January 25, 2006
Scott Welton
The Standard Democrat
BENTON — Earthquake drills will happen sooner than originally planned.
Joe Burton, emergency management director for Scott County, discussed upcoming earthquake awareness activities for this area during the regular Scott County Commission meeting Tuesday.
“Feb. 3-8 is Earthquake Awareness week in Missouri,” Burton said.
The first event listed by Burton is scheduled Jan. 31 immediately preceding the statewide observance in Sikeston where a town hall meeting on earthquakes will be held.
“It sounds like that meeting down there on the 31st should be pretty good,” said Presiding Commissioner Martin Priggel.
Unlike some other recent meetings, questions will be welcome at the Sikeston meeting, Burton said.
Burton also advised that officials no longer want to wait until 2007 to conduct earthquake drills but may conduct as many as three in the next year.
Counties in the Bootheel will be the primary participants, according to Burton. The drills will look at maintaining communications, emergency operation center activation and command and control, he said.
Burton said he plans to contact parent-teacher organizations and attend their meetings so he can present earthquake preparedness information, hopefully by the end of this month.
The biggest challenges with earthquake preparedness are “convincing people it’s going to happen” and “convincing people it’s going to be devastating,” according to Burton. “I don’t think they realize how bad it will be. ... It may not happen now or 10 years from now, but it will happen.”
Burton also discussed road signs around the county as they relate to E-911. Several road signs around Perkins need replacing, according to commissioners.
“Some of the signs are different colors, some are illegible, some are gone,” said Commissioner Jamie Burger.
Commissioners also discussed how the placement of some of Stoddard County’s road signs near the county line are confusing.
“It made it difficult to realize what road you are on,” Burton said. “The county line’s down at the ditch, according to my map.”
Commissioners also discussed that when E-911 was implemented in the county, E-911 put up signs for private lanes. Burger explained this was done because many roads were changed from numbered rural routes to receive names.
Now, however, developers must put their own signs up for private lanes.
In other business during Tuesday’s meeting, County Developer Joel Evans advised commissioner he will attend a Homeland Security workshop Feb. 3-5 at Columbia. The workshop will include classes on marketing emergency services and grant writing.
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