Look for the Blue Badges When You Need Help

From Noble Trails Board President Dr. Terry Gaff...

Eagle Scout Nathan Richards (second from left) enlisted friends (from left) Nate Mcnamara, Tucker Martin, and Ben Juarez Goelz to help him complete his Eagle Scout project, which as to place 911 Emergency Location Badges every tenth of a mile along the Fishing Line Trail.

Noble Trails Inc. had always been concerned about the health and safety of the people who use the trails.

There have been a few minor injuries, such as sprained ankles and bike crashes, that have resulted in the need for assistance. While many folks carry cellphones to call for help, they don’t always know how to describe where they are on the trail.

We noted that other trails, like the one near Traverse City and Lake Leelanau in Michigan, there were “911” markers to help with location identification for help with emergency responses.

We also discussed the problem with the Noble County emergency dispatchers who use the Spillman system to help pinpoint the location of need as well as the nearest available emergency and/or law enforcement provider.

We designed the 911 badges to be placed every tenth of a mile or so along the trail with the GPS location of each badge to be provided to the Noble County dispatchers.

An Eagle Scout candidate, Nathan Richards, volunteered to take on the task of placing and locating the 911 badges along the Fishing Line Trail between Kendallville and Rome City. He organized members of his troop and accomplished the task.

We are grateful to Nathan and Troop 103 for their fine work.

On left, the emergency locator signs used on a trail near Lake Leelanau in Michigan. On right, the Noble Trails Emergency Location Badges.