FORKS — Emergency response plans for the West End will be presented and discussed at the Hoh Village Gymnasium on Thursday.
Officials with Jefferson and Clallam counties, National Parks and the Hoh, Quinault and Queets Tribes will be on hand for the meeting from noon to 4 p.m.
The meeting is orgnaized by Jimmy Conomos, a 30-year resident of West Jefferson County and owner of the Rain Forest Hostel.
“What I found out, because I’m interested in emergency management, is there’s a huge disconnect between the residents and county officials,” Conomos said Monday. “We’re going to start a conversation.”
Expected to attend are Clallam County Commissioner Bill Peach and Jefferson County Commissioner Kathlene Kler, along with emergency management officials, Program Coordinator Jayme Wisecup of Clallam County and Director Lynn Sterbenz of Jefferson County, as well as representatives of the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office, ham radio operators and others.
The gathering is intended to provide West End residents with up-to-date emergency management plans and opportunities for neighborhood preparedness.
First on the agenda will be a comment period in which residents and tribal members will have five minutes each. Also speaking will be emergency managers, a park ranger, county commissioners, school officials and law enforcement — each given 10 minutes. After a break will be a question-and-answer session, followed by a discussion of geographic areas of responsibility and their designated representatives. For instance, Clearwater’s responsible entity is Jefferson County.
