LAWRENCE COUNTY — Lawrence County emergency officials briefed the Board of Commissioners Tuesday morning on key public safety initiatives, including annual state compliance filings, upcoming festival planning, and the arrival of emergency weather radios for county residents.
Scott Smith, Deputy EMA Director and Assistant Addressing Coordinator, addressed the commissioners with several operational updates from the Lawrence County Emergency Management Agency (EMA).
Smith confirmed that the EMA has officially submitted the county’s annual special events report to the state for review and final approval. The annual filing helps ensure all large-scale gatherings across Lawrence County meet state safety standards and emergency response guidelines.
Additionally, planning is ramping up for one of the region’s largest annual gatherings:
A dedicated safety plan meeting with local officials and organizers for the upcoming Mitchell Persimmon Festival is officially scheduled for Monday, August 3.
The August 3 meeting will bring together emergency management, law enforcement, fire departments, and festival planners to review crowd management, traffic control, and emergency response protocols ahead of the autumn event.
Weather Radios Arrive: Pickup Details & Hours
Smith also announced that a long-awaited shipment of NOAA weather radios has arrived at the emergency management office and is now ready for public distribution.
Lawrence County Complex Weather Radio Pickup
Location: Lawrence County Complex (EMA Office) in Bedford, IN
Hours: 7:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m.
Days: Monday through Friday
Availability: Open for immediate pickup
As previously highlighted by WBIW and the Lawrence County EMA, weather radios remain one of the most reliable first lines of defense during Indiana’s unpredictable severe weather seasons.
Unlike smartphone weather apps that rely on active cellular towers and Wi-Fi networks—which frequently fail during major storms or power outages—NOAA weather radios operate on dedicated radio frequencies broadcast directly by the National Weather Service (NWS).
Key Features & Benefits:
- 24/7 Direct Broadcasts: Continuous weather updates, watches, and warnings issued directly by the NWS station in Bloomington (WXM-78, 162.450 MHz) and surrounding transmitters.
- Loud Audible Tone Alarms: Designed with standby alarm modes that automatically emit a loud tone to wake residents during midnight tornadoes or severe nocturnal storms.
- SAME Technology: Specific Area Message Encoding (SAME) allows users to program the radio specifically for Lawrence County (SAME code:
018093), preventing unnecessary alerts for distant counties. - Battery Backups: Ensures the radio continues sounding warnings even when severe weather knocks out grid power.
Local officials encourage residents—especially those living in rural areas of Lawrence County with limited cell coverage—to stop by the county complex during weekday hours to secure a radio and ensure their households are prepared before the next storm system moves through.
