July 23, 2014 at 2:10 p.m.
Time is now to think ahead (1/11/05)
Opinion
There’s no way to prepare for every possible disaster. Mother Nature always finds out new ways to humble humankind.
But every disaster — and we’re not stretching the word when we use it to describe the ice storm which knocked out power to thousands of local homes — ought to provoke a period of re-thinking matters of preparedness.
For the most part, we’d give area utility companies, relief agencies, and government high marks for their response and service during this difficult period.
Indiana Michigan Power and the Jay County REMC have done an outstanding job; so too has the Hoosier Heartland Chapter of the American Red Cross. Emergency officials at the county and city level have also been on top of their game.
Still, there are lessons to be learned and improvements to be made.
Primary among those is the need for more and better emergency power generating equipment. The city of Portland had emergency generators working at the water plant, the sewage treatment plant, the fire station, and city hall, which houses the police station.
They had some years on them, but they worked.
Meanwhile, Dunkirk found itself without a generator at the water plant when the lights went out. Both Dunkirk and Redkey were placed under water boil orders for a period of time as a result.
Clearly, an effort ought to be made — targeting Homeland Security funds — to get the best possible emergency generators in place.
A solid case can also be made for acquiring emergency generators for places such as the Jay Community Center, which would be ideal shelters if the area were to encounter a similar crisis in the future.
As the clean-up continues and before the chilly memories fade, local officials ought to put together a wish list of items that would make the next blow from Mother Nature easier to bear. — J.R.[[In-content Ad]]
But every disaster — and we’re not stretching the word when we use it to describe the ice storm which knocked out power to thousands of local homes — ought to provoke a period of re-thinking matters of preparedness.
For the most part, we’d give area utility companies, relief agencies, and government high marks for their response and service during this difficult period.
Indiana Michigan Power and the Jay County REMC have done an outstanding job; so too has the Hoosier Heartland Chapter of the American Red Cross. Emergency officials at the county and city level have also been on top of their game.
Still, there are lessons to be learned and improvements to be made.
Primary among those is the need for more and better emergency power generating equipment. The city of Portland had emergency generators working at the water plant, the sewage treatment plant, the fire station, and city hall, which houses the police station.
They had some years on them, but they worked.
Meanwhile, Dunkirk found itself without a generator at the water plant when the lights went out. Both Dunkirk and Redkey were placed under water boil orders for a period of time as a result.
Clearly, an effort ought to be made — targeting Homeland Security funds — to get the best possible emergency generators in place.
A solid case can also be made for acquiring emergency generators for places such as the Jay Community Center, which would be ideal shelters if the area were to encounter a similar crisis in the future.
As the clean-up continues and before the chilly memories fade, local officials ought to put together a wish list of items that would make the next blow from Mother Nature easier to bear. — J.R.[[In-content Ad]]
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