MEETING SET ON EMEREGENCY PREPAREDNESS

The May 17 windstorm that caused much of Cape Girardeau to search out flashlights and batteries brought home the need to get ready for an emergency, said Walter Denton of the city's Project Impact.

"That was a relatively minor event, and look what happened," said Denton, who is also assistant to the city manager.

On June 17, Cape Girardeau residents will have a chance to tell the city what they want done to help prepare for an emergency. A kick-off meeting for Project Impact will be held from 8 a.m. until noon at the Osage Community Center. Lunch will be provided to those who attend. Reservations are required by June 11.

A year ago, the Federal Emergency Management Agency named Cape Girardeau the Project Impact city for Missouri. The program is intended to help communities become more disaster resistant.

As part of the program, the city received a $500,000 grant that will go for a number of disaster mitigation projects over the next two years.

At the meeting, people will be asked to share their priorities for preparedness and mitigation.

"For information gathering, we will be using the Vision 2000 model," Denton said. "We will let people do some brainstorming and tell us what is most important."

The meeting is open to the public.

Some 200 organizations and businesses will receive invitations. Some are groups already working with Project Impact. "Others are groups who haven't been involved but should be like churches and day-care centers and contractors," Denton said.

About two months ago Project Impact delivered a disaster preparedness handbook to Cape Girardeau businesses. In that handbook was a fax form to request additional training. Businesses that responded will also be contacted to participate.

In addition, workshops are being planned for the summer for businesses. "We will provide more details on how to prepare for a disaster and how to reduce loss in case of a disaster," Denton said. The State Emergency Management Agency will provide the training.

Project Impact will also offer CERT training, an established program used to train police, firefighters and other emergency responders.

"We will be offering this kind of training to everyone," Denton said.

The goal is to train as many people as possible. "We hope to prepare every business school and home," he said.

Initially, local schools will be targeted for training. The program is offered through the fire department.

"The crux of all disaster preparedness is individual preparedness," Denton said. "The more prepared people are and the more they know about what to do under emergency conditions, the easier it will be for professional emergency responders to respond. And it will be easier for the community to recover."

To make a reservation for the Project Impact kickoff, contact the city manager's office at (573) 334-1212.