By Susan Macdonald
Harvell Civic Center hosted the Millington Get Ready! expo on March 31, from 5 to 8 p.m. Fire Chief Gary Graves, the emergency management director for Millington in case of disaster, was the master of ceremonies. The free community seminar focused on emergency preparedness. The Millington Fire Department displayed their rescue boat in the parking lot of Harvell Civic Center. The West Tennessee Seismic Safety Commission and CERT Plus had tables in the foyer. NSA Mid-South, Tennessee Emergency Management Agency, Shelby County Amateur Radio Emergency Service, Ritter Communications, Shelby County Office of Preparedness, MLGW, American Red Cross, and Military Auxiliary Radio System had tables in the banquet hall with information and souvenir magnets, pens, pencils, and coasters. CERT Plus signed up several volunteers for community emergency response training. Kate Armitage, the Director of Parks and Recreation, said there were at least a hundred people present. There were supposed to be four speakers, but Jim Jaggers of Channel 3 news was unable to attend due to an extreme thunderstorm watch Tuesday evening. Dr. Steve Horton of the West Tennessee Seismic Safety Commission spoke on earthquake preparedness and described the history of the New Madrid fault. J. D. Dill, the Emergency Management Program Director from NSA MidSouth, spoke on severe thunderstorms, tornadoes, high winds, flash floods, and snow and ice. City Engineer Darek Baskin discussed the Great Flood of May 2010, how Millington had dealt with it, and how the city was prepared to deal with possible future floods. After the speakers, the crowd went down to the banquet hall for snacks from Chick-fil-A and drawings for the door prizes. The prizes included first aid kits, LED lights, and the grand prize of a generator.
The next CERT Plus training in Millington will be June 6 and 13, at the Millington Fire Training Center. A CPR class will be held April 25 at the Munford Fire Station.
