My wife has been glued to the Weather Channel for the past few nights. Severe weather has rocked the State of Arkansas and most of my wife's family lives there. I read a news report last night that indicated there have been 14 deaths within the state due to this series of severe weather.
The night before last an F2 tornado ripped through an area north of Little Rock. It caused damage to the Little Rock Air Force Base, North Pulaski High School and killed 4 resident in the small town of Vilonia. One of Della's sisters, Suzie, lives in that general area (not far from the Air Force Base).
I offer this as a backdrop to a story coming out of Prairie Grove, Arkansas. The town's mayor is proposing to dismantle the town's three tornado sirens because they are in disrepair and the cost to fix each one is between $15,000 - $20,000. He wants to replace the sirens with an automated call and email system.
This offers an example of what can happen when government is starved of funds. Officials come up with hair-brained ideas in order to save what little money they have.
This particular idea is hair-brained for a number of reasons. First off, not everybody owns a cell phone or Blackberry. How will such people who are not at home near a land line or computer know of impending danger?
Second, as a mayor in another part of the state noted (sorry, I lost the link), what about kids out playing baseball/softball, swimming or hiking? While many of these children may own hand-held devices, they would not have them on their person while competing in some of these activities. How will they know they need to seek cover?
Third, many Arkansans live in rural areas. In the mountainous western half of the state, cell phone coverage is spotty, at best. Do you want to take the chance that somebody is in a dead zone and misses the notification?
When a working tornado siren wails, anyone within earshot immediately knows what it means. Regardless of where you are at or what you are doing, you know that you need to seek a safe place. It may seem low tech by today's standards, but it's an equal opportunity warning system. Having lived for many years in Arkansas, Kansas and Missouri -- states highly prone to tornadoes and severe weather -- I can think of several times when I was out and about that a tornado siren caused me to get out of harm's way.
My guess is that, if local budgets weren't already stretched to the max, the mayor of Prairie Grove would never have made such a suggestion in one million years.
The night before last an F2 tornado ripped through an area north of Little Rock. It caused damage to the Little Rock Air Force Base, North Pulaski High School and killed 4 resident in the small town of Vilonia. One of Della's sisters, Suzie, lives in that general area (not far from the Air Force Base).
I offer this as a backdrop to a story coming out of Prairie Grove, Arkansas. The town's mayor is proposing to dismantle the town's three tornado sirens because they are in disrepair and the cost to fix each one is between $15,000 - $20,000. He wants to replace the sirens with an automated call and email system.
This offers an example of what can happen when government is starved of funds. Officials come up with hair-brained ideas in order to save what little money they have.
This particular idea is hair-brained for a number of reasons. First off, not everybody owns a cell phone or Blackberry. How will such people who are not at home near a land line or computer know of impending danger?
Second, as a mayor in another part of the state noted (sorry, I lost the link), what about kids out playing baseball/softball, swimming or hiking? While many of these children may own hand-held devices, they would not have them on their person while competing in some of these activities. How will they know they need to seek cover?
Third, many Arkansans live in rural areas. In the mountainous western half of the state, cell phone coverage is spotty, at best. Do you want to take the chance that somebody is in a dead zone and misses the notification?
When a working tornado siren wails, anyone within earshot immediately knows what it means. Regardless of where you are at or what you are doing, you know that you need to seek a safe place. It may seem low tech by today's standards, but it's an equal opportunity warning system. Having lived for many years in Arkansas, Kansas and Missouri -- states highly prone to tornadoes and severe weather -- I can think of several times when I was out and about that a tornado siren caused me to get out of harm's way.
My guess is that, if local budgets weren't already stretched to the max, the mayor of Prairie Grove would never have made such a suggestion in one million years.
It's "hare-brained", not "hair-brained."
ReplyDeleteWe have a siren-based tsunami-warning system. I think it's funny that the Tsunami Warning Center is actually in the inundation zone.
You're right. A definite misspelling. I will leave it misspelled because your comment wouldn't make sense otherwise. :-D
ReplyDeleteWon't you miss me when I go behind the Great Firewall?
ReplyDeleteSadly this is going to be an increasing problem as local governments are pressured to either raise revenues or reduce expenses. The worst is yet to come.
ReplyDelete