Awareness campaign aids depot neighbors

This story was published Thu, Oct 12, 2000

By Mary Hopkin
Herald Oregon bureau

HERMISTON - The 30-second safety messages showing community concerns about living near the Umatilla Chemical Depot have been aired on television and radio since August.

The Chemical Stockpile Emergency Preparedness Program has spent $150,000 getting its message out.

It's unlikely that a chemical release would happen at the depot, but if it did occur, residents need to be prepared.

But is it working?

Lenore Pointer, Morrow County public information officer, believes the media campaign is working. At least, it's keeping her busy.

"We are seeing a lot of hits on our Web site, especially after the commercials are aired, and getting more calls from employers wanting us to come speak to their employees," Pointer said.

In that way, the message is filtering through the community.

Pointer gave a presentation on emergency preparedness Wednesday to about 15 Hispanic families at the Umatilla Baptist Church.

Pointer was asked to give the presentation by church member Angelica Aguilar of Umatilla. Aguilar had seen a similar presentation at Migrant Head Start, where she works.

"It was so interesting, so when I came to my church I asked the members if they knew what to do if something happened (at the depot)," Aguilar said. "But nobody knew what was going on."

In fact, Aguilar said, few of the families she knew had the shelter-in-place kits or tone-alert radios in their homes.

Aguilar talked to the church pastor about having a presentation at the church, whose congregation is mostly Hispanic, then called Pointer.

Pointer said the media campaign also has helped people identify CSEPP with emergency safety instead of chemical incineration.

"It was really apparent at the fair," Pointer said. "People would come up and say, 'Oh, you're the people with the radios,' or talk about the commercials."

The media campaign, which started in July, is scheduled to run through December, and tracking is being done through random surveys and the Web site to see if it is effective.

Pointer said it's likely CSEPP will receive another $150,000 to continue the campaign for another six months.

For more information about the campaign or CSEPP, call Pointer at 922-4437 or Cheryl Humphrey at 541-966-3700.

 

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