Elk City Fire Department paramedics drive in memory of Colter Vaught, organized by reached out to the Oklahoma City Fire Depart- the Beckham County Firefighters association ment for support. Halfway through the trip, and we would love to see you all there! OKC Fire paramedics joined forces, administer- ‘As always, thank you for allowing us to con- ing crucial blood transfusions to the patient. tinue to serve you! Merritt Public Schools named Stacey Barker District Teacher of the Year at the Friday night basketball game. She was also named the Elementary Teacher of the Year earlier last week. The other honorees were Junior High/Senior High Teacher of the Year Toni Richardson, the Have a photo to share? Middle School Teacher of the Year Gina Merz, the Support Person of the Year Jennifer Rangel, and the Maintenance Person of the Year Alma Chavez. Pictured are Richardson, Barker, Ran- Send to [email protected] gel, and Chavez, not pictured is Gina Merz. Courtesy photo. with a description!