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Anyone who lived in North Carolina in 2004, 1999, 1996 and 1989 could probably tell you that September is the peak of hurricane season around here. That’s when Hurricanes Frances, Ivan, Floyd, Fran and Hugo all struck our state causing widespread devastation for large regions of our state.

With Hurricane Earl now churning off the Atlantic, it is a good time to encourage families, businesses and schools to take steps to prepare themselves for hurricanes, as well as all types of emergencies.

Every family should have an emergency plan for what to do and where to go if they should need to evacuate their home. Take time to assemble – or update –  your emergency kit with extra food, water, clothing, medications and important documents. The easiest, most cost-effective thing you can do to protect your family is to plan ahead, gather those supplies and discuss your emergency plans.If we each take responsibility to be prepared at home for those disruptions, then emergency crews can focus on helping those who are in life-threatening situations.

Not convinced it is that important to be prepared? Hear for yourself from some that lived through it and what they had to say.

Information about planning for disasters of any kind is available in English at the Department of Crime Control and Public Safety Web site at http://www.nccrimecontrol.org/ under the Emergency Management Division and www.readync.org and in Spanish at www.listonc.org.

Gov. Perdue has proclaimed September as Emergency Preparedness Month to encourage everyone to be disaster-ready at all times.

Take time now to get ready. Those families and businesses who have plans and supplies fare far better during any emergency than those who do not.

Today was an historic day for North Carolina in terms of emergency training and preparedness.  Officials at the city, county, state and federal levels, as well as the university and private sectors, came together to practice and learn how each agency would respond to a terrorist attack in our state.

The discussion-based exercise was held at the direction of Gov. Bev Perdue, who wanted to bring these leaders and agencies together with the common goal of making us better prepared and able to respond to such a manmade disaster.

Lt. Gov. Walter Dalton, Attorney General Roy Cooper and more than 100 leaders participated in the exercise, including state legislators and representatives from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Federal Bureau of Investigation, State Bureau of Investigation, local universities and private industry.

The end result is that we gained a better appreciation of how each agency operates and interacts with one another.  Lessons learned will be applied to help us to be better prepared, coordinated in our responses and able to communicate more readily.

On behalf of the Governor and the Department of Crime Control and Public Safety, I thank all who participated and continue to invest their  time into this critical effort.

It may be the Boy Scout motto, but it’s good advice for all of us: Be prepared!

Gov. Bev Perdue has proclaimed September as Emergency Preparedness Month to encourage families, businesses and schools to take steps to prepare themselves for all types of emergencies – from hurricanes to the flu.

September is North Carolina’s peak month for hurricane activity. Hurricanes Frances, Ivan, Floyd and Hugo all struck in September causing widespread devastation for large regions of our state. Already this fall, we have seen an increase in the number of flu cases as the 2009 H1N1 flu sweeps across the state and country.

Every family should have an emergency plan for what to do and where to go if they should need to evacuate their home. Take time now to assemble – or update –  your emergency kit with extra food, water, clothing, medications and important documents. The easiest, most cost-effective thing you can do to protect your family is to plan ahead, gather those supplies and discuss your emergency plans.

Whether it’s a flu outbreak or natural disaster, emergencies can disrupt the systems we depend on such as electricity, clean water, grocery stores, gas stations, transportation, commerce and schools. If we each take responsibility to be prepared at home for those disruptions, then emergency crews can focus on helping those who are in life-threatening situations.

Information about planning for disasters of any kind is available in English at www.readync.org and in Spanish at www.listonc.org.

Take time now to get ready. Those families and businesses who have plans and supplies will fare better during any emergency than those who do not.

When Gov. Perdue asked her cabinet secretaries to become a volunteer in support of President Obama’s United We Serve initiative, Raleigh’s Gill House immediately came to mind.

The Gill House is a treatment facility for at-risk boys.  The young men get a structured living environment while learning to respect authority.  In addition to keeping up their school work, they get training in anger management, substance abuse prevention and team building.   

On Wednesday, four residents of the Gill House joined me at the State Highway Patrol Training Academy for some fun and learning opportunities.  The youths ranged in age from 11 to 15, and they were boys through and through.  Their eyes were wide and I heard gasps of wow, oooh and awesome as we showed them the patrol’s firearms simulator, driving track and helicopter.

From the questions they asked and the look of joy on their faces, I believe the four will remember this outing for a long time.  I appreciate this opportunity to volunteer and highly recommend it to state employees and others who want to share. 

The stated goal of United We Serve is to bolster civic engagement by empowering people to participate in service opportunities to address unmet needs in their communities. For information about United We Serve, including finding a volunteer activity near your home or registering your individual or group volunteer activities, visit www.serve.gov.

Gov. Bev Perdue, members of her staff and a host of state officials participated May 28th in the Governor’s Hurricane Exercise, a first of its kind training event held in North Carolina for Cabinet and Council of State members.

The half-day training focused on a Category 4 Hurricane, the same size and intensity as Hurricane Floyd that wreaked havoc 10 years ago in North Carolina.  The goal is to make sure we are prepared and ready to respond when disaster strikes.

Hurricane season is just around the corner and Gov. Perdue has proclaimed May 24-30 as Hurricane Preparedness Week.  It’s a time for all North Carolinians to be prepared, get their emergency supply kits in order and be alert.  The hurricane season runs June 1 to Nov. 30.

We don’t know when the next hurricane will hit our state, but it will.  It’s our job to be ready and respond.  That helps us save lives and reduce losses.

The Highway Patrol is committed to doing all it can to reduce traffic fatalities on North Carolina Highways.  Troopers conducted Operation Slow Down-Interstate Initiative February 9-23.  The purpose of the operation was to reduce speed related collisions on North Carolina Interstates.  In the past four years, 359 motorists have been killed and 14,297 injured in 50,222 collisions on our interstates; speed is the leading cause of those collisions.  Operation Slow Down - Interstate Initiative is a Highway Patrol traffic enforcement operation that increases the presence of troopers on the interstates and addresses these concerns.

Troopers issued over 26,000 speeding citations during the operation. Slow Down will be repeated later in the year.

Governor Perdue issued a proclamation last week and a media event was held last Monday at Clayton High School in Johnston County announcing that troopers are conducting Operation Drive to Live.  Twenty-two teenagers have been killed in car crashes in the last three years.  Troopers are working with state and local officials to reduce this trend.  The operation is an initiative by the Highway Patrol to reduce the number of teenage related traffic collisions in North Carolina. 

Traffic collisions are the leading cause of teenage deaths in North Carolina and our nation.  In the last four years 554 teenagers have been killed in crashes investigated by the Highway Patrol. Some collisions involving teenage drivers occur during their commute to and from high school and in 2004 North Carolina ranked fifth in the nation in total teenage deaths as compared to other states.  Speed remains the leading cause of those traffic deaths. 

Troopers will be enforcing all traffic laws around the state’s schools and conducting traffic safety education programs at the high schools.

One of my initial goals as secretary of the Department of Crime Control and Public Safety is to talk with our employees to learn more about the challenges they face every day.  Last week I traveled to Greenville and Fayetteville to recognize and honor several of our state troopers who put service and sacrifice above themselves.

In August, Troopers L. Crumpler and M. Bunn performed the Heimlich maneuver on a choking passenger who was traveling on U.S. 70 in Carteret County. In October, Trooper R.E. Cannaday rendered first aid to a lady whose vehicle had overturned and was submerged in a creek.

Our troopers put their lives on the line every day to keep motorists safe. At a time when our nation struggles with difficult economic times, leaving many of us longing for better days, recognizing the heroic acts of troopers like these gives us hope and promise that the American spirit will prevail. It’s not significant just because it saved a life, but because it’s a reflection of their character and commitment to service.