Black River’s school and event safety policies always rely on close communication with law enforcement, as they have information and expertise unavailable to us. Last Friday, we first heard about the possibility of a Hope "Shelter in place" warning via a social media news post as our game was delayed due to lightning.  We immediately reached out to Hope Campus Safety and through them, the Ottawa County Sheriffs Department. We also looked to the Hope staff member at the game for additional information and direction. Fortunately, we were given no reason to be concerned, and a Holland Police Officer arrived on site to help out with a separate issue.  We stayed in close proximity with the officer in case he had additional directions for us. 

In the future, we will continue to work with our law enforcement professionals to make sure Black River events are fun and safe. One way Ottawa County is making this easier for all of us is a new warning system, in place since September, which will send a cell phone alert to anyone in proximity of a dangerous situation.

Here’s an article that refers to that system:

https://fox17online.com/2019/09/15/police-warn-of-incident-on-hollands-south-side/