LTTE: Sloppy Preparation
If you want one more reason to criticize Prince George's County Exectutive Jack Johnson, plese read on...
Back in May, I received an "Emergency Preparedness Guide" from the Prince George's County Government. It had useful information such as preparing an emergency kit, what to do when electricity is lost and improtant telephone numbers.
On the last page of this guide, the county was offereing a free mini AM/FM radio to keep with your emergency preparedness kit, if you register for their internet alert service.
So I decided to take the bait and sent off for it as soon as I could because it was for a limited time. They did not publish a cut off date in the guide. I mailed the coupon at the end of May. I finally received the radio last week at the post office after a couple of inquiries between that time.
I opened the package I received to find a cheap AM/FM radio with earbuds. This is not a radio that should be included with an emergency kit. The radio is an equivalent to what a minor sports team would give away.
An emergency radio should be something with a speaker and maybe a quartz digital clock, similar to one I received a few years ago as a travel alarm clock.
The radio that was given away by the county is a joke when it comes to an emergency. Who has the time to waste when it comes to those little earbuds going in your ears and hoping that they would stay put.
The other quirk about the radio, well as far as the one I received, it only picks up FM stations. Thankfully, we are in an area where there is at least one station on the FM band that broadcasts news. If they were still on AM, I would not have received any information being passed.
This is not so much a complaint about the radio, but more of a metaphor about how the look of doing something about public safety is more important to Mr. Johnson, than the details and the actual accomplishment of making citizens feel safe.
The county still has a long road to haul when it comes to preparing for an emergency and other public safety issues. Rehashing the same plan that was ineffective one year prior will not cut it, especially in these post-9/11 days.
Metaphorically, I am not asking for a Grundig so much than I am asking for at least an Emerson when it comes to addressing safety issues in Prince George's County.
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