Georgia County Government - May/June 2008 - (Page 59)

in hand, looking for shelter. “I hope we don’t ever have to use it, but at least we’ve got a plan,” he said. He knows it pretty well, because while Doles is the first person county officials will call, Funderburk is the third responder on the list. Peach County was chosen as the pilot because of Fort Valley State University’s veterinary medicine program. Hamilton has being working with them to develop animal shelter training, “so it was a natural fit to see if Peach County wanted to go through the pilot process,” he said. With success in Peach County, Hamilton is now working with emergency management officials in Brooks County (Quitman) and Houston County (Warner Robins) to help them develop their own plans. These counties were chosen because of their proximity to Georgia’s interstates, their willingness to participate and their local resources. And, in Brooks County’s case, because it shares its southern border with Florida. Brooks County wanted help with drawing up plans to build an evacuation shelter that includes animals. It would be located in Quitman. “It was a natural leap to help them with animals in disaster planning,” Hamilton said. “As we go through the process with one county, we learn our lessons along the way as well. Because we build a custom approach for each county, we’re able to give a better product. It’s not a cookie-cutter approach.” Looking back at Hurricane Katrina and their work in Mississippi, Hamilton remembers the heat and chaos vividly. “It actually worked fairly smoothly, if you can call chaos smooth,” he said. “That was really one of the first places we had a chance to work in an incident structure.” Now, when he and his team teach others how to handle animals in disaster, “we have something to hang our hats on.” The Handling Animals During Disasters workshops are funded by a Department of Homeland Security grant through the Georgia Emergency Management Agency on behalf of the Association County Commissioners of Georgia (ACCG). ■ Stephanie Schupska is a news editor with the University of Georgia College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences. Cooperative Extension an Important Player in Disaster Preparedness F or almost 100 years, the county agent has been one of the most constant go-to persons in the community. Even though Extension programming has changed and technology has advanced the way we do business, UGA Cooperative Extension County agents are still called on to wear many hats in their communities. In January of this year, more than 300 agents were exposed to expert training in Disaster Preparedness at their annual three-day Winter School. Cooperative Extension professionals from hurricane-ravaged Louisiana and Mississippi provided first-hand experience as to the role Cooperative Extension can play in preparation for, and response to, natural disasters. The Georgia Emergency Management Agency (GEMA) was represented by Paul Williams, Special Assistant Agriculture. The session trained Extension professionals on the importance of working with county officials to assist with comprehensive community assessments, development of effective communication plans, and mapping out organizational response before, during and after a disaster. Evaluations of the overall training revealed that agents were appreciative of the opportunity to interact with other Extension professionals who had been forced to endure such a tragedy. Also, the resources they were given to assist with assessment, planning and response were rated as “highly useful and applicable.” We all hope we never have to experience a disaster on any scale. However, if one does strike, Cooperative Extension is helping Georgia counties to be as prepared as possible. – By Jeff Christie, ACCG Cooperative Extension Liaison Architecture Engineering Program Management Partners with Georgia County Governments Jails - Courthouses - Municipal Buildings Public Safety Facilities - Civic & Cultural Centers Government Offices - Parks and Recreation Land Planning and Urban Design ROSSER INTERNATIONAL, INC. www.rosser.com 524 West Peachtree St., NW Atlanta, GA 30308 404 876 3800 MAY/JUNE 2008 www.accg.org 59 http://www.rosser.com http://www.accg.org

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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