{"id":4740,"date":"2011-09-04T08:35:01","date_gmt":"2011-09-04T12:35:01","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.northcountrypublicradio.org\/inbox\/?p=4740"},"modified":"2011-09-04T16:28:55","modified_gmt":"2011-09-04T20:28:55","slug":"sunday-opinion-taking-stock-after-irene-came-calling","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.northcountrypublicradio.org\/inbox\/2011\/09\/04\/sunday-opinion-taking-stock-after-irene-came-calling\/","title":{"rendered":"Sunday Opinion: Taking stock after Irene came calling"},"content":{"rendered":"

It’s all about Irene this week on the opinion pages, as editorial writers take stock of the power of nature and the resilience of we humble humans.\u00a0 Both were on display in remarkable ways over the last week.\u00a0 Here’s a sampling…<\/p>\n

The Glens Falls Post Star<\/a> lavishes praise on first responders for their Irene efforts, but also calls for smart thinking about future preparedness.<\/p>\n

But while the storm showed how well prepared we were, it also exposed some deficiencies. For instance, generators specifically purchased to power the Warren County municipal center and the emergency response center were rendered inoperable due to water damage.<\/p>\n

Radio communication among highway crews was disrupted by frequency issues with a Vermont radio system…<\/p>\n

While justifiably applauding themselves for their response, state and local officials should also use this opportunity to identify these weaknesses, honestly assess them, and correct them before Mother Nature’s next big surprise arrives.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The Adirondack Daily Enterprise<\/a> also lauds preparedness and response efforts and points out that some of the hardest hit areas are in drainages that no one expected to flood.<\/div>\n
\n
\nOK, everyone along a mountain creek or river could have evacuated, but imagine what a production that would have been – and for what? Up here, people weren’t in danger of being swept away or crushed by the storm itself, and the buildings and roads the storm-swollen rivers thrashed couldn’t have been moved.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
The communities along the branches of the AuSable River, which surged in a fury unknown in living memory, were settled way back when people needed rivers to turn their mills.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n
The Burlington Free Press<\/a> gives credit to Vermonters for their strong sense of place and community, which helped immeasurably during the storm.<\/div>\n
\n

The spirit of Vermont rises from our strong sense of place.\u00a0 Asked where we are from, we would proudly proclaim, “Vermont,” before naming any town or village. That sort of distinction is something we keep among ourselves.<\/p>\n

When disaster strikes even a remote corner of Vermont, the pain shivers across the state. When the devastation is widespread, the pain strikes at the heart of the state.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The Plattsburgh Press-Republican<\/a> gives kudos to the frontline responders who were so quick out of the block Sunday night and Monday\u00a0 morning.<\/p>\n

Our heroes once again are the lineup of people, paid and unpaid, who step up to help others in times of crisis: firefighters, highway crews, utility workers, Red Cross personnel, police officers.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

All of these people left the comfort of their homes \u2014 purposely putting themselves in danger \u2014 to go out in the middle of a raging storm to see if they could help others get their lives back in order.<\/p>\n

When we asked fans of our Facebook page to tell us who had helped them during the storm, those were the people they named. And they also had kind words for all the neighbors who helped with food or picked up tree limbs or shared their homes.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

So there you have it.\u00a0 As always, your views are welcome below.\u00a0 How did you and your neighbors make out during the storm?\u00a0 What do you expect in the days and weeks ahead as we rebuild and recover?<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

It’s all about Irene this week on the opinion pages, as editorial writers take stock […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":12,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1],"tags":[6523],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.northcountrypublicradio.org\/inbox\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4740"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.northcountrypublicradio.org\/inbox\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.northcountrypublicradio.org\/inbox\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.northcountrypublicradio.org\/inbox\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/12"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.northcountrypublicradio.org\/inbox\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4740"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.northcountrypublicradio.org\/inbox\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4740\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.northcountrypublicradio.org\/inbox\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4740"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.northcountrypublicradio.org\/inbox\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4740"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.northcountrypublicradio.org\/inbox\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4740"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}