OFFICIALS HEAD OUT OF TOWN FOR DISASTER DRILL

Sixty-five people in key decision-making jobs in Cape Girardeau County are headed to Jefferson City later this month to prepare for a disaster.

Although officials in Cape Girardeau County have spent many hours working out emergency management plans, they will put those plans to the test during the training session Sept. 23 to 25.

The county has been chosen as a guinea pig for a new type of intensive but personalized training that includes decision-makers from all levels of government.

"Right now Cape County is the only county in United States doing this," said David Hitt, Cape Girardeau County's emergency preparedness coordinator.

Teachers from the Federal Emergency Management Agency usually offer the training in Maryland, but thought it might be beneficial to take the program out to states. Missouri was selected as a test state, primarily because of the New Madrid earthquake fault. Cape Girardeau was selected because of its proximity to the fault and also because of efforts already under way for emergency preparedness.

"We are very optimistic that the training will be beneficial," Hitt said. "Just getting all these people together in one place and giving them a chance to know each other and communicate should be a huge benefit."

In emergency situations, Hitt said, people have better results getting things done when they already know each other and the services available.

Hitt explained that taking these 65 people out of town has benefits.

"There is probably no way to get all these people in their own area and have their undivided attention," Hitt said. "Somebody is going to call for Gerald Jones, and out of courtesy he will take the call. Someone else will call for Mike Miller and he will take the call. If we get all these people in Jefferson City, they will be in a controlled environment with very few, if any distractions."

But Hitt said he will keep his fingers crossed that no disasters occur during those three days. Some decision-makers will be left behind, including mayors of Cape Girardeau and Jackson. Otherwise, assistants will be running the show while the managers are attending training.

"If we had a major emergency, who's to say the three commissioners, the fire chief or the police chief would be available?" he said.

The training is funded by a $10,000 grant from the federal government.

At the beginning of the planning process, Hitt sat down with officials with Missouri's Emergency Management Agency and made a list of key decision-makers who needed to be trained. The federal grant pays for those people to attend.

Others in the community are invited to attend, at their own cost and some organizations are paying for additional people to attend.

Officials from city and county government, law enforcement, hospitals, fire departments, public works, schools, the American Red Cross, Salvation Army and the health department are among those on a list of people who need to know what to expect in an emergency.

In the event of a major disaster, local governments likely won't be able to count on state assistance for days or even weeks. Hitts' job is to make sure local governments can fend for themselves if necessary.

That's the goal of the three-day training. All the key players gather to learn what should happen, then practice in a mock disaster where they actually talk with each other, make decisions and watch the outcomes.

Attending the disaster drill

City of Cape Girardeau 14

Cape Girardeau County 15

City of Jackson 7

Cape Girardeau public schools 1

Jackson public schools 1

Ryder Student Transportation 1

Ameritech 1

Cape County volunteer fire department 1

Penzel Construction Company, Inc. 1

American Red Cross 2

St. Francis Medical Center 1

Southeast Missouri Hospital 1

Union Electric, Inc. 1

Cape County Private Ambulance Service 1

Salvation Army 1

Missouri Department of Health 2

Humane Society of Southeast Missouri 1

Cape County Public Health Center 3

Southeast University 8

NationsBank 2

Total 65