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Articles
From the Desk of
Terry E. Eull
City Administrator
Hometown Security
 All Americans are aware that the United States has
come under attack from terrorist forces. Our national
government has made it a top priority to inform us of what measures
they are taking to secure our safety. One of those measures
includes providing information on a statewide basis in regards to
phases of our country’s security status. You may have heard
that recently, our nation was placed on “Alert Status”.
Needless to say, we have remained at this high level of alert in the
wake of the New York, Pennsylvania and Washington D.C. tragedies.
Added to this threat has been the heightened attention to the
possibility of biological or chemical campaigns against the United
States by, at this point, some unknown party.
All over America state, county and city governments
are brainstorming ways in which to prepare themselves and their
community against the possibility of many different kinds of
hostilities. The City of Niles has also put into place several
defensive procedures in an effort to protect all citizens from harm.
In many cases, the actions being taken are such that general
knowledge of them would defeat the purpose. However, some of
these preventive measures and defensive actions are such that
knowing the information in advance would not have a detrimental
effect, but hopefully, will help to keep everyone updated about what
is going on and help to lessen anxiety.
Officials at the City of Niles began immediately, just right
after the September 11th tragedy, to take a look at our city very
hard from the standpoint of possible terrorist activities that could
disrupt our way of life. What became most obvious in the words
of Fire Chief Jim Cripe was that, “the new threat is insidious in
that there are no rules of engagement . . not many past examples to
draw from.” Some of the actions taken by local authorities
since then are listed below.
Security
Involves Everyone
One of the first actions taken was that the City Administrator
issued a memorandum to all employees to be very watchful of what is
taking place in our city on a 24 hour basis. Most city
employees live here in our community and many of them work various
hours throughout a 24-hour period. Asking all 190 city
employees and officials to be on the alert for any suspicious or
unusual happenings in our community reminds everyone that being
aware of your surroundings is not just a job for law enforcement
officials. Law enforcement officials operate best when
assisted by the community in knowing what activities are actually
taking place in the city.
Terrorism Seeks to be Effective by Creating Fear
For this reason, you will continually note government officials
asking you to stay calm. The best defense against terrorism is
effective planning and preparedness. Fear can immobilize and
remove constructive thinking thereby eliminating planning and
preparedness. It it most important for people to simply go on
with their everyday lives. The best way to combat feelings of
anxiety is to do the things that you can do to prepare for
emergencies, although we hope the need never arises to use them.
Put simply, we all carry a spare tire and jack in our cars. We
hope not to have to get out and change a tire, but if we needed to
we would have the equipment and the know how to get the job done.
The City of Niles, through the public media and by use of it’s
public safety groups, continues to educate residents on emergency
procedures. Even our children are taught fire safety, how to
get police assistance and when to dial 911.
Increased Ability to Handle Hazardous Materials
Among the additional and revised strategies of the Niles City
Fire Department is an increase in the number of firefighters who are
trained at higher levels to answer specific types of emergency
calls. For example, currently all city public safety units
operate under the direction of the Berrien County Emergency Plan.
The City of Niles has a Support Emergency Operations Plan that works
in conjunction with the county emergency plan. If a hazardous
materials spill were to take place, the City Fire and Police
Departments would most likely be the first public safety units on
the scene. Previously, all firefighters were trained to handle
minimal hazardous materials incidents, with one firefighter being
trained at one of the highest levels available, Hazardous Material
Specialist. The Berrien County Sheriff’s Office maintains a
fully trained Haz Mat team, which could then be called in to
alleviate the problem. City firefighters, have the ability to
be mobilized within minutes (in contrast to the county team that
could take much longer). City firefighters would secure the site,
attempt to limit exposure and decontaminate any involved individuals
before the county Haz Mat team arrives. With this new threat
in our nation, the City of Niles is enhancing the capabilities of
it’s own special Haz Mat team. Six firefighters and four policemen
will be trained at the technician level of hazardous materials
handling, greatly increasing the City’s ability to perform rescue
and mitigation of these types of emergencies. This team is
being outfitted with top of the line equipment and materials
including higher capacity air tanks, hazardous materials body suits
and other specialized equipment. The City of Niles Haz Mat
team will be properly trained and outfitted to better handle the
situation if the Berrien County Haz Mat team is delayed.
Suspicious Article Collection and Disposal Team
The Niles Police Department has formulate the Suspicious Article
Collection and Disposal Team which has already been called upon in
our community. These officers and dispatchers were trained and
placed into service almost immediately after the first east coast
Anthrax events. These professionals are trained to investigate
and rule out “hoax packages” as well as to know when further
investigation is warranted. According to Police Chief
Ric Huff, “there are many different containment and reporting
requirements depending on the direction the investigation takes.”
The Police Department’s SACDT is a “first responder” team made up of
four officers who have additional training in this type of
investigation. They are equipped with Tyvek suits, chemical
masks, gloves and support equipment to investigate and contain these
types of incidents. If certain criteria of the investigation
warrant doing so, the SACDT will coordinate efforts with the Niles
Fire Department’s Haz Mat team, the Berrien County Haz Mat team,
Berrien County Health Department, Michigan Department of Health, and
the local field office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, if
necessary.
Public Utilities and Public Works Field Teams
Two other important members of the City of Niles Emergency
Support Operations Plan are the members of the Department of Public
Utilities and the Department of Public Works. The DPU
maintains electrical, water and wastewater emergency crews and the
DPW maintains Engineering and Street Department crews. All of
these field teams are on 24-hour call and have a long history of
experience in disaster response and management. They have the
ability of other public safety units to communicate independent of
electrical power and they coordinate well with police and fire
units. Citizens who have been residents in this city, even for
a short time, know that the City of Niles rarely has electrical,
water, street or sewer problems that extend for long periods of
time. Many of the individuals in these field teams have 20 or
more years of experience working with systems in this city such as
water and electrical distribution. Again, most of these
dedicated men and women not only work in this community, they live
here with their families also. The Department of Public Works
and the Department of Public Utilities have also taken measures to
ensure the safety of these systems and keep them in good working
order.
Service and Emergency Response Agencies
And finally, though service and emergency response agencies in
our community are not organizationally connected to the City of
Niles, they are none the less an integral part of the emergency
management of this city. Agencies like the Salvation Army, the
United Way and the American Red Cross and others have offices in
this community. We know that we can depend on them if the need
ever arises. The City of Niles has always supported their
efforts and the jobs that they do in this area, and we will continue
to do so. Many of our employees work with these organizations.
There is no doubt that they can be called upon to assist in whatever
endeavors may be necessary.
The City of Niles is not just a collection of city workers
earning a paycheck. It is a collection of specialty teams
organized to work as one team with other agency, county and state
teams. In that light, residents need to know that the City of
Niles’ emergency team is made up of your neighbors, families and
friends. We all work together to ensure the safety of this
community.
 Parenting
Greetings Friends and Neighbors of the Greater Niles Area:
Parenting . . . a subject in which I’m an expert. Yeah, Right!
That’s only in my dreams. My wife and I do feel that we have done a
pretty good job, but like everyone else we experienced the ups and
downs of raising our two sons. At different times when they were
young they saw us as the all-knowing, wise ones: those who offered
guidance, help and advice. However, I know that there were also
times when our children thought we knew little of what life was
really about; that we didn’t have a clue about their feelings or
understand them at all. But we learned a lot over the years. Like
it’s best to keep your children active, motivated and stimulated.
But mostly, we learned when to seek help.
Our parents, of course, were invaluable to us. Even though
sometimes they may have first chuckled and began an "I remember when
you were that age" story each time we sought their advice, in the
end a "more experienced" parent can be priceless in your time of
need. And it’s great when you perceive that they are in agreement
with you on a particular subject. This has the effect of giving you
confidence that you are correct in your thinking and in control of
the situation. Then there are those times when your parents sit
serenely and patiently while you speed ahead at 60 miles an hour
expounding on "what’s wrong with that kid" until finally you come to
a stop sign to take a breath and notice that they’re not agreeing
with you. You know you’ll have to rethink the situation when their
first words are, "Well, maybe you should consider. . ."
Drawing from our own childhood my wife and I also knew without a
doubt that instilling in our children the knowledge that there is a
higher spiritual authority would benefit them during their journey
through life. This practice taught us all how to be a better family
and helped give our children a better sense of right and wrong. We
realized later that when it seemed our children didn’t want to
listen to us or couldn’t hear us even though they were looking
straight in our faces as we talked, that ingrained knowledge of
right and wrong kept them from going too far off course. All of
those years of living in faith also provided each one of us with the
knowledge that there was always Someone very powerful to turn to
even when it seemed that there was no where else to turn. This last
can be extremely important as your children enter the "teenage
years" (which seems to start at about age eleven these days).
And then too in our home, the community itself played a large
part in helping us to raise our children. Niles, like other cities
I’m sure, offers so much that is conducive to the well being of the
family. I grew up in the Brandywine area of Niles Township. It
always seemed to me that there was so much to do. There was always
somewhere to go and so much to get involved in before, during and
after school. Churches and other organizations in the area always
provided a variety of youth programs. Baseball, football, track and
field, choir and band, glee clubs, camping trips, movies, hay rides,
amusement parks, the Spanish club, the debate club, plays, recitals,
the Christmas pageant, and even shopping trips all served a purpose.
That purpose was to allow us to be a part of the community family,
to explore our world, to find our own niche and to hopefully keep us
out of trouble.
So as our children grew we took advantage of all the
opportunities Niles had to offer. The wide array of events, programs
and organizations that have just one thing in common . . .providing
a fulfilling and an enriching atmosphere in which our children could
learn and grow. So we took them to Optimist soccer league, Little
League, FOP baseball, the Galaxy Skating Rink, the Ready Theatre,
the Apple Festival, sledding and snow mobiling, to the Historic
Niles Train Depot to see Santa arrive on an Amtrak train. We took
them fishing, boating and skiing, to the Niles-Buchanan YMCA for
swimming lessons, to Hackers for miniature golf, to Shula’s 31 bowl
lanes and a host of other things. We tried not to get too weary of
constantly being on the go because we knew that all too soon they
would send chills up our spines by asking, "Can I use the car?" So
we encouraged their interests and attempted to control their
behaviors.
Then on a bright sunny day, at a time when you still think that
you are in control, you look at your kid and say, "Do it this way"
and a young man or a young woman looks back at you defiantly and
says "No". Your sky darkens just a little. After all, we pay all the
bills around here and we’ve given them everything a kid could want.
How can they be so impertinent as to continue to do what they want
when you’re telling them to do it your way? You dress yourself in
the armor of authority and wisdom; and you demand obedience in all
things. And a war begins. It is a struggle between the one who has
always been the grown up and the one that is growing up. It is a
battle in which both of you implement your strategies to gain (or
regain) the battlefield you know is yours. It is a war that can last
for months or even years, but one you are not prepared to lose.
Then, just when you think that you are almost too weary to continue
the fight it comes to you in the middle of the night – the ultimate
strategy. You must concede some portion of the battlefield in order
to win the war. You must let go, even if just a little bit at a
time.
Your children are finding their own niche in life. Just like you
did. Their path may not be as straight and as defined as you want it
to be, but you hold in your heart the belief that one day it will
all come together for them. One day they will grow up physically,
mentally and spiritually. And they will continue to grow inwardly
until before you know it, God willing, you’ll look up and see
someone slightly graying at the hairline. Someone who is talking and
pacing at 60 miles an hour. Someone who is still growing. As always,
you are there to help, not to hinder, so you smile serenely as you
let your mind drift back while you wait patiently for your cue to
take center stage again. Eventually silence falls and a perplexed
face that kind of looks like yours stares at you with questioning
eyes . . . ahhh, your cue. You’re relaxed as you begin slowly, "I
remember when you were that age. . ."
Who's
the Boss?
Greetings Friends:
I am happy to have the opportunity to write an article for the
premier edition of the Southwestern Michigan Source magazine for two
reasons. First, I believe this is the type of publication that
Niles residents especially will respond to because of the upbeat and
positive information you will find in these pages. I hope that
you will enjoy this first issue and the many informative ones to
follow. I am also pleased to have this chance to share some of
my views about the community in which we live.
 Niles
is a city with an abundance of good qualities that make it inviting
for visitors to our area. Niles is an ethnically diverse city
full of good, dedicated citizens who work hard to maintain a
vibrant, healthy community. The residents of the Niles area
give of their time and themselves to further many worthy endeavors
in our city.
Meaningful activities abound in this city, from those who
dedicate themselves to the youth of our area, to others who work
towards the goal of increasing our city’s economic base and to the
various other positive undertakings in between that our residents
engage themselves in. Whatever the need, you will find Niles
residents active in supplying the solution. Niles has a rich
history and an exceptionally bright future. I believe it is
the people of this area that make this true.
 And
so I am always happy to see our citizens attend city council and
other community meetings to express their views when city officials
are considering changes to our city’s infrastructure, ordinances or
other proposed projects. When you provide your thoughts and
views on possible changes within our city you also remind us “who’s
the boss”. In good government, it can be no other way.
The key behind a successful community is the coming together of
its members in the decision-making process. That’s why at the
top of the City’s organization chart
you will always see the words “Citizens of Niles”. City of
Niles government officials not only oversee the day-to-day operation
of the city for its residents; but also continually reaffirm to
themselves and to you the city’s organizational structure. So
when you see or hear phrases like, “We’re Your Hometown Utility” or
“Coming Together to Build a Better Community” or even the
time-honored “To Protect and To Serve” please know that these are
statements that are truly the basis for all that we do or propose to
do.
 Change
is inevitable, in one way or another. Or as one writer put it,
“change is constant”. We believe that our citizens want to
ensure that Niles always has that hometown feel, that it will always
be a “walkable” community and that it will always help provide the
good quality of life needed to raise healthy families. We also
believe that our citizens want to ensure that there will be jobs
right here at home for their children who want it and that they want
to ensure that the city is prosperous and economically sound.
We want that too. Afterall, all city officials and 95% of city
employees live in this city or the surrounding townships. All
of the volunteers who work on city committees or boards live in this
city. We all want what’s best for Niles.
As city administrator I will always bring the facts and hard
truths about any proposed changes to the City Council and to the
citizens of Niles for your consideration. I’ll bring you
comparable data, whenever it is possible, to show you how this
change may have affected other cities similar to Niles. I’ll
tell you if the proposed change is feasible or not and will always
inform you of its advantages and disadvantages. If I don’t
have the answers to your questions, I’ll get them. And if I
believe a proposed project or issue is good for the city, I’ll try
my hardest to convince you that it’s good too. In the end, the
decisions are not mine . . . they belong to you.
The key to making the right decisions will be our ability to
visualize together the future of our city and how we want it to be.
Each question of “how will this affect our city?” must be thought of
in terms of its effect today, tomorrow and far into the years to
come. We must continually ask ourselves what will this mean
ten, twenty or fifty years from now? How will this benefit the
community in the years to come? What will this decision mean
for the generations to come? What can we do now to eliminate
or ease the problems of tomorrow? What will make the future
brighter for the whole community?
Try this. After you have read this passage, close your eyes
for just a moment. Ask yourself, what will our downtown area
look like in five, ten or twenty years? Try visualizing small
specialty stores with shoppers walking leisurely from door to door.
Maybe you’ll see the beginning of a walkable heritage route so that
visitors can view the many great historic architectural homes that
are showcased in the city. What will the street traffic look
like? Can you see Riverfront Park? What kinds of activities
are taking place there? What does the industrial park look
like? Are there people going to and from work? Can you
see the airport? Can you see planes flying in and out
intermittingly with packages, freight and even business people?
Can you imagine visitors stepping off a high-speed rail train at the
Niles depot in search of their favorite restaurants and shops? What
does South Eleventh Street or South Third Street look like?
Can you step into a neighborhood and still feel that “small town,
hometown” feel?
Once you have seen the future the next question is how did we get
the revenue and resources to make it happen? The answer is
here with us today. We just have to see it.
Visualization is the key to planning our future. Come; let us
plan the future together.
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