COLUMN: Salem’s Community Emergency Response Team needs you

Yes, that’s right, you. We’ve all seen how an ice storm or heavy wind can isolate a neighborhood, turning familiar streets into obstacle courses of downed limbs and slick pavement.

While these localized events are challenging, they remind us of what happens when the scale of an emergency grows. In the immediate aftermath of a major disaster, professional first responders will be stretched to their limits. In those moments, the best people to help are…