NORWICH – The federal government has unveiled a program that would supply weather alert radios to each of the 97,000 public schools in the country, free of charge. According to Norwich Emergency Management Officer A. Jones, the city has already considered this possibility and instituted the program.

Norwich is ahead of the curve where weather alert radios are concerned. The radios have been in place in each school in the district for three years. They automatically turn on when a national weather alert - like the ones that run across the bottom of the television screen - is issued. The alerts are coded by county, so if an alert is issued for a given area, the radios will power on and play the alert.