LAC will conduct emergency, reunification drill Friday. 

File photo of students being evacuated from Mason County Eastern Schools during a bomb threat in 2016.

LAC will conduct emergency, reunification drill Friday. 

LUDINGTON — On Friday, May 4, Ludington Area Catholic School will be conducting an emergency response and reunification drill starting at 12:30 p.m. This drill is being conducted in coordination with Mason County Emergency Management and the Mason County School Safety Planning Team to test the readiness of emergency plans and train personnel. The community may notice additional emergency vehicles and traffic around Ludington Area Catholic School and Ludington United Methodist Church, the reunification site, during this time. School families have already been notified of the drill, and community members shouldn’t notice any other disruptions.

Following bomb threats at two schools in Mason County within the past two years, the Mason County School Safety Planning Team has been working on developing a standardized plan for all schools and the community should an emergency happen in which families need to be reunited. During a real emergency, first responders may be busy responding to the incident and may not be able to quickly assist schools in reuniting children with their parents or designated guardians. During these events, unaffected schools will be able to assist and support the impacted school in a real event. 

Even though this drill is intended to only test the management and administrative controls of the reunification plan, it is a good reminder to all parents to update their emergency contact information with their child’s school administration. In the unfortunate event that an incident occurs at or impacts one of our community’s schools, it is extremely important that the correct list of guardians is on file. Many schools encourage parents to list several individuals who would be able to pick up their child during an unplanned or early release which is helpful in situations like these.

Ludington Area Catholic School has volunteered to participate in this drill to train its staff and students alongside community partners. 

For more information or questions, please contact the Mason County Emergency Management Office.