By Jane Prendergast
Enquirer staff writer

The director of the national Office for Domestic Preparedness stopped in Cincinnati on Friday to praise citizens getting involved in protecting the country from a repeat of the terrorist attacks on Sept. 11, 2001.

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Suzanne Mencer, whose office is part of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, addressed the National Crime Prevention Council conference downtown. She said it's important for residents to prepare themselves by doing such things as keeping water in their cars and getting involved in block-watch programs.

Her agency is responsible for training, giving grants and providing technical support to cities and states for responding to acts of terrorism.

"Terrorism is a weapon of choice,'' said Mencer, a former teacher and FBI agent who grew up in Columbus and graduated from Ohio State University. "It's cheap, it's efficient and it's effective. And what is their goal? It's to change public opinion. We can't let them do it.''

She highlighted the creation of citizen-involvement programs, such as the Ohio Citizen Corps, which is pushing hard for more volunteers to sign up in a statewide effort today.. The list of signup locations, including many fire houses and McDonald's restaurants, can be found at www.serveohio.org.

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E-mail jprendergast@enquirer.com