Gordon tells commissioners 'We were lucky'

During Tuesday’s Hot Springs County Commissioners meeting, emergency management coordinator Bill Gordon told the commissioners, in spite of the issues we faced, Hot Springs County really skirted a lot of disaster this spring.

Gordon is now asking county residents to really assess their situation and make the changes necessary to eliminate future hazards.

For example, Gordon said if you live near the river and were concerned about the rising water, perhaps you should think now about building a berm or some other means of pausing the water in its tracks before next spring.

“There could come a time when we have so much spring rain and runoff, that even more water could be released through the dam and it could be hazardous,” he said. “We got really lucky this year; no loss of life, no train in the river, but you have to ask yourself what you can do for yourself to be better protected.”

Damage wasn’t just seen in Wind River Canyon, either.

Road and Bridge superintendent Dave Schlager said his crews have been working hard to make repairs to the county roads after all the water damage last month.

In addition, they’ve been cleaning out blocked culverts and attending to rock falls on East River Road and on Gooseberry.

Schlager also brought a draft for fire numbers to be used at the new county airport.

While the main road into the airport will have one number, there will be a number of structures within the airport fence that will require additional numbers. Each of the hangars as well as the main airport building will have their own fire number in case of emergency.

One would think finding a fire within that perimeter would be easy, so why have numbers on all the buildings, but there is also the chance of other emergencies such as heart attacks or falls that would require emergency personnel to find the victim.

After looking at the cost of putting in a new fueling system at the new airport, the commissioners have decided to apply for a USDA loan to cover the costs.

Originally, the plan had been to move the current fueling station from the airport to the new location, however, there were issues that came up with the State Fire Marshall’s Office precluding the moving of the tanks.

The USDA has monies available at an extremely low finance rate with a 20-year term.