Department of Water Resources
A daily compilation for DWR personnel of significant news articles and comment
January 11, 2008
1. Top Items
Corps prepares for peril; Members ready to help out in floods - San Bernardino Sun
Special training for weather emergencies - KABC Channel 7 news (
Corps prepares for peril; Members ready to help out in floods
By Gina Tenorio, staff writer
"You did a really good job given that the materials we used were not what we wanted," Rick Burnett, flood fight specialist with the California Department of Water Resources, told the group Thursday.
About 20 members of the corps spent much of the morning in a classroom at the corps'
It was part of an annual training for both new and current corps members in preparation for winter storms, said Jimmy Galvan, conservation supervisor.
"Remember," Galvan told the group as they prepared to leave. "Something could happen tomorrow or the next day. We call you and you could be headed up north."
Should an emergency arise, the corps members are called upon to grab their gear - called a ready bag - and head sometimes hundreds of miles to remote areas to lay protective tarps, dig ditches, place fencing or hand out emergency items to people in need.
The members are young adults, ages 18 to 25, who work for minimum wage. Corps rules say no one over the age 25 can enroll.
"The program gives (trainees) a sense of direction," said Scot Schmier, a conservation specialist.
And they give back to the community by doing hard, sometimes backbreaking work.
To 20-year-old Dashawn Hampton of
"The corps is an adventure,"
And like many others,
"To be able to help people and the look on people's faces is something," said Candace Irvine, 19, of
A high school dropout,
"I was homeless, but now I have an apartment," she said.
Corps member Marina Farfan, 20, of
"I need something that I can get into," Farfan said.
Like
"I need to be able to get out and be outside," Farfan said. "And this does that for me. I like breaking a sweat." #
http://www.sbsun.com/news/ci_7939657
Special training for weather emergencies
KABC Channel 7 news (
By Subha Ravindhran
It's a heavy job, but someone has to do it.
About 75 members of the Conservation Corps gathered on Thursday at the beach to train how to fight a flood.
"We do this training twice a year. What we do is we train here so in case the floods come or if it rains, we can respond," Margaret Moilov of the California Conservation Corps said.
If there is any sort of disaster, these crews may be the first to respond to a call from the governor's office.
They're learning everything from sandbag stacking techniques to teamwork.
"Everyone has to be working together. Everybody has an actual thing that they have to do, so team work is a big, big thing," Christian Herrera said.
In the event of a flood, Corps members may build a sandbag ring that collects water in the center and can prevent levees from collapsing.
"That's our main focus, protecting the levees," Simone Glosson said.
Last week's storms put homeowners on edge in
Workers at the training camp say it's something residents should continue to do.
"Always be prepared. Whenever they hear the news that there's going to be rain or storms coming in they need to start preparing and getting sandbags for their homes," Herrera said.
In the event of an emergency, these guys will take care of the rest. #
http://abclocal.go.com/kabc/story?section=weather&id=5883891
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