# County Wide Prepardness Survey



## Beaniemaster2 (May 22, 2012)

We got a letter from our County government wanting us to participate in a survey on how prepared we are for emergencies... Has anyone else received anything like that??? 

Well, needless to say we wiped our butts with it and sent it straight back thru the sewers...


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## ETXgal (Jul 12, 2014)

No, I have not received anything like that.


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## CrackbottomLouis (May 20, 2012)

Nope. Send back a response that says you pay taxes for fema and expect a prompt government response to any emergency.


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## tsrwivey (Dec 31, 2010)

Tell them your sister has Dancing With the Stars Tivoed so if worse came to worse, you could watch it at her house.


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## JayJay (Nov 23, 2010)

Beaniemaster2 said:


> We got a letter from our County government wanting us to participate in a survey on how prepared we are for emergencies... Has anyone else received anything like that???
> 
> Well, needless to say we wiped our butts with it and sent it straight back thru the sewers...


Wow, Beanie. I'm in Ky.
Care to give the county?? I understand if not.
Logan County here.
I would have to call and ask what agency is interested!:scratch


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## northstarprepper (Mar 19, 2013)

Nothing like like that yet up here in Minnesota. Not sure exactly how I would respond. The local police and fire did not respond to my emails about CERT training, so perhaps I would mention their lack of interest. That might get something good to happen. Other than that...not so much.


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## nightwing (Jul 26, 2014)

I thought this was a rant about the finance company country wide 

Darn it ! misunderstood the subject matter ONCE MORE :brickwall:

But really I would never respond or answer questions such as that,

Of course that is neither here nor there they know what you have 
unless you buy with cash or wear dark glasses when you shop 
they have a running total on everything.
Want proof how do people who commit crimes get caught and this is the 
shoe leather flat foot that knows where you bought duct tape 
we are being hacked tracked traced by phone conversations 
credit and debit cards a million cameras scanners and a hundred other 
ways, and that is terrestrial satellites drones planes helicopters
though the may be tasked or owned by others hitchhikers and 
covert sensors are used if a common criminal can steal your 
credit card information what chance do you have against big brother,
You don't 

Recent busts of pot farms I know how they knew FLIR 
but what is to say that that technology does not have 
other more insidious or more in depth sensors or other capabilities 
the word Hitchhiker was not mistyped the hunters are the hunted and 
the trusted are the untrusted you think you walked in a straight line 
and you find your back where you started. 

If you take things at face value your medication is working 
If you think your alone your dreaming or mental 
the technology that we are told of is 20-30 years old.
a survey ? why ask what someone already knows ?
who initiated the survey were they coerced or manipulated 
into running a scam on them you or both ?
Was it to keep you thinking your secure or give you the false sense 
that only you know what your thinking?
Hand writing analysis can expose your hidden secrets voice stress 
walk / gait speed eye movement nervous tics pattern changes ?
facial movements change of diet cologne perfume clothing 
police are allowed to place tracking units on your vehicle 
who's to say that unit is not being used or under surveillance 
by a secondary agency or 2 or 3 lasers can hears see and define 
every manner of sound, prints distance in 3D real time 
a jet of air can sense chemicals even --------------
Why bother dancing with the stars is on sit back relax and watch your TV while it watches and listens to you :gaah:sleep tight


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## talob (Sep 16, 2009)

Nope, nothing here is Barren county either.


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## gabbyj310 (Oct 22, 2012)

Nothing in Butler Co,as yet:beercheer:


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## Quills (Jun 14, 2011)

I've been appointed to our community's Emergency Response Team (yeah, volunTOLD <sigh> )-- instructions have come down the pipe from the Feds that every community has to have an ACTIVE plan, not just a written plan (which has been required for several years, apparently), so our local community has set up a group to plan and prepare for emergency events. We have people in charge of various aspects of handling such an event (tornado, train derailment, airplane crash, pandemic, etc.) and will have mock-emergencies staged two or three times a year to practice. We've had two so far -- you have no idea of what "chaos" looks like until you do one of these things!

Sitting in the meetings, trying to figure out how to help people should we find ourselves in a real emergency situation, I've had to steer several fellow members away from intrusive questions on a questionnaire which was deemed "necessary", including very intrusive questions about medical history, and level of preparedness in the home. You wouldn't believe some of the stuff the other members have wanted to put on that questionnaire!

After many "you've got to be kidding me" moments ("if they're not doing anything wrong, why shouldn't they tell us..." -- Right  ) the group has finally agreed that names and ages of residents in each home (so that we can know if someone is missing should there be an extreme event), is all that is necessary. We've encouraged people to have ERIK kits for all members of the family so that anyone responding to an emergency in the home will have access to any medical information they need should the family not be able to provide the necessary information at the time, and we'll send out an information brochure on the importance of having "bug-out bags" (the others in the group didn't even know what a bug-out-bag was), and concentrate on the plan for dealing with people's needs should something happen.

We won't be relying on the government to come in and save our butts here -- we'll rely on our neighbours, as it should be. We've learned after several years of flooding that the government talks big, but seldom comes through unless there is a photo op.


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## TheLazyL (Jun 5, 2012)

Quills said:


> ...instructions have come down the pipe from the Feds that every community has to have an ACTIVE plan....


Federal government has no jurisdiction over any local government entity.

Now if that local government entity wants Taxpayer money controlled by the Fed then they can willingly allow themselves to be blackmailed into toeing the Federal line.


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## Quills (Jun 14, 2011)

TheLazyL said:


> Federal government has no jurisdiction over any local government entity.


That might be true -- in the US. As I'm not in the US, I'll stand by what I have been told by those who appointed me to the committee, and restate that instruction came down FROM THE FEDS that each municipality had to have an active plan, not just written guidelines which were never reviewed.

I'm less concerned about the Federal government giving direction on the matter than I am over the fact that THEY'RE GIVING DIRECTION ON THE MATTER. Telling the municipalities that the written plan isn't good enough, that teams should be in place and ready to go, that they should be practicing for several different scenarios to ensure that they're prepared to respond locally, concerns me a whole lot more. Why now? Why the sudden urgency to have local plans in place, to have emergency disaster response ready to go? That has me more concerned than worrying about whose directive it is.


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## NaeKid (Oct 17, 2008)

Quills said:


> Why the sudden urgency to have local plans in place, to have emergency disaster response ready to go? That has me more concerned than worrying about whose directive it is.


Why is it urgent? With the crazy weather we have been having here across the prairies, I have to ask why has it taken them so long to realize that their previous plans were nothing short of laughable at best. Having plans for fire, flood, snow, ice and all the rest should have been on the list for years.

If I was to put a survey out for my community in regards to being prepared, the list would have skill-sets as part of the questionnaire, not what products people have.


*Name*
Location
Contact information
Emergency contact information
Dependents

*Age range*
0 - 10
11 - 16
17 - 21
22 - 30
31 - 50
51 - 65
65 - 84
85+

*Driving skills and current license status (Check all applicable)*
Learners
Motorcycle
Passenger vehicle
Commercial vehicle
Farm equipment
Construction equipment
Boat / Quad / Side-by-side

*Additional skills that you may have (Electrician, Plumber, Medical (First Aid, EMT, Nurse, Doctor), Mechanic, Amateur Radio, Other)*
*Willing to assist during emergency situation (Yes / No)*

With something like that list, I would be able to look at it and say that Joe who is a plumber would be able to assist the local Fire Dept. during flood situations, and that Fred who is an Electrician would be able to safely make sure that power-systems are under control. I would also be able to say that there would be toddler aged children at Elaine's house and that they would probably be scared / screaming and that they would need to be evacuated quickly to a safer location - with toys. At Bob's place, his elderly parents who are both over 85 might have some mobility issues and special considerations might be required in that situation (wheel chair accessible vehicle).

Some might consider my list a little too intrusive, or, it might not have enough to deal with during a mass evacuation ... where is the fine line between those two points?


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## bkt (Oct 10, 2008)

I'm in Monroe County, New York (Rochester area) and I seem to recall some kind of preparedness survey coming around a few years ago. I ignored it.

However, if it ever comes back I have an outstanding answer prepared:



tsrwivey said:


> Tell them your sister has Dancing With the Stars Tivoed so if worse came to worse, you could watch it at her house.


(Hope you don't mind if I borrow that. It's perfect.)


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## Geek999 (Jul 9, 2013)

The basic problem here is that whether the government is actually trying to prepare or not, they need almost no information on us as individuals. They do need some population estimates to plan for shelter space or other needs, but they don't need precision, nor do they need anything personal, so this stuff just sets off alarms.


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## Country Living (Dec 15, 2009)

Geek999 said:


> The basic problem here is that whether the government is actually trying to prepare or not, they need almost no information on us as individuals. They do need some population estimates to plan for shelter space or other needs, but they don't need precision, nor do they need anything personal, so this stuff just sets off alarms.


Population counts from the last census would be an easy and painless way to estimate population.

If someone sent out a "how prepared are you" survey in this rural community, they just might get the survey back in a pile of cow $hit. Unanswered, of course.


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## northstarprepper (Mar 19, 2013)

I think the real problem in America is the vast distrust of government; local, state, and federal. I am not sure those of you in Canada share our feelings in that regard. What with the NSA revelations, the IRS scandals, people finding out their personal information has been handed over to the government by their phone company, their bank, their utilities, and even their doctors in some cases. Americans are real tired of government intrusions into private areas of their lives. Young people, who used to be the brain-washed minions of the left, are getting fed up of lies and penalties tied to obamacare. Americans are just pretty p.o.'d right now. It is not a good time for surveys by any government entity.


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## Geek999 (Jul 9, 2013)

northstarprepper said:


> I think the real problem in America is the vast distrust of government; local, state, and federal. I am not sure those of you in Canada share our feelings in that regard. What with the NSA revelations, the IRS scandals, people finding out their personal information has been handed over to the government by their phone company, their bank, their utilities, and even their doctors in some cases. Americans are real tired of government intrusions into private areas of their lives. Young people, who used to be the brain-washed minions of the left, are getting fed up of lies and penalties tied to obamacare. Americans are just pretty p.o.'d right now. It is not a good time for surveys by any government entity.


The next couple of elections will show whether that is correct.


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## Ozarker (Jul 29, 2014)

My brother-in-law is an administrator of the county medical bunch in the county emergency management system, I told him if I see him coming in a county vehicle I'll be heading for the hills, he said "that's probably the best plan". 

Understanding what they are expected to do may help understand the justification in a survey, you can answer the questions or not, you could answer some or all, the only survey you must answer is the census, other than that it's up to you. Since my crazy B-I-L is in the management system, he already knows more about me than I could ever put in a survey......he'd probably tell searchers not to go over to that house, it's been cleared, LOL.

All of those questions seem to boil to two things, money and personnel requirements, ultimately it all boils down to money. Answering a survey will help save tax money. The survey will be viewed statistically with factors applied for inaccurate, false, information and in light of the big picture, not what Joe Blow does or has so much.

The big picture may show that 12% of residents have supplies for 90 days or more, 28% have 30 days, etc.

That means that the planners can say they need X gallons of water, X pounds of food, for say 7 days, 30 days, 60 days. All of that costs money. Now they can have a budget.

Personnel aspects were mentioned, it's not so much that Joe is a plumber but that there are 245 plumbers in the county, 2,080 medically trained folks, 196 electricians, etc. Much of this information is available elsewhere too, labor unions, construction group memberships, hospital employee head counts. If the EMS folks need additional volunteers being able to sort out names to contact from the survey replies cuts time communicating through the local plumbers union, that might save half a day trying to ask for volunteers. It's more efficient. 

If there is some evacuation order and they ask for people to car pool to limit traffic issues, they will know how many drivers there could be, how many vehicles are likely to be going out of areas of the city, what the traffic count might be. That tells them how many trucks to assign to an area, how many cops to put on what roads and how to direct traffic. Again, personnel requirements = money, volunteers must be managed they aren't entirely free. 

I'd think if you want Congress to allocate 860 Million instead of 1,6 Billion Dollars to pay for the expected costs of the EMS requirements you'd fill out the survey, if you're really serious about the government not overspending our tax money. Without the data they will over estimate and overspend. 

I'd say too that we shouldn't expect government to provide us with everything. First we take care of ourselves and family, then help neighbors, then the community to get through most disasters. 

I doubt I'd give my personal medical issues (don't have any) if you need medication you should have it on hand and that should allow enough time to acquire more through the process, you can come forward later on if you're in need of something. If I were wheelchair bound I'd give that information as those rendering assistance need to know what to expect. They also need to know about children and infants, the census is every ten years, a few years after any decade mark that information becomes rather irrelevant. The quickest way to find out to plan is to ask.

I agree too that plans need to be practiced, they do that here and have for years. It costs money too, many smaller communities don't have funds to pay for the fire department to go run around, they need the funds to pay costs. 

Does the survey ask you to sign the information or fill in names? I bet not, it may have a cover letter addressed to you or your address, but what you send back may not be identifiable and doesn't need to be unless there is some special need you have, then you may opt to tell them who you are so arrangements can be made. If it is asked you don't need to fill it out, you could say minor #1, male, 7 years old; minor # 2 female, infant. 

I don't see intelligence gathering here for shipping folks off to those camps, I see them trying to figure out the big picture. Like I said, depends on the emergency, I may volunteer or I may head for the hills, in fact, I could do both too.


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## dixiemama (Nov 28, 2012)

Nothing in the eastern counties of KY. We wouldn't answer it if we got it either.


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## Tirediron (Jul 12, 2010)

by the time the government get there the impact has long passed, unless as mentioned before there is a photo op. I would not fill in a what do you have/ what can you do survey for any bureaucracy. paying work goes to the lowest bidder, send out a tender


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## Caribou (Aug 18, 2012)

NaeKid said:


> Some might consider my list a little too intrusive, or, it might not have enough to deal with during a mass evacuation ... where is the fine line between those two points?


Fine Line? It is quite discernible to me. You want to come over for an adult beverage and chat about prepping I'll buy. You show up with a clipboard and a uniform then get off my property. While I might like you as an individual once you become an official there is no information that I will relay accurately. Even if I trust you I don't trust your supervisors, I don't trust the people that will come after you leave, and I don't trust other agencies that might gain access to your files. To me the line is as fine as "I only raped her a little."


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## Beaniemaster2 (May 22, 2012)

JayJay said:


> Wow, Beanie. I'm in Ky.
> Care to give the county?? I understand if not.
> Logan County here.
> I would have to call and ask what agency is interested!:scratch


Sorry, I was away... Laurel County EMA/CSEPP is who is doing the survey... Is nice that they wanting to know to maybe actually help but I doubt it... hehehe


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## doubleTHICK (Jun 19, 2012)

Geek999 said:


> The next couple of elections will show whether that is correct.


Good point Geek999

I am not really seeing many Americans giving two craps about the NSA, the IRS 'losing' emails, ObamaCare lies . . . 
They just don't care. If they can continue their life of overabundance and a ridiculously high debt-to-income ratio then the government can continue to do what they are doing

But yeah, the next couple elections will help those of us "in the know" on how we should adjust any of our prep plans.

If they are awake and show up at the polls then maybe, MAYBE there is some hope for the future.
If the people do not make it to the polls (which I believe they will not) even after all that has gone down these last few years, then those of us in the know might consider this as a warning and to adjust the prepping accordingly

OMG - I hope, really really hope I am wrong and people do care and will show up and vote. A government* FOR *the people *BY* the people could be a reality


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## *Andi (Nov 8, 2009)

northstarprepper said:


> I think the real problem in America is the vast distrust of government; local, state, and federal.


As a Pub Ed teacher of 10 years (Fire and Life Safety ) ... I can say this is so very true.

When was the last time you all have checked your smoke alarm or made sure you have 7 days of food and water ... :brickwall::brickwall::brickwall: (sigh)

In the end I found it best to bring the folks to me, not the other way around. Free food, music and few (very nice) prizes will work wonders.  Our Halloween bags ... wow ... they are the best! Candy, books and some stuff for mom and dad to read or trash. lol

I'm not the bad guy but I will say, I'm sure they are a few out there... Now be good ladies and gents and check the smoke alarm(s) for me ...


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## Geek999 (Jul 9, 2013)

*Andi said:


> As a Pub Ed teacher of 10 years (Fire and Life Safety ) ... I can say this is so very true.
> 
> When was the last time you all have checked your smoke alarm or made sure you have 7 days of food and water ... :brickwall::brickwall::brickwall: (sigh)
> 
> ...


What reason would we have for trusting government?


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## Ozarker (Jul 29, 2014)

Geek, when I was in government I trusted government, when I got out I knew better. So long as it isn't a complaint, doesn't cost them anything, doesn't put them in a political bind, doesn't require much attention or time, doesn't interfere with coffee breaks and can make them feel useful, I may trust what they may say or do. There are exceptions too, but the exceptions aren't elected to any office.


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## dixiemama (Nov 28, 2012)

In my community, you would get the door shut in your face while the home owner laughed and thats the nice reaction. Some of the older generations would take offense and probably show you the business end of a shotgun. It is NOT a good idea.


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## doubleTHICK (Jun 19, 2012)

Geek999 said:


> What reason would we have for trusting government?


LOL!!!

A perfect explanation for the meaning of, touche

Not sure of your intentions were that of the_ right back at ya _type but that is how I took it, and, but, it is so true. 'reasons FOR trusting' the govt. :congrat:


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## Geek999 (Jul 9, 2013)

doubleTHICK said:


> LOL!!!
> 
> A perfect explanation for the meaning of, touche
> 
> Not sure of your intentions were that of the_ right back at ya _type but that is how I took it, and, but, it is so true. 'reasons FOR trusting' the govt. :congrat:


"Why should we trust government?" is a serious question. None of the founding fathers trusted government. Since then the government has grown like crazy and many of the checks and balances have been removed or ignored. The level of incompetence is staggering. The level of monitoring of law abiding citizens has reached Orwellian levels. If you still trust government you ought to ask yourself why.


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## PurpleHeartJarhead (Mar 23, 2014)

Geek999 said:


> The level of incompetence is staggering. The level of monitoring of law abiding citizens has reached Orwellian levels.


*Reached?* Surpassed, by a good bit IMHO.



> If you still trust government you ought to ask yourself why.


I trust NO ONE, let alone an all-consuming, mindless, senseless, wasteful _*national *_government. That's right, I said national government, because we longer have a FEDERAL government nor do we any longer live in a _representative republic_, it is a mob-rule society.


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## besign (Aug 9, 2014)

I guarantee you that Big bro doesn't know 1% of what net guys like those on this thread THINK that he knows. If he did, I and several of my friends would have done life in prison, many times over.


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## Geek999 (Jul 9, 2013)

besign said:


> I guarantee you that Big bro doesn't know 1% of what net guys like those on this thread THINK that he knows. If he did, I and several of my friends would have done life in prison, many times over.


Care to expand on that claim?


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## GrinnanBarrett (Aug 31, 2012)

I do not answer surveys period. There is always a catch. Never ever tell anyone about your preps. It is a good way to get on someone's list.


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## tsrwivey (Dec 31, 2010)

bkt said:


> However, if it ever comes back I have an outstanding answer prepared:
> 
> (Hope you don't mind if I borrow that. It's perfect.)


LOL perfectly fine with me.


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