Your view: Get prepared

Good morning!

Another year gone, wow! The big quake missed us again this year! A good thing too, because we are NOT prepared! New Orleans should be the wake up call. Each time a hurricane approached the coast, people would dare Mother Nature to knock on their door. Then Katrina came calling.

The winter storm which hit this area, around Christmas 2004, paralyzed this area. And, most recently, the little dusting of ice and snow caused some accidents and death. The Taum Sauk fiasco is a true picture of quick! In the blink of an eye, how complacent lifestyle can be rudely awakened. Always after the disaster, always wait and see!

Scott County is mostly sand, with a clay loam mix, and a high water table. Hold on to your hats if an earthquake, of say six magnitude hits. Because your hats will be the only thing left.

The new county jail at Benton is on clay ground. I recently got a free tour of the building. I saw steel which was made in Canada. I saw cinder block walls cracking at the seams, built on concrete floors, also cracking, and moisture seeping in when it rains. I saw a lot of black mold on the walls and ceiling. Cinder block on concrete, concrete on clay is like hooking copper water lines to galvanized lines, it works for a while.

The Big Quake! may not come in our lifetime. But now is the time to look it in the eye.

Thank you for your time.

Larry Coram

Oran, MO