A 'get ready' reminder

"Plan for the worst, but hope for the best." Those words have an all-purpose application - they work for raising children, wallpapering with a spouse, planning a surprise birthday party or keeping out of harm's way. I heard them repeatedly last week by those urging people to evacuate the areas in the path of Hurricane Gustav.

They were put into action in Cape Girardeau, when members of the Southeast Missouri Chapter of the American Red Cross jumped into action on Friday and Saturday. They were acting on Gov. Matt Blunt's offer that the state could take in as many as 3,000 evacuees as well as deploy hundreds of people to help, including Missouri National Guard troops.

Almost as quickly as the orders were issued and shelters were readied at the Salvation Army's building on Good Hope Street and at Lynwood Baptist Church on Lynwood Hills Drive, a stand-by order arrived.

Cheryl Klueppel, executive director of the local Red Cross office, said everything worked as expected, and she's still ready to provide short-term (up to five days) shelter for evacuees.

"The Red Cross appealed to local churches and it was just wonderful to work with them," she said. "They mobilized a lot of people and said 'Yes, if the need is there, we'll respond.'"

Klueppel said her office is also looking ahead to helping in future disasters. On Wednesday, an 8-hour class will be offered to those who want to volunteer.

"It includes orientation to new volunteers, an introduction to disaster response, fulfilling our mission, providing mass care and shelter training," she said. "Ordinarily, with this training, we would separate the classes. We have them throughout the year, but because there is such a need for this national response, we're making it a single class."

She said people who take the training must be ready to make as much as a 15-day commitment to travel to disaster areas.

"They can be deployed pretty quickly after training," she said.

The class is 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Wednesday; call (573) 335-9471 to register and get details.

September is National Preparedness Month. The basics of getting ready to cope with disaster include having a plan and being ready to pack a bag with medications and such health-related items as dentures, diabetes testing kits, vision aids and the like; a flashlight; batteries; radio; cell phone charger; first-aid kit; bottled water; clothing; and bedding.

Among exit plans, consider whether you'd have time to collect other important supplies or legal papers and whether you'll need to turn off utilities.

The Humane Society suggests putting together a pet bag with such essentials as medications; shot records; leashes; food and a can opener.

One of the best preparedness suggestions I've heard came from Dave Anderson, bassist for the Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra. We met while he was in Michigan to perform with the Grand Rapids Symphony. He told about being displaced by Katrina, which also ruined many of his basses and his wife's harps. His compositions survived because the papers were stored in a plastic container, which floated.

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