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Emergency group gets to work

The Point Roberts Emergency Preparedness (PREP) committee is out of hibernation and the group’s trio of interim leaders are optimistic that growing participation will lead to a solid strategy for the Point to handle big and small emergencies.

“We hope people will continue to come forward with positive suggestions for a plan we can implement,” said Ed Lester, who will lead the group along with Henry Rosenthal and Michael Tan until a new executive committee can be selected.

PREP was formed in the wake of the storms and flooding that battered Point Roberts in early 2006, but after a strong start the group lost key leaders and momentum. This winter’s storms and power outages gave the process a jump start and the group started regular monthly meetings again in January.

“There were lots and lots of people,” said Carol Tan, one of the founding members of the group, after the January 9 meeting. “A lot of time was spent identifying what the previous committees had been and people shared their experiences of the last storm and what a group like PREP would have needed to be doing.”

When the group meets again on February 6 at 7 p.m. at the Gulf Road community center they will try to fill the identified subcommittees with people who have expertise and enthusiasm in a given area: animal care, public works, mass care coordination, evacuation coordination. “We certainly need an information and education officer,” Rosenthal said.
Both the local fire chief and the water district manager attended the January meeting and applauded PREP’s revitalization. “We’ll be looking at some issues with our old wells for contingency purposes,” said water district manager Dan Bourks at the district’s January 11 meeting. Water commissioner Renee Coe agreed it would be beneficial for the district to work with the group to be better prepared for situations like the power outage and boil-water advisory that came hand in hand with mid-November storms.

“It would be good to work with them on how we notify people,” Coe said.

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