State Rep. Debbie Phillips, D-Athens, will be making a journey to her House district in the latest of a series of quarterly meetings with her constituents.
The Athens County Roundtable discussions are an opportunity for those in the area to voice their concerns to their representative as well as to catch up on what is going on in the statehouse.
“A lot of people really enjoy the discussion because we come from different perspectives,” Phillips said.
Since many Athenians may not have the time or means to make the journey to Columbus, Phillips said these meeting are an opportunity to “go where the people are, instead of them always having to come up to the statehouse.”
Those interested in meeting with Phillips, especially if it pertains to an issue with a state agency, are encouraged to meet with her one-on-one, she said. “This is just something I put together for a set time.”
In the summer months, Phillips said she plans to do a “listening tour,” during which she will go to smaller communities in her district that do not usually see interaction from their legislator.
Part of Phillips’ discussion Friday will focus on one of her legislative achievements, including the passage of one of the bills she sponsored Wednesday, House Bill 178. It passed unanimously.
The bill, which reduces the number of fire drills school districts are required to have in favor of more drills pertaining to rapid evacuations and armed gunman scenarios, was co-sponsored by 48 of 99 total representatives, according to Statehouse data.
“I have not had any information from anyone that they think it wasn’t a good idea,” said Carl Martin, the superintendent of Athens Local School District who testified in favor of the bill when it was in committee. “I think it was pretty well supported.”
Trimble Superintendent Kimberly Jones agreed with Martin.
“If you look at the stats as far as victims of fires versus school violence, I think that is well justified,” Jones said. “Obviously we wouldn’t want to lessen the former in attempt to address the latter.”
Jones supports the bill, adding that the bill’s proposed six fire drills per school year is sufficient, and possibly even beneficial to fire safety.
“(It’s a) balance between getting children acclimated to (fire drills) to where they don’t panic and getting them over-acclimated to where they don’t react,” Jones said.
For Martin, reallocating the school’s time training for emergencies “allows us more time to do safety drills, we try to be a little more efficient with the time we have.”
WHAT: Athens County Roundtable
WHEN: Friday, March 21, 9:30 a.m.
WHERE: Athens Public Library
30 Home St. in Athens
ADMISSION: FREE
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