Corner Store
Conversations
Contributed by Elizabeth Wang, associate
editor
|
Welcome to the first installment of
the SART Sentinel, a monthly newsletter bringing issues of interest
and importance to Florida SART members! Each month brief articles
will be featured with supporting links for access to more
information.
Many of us start our day gathered with
friends in a familiar corner feed or convenience store to be the
first to know about things that may be important to us; the Corner
Store Conversations section will be the official start to the
newsletter with thoughts shared by invited guests and regular
contributors. But remember, this newsletter is for YOU - that means
if you have updates on your county SART status or other goings-on
you wish to share, send it to <SARTNewsEditor-L@lists.ifas.ufl.edu>,
and we will do our best to get it into the next newsletter. Feel
free to forward the Sentinel to interested people. If someone you
know wants to receive the Sentinel regularly, direct them to <www.flsart.org> to sign up as a
SART member.
And with that brief welcome, let us
move on to the good stuff… |
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SART 2005 Regional
Training Events a Success!
After being postponed due to Tropical
Storm Bonnie and Hurricanes Charley, Frances, Ivan and Jeanne, the
first three annual SART training events were held in Kissimmee,
Belle Glade and Tallahassee. The three-day training events
introduced attendees to the State Agricultural Response Team program
through workshops and plenty of networking opportunities. A variety
of topics were covered including an introduction to SART,
biosecurity planning, basic incident command system training and a
review of response efforts to the 2004 hurricane season from several
agencies. Over 350 attendees participated at these events showing
their interest and support of SART's mission "to empower Floridians
with training and resources to coordinate animal and agriculture
disaster response."
Pictures from the training events are
available on the Florida SART Web site. Visit <www.flsart.org> and click on
"Photo Gallery." |
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2005 Atlantic Hurricane
Season Begins
Contributed by Elizabeth Wang and Carol J. Lehtola,
UF/IFAS
May 15th through 21st was officially
Hurricane Preparedness Week, however it is not too late to prepare for
what forecasters have predicted will be another active hurricane season
(See <www.cpc.ncep.noaa.gov/products/outlooks/hurricane.html>).
Now is the time to make sure your family, pets, homestead and business
have adequate disaster plans in place and resources available should a
hurricane strike your area. Waiting until last minute may not guarantee
you access to needed supplies. Consider the hazards posed by a hurricane
in your community during this planning stage. Encourage relatives and
friends to prepare as well. In fact, designate a Disaster Kit Day for your
family, relatives and friends and create your kits together! Many
resources are available to help you form these plans and prepare disaster
kits.
Additional articles of interest about
hurricane preparedness written by IFAS personnel for Florida Farm Bureau's
publication, FloridAgriculture, appear on page 8 of the June issue
(available on the Web: <http://floridagriculture.org/News.aspx?Id=156>).
Articles include:
- Prepare for Needs of Your Horses and
Livestock by Marion County Equine
Specialist Mark Shuffit;
- Help Your Kids Cope with
Disasters by Nayda Torres, FYCS
Department Chair;
- Assess Damage and Make Repairs Soon
After Storm Passes by Wendell
Porter, Department of Agricultural and Biological Engineering;
- Maintaining your Generator Pays Off
When the Lights Go Out by Ray
Bucklin, Department of Agricultural and Biological Engineering and Laura
Royer, Marion County Extension.
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Hurricane Supply Tax Break
Starts June 1
Governor Jeb Bush signed legislation on May
23, 2005, creating a sales tax holiday for qualifying hurricane supplies.
The sales tax holiday is only for specified supplies and runs from June 1
until midnight June 12. For a complete listing of qualifying supplies,
please download the following PDF (Note: It may take a moment to
open):
<www.floridadisaster.org/documents/Hurricane%20TIP%202005.pdf>.
[top]
NOAA Training Simulation
Focuses on Oil Spill in Florida Keys
On April 20, 2005 the National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) coordinated an oil spill simulation in
the Florida Keys. The activity was preceded by a hypothetical 800-foot
cargo vessel carrying 1.2 million gallons of fuel running aground and
releasing oil into the waters. To simulate the spill, orange and yellow
floating cards were released to see how the water currents and wind would
carry the oil. Each card had reporting instructions for finders in English
and Spanish so NOAA could track the cards' movement. This simulation was
run to test NOAA's abilities to respond to this type of situation and work
with its partner agencies, which in this case were the Florida Department
of Environmental Protection and the United States Coast Guard. Further
details are available from the press release at <www.noaanews.noaa.gov/stories2005/s2436.htm>.
[top]
Changes Abound at the
Florida SART Web Site
If you have not visited the Florida SART Web
site lately, you have missed the changes that have occurred! The SART Web
site is sporting an updated look and features. The Library section has
been updated with the recent versions of the SART training material lesson
plans and participant workbooks complete with slide presentations. A Photo
Gallery has been added with photography from the 2004 hurricane damage and
response efforts. Training event photos are posted as well - see if we
caught you or your friends at the training events! The Members Area is
experiencing growth as more people are signing up to enjoy the benefits
afforded to members. SART membership is FREE and entitles you to unlimited
access to resource postings, the activities calendar, a monthly electronic
newsletter (The SART Sentinel) and the ability to search the membership
roster for other SART members who may hold the key to information you are
looking for. Alerts will eventually be posted in the Members Area, too. So
what are you waiting for? Visit <www.flsart.org> TODAY and sign
up!
[top]
Offbeat Quote
"...strawberry Pop-Tarts increase in sales,
like seven times their normal sales rate, ahead of a hurricane. And the
pre-hurricane top-selling item was beer."
-- Linda H. Dillman,
Wal-Mart Chief
Information Officer
[top]
The SART
SENTINEL
Editor: Gregory S. Christy, DVM, State
ESF-17 Coordinator, Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer
Services, Division of Animal Industry
Associate editor: Elizabeth A. Wang,
UF/IFAS, University of Florida
Contributors
- Carol J. Lehtola, University of
Florida-Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences
(UF/IFAS)
The SART SENTINEL is an e-mail newsletter prepared monthly by Dr.
Gregory S. Christy and the staff of the Florida State Agricultural
Response Team. Past issues of the Sentinel are archived on the Florida
SART Web Site: <www.flsart.org>.
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Disaster
Links
For additional information on agriculture,
animals, and disaster, visit:
Florida SART Home Page: <www.flsart.org>
UF/IFAS Disaster
Handbook: <http://disaster.ifas.ufl.edu/>
Extension
Disaster Education Network (EDEN): <http://eden.lsu.edu/>
For a complete list of all SART
participating agencies, visit the Florida SART Web site: <www.flsart.org>.
[top]
|
Tip of the
Month!
...from SART Training
Materials
"A picture is worth a thousand words
when identifying your animal if it gets lost: Take pictures of your
animals this month to include in your disaster kits." |
 | |
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