Anniston Star
July 25, 2003

Protective equipment awaits pickup

By Jessica Ravitz
Star Staff Writer
07-25-2003

The time to the start of incinerating the chemical weapons stockpile is shrinking, but the boxes of protective equipment aren't keeping pace.

More than 9,500 protective hoods--about 42 percent of those ordered for area residents-- remain unclaimed, said David Ford, spokesman for the Calhoun County Emergency Management Agency.

About 10,800 air filters and 29,600 shelter-in-place kits also are waiting to be picked up at the equipment distribution center on McClellan.

In the past five weeks, 2,400 protective hoods were distributed.

The piles of remaining hoods prompted Calhoun County Commissioner Rudy Abbott to make a novel proposal on what to do with all of them. Before Thursday's Calhoun County Commission meeting, Abbott suggested the protective hoods, which are county property, be made available to people living outside the "pink zone," the area closest to the Anniston Army Depot, where the weapons are stored.

"They're there. They're paid for. Why not make them available?" he said.

The hoods are supposed to go to residents in the pink zone. But Abbott said the protective gear could go to those who work in or live near the zone, jurors subpoenaed to be at the county courthouse, or those outside the zone who believe they need them to be safe.

He suggested distribution of remaining equipment on a first-come, first-served basis, and said he doesn't see why his idea should pose a problem.

"It's really hard for me to believe that the federal government wouldn't want people to have this equipment," he said.

But Delois Champ, interim director of the county's EMA, said widening the scope of protective hood distribution would be difficult and could deprive those closest to danger from needed gear.

The announcement of the starting date might create a surge in requests for the equipment, she said. To ensure accommodation of residents in the pink zone, Champ said EMA would need to evaluate the numbers after the announcement has been made.

"It would be nice if we could do it, but we have strict, strict guidelines we must follow," she said.

The guidelines dictate how funding can be used, and distribution of protective hoods outside the pink zone does not qualify, Champ said. She said any procedural changes would require approval of federal and state agencies, including the Department of Homeland Security. Centech, the company hired to distribute the equipment, also would need a contractual adjustment.

"We'll certainly take a look at what would be required from a contractual standpoint and review the strict guidelines that have been issued to us and see if they can be changed," said Champ.

In other business Thursday, the commissioners:

• Passed a resolution affirming the Army's responsibility for initial activation of the alert and notification system in the pink zone. Tuesday will mark the final round of testing, Champ said, and by Aug. 1 the Army will be fully responsible for the system.
• Approved a resolution to prohibit the disposal of grass clippings, tree limbs and trunks, garbage, ashes and solid wastes in the right-of-way of county roads and in ditches adjacent to roads or part of the drainage system.
• Awarded a bid of $5,200 (coming from a grant of $5,500) to pay for a hazardous material traffic flow study. Mark Anderson Associates of Ranburne will monitor the number of trucks carrying hazardous materials from three major locations in the county --exits 185 and 188 on Interstate 20, and the intersection of Alabama 21 and U.S. 431.
• Approved the signing of a grant continuation of $70,000 to support a partnership between the Juvenile Probation Office, the District Attorney's Office and the Sheriff's Office for Juvenile Accountability. Among its uses, the money will pay for an additional probation officer.
• Agreed to pay the Calhoun County Economic Development Council $250,000 over five years to relocate a fiber optic cable to new property and thereby promote industrial expansion.
• Approved a one-year extension of LINC, a support program for parents of at-risk children, operated under the umbrella of the sheriff's department.
• Heard and received plans for transportation improvement, including road repaving, from the Calhoun Area Metropolitan Planning Organization.

The next Calhoun County Commission meeting will be 10 a.m. Aug. 14 at the County Administration Building on Noble Street.