Prater an excellent pick for EMA director
Not since the beginning of the cold war, and the threat of nuclear conflict, has the general public been so tuned in to national security as they are today. The tragedy of 9/11 opened all our eyes to the reality of ongoing terrorist activities right here on our home soil. And indeed, nothing can bring that reality home more quickly than the loss of innocent lives, which is, of course, the terrorist’s intent.
All of this begs the question: How are we to protect ourselves? What can we put in place to deal with these demoralizing threats? Homeland security has become a catchword in recent days, and the federal government has been, for once, willing to provide the funds to support one of its mandates.
Obviously, taking advantage of those funds at the local level requires personnel who are willing to keep up with the programs when they become available as well as the paperwork and planning required to implement them.
Add into this scenario the fact that times have changed dramatically, and what was once called, simply, Civil Defense, which dealt mainly with the threat of nuclear war and the designation of bomb shelters, has now evolved into something called the Emergency Management Agency.
Richard Myers was involved with these kinds of programs almost since their inception in Warren County. Everyone is well aware of his contributions to the safety of our community. His resignation as director of the EMA late last year, due to increasing business demands on his time, left a void that many felt would be hard to fill.
This fact wasn’t lost on local officials who leapt into action, forming a committee of area emergency personnel and officials to find the kind of replacement who could continue the programs already in place, and bring new blood into the EMA.
But as luck would have it, the perfect replacement turned out to have been here all the time. Right under our nose, so to speak, in the person of Centertown resident Phillip Prater.
Are we lucky Prater applied for the position? Yes indeed. Many times a community has to go outside the area to get the kind of individual with the experience Prater has. But we found one eminently qualified to handle this all-important position right here at home.
Prater has been involved with emergency programs from the time he was a child riding with his father, the late Huston Prater, on fire calls with the Centertown Volunteer Fire Department which the elder Prater helped found.
“I cut my teeth on the steering wheel of a fire truck,” he once said. When he was old enough, Prater joined himself and remains a volunteer with Centertown’s fire department to this day.
Prater is qualified and has served as a part-time EMT with the local ambulance service, and is well versed in its operation, adding to his knowledge and expertise in local emergency management.
He was chosen as one of the Southern Standard’s Hometown Heroes for his longtime involvement in the county’s emergency programs.
It would be hard to find a better candidate for the job. Seldom does a community have the good fortune to find an individual with the experience and the skills for this kind of position who is also a lifetime resident. Someone who knows the community and its needs on a personal level. An individual who we can be sure will do his best because it’s his community too, a community he already loves and respects.
Phillip Prater is just such an individual, and we are hopeful he is approved as our new Emergency Management Agency director by the full Warren County Commission.