Published: October 29, 2009 10:34 am      

Disaster plan preparations begin

Garvin County’s new emergency management director has plenty of ties to the area where he now works.

Bud Ramming was born in Wynnewood, grew up and graduated from high school in Lindsay, lives near Elmore City and currently works in Pauls Valley.

With all that in mind, the former county sheriff’s deputy is on the job working to better organize disaster preparedness efforts in the county.

“My job is to have resources available for any emergency that occurs,” Ramming said.

He wants to help people in the county work together better to accomplish that goal.

How?

By establishing an emergency planning committee that in time will help all parts of the county better prepare for just about any disaster situation.

A variety of people would be on that committee, such as police and fire chiefs, heads of county departments, local emergency directors, school officials — you name it and they will be asked to get involved.

“There will be a lot of different people involved,” Ramming said. “It’s not just a good idea. It’s worked in other counties — having people trained in case of certain situations, such as floods, tornadoes, whatever the emergency might be.”

“If we do have an emergency we’ll be organized and better prepared.”

Another big part of the effort is have all emergency plans organized and ready to go at a moment’s notice.

Put in simple terms, the plans for different emergency situations will include an inventory of the county for resources available during those times, such as the people and equipment needed to bring help.

Assisting Ramming with that work are officials with the Oklahoma Emergency Management Association, along with the expertise of emergency directors from other counties.

“I’m the one who needs to direct people in emergency situations. I’ll have a data base of information on any situation. The right people will need to respond at my request and bring the items that we need,” Ramming said.

“We need to be on the same page. Everybody needs to know what their job is, and I will know what they’re doing. This is what they want me to concentrate on,” he said, referring to all three county commissioners who recently named him as the first full-time, paid director in the county.

Ramming’s work is a step up from the past when Garvin County relied on a part-time, non-paid civil defense director.

Yet another benefit of having a full-time director is it also allows the county to qualify for more federal and state grants, he said.

“I hope in my career I’ll never have to use any of this,” he said about any emergency plans. “It’s nice to know it’s there if we do need it.”