We are providing basic emergency preparedness information to the residents. The Federal Emergency Management Agency provided this information to us. We are being subsidized by FEMA, not a local contractor, to assist in gathering special needs populations’ information. Since we are now personally visiting residents in the pink zones, we are also using this opportunity to provide emergency preparedness information. As far as neighbors helping neighbors this is something that we on the West Side are accustomed to doing, for if we do not help one another and ourselves no one else will.
We encourage the residents to seek out emergency information and if the County EMA would be more proactive in educating the public on the basics of emergency preparedness we all would be better off.
Just maybe this limited amount of basic information that CAP is providing might be able to help someone save their own life as well as the lives of others around them.
Here is what the residents are telling our volunteers during the door to door visits:
The residents tell us they are better prepared because of the information that we have provided.If you would like to join us in educating the residents of the pink zones, please contact me, the president of Community Against Pollution at 256-236-6773.
David Baker
Anniston, AL 36201
Iraq
Pundits like William Safire and White House insiders like Vice President Dick Cheney are setting the stage for a preemptive strike on Iraq, against the advice of key military leaders and the State Department. Without strong support from our allies, without a clear end game, and with tensions running high around the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, events in the region could easily spin out of control. Why isn’t President Bush listening to the people in his administration who have real military experience and depth in international affairs, like his Joint Chiefs of Staff and Secretary of State Colin Powell?In Afghanistan, the Northern Alliance provided the nuts and bolts of the offensive, but in Iraq no equivalent indigenous force exists, meaning Americans would suffer much heavier casualties. What’s more, the loss of life might be in vain, since there is no viable successor for Saddam waiting in the wings. In short, the Joint Chiefs of Staff think a war on Iraq is an all-around bad idea. President Bush should listen to his generals, and do his homework, when deciding how to deal with Saddam Hussein in the coming months.
Dana Westbrook Moore
Birmingham
Incinerator
Is there anything controversial about training people, writing plans and procedures and certifying equipment? A casual review of recent headlines and radio and television news reports would lead the uninformed to believe there is. The fact of the matter is the work force of the Anniston Chemical Agent Disposal Facility is on schedule to complete all preliminary requirements in order to begin safe and efficient disposal operations this fall.
Before operations begin, however, there are a number of tasks that still need to be completed, a fact that may have been lost within recent sensational reports. The Anniston team is writing, rewriting, and preparing to implement countless procedures. The team is testing and validating a wide variety of equipment and monitors. And the team is training. The successful completion of all of these activities will ensure the team is prepared and the facility is primed to operate as designed. That means we will be able to move weapons from storage to the facility safely; we will be able to disassemble and dispose of the weapons safely; and if necessary, we will be able to alert the proper authorities in a timely fashion in the unlikely event there is an incident in the ANCDF such as a monitoring alarm.
Of course, we are not in this alone. Whether it is the Westinghouse employee at the site, the Army employee on the depot, or the Emergency Management Agency specialist in an off-site command center, everyone needs to be well-trained and committed to a common goal.
That common goal is obvious and achievable. That goal is to eliminate the stockpile now in a facility that is fully certified and operated by a trained and professional team.
Do you need more information? Please visit the Community Outreach Office at 11 East 10th Street in Anniston (Telephone: 256-238-0120). Or people may call my office at 256-238-1652, Ext. 235 for information about the ANCDF.
Timothy K. Garrett
ANCDF Site Project Manager
Anniston
