Longview Hills @ Newport Oregon

84

only 84

ron gets on the soapbox again...

I thought that you folks got it... Shaking my head dolefully :(

You have 15 CERT team members that train weekly on your behalf... Spend their own $$'s on projects to make the community safe. They ask that you do a simple thing... They even pay for the material and provide the labor... All you have to do is sign a sheet on the clubhouse bulletin board giving permission for them to put your lot number on your light post.

Why is it necessary? The team trains based on lot numbers for quick rescue operations.. Street numbers in this community lead to confusion... even the ambulance service up here gets confused. Each home has a "unique to it, lot number" Address numbers repeat on different streets leading to confusion in normal times. Multiply that effect by 100 during a disaster and you get a glimpse of why we need to do this.

Let's talk about a disaster... Small or large it does not matter. Say it is town wide. Say there are 4 Firemen on duty, 10 police on duty. There are about 50 volunteer firemen but this is a disaster. There are maybe 10 more police and 5 more pro firemen off duty. The off duty people have a responsibility to their families first and then to the community.. Because of that they will be delayed. The PRO's on duty will probably stay but they will certainly be upset until they know the status of their families.

Think about it.. even in a minor emergency how quickly will those first responders be used up...? Need an idea? Can you say, "Katrina?"

Ever hear of island living? Your CERT team knows all about it.. The pros talk to us about it all the time. Island living happens when a disaster causes an area to be landlocked. No way in ...No way out.... Tsunami...Earthquake... or mud slide.... If a tsunami occurrs 101 will be chopped up so that we will not get help from first responders for days unless they come by helicopter. We have 2 helicopters for the entire Oregon Coast. Most of you saw this somewhat when the tunnel to Florence closed due to a rock slide and on the north end, near Otter Crest the road gave way to a mud slide... Partial Island ... 20 was still open. Say our disaster closes 20.. What ya gonna do? The LVH CERT team knows and is in contact with emergency services... via HAM Radio... Because your phone will probably not work and that includes your cell phone too.

That leaves you with the LVH CERT team. I urge you to support them. Get behind them every chance you get. Join them if you can. But at the very least lighten their load by letting them put your lot number on your light post... Sign up in the clubhouse today if you haven't already... You could also volunteer to put numbers on too.