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John Ball, a Central New York native and former interim Madison County sheriff, recently joined the Hamilton Emergency Response Team as emergency manager. Here he talks about his background, his new position, and tips for preparing for an emergency.

Hundreds of Hamilton College students, faculty, and staff gathered just before noon on Friday, April 19, to express solidarity against the use of date rape drugs.

Hamilton College conducted a live emergency drill in partnership with the New York State Police and the New York Air National Guard. To comply with the federal Clery Act, the College is required to test its response systems annually.

Members of the FBI from offices in Syracuse, Albany, Burlington, and Utica, including SWAT (Special Weapons and Tactics) agents and technical operation center personnel along with a working canine, came to campus for a day of training.

Two Civil Support Teams (WMD-CST), National Guard units comprised of Army and Air National Guard soldiers and airmen from Vermont and New York, engaged in day-long emergency response exercises on Hamilton College’s campus on Thursday, March 15.

More than 150 members of the local police, county sheriff, fire department, medical personnel, the NY State Police Emergency Response Team and the Hamilton campus community participated in an intense, full-scale, realistic drill meant to test teamwork and response times on Wednesday, June 18.

Director of Campus Safety Fran Manfredo contributed a Viewpoint column to University Business, in which he underscores the importance of building relationships with state emergency agencies in preparing for campus emergencies.  In “College and local first responders go far beyond tabletop emergency exercise,” Manfredo describes the preparations for Hamilton’s July 29 emergency drill.

The College conducted a large-scale emergency drill on campus on Monday, July 29, the fourth in a series of yearly exercises to ensure that the Hamilton Emergency Response Team (HERT) is proficient in handling emergencies utilizing the Incident Command System (ICS). News coverage of the exercise included news stories produced by WUTR (ABC/Fox affiliate) and WKTV (NBC affiliate) as well as the Observer-Dispatch.

The College conducted a large-scale emergency drill on campus on Friday, July 20, the third in a series of yearly exercises to ensure that the Hamilton Emergency Response Team (HERT) is proficient in handling emergencies utilizing the Incident Command System (ICS). “Hamilton considers these mock drills to be an important and essential part of the college’s emergency preparedness efforts,” said Director of Campus Safety Francis Manfredo.

Hamilton conducted its planned emergency drill on its campus in conjunction with the New York State Police (NYSP) and local emergency responders on Tuesday, July 20. “The drill has provided Hamilton College with the opportunity to understand what emergency responders will need from us and what we can expect from them. The drill also allowed the Hamilton community to meet and become familiar with the local emergency responders,” said Director of Campus Safety Fran Manfredo.