Jefferson County Homeland Security & Emergency Management
Are you, your family, your pets and your property ready in case of a large emergency or disaster? If not, you are the reason we have National Preparedness Month. NPM was designated so that all Americans can learn how to be prepared for the forces of nature, the mistakes of man, and issues of public health emergencies.
Do something this month to make your family better prepared. Take a class, put together a disas-ter supply kit, have a fire drill at your home. Give thought to what you can do now that will make the results of the next disaster easier for your family to endure. Are there simple things you can do around your home to protect it? Do you have a fire extinguisher? Do you have smoke detectors or sprinklers? Do you have 2 weeks worth of food, water and supplies in case you get the flu and have to stay home? Do you have everything your pet would need to stay home too? Resolve to keep your gas tank 1/2 full or fuller in case you need to “bug out” in a hurry. Attend one of our Lunch N Learn sessions to find out more about how you can be WV Ready!
Jefferson County Commission-ers:
Dale Manuel, President James Surkamp, V. President Frances Morgan
Patricia Noland Lyn Widmyer
Jefferson County Office of Homeland Security and Emer-gency Management Steering Committee:
John Sherwood, Chair Bill Lingenfelter, Vice Chair-Eastern Panhandle Chapter, American Red Cross Katherine Dunbar, Good Shep-herd Inter-Faith Caregivers Mason Carter, Jefferson County Department of Engi-neering
Jeffrey Polczynski, ENP, Jeffer-son County Emergency Commu-nications Center
Dale Manuel/Jim Surkamp, County Commission Represen-tative
Kelly Parsons, Nichols, DeHaven & Associates Jay Watson, Jefferson County Fire Association
Bobby Shirley, Jefferson County Sheriff
Sue Lawton, Jefferson County PSD
Jane Peters, Jefferson County Development Authority Pamela Holstein-Wallace, Region 3 Homeland Security Planner
Holly Morgan-Frye, Shepherd University Service Learning Program
Amy Jones, Jefferson County Department of Health
Staff:
Barbara Miller, CFM Director
Terri Mehling, Planner/ Program Manager/Deputy Director
Jennifer Maggio, Administra-tive Assistant, Public Informa-tion Officer and Volunteer Coordinator
September, 2009
September, 2009
Are You READY? September is National Preparedness Month
Results of Survey done at Jefferson County Fair indicates a continued need for Disaster Preparedness Education
Volunteers and staff working at the Jefferson County Fair booth this year surveyed willing participants that stopped by our booth. The survey included questions, such as, Do you have a preparedness kit? Do you have a family communications plan for emergencies? Have you taken CPR/First Aid Classes?, and Have you taken any volunteer training? Of those surveyed, only 28.6% indicated that they were prepared for the next disaster or large emergency, and 38.9% indicated that they do have some type of family disaster kit. The survey asked that the participant share their zip code with us so that we can better tar-get our preparedness education and training. The survey indicates that Shepherdstown has the largest percentage of residents who have prepared family disaster supply kits, while those with Kearneysville and Summit Point zip codes had the highest overall percentage of combined actions to make them the most prepared. All of the participants zip codes were close in overall percentages. “Our County’s averages, according to this survey, means that our residents are way above the national averages for preparedness activities, but we still have a long way to go,” said Barb Miller, Director of Jefferson County Homeland Security and Emergency Management. “We will continue to push for personal pre-disaster prepared-ness for all families, individuals, and pets. The numbers tell me that what we are doing is working, but we need to get more people to prepare.”
Participants were rewarded for their time by receiving a thank you gift from the booth, such as a small first aid kit, a child’s comfort kit, or an adult comfort kit. These items were do-nated by Volunteer WV.
For more information about what you and your family can do to prepare, call us at 304-728 -3329 or email tmehling@jeffersoncountywv.org
Once again, our ever-popular Lunch-N-Learn ses-sions are back. Every Friday during National Prepared-ness Month, we will teach a mini-workshop beginning at Noon and ending at 1:00 so that you can learn how to be better prepared.
4th-How to make a Family Disaster Supply Kit and a Disaster Supply Plan. Learn what kinds of risks we are at in Jefferson County!
11th-Amy Jones of the Jef-ferson County Department of Health is our guest speaker to give an update on the H1N1 Virus, Flu
Pre-vention techniques, and what to do if you get the flu. 18th is a repeat of session 1, How to make a Family Disaster Supply Kit and a Disaster Supply Plan. Learn what kinds of risks we are at in Jefferson County!
26th is all about our domes-tic pets. Learn what pets need during a disaster and how you can best be pre-pared to help them through it.
The Lunch-N-Learns are fill-ing up quickly, so call or email today to make your reservation! If we need to
add more sessions, we will. Just bring your Lunch and learn with us!
RSVP to:
bmiller@jeffersoncountywv.org
Every Friday in September is a Lunch-N-Learn Session at JCHSEM! County Fair, August 23
-29, 2009
CERT Volunteers, Lucas Pierce and Kelly Parsons working at the booth.
CERT Volunteers, Johnnie Parkin and Sallie Edwards, Volun-teer, Steve Miller, and Director, Barb Miller working a busy Mon-day night shift.
CERT Volunteer, Shirley Evans and Vol-unteer, Doug Evans working their Thursday night slot that they have served in for more than 5 years!
Dale Horensky talks about preparedness with a resident.
9-11 Remembrance
The Independent Fire Company will be hosting its 8th annual 9-11 Remembrance cere-mony on Friday, September 11, 2009 at 9:59 a.m. The cerecere-mony will take place at the fire station, 200 W. 2nd Avenue, Ranson, WV It should last approximately 1/2 hour.
The guest speaker will be Peter Acton, a 13 year veteran with the FDNY and a Lt. with the Mohopac Fire Department. He serves with FDNY’s Engine 73. We look forward to his first hand recollections of September 11th at Ground Zero in lower Manhattan.
The eighth anniversary commemoration will occur between the times the World Trade Center Towers Collapsed. Those killed and injured at the Pentagon, in Shanksville, PA and in the War on Terror will also be honored. Assisting will be members of the Jefferson High School Cougar Air Force Junior ROTC and Washington High School Patriot Cho-rus. Bagpipe music will be presented by Joe Kent.
The public is encouraged to attend to help us remember. Available Police, Fire, EMS, and Military personnel are requested to attend, in uniform, if possible. For further informa-tion, contact Henry Christie at 304-725-9622 or 304-279-6024.
FEMA has developed a new 1-hour on-line course that may be of interest to those with concerns over the H1N1 Virus, aka as the swine flu. This course introduces students to the characteristics of a pandemic influenza, the effects that a pandemic influenza can have on every facet of our society, and the steps their organization can take to minimize the effects of a pandemic. The pri-mary audience for this course are personnel at any level of government, representatives from Non -Governmental Organizations (NGSs), or representatives from private industry who may have a need for a basic understanding of pandemic influenza and the impacts that they can expect should a widespread pandemic occur in the United States. To take the course, go to
http:training.fema.gov/EMIWeb/IS/IS520.asp
New FEMA Course On-line: IS-520 Introduction to Continuity of
Operations Planning for Pandemic Influenza
September, 2009 Page 3
2009 Hurricane Names
Picture of Hurricane Katrina in 2005
Hurricane season began on June 1 and will continue through November 30th. Everyone is encouraged to have a family disaster kit and a family disaster plan to be prepared for all dis-asters, including hurricanes. Although we don’t live near the coast, hurricanes still affect Jefferson County. Heavy rains from hurricanes can sit and spin over West Virginia causing heavy rain and serious flooding. Additionally, in 2004, Hurri-cane Ivan sparked tornados in the Eastern Panhandle and the surrounding region.
Northeastern Regional Homeland Security Summit for Locals
Regional Homeland Security Coordinator, Pamela Holstein-Wallace has announced that the Re-gional Homeland Security meeting for locals (counties and municipalities) will be held at Canaan Valley Resort and Conference Center on October 28/29. An evening reception/registration is be-ing planned for October 27th. They are expandbe-ing the invitation list to include municipal and county representatives from West Virginia’s Homeland Security Region II, which includes Tyler, Doddridge, Harrison, Taylor, Preston, Monongalia, Marion, Wetzel, Marshall, Ohio, Brooke, and Hancock counties, Region III, which includes Grant, Hardy, Mineral, Hampshire, Morgan, Berke-ley, and Jefferson Counties, and Region IV, which includes Gilmer, Braxton, Webster, Pocahon-tas, Lewis, Upshur, Randolph, Barbour, Tucker, and Pendleton Counties. But, we welcome regis-trants from across the state. Ms. Holstein-Wallace indicated that she hopes to announce the dates soon for the Southeastern Regional Homeland Security Summit which will encompass WV’s Homeland Security Regions I, V, and VI. Registration for this meeting is free. Lunches and snack breaks will be provided. Expenses for travel, lodging and dinners will be the responsibility of the individual registrants. State Partners will discuss retrospectively where we’ve been, as well as our current status on a variety of homeland security related topics. The participants will then turn to the local perspective as to where we should be going. We hope participants will share in-put on the direction of the state in matters relating to homeland security and discuss with each other and with the state what the emphasis should be, both regionally and as a state. For more information, contact WV Department of Military Affairs and Public Safety at 304-558-2930 or www.wvdmaps.gov. To make reservations at Canaan Valley Resort, call 1-800-622-4121.Ana Bill Claudette Danny Erika Fred Grace Henri Ida Joaquin Kate Larry Mindy Nicholas Odette Peter Rose Sam Teresa Victor Wanda
Food Vulnerability and Assessment Training November 10-11
The University of Tennessee will hold a 1 1/2 day Food Vulnerability Assessment Training Course at the West Virginia University Tree Fruit Research and Education Center located in Kearneysville on November 10-11. This class is free and open to anyone interested in attending. There will be a practical exercise that will concentrate on fresh market tomatoes. Class will be-gin at 8 a.m. and conclude at 4:30 on November 10 and will bebe-gin at 8 am and conclude at Noon on November 11. Lunch will be provided. Deadline to register is November 4th. For more in-formation on how to register, contact: Roy McCallister, Threat Preparedness/Response Officer, WVDA/Animal Health Division, 1900 Kanawha Blvd., East Charleston, WV 25305. Fax 304-558-2231, Email rmccallister@ag.state.wv.us For questions, call Roy or Matt Blackwood at 304 -558-2214I recently attended the National Preparedness Conference in Arlington. All
participants had the opportunity to participate in a 4-Hour workshop on
the final day of the conference.. I chose the pilot program, “Planning for
the Needs of Children in Disasters” from the Emergency Management
Insti-tute.
When the class started, our instructor’s comments were, “Do you know that
there are federal mandates for Fido and Fluffy, but there are no protections
built into disaster planning specifically for children?!” Silence surrounded
the room as we absorbed that thought-provoking statement.
The normal response is, “But parents will take care of their children.”
Usually, that is true. However, during large disasters such as Hurricane
Katrina, some children and parents got separated for as long as 6 months!
Some children were orphaned.
The kinds of issues we learned about included, the unique needs of
chil-dren in disasters, the critical components of a Child’s World, the
impor-tance of coordinated disaster planning efforts, meeting the needs of children
during emergency response, effects of disasters on children, priorities for
re-storing a child’s world, building resilience in children, mitigating the
ef-fects of disaster on children and families, and resources for emergency
managers, school administrators and teachers, child care providers, medical
professionals, children’s social services, parents and caregivers, and
chil-dren.
There is now a national taskforce on children in disasters. There is a new
FEMA Course, “Planning for the Needs of Children in Disasters” Please
consider taking the course once it is available at EMI, and as plans are
up-dated, please, consider the children.
Barbara J. Miller, CFM
Director
Jefferson County Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Management-Committees Steering Committee, John Sherwood, Chair
The Steering Committee works with the JCHSEM Director to guide the activities of JCHSEM. A fourteen-member Steering Committee is made up of public and private representation. JCHSEM is a Department within the Jefferson County Commission, who has overall responsibility for the department and its employees. The Jefferson County Commission appoints all members to the steering committee. This committee meets on the 4th Tuesday of each month at 8:30 a.m. in the JCHSEM EOC at 28 Industrial Blvd., Kearneysville, unless otherwise announced.
Animals in Disaster Committee, Kelly Parsons, Chair
Any interested person can serve on this committee. The Animals in Disaster Committee is responsible for developing and updating the Animals in Disaster Plan and to work with the JCHSEM to make recommendations regarding the Animals Annex of the Emergency Op-erations Plan. They will also identify potential resources for animals before, during and after a disaster. The committee meets on the 3rd Monday of the months of February, April, June, August, October and December at 9:30 a.m. in the JCHSEM EOC at 28 Industrial Blvd., Kearneysville, unless otherwise announced.
Emergency Planning for People with Special Needs Committee-Chair –Pamela Holstein-Wallace, Chair
Any interested person can serve on this committee. The Emergency Planning for People with Special Needs Committee is responsible for training and planning for issues of people who have mobility problems, people who have sight or hearing problems, people who speak a language other than English as their first language, the elderly and the very young, people who use oxygen or other medical devices and anyone who may need special assistance during times of disasters and/or evacuations. This committee will work with the JCOHSEM to update the portion of the Emergency Operations Plan that deals with these special needs. This committee meets on the 3rd Monday of the months of January, March, May, July, September, and November at 9:30 a.m. in the JCHSEM EOC at 28 Industrial Blvd., Kearneysville, unless otherwise announced. This room IS handicapped accessible.
Public Awareness, Education and Training Committee, Katherine Dunbar, Chair
Any interested person can serve on this committee. The Public Awareness, Education and Training Committee is responsible to commu-nicate the organization’s activities to the public and to build support for JCHSEM’s programs. They work with the Director and other staff to keep the entire community focused on the objectives of JCHSEM, the opportunities for additional involvement and support by updating citizens and businesses about what the partners are doing and how the community will and is benefiting from these efforts. Ad-ditionally, they are responsible to assist the program manager is setting up speaking engagements and public awareness events. This committee meets on the 2nd Wednesday of each month except December at 9:00 a.m. in the EOC at 28 Industrial Blvd., Kearneysville, unless otherwise announced.
Partnership and Volunteer Development Committee, Holly Morgan-Frye, Chair
Any interested person can serve on this committee. The Partnership Development committee assists the staff in identification and recruit-ment of potential partners and what they have to offer in community preparedness. This committee will be responsible for activities to promote partnership or membership development and recruitment of volunteers. This committee meets quarterly in the EOC at 28 Indus-trial Blvd., Kearneysville, unless otherwise announced. at 9:30 a.m. on the last Monday of January, April, July and October.
Risk Assessment and Mitigation Planning Committee, Mason Carter, Chair
Any interested person may serve on this committee. The Risk Assessment/Mitigation Planning Committee will examine the community’s risks and vulnerability to all hazards and assess the community’s vulnerability to those risks. Additionally, they will look at specific buildings, infrastructure, etc. to determine which are most susceptible to risks. A Risk Assessment and Mitigation Plan was completed and adopted by the Jefferson County Commission, all Jefferson County municipalities, WVOHSEM, and Federal Emergency Manage-ment Agency in July, 2003. The committee currently updated the original docuManage-ment. This committee meets on an “as needed basis”. Please call the office at 728-3329 for exact dates and times.
Counter Terrorism Committee, Barbara Miller, Director, Chair
Membership to this sub-committee of the Risk Assessment and Mitigation Planning Committee is limited to members of law enforce-ment, emergency manageenforce-ment, homeland security, emergency communications, Red Cross, schools, health care, fire companies, ambu-lance authority/EMS, and government, due to sensitive homeland security issues. The committee works on issues of planning and train-ing for counter terrorism or human-caused disasters. Meettrain-ings are held on the 2nd Tuesday of the month at the EOC at 28 Industrial Blvd., Kearneysville, unless otherwise announced.
If you are interested in joining any of our committees, contact either bmiller@jeffersoncountywv.org or tmehling@jeffersoncountywv.org
Times, dates, places may need to be changed due to inclement weather, scheduling conflicts or EOC activation. If you have questions, call the JCHSEM office.
1 Kick Off for National Preparedness Month 3 Amateur Radio Testing Night
4 Lunch N Learn-Family Disaster Preparedness at Noon at Jefferson County EOC. Bring your own Lunch! 8 Local Emergency Planning Committee (LEPC) at Billie’s in Ranson at 7:30 a.m.
9 Counter Terrorism Committee Meeting at the Veterans Administration in Martinsburg 1 p.m. tour; 2 p.m. meeting 9 State Citizen Corps Council meeting at The Inn at Charles Town
9 Public Awareness, Education and Training Committee at 9 a.m. in the Jefferson County EOC Conference Room
11 Lunch-N-Lear-H1N1 Virus Update and How to Protect your Family from the Flu, Noon at Jefferson County EOC. Bring your own lunch. 18 Lunch-N-Learn-Family Disaster Preparedness at Noon at Jefferson County EOC. Bring your own Lunch.
25 Lunch-N-Learn –Preparing your domestic pets for disaster, Noon at Jefferson County EOC. Bring your own Lunch
Monday, September 14, Wednesday, September 16, Monday September 21, Wednesday, September 23, Monday, September 28, Wednesday, September 30, Monday, October 5 and Wednesday, October 7-CERT Training at the Jefferson County EOC. Pre-registration is required. Call Terri Mehling for an application at 304-728-3329. All classes are 6—9 p.m.
28 Industrial Blvd., Suite 101 Keaneysville, WV 25430
Barbara Miller, Director Phone: 304-728-3290
E-mail: bmiller@jeffersoncountywv.org Terri Mehling, Dep. Director, Planner and Program Manager
Phone 304-728-3329
Email: tmehling@jeffersoncountywv.org Jennifer Maggio, Administrative Assistant, Public Information Officer and Volunteer Coordinator
Phone 304-724-8914
Email: jmaggio@jeffersoncountywv.org Fax: 304-728-3320
Homeland Security and Emergency Management
PUBLIC SAFETY; PUBLIC TRUST
The Jefferson County Commission’s Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Management is responsible for the coordination of preparedness, planning, re-sponse, recovery and mitigation of disasters and large emergencies in Jefferson County, West Virginia. Volun-teer and community participation is encouraged and welcome. We currently have committees on Risk As-sessment and Mitigation Planning; Emergency Plan-ning for Special Populations; Public Awareness, Educa-tion and Training; Counter Terrorism; Partnership Devel-opment and Retention; Animals in Disaster, and a Steering Committee that acts as an advisory group. We are responsible for the Citizen Corps/CERT, Storm-Ready, Community Rating System, and Project Impact programs. JCHSEM is also responsible for the Jefferson County R.A.C.E.S group.
