PORT TOWNSEND — The participants at a mock “Jeopardy” game that was part of the Jefferson County-Port Townsend Regional Emergency Planning network last week knew the answers but couldn’t get the questions right.
About 20 emergency service representatives and members of the public took part in the meeting, which was punctuated by a game based on the popular television game show.
Five categories — such as earthquakes and tsunamis — were assigned point values.
The answer was given and the person supplying the winning question won points.
For instance, the answer “The means for restraining flood waters” was met with the question “What is a levy?” projected on a screen — and Port Townsend City Council member Laurie Medlicott immediately corrected it.
“A levy is something that I would impose. I think this correct answer has two e’s at the end,” she said, referring to the word “levee.”
A “levee” is a dike or embankment, while “levy” is the imposition or collection of an assessment.
Teaching tool
The game was used to familiarize people with emergency procedures and facts they may have forgotten, according to Bob Hamlin, manager of the Jefferson County Department of Emergency Management, who said he had watched “Jeopardy” on television twice on the two days preceding the meeting.
The group was divided into four teams each at a table, and the team captain would raise a numbered paddle if the team knew the answer.
It took a while to learn the answer/question process. When the answer was listed as, “The means for measuring an earthquake’s severity,” people would shout, “Richter scale,” instead of “What is the Richter scale?”
Moderator Hamlin, who was called “Alex” — a reference to “Jeopardy” host Alex Trebek — by some contestants, did not penalize teams for not following the rules.
Radio for emergency information
One of the topics discussed was the use of the two new Port Townsend radio stations, KPTZ 91.9 FM and KROH 91.1 FM, as sources of emergency information.
“People aren’t used to tuning to local radio when a disaster occurs,” Hamlin said. “They are more likely to tune in to KIRO-TV” in Seattle.
“But the local stations can be a source of specific information to the area.”
KPTZ went on the air in May while KPOH is “well on the way toward completing the most critical stages of construction,” according to its website www.radioofhope.org.
KPTZ’s website is at www.kptz.org.
“We need to build this into the culture so people know to tune in when there are severe conditions,” Hamlin said. “It will take some time for them to learn this process.”
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Jefferson County Reporter Charlie Bermant can be reached at 360-385-2335 or charlie.bermant@peninsuladailynews.com.
