Monongahela Pioneers Blood Drives in the Stake.

The Monongahela church's cultural hall became a blood donation center on August 5. Under the leadership of Scott Frederick, a member of both the Monongahela Ward and the stake public affairs council, members and friends signed up, Central Blood Bank brought everything necessary—staff, chairs, tables, equipment, even snacks, and by the end of the day the Blood Bank had collected 25 units of precious blood.

Alice Bonim of Central Blood Bank and Scott Frederick

Because faithful members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints observe the Word of Wisdom—a law of health that rules out tobacco, alcohol, coffee, tea, and addictive drugs—they have good blood. When Cynthia Greathouse of the stake public affairs council approached the Central Blood Bank to suggest a partnership with the stake, officials of the blood bank were enthusiastic.

"Summer and winter are especially difficult, and we face shortages during those times of the year. We truly have ongoing needs all of the time. There is no substitute for blood," said Alice Bonim, who oversaw the event in Monongahela for the Blood Bank.

Members of the ward responded to the need. Even the young full-time missionaries donated.

Elder Martin from California said, "I came to donate blood and save lives. I don't like needles, but it's worth it!"

Sister Jones from Logan, Utah, said, "I got a little bruise, but it was worth it. Maybe I'm saving a baby's or a mother's life!"

Alice Bonim of the Blood Bank explained, "Donate blood and save three lives: every unit of blood can potentially be used for red cells, platelets, and plasma. Each has a specific use and need."

True to style, Sue Menzer of the Relief Society, with help from Ginnie Frederick, treated the Blood Bank's staff to a delicious lunch of homemade coleslaw, sloppy Joes, and yummy brownies.

By day's end the blood from Monongahela's faithful Church members was on its way to the Blood Bank. Thanks for your selfless service, brothers and sisters of the Monongahela Ward.

The leaders: Bishop Paul, Cynthia Greathouse and Scott Frederick. They made it happen.

"Farewell, Tranquil Mind"

In D&C 38: 30 the Lord promises us that "if ye are prepared ye shall not fear." Without such a promise we might well fear the disasters of the world in which we live. Andrew F. Krepinevich has written about some of the awful possibilities in 7 Deadly Scenarios, which Bret Stephens reviews in "Farewell, Tranquil Mind" in a recent edition of The Wall Street Journal.

"Mr. Krepinevich's concern is with the worst that can plausibly happen to the U.S. . . . within the next decade. What's plausible?" He spins out possible scenarios involving nuclear bombs being detonated in U.S. cities, a global avian-flu pandemic that "sends a desperate human tide coming up from Mexico" and others.

The Lord has counseled us to prepare both spiritually and temporally. "Prepare ye, prepare ye, for that which is to come . . . ." (D&C 1: 12)

Indy Net

The Indiana Regional Bishops' Storehouse is one of the major storehouse that supplies smaller storehouses like the one in Brecksville, OH, which in turn supplies most of the Pittsburgh PA Welfare Region. Such regional storehouses contain supplies the Church sends to respond to major disasters. (The regional storehouse that would send supplies to address a disaster in the Pittsburgh Region is in Washington, DC.)

The Indiana storehouse sponsors a monthly "meeting" for ham radio operators who want to check in to test their contact with the storehouse for communication purposes in preparation for a disaster. The Indy Storehouse Radio Net meets the first Friday of each month at 7:00 AM Eastern Time, 1200 UTC, 3.875 Mhz, LSB. All those who are interested are invited to participate.

Lessons from an Ice Storm

In Backwoods Home Magazine Anita Evangelista shares "Lessons Learned from an Ice Storm"—the recent ice storm that took out electrical power throughout much of New England. She records her own family's experiences, confirms the importance of preparedness and home storage, and gives practical advice on how to weather the storm.

Voluntary Organizations

In September the U.S. Government Accountability Office published an interesting report on the place of voluntary organizations in responding to disasters. The description of the Red Cross's role was particularly interesting: "The Red Cross is realigning its regional chapters to better support its local chapters and improve efficiency and establishing new partnerships with local community-based organizations. Most recently, however, a budget shortfall has prompted the organization to reduce staff and alter its approach to supporting FEMA and state emergency management agencies."

Preparedness Testimony from Texas

Elder Jan Hintze of the Ridgway Branch, serving with his wife as a full-time missionary in Alaska, sent the following testimony from a friend in Texas:

"We have a 6'x6' hole in our roof, no electricity or running water, Trees down everywhere. However, because we listened to the counsel of our Prophet we are prepared.

"There is a POD or Point of Distribution in Tomball where we live. There you get water and ice IF you have enough fuel to wait in the 3-hour lines. We don't have to do that because we have 3 full water barrels, 75 juice bottles filled with water, and our pool, which is dirty, but we use it to flush.

"It is very difficult to get gas. Police guard the stations when fuel is delivered and you might wait half a day to get up to the p ump just to have them say, 'Too bad, we are out.'

"The ATM machines do not have power. For the past 6 months I have stashed small bills away because I have had such a feeling of foreboding. We have cash because of that. LISTEN TO THE SPIRIT. Get cash in small bills because the stores can't make change and credit and debit cards often don't work. I had to pay 5 dollars more for an item because they couldn't make change for me.

"I have such a testimony of following the counsel of our living prophet. There really is safety and peace in your heart if you are prepared. It's overwhelming, but it's going to be okay eventually. I have a home, I have food, and I have water, because I listened to the counsel of the prophet."

Lights Out

Stake President George Rosenberg of the Pittsburgh North Stake recently wrote with the following question:

"During the weekend of the storm word got back to us that there was not any severe damage to members' homes, etc. The only problem was the power outage. A few of our people had generators with fuel, wood stoves, etc., but we don't see that as a solution for the majority of our members who just didn't have electricity through no fault of their own. Any ideas? I have thought about encouraging propane tank/grill use at least for cooking, oil lamps for light, etc. that can be stored easily (without having a fire hazard such as gasoline stored around the house/garage). Anything else come to mind that would be appropriate for this area?"

In response I wrote, "Charcoal grills are definitely one option we would use for cooking, and fortunately this didn't happen during the winter, when heating systems would be compromised. In that case we would turn to our wood stove. For light we rely on a lantern (from Radio Shack) that we can crank and that also will charge a cell phone and has a radio receiver."

But what other ideas are out there? How did you prepare for the lights to be out?

Ham in a Day

Some stakes, districts, wards and branches are using an approach called "Ham in a Day" to train ham (amateur) radio operators for emergency preparedness. The Church recommends that "A reliable emergency communication system should be in place [in wards and stakes] if regular telephone or cell phone service fails." Ham radio is such a system. The tag line for "Ham in a Day " is "Join us for a day of instruction, take the test [which costs $14], and leave a HAM!" Actually, some advanced preparation is also required, in addition to a qualified ham instructor to teach the course and three hams who can serve as FAA examiners for the test—but many Church congregations count hams or know or can recruit hams in the community. Perhaps there are stakes, the district, wards or branches out there in our region that would be interested in taking this approach to establish a communication system for emergencies.

Emergency Lighting

Don Gibbon, formerly of the Pittsburgh 7th Ward, contributed the following:

"Tuesday evening at 11 P.M. all the lights for about ten blocks around went out. We got out our hand-cranked radio and flashlights and candles and began running through the options: what to do now? Go to bed, but first check out the neighborhood. When we went outside the only lights we could see were small, bright solar-charged LEDs on a new alarm company's signs in front of our house and several neighbors' who'd bought into the new program too. I took the lights inside to put by the stairs and in the bathroom, just the ticket!

"The power came back on and in the morning I checked to see how and where those little lights were made. They contain a rechargeable AA battery, a solar cell and a solar sensor to make them come on at night and go off during the day—perfect for an emergency light with a manual on-off switch instead. They're made by Litewatch. This small one for alarm signs appears to be their only product, though I've written them to see if they have anything slightly larger.

"In the meantime, I'd done some nosing around and discovered a solar battery charger with a few other accessories, for only $40 this month on sale. I ordered one. I've got a couple of 110 V chargers, but they obviously would be worthless in a power outage. The solar one seems almost fool proof, if such a thing is possible. Now I need to covert as much as I can to LED lighting and I'll have it whipped into pretty good shape."

Emergency Preparedness & Response Web Pages

The Church has put up a new channel on its Provident Living Web site called Emergency Preparedness and Response. Though most of the information on the site isn't new, it's well organized and easy to find. It's also very basic, meaning that it is adapatable to many different situations. What is new is the information on pandemics, including the video from BYU-Idaho on prevention of Avian flu.

Tornados in the Region

Today's Pittsburgh Tribune-Review reported that among cities with populations over 100,000 Pittsburgh is the 7th most tornado-prone. PA is the 17th most tornado-prone state, averaging about 20 tornadoes per year. Westmoreland and Crawford Counties are the hot spots. The height of the tornado season in our region is from mid-May to mid-June. The worst tornado ever to hit our region killed 76 people as it ripped through northeastern OH and northwestern PA on May 31, 1985.

Bentonville AK Preparedness Fair

Last Saturday the Church in Bentonville, Arkansas hosted a preparedness fair that involved 75 sponsors and 50 booths, twice as large as the fair they sponsored last year, as reported in the Sunday edition of the Benton County Daily Record. It reminded me of the successful fair the Wintersville OH Ward (Pittsburgh PA Stake) in our own region hosted last year, but on a larger scale, involving many local resources and sponsors, from both government and business. Is this something that anyone in the Pittsburgh Welfare Region would be interested in taking on?

Pandemic Flu Video

King County (Washington) recently released an informative video that describes the nature of the challenges we would face in a flu pandemic. Elder Gary Reed, Area Welfare Specialist, writes that "Many experts say that a pandemic flu is not an an 'if' but a 'when.' The video is for information only. The Church is busy working on this challenge and we anticipate further instruction in the coming months. The video is well done and may stimulate your thinking and help you as you consider sharing the need to prepare for this type of emergency." I recommend watching it.

Western PA Prepared

The Pittsburgh Business Times reported today that western PA is "well prepared for a disaster such as a flood or a terrorist attack," citing a recently released report that gave PA a perfect score of 10, joining just six other states. "Western Pennsylvania has become a model for emergency preparedness nationwide because of collaboration among emergency management agencies."

Emergency Management Institute Courses

Elder Gary Reed, our Area Welfare Specialist in Atlanta, GA, wrote that some may wish to take courses offered by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) through its Emergency Management Institute. He writes, "The classes are free, home study, exam-only, and they go quickly.

"There has been some talk that FEMA may require volunteers to have certifications in order to have access to federal disaster sites. Here is an opportunity to get some helpful instruction.

"I have taken nine of the Emergency Management Institute courses. Let me recommend:
1. IS-00022 -"Are You Ready?"—This has a great section on which hazards are most likely in your area and how to personally prepare for them.
2. IS-00235 - "Emergency Planning"—Planning on a community level.
3. IS-00288 - "Role of Voluntary Agencies"—A look at how FEMA sees us.
4. IS-00394.A - "Protecting Your Home..."—A companion piece to "Are You Ready?"

"I also enjoyed the Leadership series: IS-00240, 241 and 242. The others I took: IS-00007 "A Citizens Guide..." was too basic and IS-00244 "Developing and Managing Volunteers" was for someone who is not LDS. If they only knew how we do it....

I found that it worked for me to print the exam first and then read with those questions in mind. It helped to get to the meat of the chapter. They can be pretty wordy. With the exam in hand I can do a course in about two hours.

Are You Ready?

You can get a free copy of Are You Ready?: An In-depth Guide to Citizen Preparedness from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) by calling 1-800-480-2520, or you can read or download it on line. This information is compliments of Sister Charlette Dudley (Pittsburgh 1st Ward, Pittsburgh PA Stake).

Pandemic Flu Preparedness

Elder Russell M. Nelson represented the Church at a June 2007 forum convened by Secretary Michael Leavitt of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) in D.C. to foster preparedness for a pandemic flu epidemic. Now HHS and Ogilvy Public Relations Worldwide are establishing committees in nine pilot communities (in CA, DE, GA, MO, OH, SD, UT, VT, WA) to recommend how preparedness for pandemic flu can be emphasized at the local level, with meetings beginning September 17. At Ogilvy's request of Elder Nelson, the Church has assigned the respective regional welfare specialist to participate on each local committee.

Emergency Communications Blog

The Stake and Ward Emergency Communications blog provides a forum "for stake and ward communications specialists to receive training, share ideas and make recommendations."