ALICE training course set for Fort Madison

BY CHUCK VANDENBERG

PCC EDITOR

FORT MADISON - A training program is being offered locally to help people in the event of an active shooter situation.

The Program, called ALICE an acronym that stands for Alert, Lockdown, Inform, Counter, Evacuate, is put on by the Alice Training Institute and will be held at the Iowa State Penitentiary in October.

Chief Deputy Will Conlee, with the Lee County Sheriff's Department, said the program is for anyone associated with any group, facility, business or organization in the area that wants to take the course.

"This is an instructor course, so once you go through this two-day training session you can go back to your high school or hospital or business and you could teach your employees what you've learned. It preps you and gives you a plan for an active shooter situation," he said.

It's the first time the sheriff's department has partnered with the institute, but it's more the type of programming that the sheriff's department wants to do.

"When (Lee County Sheriff) Stacy (Weber) took over, one of the things he wanted to do was bring training to us so we don't have to travel all the time."

The sheriff's department is co-hosting the program with the Iowa State Penitentiary and both agencies will be sending two officers to the training, but Conlee said the group needs to get about 20 more for the ALICE Institute to fly instructors up from Texas to teach the course.

The cost of the two-day program is $550, a cost Conlee says is minimal considering once the course is completed the person who went through the program will now be able to be an instructor for others in their organization.

"This is one of those things that's always in the back of my mind as a cop," Conlee said. "I have two kids in school and you always think about something horrible happening. I know what we're going to do in that situation, but this is a chance for us to get people through training so they can take action as well," he said.

The program will be held on Oct. 23 and 24. Conlee said the institute will stay in contact with the sheriff's department to see how many people are signed up for the course to determine if the interest level is high enough.