Subject: [NEXTEL-1] Bend Bulletin, OR - Fed money bolsters local security

From: [email-masked]
Date: Tue, 10 Feb 2004 01:59:35 -0500

Fed money bolsters local security
Published: February 2, 2004
By Ernestine Bousquet

The Bulletin

Since the 9-11 attacks, the threat of terrorism has forced every state and town
in the nation into a heightened state of alert.
To fight terrorism, the federal government has unleashed billions of dollars in
Homeland Security grants to state and local agencies to safeguard communities
against potential attacks.

The money is funneled from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security through the
Office of Domestic Preparedness, which is responsible for shoring up defense on
the domestic front.

The money can be used to buy equipment and pay for training to combat terrorism
and the effects of weapons of mass destruction.
In Oregon alone, the amount of grant funding available, which is doled out by
the Oregon Emergency Management department, has jumped from $3.5 million in 2002
to $19.7 million in 2003, according to Matt Marheine, the domestic preparedness
coordinator for the department. The department is part of the Oregon State
Police.

And Central Oregon agencies such as the Deschutes County Health Department, the
city of Bend Public Works Department and law enforcement offices in all three
local counties have received funding to beef up their operations.

One glimpse at their shopping list, which is filled with items like cadaver
bags, gas masks and a decontamination tent, reveal how 9-11 has ushered in a
sobering reality and awareness of new risks.

"So many things have gotten better because of our bad experience," Marheine
said. "We are more and more prepared. It's a long road and we're not done yet,
but we're becoming more and more capable."

Up to 20 percent of the federal money is set aside as grants for state agencies,
some dollars are dedicated to statewide training and planning and the rest is
available for local public service departments, according to Marheine.

A panel of representatives from state agencies and associations approve the
grants. The money is reimbursed to departments once they have purchased the
equipment, he said.

Rodd Clark, the Crook County sheriff, said his department used its $63,000 grant
to buy a decontamination tent, three encrypted handheld radios, gas masks and 54
protective suits for the law enforcement officers within the county.

"We took a look at basic needs for our first responders to major incidents,"
Clark said. "They needed a way to protect themselves and communicate without
alarming the whole community."

Clark said while Crook County seems like an unlikely target, major power lines
and the two dams in the county make it vulnerable.
"We've not visualized ourselves as a high-profile target, but we'd be remiss not
to look at it and do what we could," Clark said. "The difference is now someone
is out there rattling the chains and throwing money and making people aware of
it."
Clark said the portable decontamination tent, which is being housed with
Redmond's hazardous materials team, is the only one of its kind in the area. It
allows anyone who has come into contact with hazardous materials to be cleansed.

April Stream, the Jefferson County 911 director, said the county's sheriff's
office received roughly $111,000 to buy radios and 92 protective masks and suits
for emergency responders.

The Jefferson County Sheriff's Office will also purchase three shelters, two
portable generators and lights with that money.
Without the homeland security grant, the sheriff's office couldn't afford any of
the equipment, she said.
"Any time we upgrade what we have, I think we are going to be better prepared,"
Stream said.

Though the grants restrict what items can be bought, much of the equipment could
be used in day-to-day operations and in emergency situations other than a
terrorist attack.

Marheine, the state domestic preparedness coordinator, said eligible agencies
must perform a needs assessment to identify vulnerable areas.

Since 9-11, the grant restrictions have loosened up, allowing departments to use
the money for training and planning as well as equipment, Marheine said.

Mike Miller, the operations manager at Bend's Public Works Department, said his
department's $69,000 homeland security grant will help pay for a 1,200-foot
chain-link fence around the city's main water supply system near Tumalo Falls
and an accompanying environmental review.

The fencing will surround the dam, the intake center and the pond, he said.

"9-11 has had a tremendous impact on how all municipalities operate today,"
Miller said. "Our (water supply system) has always been off limits. But a lot of
jurisdictions didn't have a problem and treated them like parks ... Now we're
doing everything we can to safeguard our water supply."

Miller said the department continually monitors the water quality. If something
has contaminated the water, the department has 45 minutes to respond before it
reaches the city's water supply, he said.

Jim Gustafson, the fire marshal for the La Pine Rural Fire Protection district,
said the fire department used part of its $37,000 grant to buy a portable
weather station that could track vapor patterns in the event that a contaminant
has been released into the air.
The money also paid for a base station for dispatch, radios and two satellite
phones. This equipment will help make up for the "black holes" in coverage in
their 115-square-mile fire district and a 1,000-square-mile ambulance coverage
area.

"By creating a more dependable system, we have a better opportunity to manage
and mitigate," Gustafson. "I think a lot of it has been talked about in past and
9-11 obviously brought it to the forefront."

For others, like the Deschutes County Sheriff's Office, strengthening the
communications network was the first order of business, according Don Webber,
the emergency services manager for the county.

"Communication is a key thing … in an emergency," Webber said.  "You can have
best plan in the works, but if people can't communicate, then you're in
trouble."

Webber said the Deschutes County Sheriff's Office teamed up with the Bend Police
Department and other area police departments to apply for funding. They received
roughly $302,000.

With that money, they were able to purchase about five VHF radios, 30 handheld
radios, repeaters and video cameras and security alarms.

Larry Blanton, the Deschutes County undersheriff, said the new equipment would
ensure that law enforcement agencies could communicate with each other during
any kind of emergency.

"We're in the business of preparing for natural disasters and emergencies, but
the events of 9-11 brought a new look at how vulnerable we all are," Blanton
said. "Anything we can do mitigate any issue, we'll do it."

But do the billions of federal dollars now dedicated to rooting out terrorism
mean communities are safer?
Marheine, the domestic preparedness coordinator, believes that the money helps
protect communities.

"The point is to establish and enhance capability, not only to respond, but to
detect and deter," Marheine said, referring to potential terrorist attacks.

Blanton, the Deschutes County undersheriff, said that equipment and training
aside, the key to preventing an attack is relying on the eyes and ears of
citizens.

"We will never get to the point where we are 100 percent secure," Blanton said.
"That can't be purchased."
Ernestine Bousquet can be reached at 541-504-2336 or at
[email-masked].

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