Vol. 1, No. 1, June 2005

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 Contents

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>.

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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>.

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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!

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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

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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>.

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 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."