Key county staff members told to be avalable for storm duty

Key Craven County staff members were advised Wednesday afternoon to cancel their weekend plans and be available to help deal with impending storms or their aftermath.

County Manager Harold Blizzard called department heads and key staff together to discuss storm preparations.

Blizzard and Craven County EMS Director Stanley Kite have not yet called a meeting of the county's Hurricane Support Group. A decision on whether to pull together that 75-plus member group, which includes fire and rescue chiefs and area mayors, will come later.

Taking first storms first, they looked at the coordinates for tropical storm Hanna, now downgraded from a hurricane, but expected to make landfall early Saturday after dousing the area with heavy rain beginning on Friday.

Hannah's erratic behavior is making Craven County's coping plan a catch-22, said Stanley Kite, Craven EMS director. The storm's timing could make it difficult to plan prudently.

After 5 p.m. weather updates Wednesday, Kite said the storm was expected to make landfall between Wilmington and Jacksonville as a category 1 hurricane about 9 p.m. Friday with the New Bern area feeling at least gale-force winds.

"If we do as we always do, we'll get through this pretty well," said Blizzard. "Hopefully, it will change directions. If not, we'll deal with what comes our way."

Kite advised department heads: "Don't let any of our resources go out of the county to satisfy any mutual-aid requests. They could be needed here."

With upwards of two inches of rain as the main daytime Friday threat, it was decided that county offices will remain open and Craven County Area Transit System vans will roll on Friday.

But Kite said that "all of this is subject to change."

New Bern Riverfront Convention Center has two events planned for the weekend - a reunion and a local event - and Director Sandy Chamberlain said, "I don't usually make a call and cancel unless the county advises me to."

Assistant County Manager Ray Moser said that "if it proceeds we will most likely call a state of emergency for Saturday."

County Maintenance Supervisor Steven Creel said roofs on county buildings are in good shape and generators are gassed and ready. He planned to wait a little longer to make final preparations to rent backup generators.

The Craven County Recreation Department's fall soccer league play was scheduled to begin on Saturday, but Jan Parker, county recreation director, said that most likely will not happen. Striping of the fields was halted and workers were put to other tasks to get ready for the storm. Games will probably be called on account of rain even if the storm does not hit.

County Finance Administrator Rick Hemphill told department heads "to keep good records of time spend over the weekend" for storm-related activities and to take photographs of any changes to buildings or county property.

"On Friday, be prepared to move cars to high ground," said Blizzard. "We don't want to do anything prematurely but we need to be ready."

He will bring in leaders of the 29-plus agencies that coordinate shelter, transportation and logistics for disaster management for further planning Thursday.