To the editor:

Last Thursday, the Journal-World’s Online Edition reported: “High winds causing damaging strong winds and rotating clouds convinced the National Weather Service to issue a tornado warning for the area.”

What part of “the area” was this? I arrived in Lawrence at 6:15 p.m. with my children for a band concert at South Junior High School. The sky looked ugly, and it was starting to rain. I asked my son, a seventh-grader at South, where the designated storm shelter is at the school. He said it is in the inner circular hallway.

The concert took place without incident (and was very enjoyable, thanks to Mr. Robinson and all who participated). However, I could not help but think, as we slowly funneled through clogged exits afterward, that we would have been sitting ducks in any kind of an emergency. Did a warning in fact take place? Had we heard sirens, would we all have been able to reach the shelter area?

I intend no criticism of South. I would simply like to raise awareness. How many public gathering places could safely handle an emergency? Have principals, teachers, ministers, band directors, etc., discussed extracurricular evacuation, should the need arise? Do they ensure that such gatherings don’t exceed the legal and safe limits for the venue?

I hope this will raise discussion. Expecting the unexpected and preparing for it could save lives.

M.L. Norris
Baldwin