{"id":2344,"date":"2011-03-06T13:15:00","date_gmt":"2011-03-06T18:15:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.l-a-k-e.org\/blog\/2011\/03\/noaa-weather-radios-needed-on-the-edge-of-the-county-john-s-quarterman.html"},"modified":"2011-03-06T13:15:00","modified_gmt":"2011-03-06T18:15:00","slug":"noaa-weather-radios-needed-on-the-edge-of-the-county-john-s-quarterman","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.l-a-k-e.org\/blog\/2011\/03\/noaa-weather-radios-needed-on-the-edge-of-the-county-john-s-quarterman.html","title":{"rendered":"NOAA Weather Radios needed on the edge of the county –John S. Quarterman"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/a>\nSo I’ll give you my opinion, like I gave it to the County Commission,\nand at the end of this post there’s a chronological list of links to\nall the NOAA Weather Radio posts so far.\n

\nBut first, what do these radios do?\nAccording\n\nto NOAA<\/a>:\n

\nNWR is an “All Hazards” radio network, making it your single source for\ncomprehensive weather and emergency information. In conjunction with\nFederal, State, and Local Emergency Managers and other public officials,\nNWR also broadcasts warning and post-event information for all types\nof hazards \u2013 including natural (such as earthquakes or avalanches),\nenvironmental (such as chemical releases or oil spills), and public safety\n(such as AMBER alerts or 911 Telephone outages).\n<\/blockquote>\nSo these radios provide all the types of information\n\nJ.L. Clark referred to.<\/a>\nThere’s more information in that\n\nNOAA web page.<\/a>\n

\nI spoke after\n\nJ.L. Clark<\/a> on 22 Feb 2011.\nThere is no video, because LAKE had only one camera at that meeting.\nFrom memory, here is the gist of what I said.\n

\nI live out on the edge of the county.\nI remember when Ashley Paulk moved in next door.\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n
\nI was sitting on the couch with my shoes off, like we like to do\nout there on the edge of the county, when Ashley came by and asked\nme and my father to help him walk the partition line between our properties.\nSo we did. And Ashley Paulk has always been a good neighbor.\nBut this isn’t about him.\n

\nMy father had one of those NOAA weather radios, and he used it all the time.\nIt was quite useful out on the edge of the county, where the phone often\ngoes out.\n

\nI live in a clearing that was cleared by a tornado.\nSo I have some concern about severe weather.\n

\nI have an Internet connection and use it for weather, but\nthat comes through the same phone line that is often out during storms.\nLots of other people around the county are in a similar position,\nso I wonder if the Commission is concerned about the safety of\npeople in outlying parts of the county.\n

\nI’d like an explanation of the reasoning behind turning\ndown this grant, which would have benefitted the safety of\npeople like me.\n<\/blockquote>\nChairman Paulk said this was Citizens Wishing to be Heard,\nnot a dialogue session, but he would answer me after the meeting.\nI said I looked forward to that.\n

\nAfter the meeting, Chairman Paulk asked Commissioner Raines to\nrespond.\nRaines said we didn’t live in tornado alley.\nI reminded him that the my clearing was cleared by a tornado,\nand added that there had been another one there within the past century.\nHe reiterated more or less what he said\n\nat the 8 Feb meeting where he made the motion to not accept the grant.<\/a>\nHe added that “if you can’t afford $21 for a radio….”\nI pointed out that many people couldn’t afford $21 for a radio.\nI think he also said the radios just do weather.\nAs you can see by\n\nNOAA’s own description<\/a> they do more than that.\n

\nI also mentioned to Commissioner Raines that Nolen Cox had said\n\nhe thought global warming was a hoax,<\/a>\nand that Commissioner Raines had said much the same thing after that meeting.\nPlus there was a movement in Congress to defund the NOAA program\nthat collects data relevant to climate change.\nRaines made clear that he didn’t think climate change was real,\nbut also said he knew nothing about any such movement in Congress,\nand for Congress I should contact Jack Kingston.\nI thanked Raines for saying his beliefs on climate change did not\naffect his decision on the NOAA Weather Radios.\nWe shook hands on that part.\n

\nObviously I don’t agree with Commissioner Raines on his vote\nabout the NOAA Weather Radios, and I’ve already spelled out\nthat climate change is not a matter of belief,\n\nit’s a matter of settled science.<\/a>\nHowever, I do applaud Commissioner Raines for being willing\nto have a forthright discussion with a citizen even on matters\nwhere there is not agreement.\n

\nHere are the LAKE blog posts on this subject, in chronological\norder of what happened:\n