College Will Be Sheltered from      Possible Y2K Storm

MILWAUKEE — A technical college has prepared for the worst the new millennium has to offer by putting together a Y2K disaster shelter.
Lakeshore Technical College's Cleveland campus is ready to provide 500 people with food, water and shelter for up to two weeks.
"It's thinking ahead and looking down the line. If something happens, we don't want to be hit," college spokeswoman Tammie Stahl said.
If there is a Y2K cataclysm, the shelter would be open to the first 500 residents of Sheboygan and Manitowoc counties to arrive.
The college bought 2,400 gallons of bottled water and 9 tons of food for its Y2K disaster shelter. Twenty-four portable toilets will be delivered late this month and placed strategically around the campus. Lanterns and extra batteries have been procured in case the lights go out. The college also bought an emergency diesel engine and rented an extra fuel tank.
The tax-supported college spent $1,500 for bottled water and $15,000 for food, said Dennis Thiel, physical plant director at the college. If the shelter is not needed or if food is left over, the surplus will be donated to local food pantries.
State Sen. Bob Jauch, D-Poplar, describes the college's actions as "nutty behavior that isn't fitting of a public institution."
"This is a strange overreaction that just heightens the existing hyperactivity over this issue," said Jauch, the co-chairman of a legislative committee reviewing year 2000 preparedness. "I frankly think we have to question the quality of their instruction, if this is the depth of their thinking."
State Director of Emergency Management Ed Gleason said even if something does go wrong, people would be unlikely to head to the college.
"Typically, I think if something were to happen on New Year's Eve, they probably wouldn't run to a shelter," Gleason said. "They would probably wait to see if the lights go back on."