Newaygo ES

09/03/2026

72-Hour Emergency Kit for home.

Week one of building your 72-hour kit. This week is water, and it is the least exciting item on the whole list.

One gallon per person per day, for three days. For a family of four that is twelve gallons. Add more for pets.

People skip water because it is bulky and cheap and boring. It is also the thing you cannot improvise. You can eat cold food out of a can. You cannot make water appear.

Buy it a case at a time on your regular grocery run if that is easier. Store it somewhere cool and dark and write the date on it.

While you are at it, put a flashlight and spare batteries with it. Not candles. A candle in a dark house with tired people and pets moving around is how a bad night becomes a worse one.

That is week one. See you next week.

09/01/2026

Issue #2 of The Ready Report is out.

September is National Preparedness Month, and the standard advice is to keep 72 hours of supplies on hand. Three days is the working assumption for how long you may be on your own before help arrives. After an ice storm takes down lines across this county, three days is not a worst case. It is a Tuesday.

Here is the problem with most preparedness lists. They are long, generic, and written for a household that does not exist. People read them, feel behind, and do nothing.

So this issue breaks it into four weeks. One small task per week, none of them expensive. Water and light. Food and a way to hear. Health and paperwork. Warmth and the plan. By the end of the month you have a real kit instead of a list you never started.

We will post a reminder each week so you can build it along with us.

This issue also goes behind the scenes on the August 18 dam siren test, and the regional exercise we run alongside it that spans thirteen counties and one city emergency management office.

Want the PDF? Every issue of The Ready Report is available to download on our public dashboard:
https://www.nceseocdashboard.netlify.app/public

Have a topic you want covered? You can submit suggestions to us through that same dashboard. If there is something you have always wondered about this office, or a question about how something works in this county, send it. I read them.

Also coming up: Wednesday, September 23 at 6:00 p.m., CERT and Medical Reserve Corps training meeting at our office, 306 S. North Street in White Cloud. New volunteers are welcome.

Stay ready,
Cory Lewis, Deputy Director
Newaygo County Emergency Services
231-689-7354

08/31/2026

Today wraps up National Emergency Management Awareness Month.

Here is what I hope stuck. This office exists, it is two people, and we work for you. Most of our work happens long before anything goes wrong. And you have more control over how a bad day goes than you might think.

If you only did one thing this month, I hope it was this: text your ZIP CODE or NEWAYGOES to 888777 so we can reach you.

Tomorrow starts September, which is National Preparedness Month. We are going to spend it on the practical side of things, starting with how to build a 72 hour kit that actually fits your household instead of a generic list you will never finish.

Also, tomorrow will be release of The Ready Report Issue #2. You can get a copy of it on our public dashboard at https://nceseocdashboard.netlify.app/public . On there, you can also send us suggestions on what you would like covered in a future issue of The Ready Report.

Thank you for reading this month. Keep following and keep asking questions.

08/31/2026

We appologize now for the long post, but this is important!

🌊 HONORING OUR FLOOD HEROES!

🌊On August 26, 2026, the Newaygo County Board of Commissioners proudly presented Service Awards to 13 incredible agencies and individuals for their exemplary, late-night, and dedicated support during the April 2026 Flood response and recovery operations.

🎖️👏When the Emergency Operations Center (EOC) activated on April 16, these hometown heroes went well above and beyond their normal duties to save lives, protect property, and support our community until operations wrapped up in late June.

Join us in celebrating the following recognized honorees:❤️

COMMUNITY SUPPORT & SHELTERING

Love Inc of Newaygo County: Distributed physical donations, clean-up kits, bottled water, and well-testing kits.

Inspire Church of Fremont: Sheltered evacuees, secured long-term housing, and hosted the FEMA and SBA Disaster Recovery Assistance Center.

Camp Newaygo: Provided critical housing and food for deployed State special response teams.

🚒 FIRST RESPONDERS & FIELD HEROES

Newaygo County Sheriff’s Office: Handled emergency evacuations, road closures, river hazard assessments, and supply distribution.

DNR Conservation Officer Barboza: Completed crucial emergency missions, tracked river hazards, and recovered loose propane tanks.

Hesperia Fire Department: Manned the Hesperia Dam for 48 hours straight to prevent overtopping, alongside managing evacuations.

Newaygo Fire & Grant Fire Departments: Managed length-of-the-river hazard control, propane tank recovery, and massive damage assessments.

💻 THE EOC BACKBONE & LOGISTICS

Logistics Officer Tim Bitson: Managed all incoming disaster supplies, equipment tracking, and power restoration coordination.

EOC Manager Tim Deater: Steered operations, compiled state reports, and served as our unmanned aircraft pilot.

GIS Coordinator John Warden: Formulated public mapping dashboards for tracking road closures and flood impact areas.

EOC Support Rebecca Bunker: Spearheaded heavy incoming communications and critical administrative coordination.

Emergency Services Deputy Director Cory Lewis: Engineered internal tracking dashboards, managed debris removal, and public information.

Newaygo County Board of Commissioner’s Chairman Bryan Kolk stated, “Newaygo County has been blessed by a wonderful planning team in Director Abby Watkins and Deputy Director Cory Lewis at our Emergency Services Department. All the planning in the world comes to naught without the individuals willing to step up and do the work of implementation. These people and organizations are a spectacular example of those willing to do the work.” 🤝

08/28/2026

Tire Collection September 19, 2026

08/27/2026

Do you know the difference between SECURE and a LOCKDOWN?

All schools within Newaygo County use the same standardized response terminology. As of the 2026/2027 school year, these same terms are now used across the State of Michigan. One shared vocabulary means students, staff, families, and first responders all understand the same instruction the same way, no matter which building, district, or agency they are in.

🔵 SECURE: Possible threat outside. Doors locked, learning continues inside.
🟣 HOLD: Hallways cleared, often for a medical or internal matter. Students stay in their room.
🔴 LOCKDOWN: Active threat in or at the building. All doors locked, students out of sight, full public safety response.
🟢 EVACUATE: Building is unsafe. Students and staff move to a designated safe area outside.
🟠 SHELTER: Safer inside than out, such as severe weather. Students move to a safe area inside.

For SECURE and HOLD, no action is needed from families unless school officials tell you otherwise. For LOCKDOWN, EVACUATE, and SHELTER, please do not come to the school. Monitor NIXLE and official school notifications for instructions on where to go for information and student pick up.

In an emergency, seconds count and confusion costs time. Review these terms with your family and save the attached sheet.

Here is a quick 2 1/2-minute video put out by the Michigan State Police: https://youtu.be/YfwSDbRY8Sw?si=xz1917zGrHEBEucH

If you would like a PDF version of this information, you can find it on our Public Dashboard: https://nceseocdashboard.netlify.app/public

📲 Text NewaygoES to 888777 to get official alerts by text. Free and it takes less than a minute.

08/26/2026

Reminder for those affected by the April storms that the deadline to file for assistance is fast approaching!

🔔REMINDER: The deadline for survivors to apply for FEMA Federal Emergency Management Agency's Individual Assistance (IA) program is Monday, Aug. 31, 2026, at 11:59 p.m. local time. The deadline to apply for a U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) low-interest disaster loan for physical damage is also Aug. 31, 2026.

Read the latest press release from Governor Gretchen Whitmer in the comments section below.

Michigan State Police | | | | | |

08/24/2026

Newaygo County Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) and Medical Reserve Corp (MRC)

This Wednesday, August 26 at 6:00 p.m., we are holding our monthly Community Emergency Response Team and Medical Reserve Corps training meeting at our office, 306 S. North Street in White Cloud.

Here is who this is for. You do not need a background in fire, EMS, or law enforcement. You do not need to be young, or in perfect shape, or available at all hours. Our volunteers come from a variety of backgrounds: nursing, pharmacists, IT, communications, electrician, bus driver, receptionist, as well as first responders and veterans.

Here is why it matters. In a widespread emergency, professional responders get stretched thin fast. Trained neighbors who can check on vulnerable residents, help at a shelter, support a vaccination or distribution site, or handle basic tasks so responders can focus on the critical ones make a real difference in how a community comes through.

CERT trains residents in basic disaster response skills. MRC organizes medical and public health volunteers, though you do not have to be a medical professional to be useful.

Newaygo County CERT and MRC page: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100068960028334

Come Wednesday, ask questions, and decide afterward. There is no commitment for showing up. Questions ahead of time? Call us at 231-689-7354.

The Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) and Medical Reserve Corps (MRC) programs trains team members in basic response skills & disaster preparedness

08/21/2026

Phase four is recovery. It is the longest phase, the least photographed, and the one most people never
see.

The news covers the storm. It rarely covers the fourteen months afterward.

Recovery starts while the response is still going. We document damage, which sounds like paperwork because it is, and that paperwork is what determines whether outside assistance ever arrives. Damage assessments feed into the threshold calculations that let a county request a state declaration, and a state request a federal one. If the damage is not documented, it did not happen as far as assistance programs are concerned.

Here is what that means for you. If your home or business is damaged in a disaster, photograph everything before you clean up, keep every receipt, and report the damage to us even if you have insurance. Unreported damage does not count toward the totals, and those totals are what unlock help
for your neighbors.

Recovery also means debris management, restoring services, connecting residents with volunteer and charitable organizations, and helping local units of government navigate reimbursement.

It is slow, and it is where a lot of the real work of this office happens. 231-689-7354.

08/19/2026

The Siren Myth

Let me correct the most common and most dangerous misunderstanding about emergency warnings.

Outdoor warning sirens are for people who are outdoors.

That is the entire design intent. They were built during the Cold War to warn people working in fields, walking downtown, or out on the water. They were never engineered to pe*****te a closed house with the windows shut, the air conditioning running, and a television on.

They will not reliably wake you up at two in the morning. That is not a defect. It is what they are. So do not make a siren your plan. Make it a bonus. Your actual plan needs at least two ways to reach you indoors, at night, while you are asleep.

One: Sign up for our alerts. Receive FREE neighborhood public safety and emergency information sent directly to your cell phone and email from Newaygo ES and local law enforcement officials. Text your ZIP CODE or NEWAYGOES to 888777.

Two: Turn on Wireless Emergency Alerts on your phone. On iPhone, go to Settings, then Notifications, then scroll to the very bottom. On Android, Settings, then Notifications, then Wireless Emergency Alerts. Make sure they are on and your phone is not on silent overnight.

Three: This is the one that works when everything else fails: a NOAA Weather Radio with battery backup. Roughly thirty dollars, and it does not care whether the power is out or the cell towers are down.