Georgia County Government - May/June 2008 - (Page 58)

“After evacuation and disaster, there’s a tremendous problem with abandoned animals – dogs, cats, birds and livestock…Now the encouragement is to take your animals with you so they don’t have to take care of themselves.” –Jeff Doles, director of Peach County’s Emergency Management Agency EXTENSION continued from page 57 they do a good job at it, too.” Individuals with their animals are another story altogether, and that’s where Doles needed help planning. A few years after that flood soaked South Georgia, planes crashed into the Twin Towers and Sept. 11, 2001, became more than just another Tuesday. In the aftermath, the state of Georgia now requires that each of its 159 counties have Dust Control - Road Stabilization Liquid Calcium Chloride is an inexpensive and cost-effective alternative to paving and lasts far longer than any other materials used to control dust and stabilize unpaved roads. Among its many benefits, Calcium Chloride: • Cuts grading costs as much as 50 percent • Reduces the replacement cost of gravel and other materials by up to 80 percent • Leads to a 60 percent reduction in compaction effort on loose granular surfaces • Produces cost savings up to 50 percent Cl Ca Cl (Liquid Calcium Chloride) 453 Columbia Ind. Blvd. P.O. Box 1058 Evans, GA 30809 Web Page: www.calciumchloride.com (706) 860-1893 • 1-800-447-3781 (706) 855-9868 fax E-mail: richie@csranet.com LIQUIDOWTM a local emergency operations plan. This plan contains a section on agriculture and natural resources, which includes handling companion animals, something that is also required through the national Pet Evacuation Transportation Standards Act. Since hurricanes Katrina and Rita, the state is also working to strengthen areas that would have shelters “where pets would be co-located with human evacuees,” Hamilton said. When considering who should be the prominent players in the planning process for Handling Animals During Disasters, local emergency management representatives quickly identified Cooperative Extension. Past experience demonstrated that Extension professionals are very close to the community, most notably those who would be in need of this type of response in the face of a natural disaster. UGA Cooperative Extension agents have been trained and prepared in multiple levels of disaster preparedness, from assessment to response to incident command. What UGA CAES did for Peach County was help research and develop its plan and lead various county players through mock disaster situations. “They did a lot of groundwork where the rubber hits the road,” Doles said. “I can’t tell you how much help they were to us. We’re a small county. It would be virtually impossible for us to accomplish a plan of the magnitude we’ve got using our local resources.” The Georgia Department of Agriculture was a key player in the effort. Facilitation was through UGA’s Fanning Institute, which has as its mission community, economic and leadership development. After its board of commissioners approved it, Peach County then added the animal annex to its local emergency operation plan, which the city and county uses to respond to and recover from any manmade or natural disaster. Funderburk’s now got his copy tucked on a shelf in his office, ready to grab in case a tornado hits a veterinarian’s office or a hurricane sends evacuees up Interstate 75, pets 58 GEORGIA COUNTY GOVERNMENT http://www.calciumchloride.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Georgia County Government - May 2008

Georgia County Government - May 2008 Contents President’s Message County Matters ACCG 2008 Annual Meeting: Highlights County Focus: Clayton County Negotiating a Professional Service Firm Contract: Part 3 Counties Get Involved in Efforts to End Sexual Abuse of Children Smart Growth Scorecard Gives Communities a Way to Grade New Developments Wireless Technologies Critical for First Responders Research Corner: The ACCG Policy Process RDCs Assist the USS Georgia Flag Project Extension News: Animals Take Spotlight in Disaster Planning Georgia’s Grand Old Courthouses: Grady County NACo News: Green Initiative Launches Searchable Database Insurance News: ACCG Announces New Inmate Medical Savings Program County Parade Index of Advertisers

Georgia County Government - May 2008

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