Posted on 04/28/2008 4:37:55 AM PDT by restornu
BENTONVILLE — What started as an idea to better prepare congregation members for an emergency grew to an event that has served thousands of community members.
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Bentonville hosted its second annual Emergency Preparedness Fair Saturday on the church grounds. This year’s fair was twice as big as the first year, with about 75 sponsors and 50 booths, said cocoordinator Travis Larson.
The idea for the first fair came nearly two years ago when the area was hit hard with ice storms. The area Churches of Jesus Christ wanted to help their congregation members be more prepared in case such a disaster happens again. As they did research, they found that the Department of Emergency Management wanted to get a similar message out and that Wal-Mart was teaching a similar message to its associates. So they all joined forces to create the first fair.
After the first fair organizers realized there were so many aspects of emergency preparedness that they wanted to better address this year and plans for this year’s fair took off.
“ It’s a one-stop shop for emergency preparedness, ” Larson said.
The first 1, 000 people or so to arrive at the fair received a 72-hour kits, which includes items that a person would need in the first 72 hours after a disaster, especially if there was no power. The booths included everything from how to make the kits to how to care for one’s pet in an emergency. There was also a booth to share information about how to handle emotional issues in a crisis and after the crisis immediately passes.
Everything — from the lunch food to the items given out at the fair — were entirely donated.
“ The community has been absolutely wonderful, ” Larson said.
Besides the “ how-to” type booths, people could also get information from local emergency agencies such as the fire and police departments.
“ It brings all the different facets (of emergency preparedness ) together, ” said officer Guary Morgan with the Bentonville Police Department. “ When a disaster happens it takes all of us to deal with it. ”
Patti Webb, manager of the Petco in Rogers, was on hand to share information about caring for pets.
“ Pets are a part of the family, ” she said. “(Hurricane ) Katrina taught us what can happen (when people have to leave their pets ). ”
Webb provided information about how to create a 72-hour kit for each pet.
“ You need to have a kit ready for your pet just like everyone else in the family, ” she said.
Jodie Miller and Lanelle Brandkamp both thought the fair was helpful, including learning how to have food stored without much hassle and having documents in a safe, accessible place.
“ It’s good to know that you have everything in order in case something happens, ” Miller said.
Thank you for your respect!
should this thread have a “caucus” title as it is neither devotional or LDS in nature. The only mention of LDS is that the event was held on LDS property.
Im gonna start using the caucus designation on all my vanities so no one can flame me.
Thanks for posting this. We have our 72 hr packs ready. Everyone should prepare. It’s just common sense.
to note, the poster has pulled this stunt before and had titles changed because they were improperly used
It is speaking of a church event. That is enough.
respectfully, an event on church property where the public was in attendance.
grew to an event that has served thousands of community members.
they found that the Department of Emergency Management wanted to get a similar message out and that Wal-Mart was teaching a similar message to its associates. So they all joined forces to create the first fair.
Its odd that an gathering that has been designed to include the public canot be commented on by the public on FR
please reconsider
Last summer my Stake had a joint Family Emergency Preparedness workshop with one of the local Catholic Cathedrals and a few other Christian Churches. Think there was four or five churches total involved.
You can comment. There are plenty of comments, stories, hints, suggestions that can be made that can stay on topic to the thread (in this case Emergency Preparedness) even if you aren't a member of the LDS church.
What you can't do under a caucus thread is use it as an opportunity to flame the LDS church...which is what most people want the caucus tag removed for.
This event was hosted by the LDS, so if the LDS wish to discuss it as a church, that is enough for me.
As with news items concerning Papal events, you could post another article covering the same LDS event as an open thread either in the Religion Forum or the News Forum.
Thank you. One never knows what can happen. I saw on NG channel where a mans house fell into a sink hole. Here in Alaska I have been told that the stores no long have warehouses. Every thing is put on the shelves as it comes in. There is only one road. Change topic . Kids hijacked a car and ran from police. where can they go there is only one road. Glenn Hy going north, Seward Hy going south. makes it easy for police.
Living next door to a Mormon is a GOOD thing. They have everything.
I just went out to check my dehydrated milk. For the first time, I see the slightest amount of puffiness in the mylar bags. So there has to be a slight production of gas going on (I mean slight). Opened one of them up and the product appears fine. There is a tiny amount of granulation at the edges; inside the powder is still extremely fine.
My wife, who grew up in India under less then affluent conditions, and who lived on surplus dried milk from who knows where and how long for her entire childhood, insisted on testing this milk (I was a little nervous). She is also an expert cook and frequently throws out ingredients she doesn't feel comfortable with.
The verdict.... huh.gif blink.gif ohmy.gif
It is fine. smile.gif Says it is definitely good. So this time it will go back into new mylar with some more O2 absorbers (I had only two per bag). Test again in another five years.
I may put it into buckets with pricey resealable tops instead, I was going to sell those lids on eBay but decided not to. They have a screw-in center section with gaskets.
The way food prices are inflated over time is at a higher rate than you can get a return on money in savings in the bank. IOW, if you buy a few hundred pounds of wheat and oats and eat it over the next few years you have saved a lot more than buying as needed.
Plus they didn't mention when you buy bulk you can get it cheaper anyway. And you can't eat your cash in the bank either in the event of emergency....
The smart ones even have several cartons of cigarettes put away in a freezer for trading material should we need to swap for things with mainstreamers. And coffee, of course.
Not a good idea. The freezer will eventually dry them out past the point of use. Meanwhile, I have cigars in my humidor that I have kept for 12 years. I only smoke one or two a year.
There’s a sad irony in the whole concept though.
True. I tend not to remember things about tobacco products since I quit smoking after I joined the Church. I seem to remember that coffee freezes well and liquor keeps forever if the seals are intact on the bottles. Again, trading or first aid materials.
LOL. :)
the emergency food storage kits are down to $69.99 at Costco. $20 less than they were.
What an excellent and civic-minded activity.
I think I may mention this to my pastor (I’m Catholic).
Thanks for the thread.
Nothing wrong with being prepared for a disaster. When we lived on the high plains everyone kept a stocked larder because of the blizzards. I still have about two weeks food here just in case. and more in the freezer.
I wish I had known of this program. I would have driven over to it. I am not far away.
I have several large boxes filled with MRE’s from my hubbys military time...whenever he was in the field, or was given an MRE, he rarely ate it...just brought it home...as a result, we have a ton of MRE’s just in case...what I like about the MRE’s is that they have a little kit inside the pouch, to which you just add water, and then it heats up, and you can warm up the food in the MRE, which is handy if you have no heat source..
Being as we are not Mormon, when we were a younger couple, we never really gave a whole lot of thought to storing things up, in case of emergencies, but today, thanks to hopefully some wisdom that comes with age, coupled with being made more aware of such things thanks to the Mormons, we do try to plan for grim times, should they come upon us...
I wish I had known of this program. I would have driven over to it. I am not far away.
****
I beleive they do it each year you might want to check with the community paper for the next one.
Thanks for the post, it reminded me to keep it out front of the rest so if I need it I can find it.
++
When I get a bee sting, I look for someone that smokes. Mix the tobacco with a little water and put it on the sting and it pulls the poison out and stops the pain.
Keep some in your kit. (Doctrine and Covenants 89:8.)
8 And again, tobacco is not for the body, neither for the belly, and is not good for man, but is an herb for bruises and all sick cattle, to be used with judgment and skill.
The best for that is Prince Albert in a can. Cheap and lasts for a long time. Reseals.
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