County looks to prepare citizens

Dee Howard Mullins, The Huntsville Item, Texas
·2 min read

Jul. 9—Are you prepared? Take time to learn how to prepare yourself and your family for potential flooding, tornadoes as well as hurricane season.

Walker County Emergency Management Office. (WCOEM) is set to host an Emergency Preparedness Fair from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 19, at the Walker County Storm Shelter.

WCOEM provides planning, training and exercises to ensure preparedness for the department's leadership and workforce to respond to and recover from all domestic hazards affecting the city and county.

Walker County, in partnership with the cities of Huntsville, New Waverly and Riverside and the Houston Galveston Area Council (H-GAC), is sponsoring the event.

The Houston-Galveston Area Council is the regional organization through which local governments consider issues and cooperate in solving area wide problems. Through H-GAC, local governments also initiate efforts in anticipating and preventing problems, saving public funds. The 13-county H-GAC service region is growing, becoming more diverse, and constantly changing.

In order to address the needs of citizens and businesses, local governments are providing leadership to guide regional development wisely and manage change constructively.

The event will have exhibitor booths, raffles, free hot dogs and subject matter experts on emergency preparation.

The following organizations have committed to participate in this event: Walker County OEM, Walker County CERT, AgriLife / Animal Issues Committee, Texas Animal Health, Walker County Sheriff's Office, Walker County EMS, New Waverly Fire Department / EDS2, Department of State Health Services, Texas Division of Emergency Management, Houston County Electric Coop, Tetra Tech, TDCJ OEM, South East Texas Regional Advisory Committee, Huntsville Fire Department, Huntsville Police Department, Huntsville Public Works, Huntsville OEM, Houston-Galveston National Weather Service, and Sam Houston State University OEM.

Organizations that provide services related to hazards and emergency services are welcome to participate and a booth will be provided.

One of the exhibitors will be the Texas Department of Emergency Management (TDEM). This state agency divides the state into six regions. Walker County is in Region 2, with Section Chiefs and District Coordinators.

Shaun P. Miller is the Assistant Chief for the Texas Division of Emergency Management and assigned to Region 2. In this capacity, he is responsible for the delivery of the state's emergency management programs within the 35 counties that comprise of the Southeast Texas Region.

The Walker County office is staffed by the coordinator and deputy who report to the County Judge.

For more information on this event and obtaining a booth, contact Sherri Pegoda, Walker County Deputy Emergency Management Coordinator, at 344 State Highway 75 North #200, or by phone at 936-435-8035.