PRESS RELEASE
Adams County residents know Sheriff Dan Mawhorr is cool, and he looks very cool in these glasses, but these are not just any glasses, they are National Standard ISO 12312-2 solar eclipse glasses designed to protect eyes from the very harmful exposure to the coming eclipse.
The Sheriff’s Department, along with several members of the Adams County First Responders are preparing for a total Solar Eclipse, known as the “Great North American Eclipse”. This event will occur in Adams County on April 8, 2024 at 3:00 p.m. The “Great North American Eclipse” will travel across North America, beginning on the Pacific Coast of Mexico, traveling across the United States from Texas to Maine, and ultimately reaching the Atlantic Coast of Canada. Adams County is one of 42 Indiana counties that will have the entirety of their county within the path of the total Solar Eclipse.
A total solar eclipse is a rare and spectacular experience that occurs when the moon passes between the earth and the sun, obscuring the view of the sun partially or completely. During the period of totality, the moon completely blocks the face of the sun and the sun’s corona is visible around the jet-black sphere of the moon. The only safe way to look directly at an uneclipsed or partially eclipsed sun is through special filtered glasses known as “solar eclipse viewing glasses”. Therefore, in preparation, the Adams County Sheriff’s Department applied for a grant for the Glasses to hand out to school students.
Magen Wilson, Adams County Emergency Management Agency, reports that the Adams County EMA is there to assist the citizens of Adams County in the event of any type of disaster, whether man-made or a natural event. As part of the cooperation with the National Weather Service, they provide severe weather announcements to warn the citizens of upcoming severe weather and road conditions.
Thanks to the Adams County Community Foundation grant, Adams County Emergency Management is able to distribute severe weather radios to the public. The radios are programmed to warn about weather in the surrounding counties of Huntington, Jay, and Wells Counties before it gets to Adams County.
The Sheriff’s Department and EMA are partnering with the many forces in our community intended to protect local citizens. When the solar eclipse comes, hundreds of thousands of ‘solar eclipse’ chasers will also come. This watchful group of local citizens from various departments are working to plan, prepare, and address many things that may occur when an event brings a multitude of people to one area. They have brought in experts from Kentucky (where the eclipse occurred in 2017) and have attended preparedness conferences to learn more of what to expect.
Dan Mawhorr, Adams County Sheriff, expressed appreciation to the ACCF for supporting the Department and their efforts to prepare for the eclipse. Louise Ray, ACCF BoD President and grants committee co-chair, added that the ACCF is pleased to support this effort of the Sheriff’s Department.
This ACCF grant was made possible through the unrestricted fund sponsored by the Adams County Community Foundation Community Enrichment Fund, which provides support for programs that support youth, family, and community.
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