In an effort to make sure Owenton is a secure community to live in, a team from the Kentucky Community Preparedness Program (KCPP) is in town this week to assess the city’s strengths and weaknesses and offer recommendations to improve on safety.
If Owenton completes the entire assessment process, the city will be eligible for $10,000 in reimbursement monies toward improving security.
The Kentucky Office of Homeland Security performed 60 assessments in 2005 and has 30 planed for this year.
“This is the state’s premier homeland security initiative,” Gov. Ernie Fletcher said in a press release. “We amassed a team of experienced and knowledgeable assessors, and they are taking their fresh perspectives across Kentucky to help identify weaknesses and give our communities the information and resources they need to strengthen their security and to become ready and prepared for any act of mass violence.”
The program is voluntary and the community is not required to fulfill any of the assessments made by the group.
Its main point is to make communities aware of their weaknesses and make recommendations on how to improve on them.
“It helps determine vulnerability,” Owenton Police Chief Terry Gentry said. “I believe they will touch on some things that will help us in the future.”
The assessors are expected to make simple and mostly inexpensive recommendations to help improve Owenton.
That way the city can prepare to be safe in the event of an emergency, or to be well-prepared to avoid potential disasters.
The KCPP team members arrived in Owenton on Monday and will be here through Friday, working with law enforcement and community leaders.
The two six-person teams will inspect a wide range of entities, from schools to water plants to government buildings to public and private organizations.
“They’ll do an assessment of the properties and the security and see how well they’re equipped in case of emergencies,” Gentry said.
At the end of the week the group will create a summary of everything that was inspected and meet with law enforcement and community leaders to point out the main areas in which Owenton can improve.
The group will then return at a later date for an inspection to see what changes, if any, the city has made.
“It’s to help the whole state prepare for any major disasters or terrorists,” Gentry said of the program “It’s an assessment of the community’s preparedness.”

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