Preparedness

The first nationwide test of the Emergency Alert System will take place on Wednesday, Nov. 9 at 2 p.m., the Washington County Office of Emergency Management said Friday. The test will be heard on the radio and seen on local, cable and satellite television, a news release said. It may last up to 3 1/2 minutes. The test is being conducted by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security's Federal Emergency Management Agency, the Federal Communications Commission and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

JAN. 28, 1944-NOV. 29, 2008 CHARLES TOWN, W.Va. - Pamela J. Thompson, 64, of Charles Town, died Saturday, Nov. 29, 2008, at Jefferson Memorial Hospital in Ranson, W.Va. Born Jan. 28, 1944, in Jamaica, she was the daughter of the late Boggo Johnson and Olive Gilmore Johnson. She was a supervisor for Fairfax County Schools. She was a member of Rock Spring Church in Charles Town, where she was active on the church hospitality team and in any area of church preparedness where she was able to serve.

To mark the three-year anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, several events have been scheduled around the Tri-State area in the coming days. · Hagerstown Community College is offering a program of music and inspiration at 11 a.m. Thursday in the College Center. Melissa Miller of Faith Christian Fellowship and bagpiper Charles Fowler will present the program. People may bring a lunch or choose from a full lunch menu at the Hilltop Grill in the HCC College Center.

How would Washington County residents be evacuated from their homes during a disaster such as Hurricane Katrina? Not very well, judging from the plan produced by Stoyan Russell, the county's emergency planner. Anyone who looks at the facts will be outraged by the lack of preparedness and Russell's insensitive statements about the county's indigent residents. If you didn't read the Nov. 27 story by The Herald-Mail's Erin Cunningham, here are some of the key points: In mid-September, after Hurricane Katrina battered the U.S. Gulf Coast, The Herald-Mail asked for a copy of Washington County's evacuation plan.

SHEPHERDSTOWN, W.Va. - People shouldn't listen to the panic mongers and hoard an extraordinary amount of supplies in anticipation of millennium mayhem, the director of West Virginia's office of emergency services said Saturday. Instead, they should prepare for the year 2000 by stocking up on food and other supplies as they would for a flood or other natural disaster, John W. Pack Jr. told an audience of about 100 people at the Shepherdstown Men's Club. Pack said he's so confident that vital government and private-sector systems have been fixed or circumvented with a backup plan that he won't be buying a generator or taking more than $100 cash out of the bank.

Volunteers needed to host exchange students ASSE International Student Exchange Programs is looking for volunteers to serve as area representatives in their local community. ASSE provides academic year, semester and short-term exchange programs in the United States for high school-aged students from around the world. Students are ages 15 to 18, have passed a series of academic and character requirements, and are awaiting an opportunity to live for a time with an American family.

MARTINSBURG, W.Va. -- Some "patients" entered the decontamination shower tent staged near City Hospital in Martinsburg Tuesday afternoon under their own strength. Others were hauled in on stretchers -- motionless, sick from radiological exposure. Detonation of a "dirty bomb" in the Washington, D.C., area brought them to Berkeley County. At least that was the script that emergency response and homeland security officials were given to test preparedness skills this week as part of an international disaster exercise.

The Washington County Sheriff’s Office is seeking Tri-State-area residents to participate in its biannual Citizen’s Police Academy. Deputy 1st Class Dan Watson said participants will be taught several aspects of law enforcement, including gang awareness and disaster preparedness. “It’s open to anybody who wants to attend,” Watson said. “The first night is an orientation. They’ll get to talk to (Washington County Sheriff Douglas W. Mullendore)

The Washington County Department of Emergency Services-Emergency Management Agency, in cooperation with the Maryland Emergency Management Agency, is offering the public tips on being better prepared in case of flooding conditions. The recent heavy snow, the following warming trend plus the prediction of heavy rains today and Saturday, mean flooding is possible in Western Maryland. Owners of flat-roofed structures should have snow removed, and obstructions should be cleared from drains and gutters.

HAGERSTOWN - As a critical-care nurse and patient advocate for 25 years at Washington County Hospital, Marie Thompson is no stranger to emergency preparedness. So when Thompson heard about the Washington County Citizen Corps Red Bag project, she thought it would be a great idea for the 76 people associated with her current agency - Hospice of Washington County. The bags are filled with food, first aid and other supplies to be used in an emergency. Thompson is quality improvement director at Hospice, which is now at 747 Northern Ave. A Hagerstown native, Thompson is married and has three children, five stepchildren and eight grandchildren.