OXFORD PRESS: Whirlwind continues for EMA

HAMILTON — The tumult that started with criticism of the county's Emergency Management Agency director led to a shake-up of the agency's governing board and the resignation of Director William Turner on Tuesday night, Feb. 10.

The EMA's office manager will take over the director's position on an interim basis, though she could soon be replaced by a Middletown Councilman Bill Becker.

MSNBC: Howard County EMA employees fired over 'dumb mistake'

Kokomo - There's trouble for two Howard County EMA officers after they were caught with a county vehicle in a place the EMA director says they shouldn't have been.

"Everybody makes mistakes, but this was a dumb mistake," said Larry Smith, the director of the Howard County Emergency Management Agency.

Smith says on Monday he received pictures of one of the county's EMA vehicles parked outside an adult novelty store in Muncie, Delaware County.

"I wasn't real happy when I saw 'em," said Smith.

"Our rules state that you don't leave Howard County in an emergency vehicle or in a squad car unless I know about it, I've advised that they can or one of my staff officers advised that they can," added Smith.

Smith says the pictures were taken last weekend and ended up in his hands. Smith says he tracked down the person who had permission to use the county car for the weekend and asked him to sign a written statement saying he had the car the entire time.

"When he got all done, I showed him the pictures," said Smith.

Another clue was a discrepancy between the mileage that the employee wrote down and the actual mileage that had been put on the vehicle over the weekend.

According to Smith, that employee wasn't alone. Another EMA employee went with him. Smith says he hopes this incident doesn't reflect poorly on the department. Both of the men have been let go. Smith says they won't be back.

HOMER HORIZON: Meet the EMA

Homer Glen's Emergency Management Agency is the one constant police and firefighters have come to expect during an emergency situation.

Whether aiding police at a crash scene or creating the village's disaster plan, the 12 members of the Emergency Management Agency have volunteered their time and talents to keep Homer Glen safe since 2001.

"They are a great resource to us," Homer Township Fire Protection District Chief Michael Schofield said. "If [the fire district] is ever overwhelmed we know the EMA will be there to offer assistance. Every village has an EMA but not every village uses theirs as much as we do. Our EMA is very active and we rely on them a great deal."

LAKESUN: Expanding Emergency Management

Camden County, Mo. - If all goes as planned, commissioners hope to close a 30-year lease purchase agreement in February to take over the existing Laclede Electric building on south State Highway 5.

The land and building is costing the county in the neighborhood of $420,000. Financing for the deal is being handled by Central Bank. Under the terms of the agreement, the county is not required to put any money down.

The building will become the future home of the Camden County Emergency Management Department. It will also serve as an emergency shelter for residents.

Where is the real problem?

Several stories in the news lately talk about changes and reorganizations involving emergency management agencies. Reasons for the changes run from problems with the EMA to funding to more efficient government, and everything in between. The question is - where is the real problem?

Emergency management, especially at the local level, is a little understood and vastly overlooked profession, as we all know. Comments made by well-intentioned but uninformed people continue to spread the inaccuracies. Depending on who you talk to, the sheriff, fire chief, police chief, public works director, or anyone else doing a good job at the moment are the best person to run the emergency management program. Arguments are made that the EMA costs too much, even though the change in organization brings no difference in costs. If the prior EMA management did not cut the mustard (either real or perceived), the answer becomes move the EMA under someone else. Sometimes the thinking is whoever has lights on the vehicles or guns on their side are the answer.

When you dig deeper, however, the real strengths and skills a good emergency manager are overlooked. The ability to coordinate disaster reimbursements, the knowledge of federal grant regulations, or the skill to bring together vastly disparate needs are not part of the equation of who can best do the job. While sometimes the underlying reason for changes or reorganization are uncontrolled politics or poor leadership, many times it is simply a lack of understanding. The first question should be - were the decision makers and leaders properly and fully educated on what is emergency management? If we as the emergency management profession are not educating, and are willing to stand by while these situations go on without providing comment or input, then we should not be surprised at the results.

Everyone (fire, EMS, law enforcement, public works, public health, business, etc.) has an important part in the big picture. We can not let the role of emergency management get lost in the shuffle again. We must keep telling people who we are and what we do, not just to ensure that we can do our job, but to ensure that the public gets the best out of their tax dollars.