Ahead of yet another round of severe weather Saturday night, there was a good attendance at the Lyon County Fairgrounds for the county’s now-annual Preparedness Fair on Saturday.
This was the second time the Preparedness Fair used the Fairgrounds after several years at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, and around 200 people turned out. Regardless of location, event founder Dr Joseph Laudie says the Preparedness Fair has always been about helping get through disasters and emergencies of any size.
Laudie says his parents were always prepared for disasters. It was an approach he says became prudent once he watched issues with Emporia’s water system over the last decade, as well as massive disasters elsewhere.
Among the county departments represented was Lyon County Emergency Communications. Director Roxanne Van Gundy says a major focal for her department, and others nationwide, is an effort called “What 3 Words.”
2026 has been an active year for severe spring weather, and one thing Van Gundy stressed Saturday — after stressing it her whole career with Lyon County Emergency Communications — is not to have emergency dispatchers be information sources or tell you what you need to do when severe weather hits. First responders double as storm spotters for Lyon County, while dispatchers have to constantly monitor, sound and turn off outdoor warning sirens because of a hodgepodge network of systems used by the county’s communities.
The event featured several city of Emporia and Lyon County departments, as well as businesses with emergency-related products and information, utilities, health service agencies and local nonprofits.
