Seaside, Calif., October 29, 2017. The California Grand Jurors’ Association has granted the Grand Jury Reporting Award to the 2015-16 Lake County Grand Jury for its report “Role of the Office of Emergency Services in County Disaster Preparedness.”
The report described the critical nature of the various county agencies’ responses to the devastating fires suffered by Lake County in 2015, underscoring the importance of disaster preparedness.
A 2014 Strategic Plan for the Office of Emergency Services prepared by its manager identified areas of weakness in the county disaster preparedness agencies along with specific steps to remedy them. While some steps were in progress to address certain areas (for example, starting to update the Emergency Operations Plan, holding training sessions) most remained incomplete by the time of the Valley Fire fourteen months later.
The grand jury found deficiencies in organization, supervision and implementation among the agencies investigated. It also found that, because of the deficiencies brought to light during the Valley Fire, county efforts are underway to see that they do not reoccur.
The annual Grand Jury Reporting Award recognizes a grand jury report that is of high quality, has a positive impact on the community and increases awareness of the California grand jury system. The award was presented on October 29 at the association’s 36th annual conference held in Seaside. 2015-16 Lake County Grand Jury members Kathryn Schmid, Rosemary Dontje, and Phillip Myers accepted the award on behalf of the entire grand jury.
The California Grand Jurors’ Association is a statewide nonprofit organization of former grand jurors with the mission “to promote, preserve and support the grand jury system through training, education and outreach.”
From left to right, Phillip Myers, Rosemary Dontje, and Kathryn Schmid accepting the award from Barbara Sommer, chair of the association's Excellence in Reporting Subcommittee
Press release, California Grand Jurors' Association
Contact Jim Ragan at jimragan@charter.net
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