Page County first responders hold emergency drills at local high school

Page County Sheriff, Chad Cubbage - October 29, 2022~ PCSO Facebook page

Luray, Va. — On the morning of Saturday, October 29, local town, county and state law enforcement agencies conducted active shooter training drills at Luray High School, in Page County.

In the wake of school tragedies across the nation, the possibility of threats during an otherwise normal school day has become a unfortunate reality. Schools and law enforcement now find it crucial to conduct emergency response training on a regular basis to keep everyone safe and prepared in the event of an incident.

Working with Page County Public Schools administrators and staff, agencies including the Page County Sheriff’s Office, Luray Police Department, Shenandoah Police Department and Luray and Stanley volunteer rescue squads focused on drills related to crisis and emergency preparedness.

The day before, an announcement was posted on the Page County Sheriff’s Facebook page, alerting the community that there would be a planned presence of emergency vehicles at and near the high school on Saturday morning.

While emergency preparedness is not new to schools or emergency personnel, regular introduction of new legislation and procedures make practice drills more important than ever. For example, a new Virginia law [HB741] introduced in July 2022 requires school division leaders across the state to provide updated and detailed digital floor plans to school resource officers, police departments and other first responders. Being able to locate and assess a threat immediately saves valuable time in situations where every second matters.

In a video statement posted to his agency’s Facebook page on Saturday afternoon, Page County Sheriff Chad Cubbage thanked his staff for their hard work and dedication in making the training successful.

“As sheriff, it’s always my goal to make sure we are providing the best training to our deputies, and the best service we can, to the citizens of Page County,” said Cubbage.

The sheriff went on to thank additional agencies such as Page County Fire-EMS, Virginia State Police, the Page County Emergency Communications Center and Valley Health, for their support of, and involvement in, Saturday’s incident training.

“We always want to make sure we’re keeping our children and teachers safe within our school system,” said Cubbage.