From infoPAPUA.org
Caledonia crisis has neighbors in Monroe evaluating response plan Crisis planning
By Melanie Crownover
Jan 16, 2008, 11:40
By Melanie Crownover
mcrownover@cdispatch.com
Tuesday, January 15, 2008 12:10 PM CST
ABERDEEN - The F-3 tornado that hit Caledonia last week has one pair of first responders ready to put their lessons learned into action in Aberdeen.
“If that tornado had hit us, we wouldn't have been ready,” said Officer Darrin Foster of the Aberdeen Police Department. “We have a long way to go in our city and this general area to really be prepared for whatever may come.”
Foster was the rookie chosen to accompany Chief Walter Sykes to Washington, D.C., to the National Congress for Secure Communities hosted by the Department of Homeland Security.
Sykes was one of 285 chiefs from all over the United States selected to attend the conference Dec. 16-18 focused on how to handle the first 72 hours of a major emergency.
“We really need to network,” said Sykes. “I've been planning to get with the other police and fire chiefs from Columbus, Tupelo, Verona, Amory and the surrounding area to try to work on a comprehensive plan since I got back. But this storm has just made it even clearer that we need to get on that; 911 and Katrina showed us what can happen. We're just behind on getting organized here for the possibilities.”
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A large portion of the conference involved presentations of emergency scenarios for the chiefs to choose a response to. The majority solution from the four multiple choice answers ruled, but those with alternate answers were given a chance to explain why their choice might be best for their community.
Both men cited the need for a wider base of community help as the main lesson they took home.
Sykes said advances like the new 911 facility in Aberdeen with backups on all communications are preparedness plusses, but the area needs more.
To make that happen, local agencies need to pilot for partnerships in the area and look for more grants and federal funding to pump up the rainy day supplies.
And meeting up with so many other law enforcement officials gave him more insight on how to get it.
Sykes has contacted one of the local chiefs already and is working on the rest of his list to get together and assemble a regional disaster plan.
Now, for research purposes, he intends to request key information on how Caledonia officials handled the tornado's aftermath. Sykes is also planning a community meeting, slated for Thursday at 5 p.m. at City Hall to get input from citizens and officials on a county crisis plan and to update them on what he's learned.
The chief plans to include both public and private resources to ensure better community awareness.
The end result would be a plan that could make Aberdeen and communities cushioning it much safer in the long run.
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