Emergency drill to close Percy Julian Saturday morning

A full-scale emergency exercise for local first responders will close Percy L. Julian Drive near Greencastle Middle School for part of Saturday morning.

The Putnam County Local Emergency Planning Committee (LEPC) will conduct the active shooter exercise from 7:30 a.m.-noon at the middle school and McAnally Center.

A section of Percy L. Julian drive from the Greencastle High School/McAnally Center parking lot entrance to Mill Pond Lane will be closed from 8-9:45 a.m. Keeping Mill Pond Lane open will maintain access to the east end of Avenue F.

Speaking to the Greencastle City Council on Thursday, Greencastle Police Chief Tom Sutherlin emphasized that this is only an exercise. Athough citizens will see a large number of emergency vehicles and hear talk on the scanner of what sounds like a dire situation, that will not be the case.

“It’s strictly an exercise. It’s not real world. It’s not real life,” Sutherlin said. “But it is to prepare us if it really happens.”

The purpose of the exercise is to bring together multiple agencies in a simulated emergency situation in order to evaluate the county’s emergency procedures and the agencies’ abilities to execute those plans.

The exercise is closed to the public.

The mission of the LEPC is to assist local emergency agencies in preparation for the possibility of any hazardous material release, natural disaster, active shooter incident or other major emergency.

Sutherlin also reported there will be no youth football on the GMS fields that morning. Greencastle hosts two home soccer games with Cascade, but those do not begin until 12:30 p.m.