COUNTY DISCUSSES READINESS

JACKSON -- Cape Girardeau County officials Monday began studying what to do when the worst happens: They began reviewing and offering suggestions for the county's emergency response plan.

David Hitt, county emergency preparedness coordinator, outlined the standard operating procedures for putting the plan into action.

Each county officeholder is designated to perform a specific task under the plan. For example, county commissioners are charged with making command decisions, Hitt said, while Assessor Jerry Reynolds and his staff would be responsible for compiling damage assessments.

The plan also outlines such things as setting up the EOC command center and coordinating information, facilities that can be used for shelters and emergency sources of drinking water and heavy equipment.

Several suggestions were made for further improving the plan.

Sheriff John Jordan suggested a logistics officer be appointed within each office or department to coordinate operations within that office.

Auditor H. Weldon Macke pointed out that procurement of food and supplies would be a problem in serious emergencies because stores and suppliers may not be accessible if roads are out.

Several people suggested coordinating efforts more closely with local hospitals for transporting the injured. In the event of a catastrophe such as an earthquake, it was pointed out, the two local hospitals may not have the capacity to handle all of the casualties.

Charlotte Craig, director of the county health department, said individual doctors need to be included in the response plan. Craig also suggested reactivating the county's disaster committee.

"We could meet maybe every three months to keep chipping away" at different issues, including such things as setting up agreements with the two local hospitals for using their helicopters for damage assessment or other needs.

As important as it is for an emergency response plan to address all contingencies, it is equally important for it to be flexible enough to meet those contingencies, said Bob Rogers, an operations officer for the State Emergency Management Agency. "You have to be able to bend and flow and change," he told county officials.

Good planning can save lives and property, Rogers said.

"You can never be too prepared for an emergency," Presiding Commissioner Gerald Jones said, urging officials to take advantage of free emergency response training.

Hitt said the meeting was the first county EOC activation orientation.