Red Dirt Ready? Really?

Red Dirt Ready? Really?

As I learned of the developments in my district, some weather related, some mechanical and some just who knows, I was in awe of regular people’s ability to adapt and just plain get through the situation. Now let me start this by saying “stuff breaks”. Anything that is mechanical can break: water lines, electric lines, etc. It is like a friend of mine who was a stock car racer used to say “man, that engine was really strokin’ right before it blew up”. Break downs are inevitable and part of life and we all know that. The test is how we handle them.

There was story after story of people just getting along by being resourceful. Like Wes Blanton over at Cache, melting snow in a 55-gallon drum with a fire built around it and carrying water around to the little shut-in neighbor ladies that live around him, to make sure they had enough water to survive. And, guys like Jim Smith down at Frederick, who went and got his spray rig from the farm and filled it up at Tipton and brought it to the hospital so they could care for patients and keep some semblance of sanitation. As we mentioned last week, kudos to the lineman and the water crews that worked in conditions that some would call unbearable. They just bowed their necks, grabbed another gear and kept on truckin’. There will not be any fan fare much for those guys, but by dang there should be.

The most frustrating part, for me, was helping people work through red tape and government bureaucracy. Most of it from some cat in Oklahoma City, holed up in some warm office, questioning our Emergency Management guys on whether they really had an emergency situation or not. It is real easy to second guess a situation with the heater blowing, the lights on and a hot cup of coffee on a desk probably the size of a football field. But, second guess they did. As you might be able to tell, I am not done with them. It is gonna be real easy for them to do the “ole’ government shuffle” and hide behind the fact that emergency management is kinda a blend of federal and state resources. But, as my mother used to say, “don’t tell me about the labor, just show me the baby”. They put Emergency Management guys out in theses areas to be the eyes and the ears, “the boots on the ground” if you will. They need to trust them and they need to be empowered. If Jeff Rector, the Emergency Management man at Frederick says “we need some water buffalos” (which is basically a military trailer that holds potable water for the hospital and the nursing home and whatever else), then in my mind they need to get those assets rollin’.

Now, again, the citizens and county commissioners and all the law enforcement guys were already making things happen. Their challenge was getting through the government red tape. So Emergency Management, as ole’ Ricky Ricardo used to say to Lucy “you’ve got some splainin’ to do”. Those guys know their jobs and they do them well. It is kinda like a fireman. Their job looks pretty easy when nothing is happening. But, when it hits the fan, they are ready. Just like the electric guys and everyone else, they spring into action and they get the job done. My hat is off to them. I guarantee ya, I will be having a meeting very soon with the director of the state Emergency Management system and we are gonna clear a few things up. I really believe that if Tulsa or Oklahoma City was in a similar situation, the race would be on to get assets to those people. I am not a bit happy that our guys in Southwest Oklahoma had to fight like crazy for four stinkin’ water buffalos. Again, thanks to all the volunteers and the people out there who pitched in to do what needed to be done to take care of folks. It was a tough spot and in the true Okie spirit, they stepped up.

In a year like we have had this year, I wonder why we are spending the kind of money that we are spending to run commercials on television with world-renowned actor, Morgan Freeman’s voice, talking about being “red dirt ready”. When, to me, we should be spending money on real stuff. Like maybe, getting resources to small towns so they can get through their crisis without having to fight government red tape. So, I will be asking some questions and I will not be Mr. Popular with Emergency Management, but we ARE gonna visit.

By the time you are reading this, 2010 will be here. My wish for everyone is a happy and prosperous New Year. ’09 was tough and let’s hope 2010 is a lot better.

If you would like to contact me while I am at the capitol, please do not hesitate to send an email to donarmes@house.gov or call me at 1-800-522-8502.

And here’s a little something to think about as you go down the road:

“Volunteers are seldom paid; not because they are worthless, but because they are PRICELESS!” --author unknown