Dear Editor,
I would like to thank The Bay Net for keeping us updated throughout the duration of the recent Storm, Ernesto. You were the only source I know of posting announcements throughout the night on Friday and then further updates on Saturday and Sunday.
I was disappointed with the lack of coverage by local radio – which for many was their only source of information during power outages.
The St. Mary’s County website was also updated well during the storm and they generated a good deal of information. The problem I believe is the dissemination of that information. The administration is reported as saying they cannot control the content of local radio (in today’s article by Sean Rice). Can they not however talk to the radio stations and come up with a plan for similar emergencies in the future? A partnership? Did the commissioners contact local radio and ask them to cover the latest announcements and updates (not that they should have to – but since the radio stations deemed music their priority content Friday evening, maybe they need a prompt)? Surely local broadcasters ought to have a commitment to informing their community during emergencies? I believe they failed miserably during Ernesto.
The Bay Net kept us up to date during the storm and announced the availability of dry ice and sand bags, as well as shelter locations. However, if households had no electricity or internet connection during the storm (and so couldn’t access the up-to-date information on The Bay Net) how were they to know what was available to them? The county mentions a hotline number. I for one didn’t know that number previously and certainly didn’t have it ready Friday in case of prolonged outage. Will the number remain the same for future emergencies? If so perhaps residents can memorize it, add it to their phone books or cell phones, etc.
They spent all this money on dry ice and supplies. Very well, but was it used wisely? How much of the dry ice was collected and put to use? Was it the case, as I suspect, that the county forked out money (our tax dollars) on supplies many did not know about and that were consequently wasted? I would like to know how many people collected dry ice and how much was left over. That should give us an indication of whether it was money well spent, or whether it was simply a measure – close to elections – that was more for show (“Look how prepared we were, etc.”) rather than actively implemented in the service of the community. Couldn’t the county have informed the households without power of the availability someway? SMECO knew exactly which areas were without power. I’m sure the county did too. Could those staff standing at empty distribution centers – as I imagine they were – have been put to better use by delivering the supplies to households/areas without power once the storm was over and it was safe for them to do so?
I suspect there was a vast waste of money last weekend. I am also appalled to learn that our radio stations take no civic responsibility to inform and aid us during a State of Emergency. I thank The Bay Net for actively doing what they could, but there needs to be a similar service to the one you provide that is available to those who can’t access the internet without electricity. Do they make battery-powered computers?
Frustrated, Leonardtown
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