S moke S ignals
APRIL 15, 2016
9
Membership briefed about Emergency Management
By Dean Rhodes
Smoke Signals editor
EUGENE – “If you prepare for
something, it won’t happen” was
Tribal Emergency Operations Co-
ordinator Jamie Baxter’s positive
mantra to the membership as she
briefed General Council on the
Tribe’s Emergency Management
program on Sunday, April 3, at the
Valley River Inn.
If true, Tribal planning for an
emergency will keep the No. 1 nat-
ural disaster threat in the United
States from happening – a Cascadia
Subduction Zone earthquake that
could occur off the Pacific Ocean
coast from northern California to
southern British Columbia and
probably cause billions of dollars
of damage in western Washington
and Oregon.
Baxter encouraged Tribal mem-
bers to prepare and plan ahead. If
nothing else, she advised, create a
family communication plan so that
family members will know how to
contact each other in the event of a
massive earthquake that likely will
bring down many bridges in Oregon
and make travel difficult.
“The biggest thing for people is,
‘Where is my family?’ ” Baxter said
about her experience responding to
natural disasters.
Baxter joined the Tribe in March
2014 and has extensive real-world
experience in emergency man-
agement, serving at Ground Zero
in the wake of the 2001 terrorist
attack on the World Trade Center
in New York City, in Haiti after the
2010 earthquake and in American
Samoa after the 2009 tsunami. She
also worked in New Orleans and
New Jersey following the Katrina
and Sandy hurricanes, respectively.
She said Oregon is not immune to
modern-day disasters even though
the last Cascadia Subduction Zone
earthquake occurred in 1700, be-
fore European explorers and Lewis
& Clark arrived in the homelands
of Grand Ronde’s ancestors.
There was the 1962 Columbus
Day windstorm, the Spring Break
quake of 1993, the Vernonia flood-
ing of 1996 and the Woodburn bank
disaster.
“We don’t want to just
respond, but to recover,”
Baxter said.
Baxter surveyed many
of the things her depart-
ment has accomplished in
the last two years, from
creating hazard mitiga-
tion and emergency op-
erations plans to holding
Community Emergency
Response Team train-
ings to conducting active
shooter drills to planning
continuity of government
operations.
Currently, the Tribe
is setting up a ham ra-
dio station on the Trib-
Photo by Dean Rhodes
al campus and already
Tribal Emergency Operations Coordinator Jamie
has a satellite trailer
Baxter briefed the general membership on the
that can access Internet
Tribe’s Emergency Management program during
and phone should a re-
the Sunday, April 3, General Council meeting
gion-wide disaster occur.
“If we have a cata-
held at the Valley River Inn in Eugene.
strophic earthquake,
which is a biggest
bombing in 2008.
threat, everybody will be on their
“Catastrophic events happen
own island somewhere because
every day and they impact people,
your island will be defined by your
all people,” Baxter said. “And life is
bridges,” she said. “In addition to
never the same after a catastrophe.
you, we want our homes, our busi-
We need to realize that we are all
nesses and your culture to survive
connected. For those of you who
following an event. We want to get
live in the Eugene and Springfield
this up and running as quickly as
area, they have strong emergency
possible.”
management programs here. So
The Tribe will be participating
what I would ask is that people get
in
a June 7-10 multi-state training
involved with your local program.
exercise called Cascadia Rising
The only real successful programs
that is a large planning event for
are the ones that integrate com-
a possible devastating region-wide
munity partners, your community
earthquake. A mass casualty event
and your neighbors. … In order for
will be held on the Tribal campus
a program to be effective, it has to
on June 9.
be integrated into everyday life.”
Although some attendees at the
For example, Baxter said, count
Eugene meeting do not live in the
the number of bridges you cross
Grand Ronde area, Baxter said
during daily routines. They might
Tribal emergency preparedness
not be standing after a massive
can help them as well. In addition
earthquake. How will you pick up
your children at daycare or get your
medication?
Baxter said the goal of the Tribe’s
Emergency Management program
is to create a resilient and prepared
community that will get the Tribe
and its businesses back up and
running quickly after a natural
to creating a family communication
plan, she encouraged attendees to
obtain disaster supply kits, stock
up on essentials, including extra
medication and pet food, secure
furniture to walls and get involved
in local organizations planning for
natural disasters.
“The bottom line is we all choose
where we live,” Baxter said, adding
that some people live in torna-
do-prone areas and Oregonians
must deal with the possibility of
earthquakes. “My philosophy is
that if you plan for it now, it will
not happen. If it does happen, our
preparedness actions will lessen
the impact of the event, save lives
and help us recover faster.”
Baxter added there is now an
e-mail for Tribal disaster events
at incident.command@grandronde.
org.
“We are so lucky to have Jamie
working for us with her experience
and her knowledge,” said Tribal
Council member Denise Harvey
after the presentation.
In other action, it was announced
that the next General Council
meeting will be held at 11 a.m.
Sunday, May 1, in the Tribal Com-
munity Center in Grand Ronde.
Debi Anderson, Russell Wilkin-
son, Liz Leno, Shelly Winter and
Leah Villa won the $50 door prizes
and Jessica Wolpe, Eric Bernando
and Pam Darcy won the $100 door
prizes. Two necklaces created by
Tribal Council member Jon A.
George also were raffled off.
George joined Tribal Culture
Department employees Kathy Cole
and Brian Krehbiel in performing
the cultural drumming and singing
to open the meeting.
The meeting can be viewed on the
Tribal website at www.grandronde.
org, clicking on the News tab and
then Video.
Hello Community! We would like to
invite you all to the Canoe meetings set
for this year.
When: May 14, June 12
Who: Those people interested in
participating in Canoe Journey
Time: 12-3pm (Lunch is provided)
Where: Grand Ronde Tribal Gym
Please contact Cristina Lara for more information
503.879.2040
Ad created by George Valdez