My View – October 2021

Okay, not THAT kind of centerfold…it’s one that might save your life in case of a major natural disaster such as wildland fire, forest fire or earthquake. The full-sized, color-coded Evacuation Map on page 17 is designed as a pull-out for you to keep in case of an emergency. A good place to keep it is in your Go-Bag and/or your vehicle or with your evacuation and shelter in place supplies. (You have all of that together, don’t you?) Please, please, please…I urge you to spend some time studying the best escape route to use if you need to bug out to a safer place. While you’re at it, get in your car and take a test drive (or two) just to be sure you know where to go…just in case. Seriously, this is life and death stuff.

Call me overly-cautious, but with my 14-years working with members of the Jacksonville City Council, city staff and public safety officials, I understand the importance of having a plan. That’s why when Mayor Donna Bowen and City Councilors Andrea Thompson and Mike McClain approached me about inserting the map, I was delighted to include the full-sized version in this issue. This is the same map you received with your utility bill this month, but it needed to be super-sized!

Thank you to our City Council and staff for taking public safety very seriously. They’ve been hard at work crafting plans in the wake of the Almeda fire which sounded the alarm that the time to prepare isn’t during but well before a natural disaster.

For the sake of your family and friends, get prepared, and stay safe in Our Small Town with Big Atmosphere!