Well the city of Jamestown is still trying to block water in some areas and pick up sandbags in other areas. It looks like it is a never ending battle. Thankfully the National Guard has been in town for about four weeks.
Other communications have been issued recently about the flood. I have heard most of my information from the radio. The radio the other day was issuing a “NO WAKE” warning out at the reservoir. This is to keep waves at a minimum to relieve pressure on the dam. This is very important because if the dam was to break, over half of the town would be underwater and many towns downstream of us would suffer also.
I have decided after talking to numerous people that our spokesperson was the mayor of Jamestown. Most thought she was right there to tell people most messages about the flooding. This is very important for her to do, because most people saw she could do a good job and she this might help her win re-election.
Another source of information that deserves a lot of recognition is the radio stations in Jamestown. They have continuously kept people informed about many things including changes in the flood fight to what streets not to travel on during the day because of sandbagging efforts. Most people I talked to thought the same way as me about the radio stations and they had heard most of the information about the flood on the radio. Most of the people that I talked to travel to work every day and are in their cars for aver an hour a day, so that might be the reason most people used the radio.
For reviewing the meetings about the flood, both cable companies played them on air throughout the day. Only one person I talked to watched these almost every day and two people watched them occasionally. I would say that the older people that are retired and are at home most of the day were more apt to watch these viewings on television.
Almost everyone I talked to read the newspaper either occasionally or every day and learned information about the flood. Most people though thought it was old news because they had already heard it elsewhere. This would go to show that only one publication a day can leave some people in the dark and other’s not relying on it for a source on information.
Wednesday, May 6, 2009
Tuesday, May 5, 2009
Crisis Comm 1
This spring is a great spring to be talking about crisis communication. There are several places that a person could talk about relating to this topic. In a normal semester, crisis communication happens but probably not as close to home for some people. Of course there is the disease outbreaks and the mice in the restaurants, but this spring many of our hometowns flooded and if it wasn’t our hometown everyone that is in the class had their college town flood.
My hometown of Jamestown, North Dakota flooded this spring and it is still flooded in many areas. Some people say it was the first year the “Glory Hole” had water reach it and some people say they have seen it one other time. For me it was the first time. Most years the water is almost 25 to 30 feet lower than the opening in the Glory Hole.
Besides the Glory Hole filling up, many of the residents of Jamestown have had sump pumps in their basements for months. With sump pumps being in high demand and supply being down, the radio was the main source of communication to let people know when stores received a truck of pumps.
Other sources of communication included internets sources, radio, newspapers, and television. Newsdakota.com was the major source from the internet that was available to residents. The major newspaper was The Jamestown Sun. The problem with the newspaper is that it only runs once a day. The television, radio and internet sources can update people immediately unlike the newspaper. Every time a person would turn the radio on, something about the flood or updates were being talked about. I am guessing that most people used either the internet or television to get the most information.
The spokesperson I would have to say was the mayor. She did depend on many other city officials to handle parts of each situation. Most of the time when a person would watch television, she was on their talking about the flood.
My hometown of Jamestown, North Dakota flooded this spring and it is still flooded in many areas. Some people say it was the first year the “Glory Hole” had water reach it and some people say they have seen it one other time. For me it was the first time. Most years the water is almost 25 to 30 feet lower than the opening in the Glory Hole.
Besides the Glory Hole filling up, many of the residents of Jamestown have had sump pumps in their basements for months. With sump pumps being in high demand and supply being down, the radio was the main source of communication to let people know when stores received a truck of pumps.
Other sources of communication included internets sources, radio, newspapers, and television. Newsdakota.com was the major source from the internet that was available to residents. The major newspaper was The Jamestown Sun. The problem with the newspaper is that it only runs once a day. The television, radio and internet sources can update people immediately unlike the newspaper. Every time a person would turn the radio on, something about the flood or updates were being talked about. I am guessing that most people used either the internet or television to get the most information.
The spokesperson I would have to say was the mayor. She did depend on many other city officials to handle parts of each situation. Most of the time when a person would watch television, she was on their talking about the flood.
Saturday, April 25, 2009
What a crappy situation!
As all of you know, Valley City has had major flood problems. And now that college has been only internet, I am sure that most of you think you have problems. Well let me tell you that your problems are not anywhere close to the problems that businesses on Central Ave. faced last week. Their problems were crappy, literally!
Last week as the river rose to record highs, the sewer line that runs under the river busted. This is a four foot wide pipe that is one of the major pipes containing sewage in the city. This pipe busted shortly after 9:30 A.M. on Friday.
Once this busted, many downtown businesses had sewage flowing into their basements. Barnes County Historical Society and the Valley City Times Record are just a couple of the businesses affected. There were also a few homes that had sewage seeping into the basements.
Once this happened, there were many important messages that had to be delivered to the public. The mayor of Valley City, Mary Lee Nielson, had to urge all the residents to leave their homes to reside in a safer and more sanitary place. Because of the sewer breaking, there was a mandatory “no water usage” message issued. That meant that not a drop of water could be put into the sewer system.
Once that message got out, another message keeping motorists of the streets to relieve the pressure was issued across the radio. Then people began trying to locate portable toilets so people could use them without putting water into the sewer system.
Well after the sewer breaks and goes into businesses and houses, how do you keep it from continuing to do that? Dump it into the river! That is exactly what happened. Could you imagine what kinds of tests have to be done on the river now? And all of the paperwork that was involved to be able to do this? The Sheyenne River does not just stay in North Dakota, it flows into the Red River and right into Canada!
This was the last thing that had to happen to this disaster stricken area. I am fortunate not to live in Valley City so I did not have to leave my place of residence because of this situation. For those people that did stay in Valley City, it had to be very inconvenient to have to walk down your street to use a porta-potty. I’m very glad that I didn’t have to do that in the middle of the night! How many of you had to use these toilets?
Last week as the river rose to record highs, the sewer line that runs under the river busted. This is a four foot wide pipe that is one of the major pipes containing sewage in the city. This pipe busted shortly after 9:30 A.M. on Friday.
Once this busted, many downtown businesses had sewage flowing into their basements. Barnes County Historical Society and the Valley City Times Record are just a couple of the businesses affected. There were also a few homes that had sewage seeping into the basements.
Once this happened, there were many important messages that had to be delivered to the public. The mayor of Valley City, Mary Lee Nielson, had to urge all the residents to leave their homes to reside in a safer and more sanitary place. Because of the sewer breaking, there was a mandatory “no water usage” message issued. That meant that not a drop of water could be put into the sewer system.
Once that message got out, another message keeping motorists of the streets to relieve the pressure was issued across the radio. Then people began trying to locate portable toilets so people could use them without putting water into the sewer system.
Well after the sewer breaks and goes into businesses and houses, how do you keep it from continuing to do that? Dump it into the river! That is exactly what happened. Could you imagine what kinds of tests have to be done on the river now? And all of the paperwork that was involved to be able to do this? The Sheyenne River does not just stay in North Dakota, it flows into the Red River and right into Canada!
This was the last thing that had to happen to this disaster stricken area. I am fortunate not to live in Valley City so I did not have to leave my place of residence because of this situation. For those people that did stay in Valley City, it had to be very inconvenient to have to walk down your street to use a porta-potty. I’m very glad that I didn’t have to do that in the middle of the night! How many of you had to use these toilets?
Friday, March 13, 2009
Handicap Hero or Business Burden
So who wants to not work and make hundreds of thousands of dollars? What a rhetorical question, huh? So now that everyone said “I do!”, let’s face it, not many people can unless you were born with a silver spoon in your mouth. Well one guy has found a way to do just that. Tom Mundy from California is wheel-chair bound and has nothing better to do with his life than to go to local businesses and look for infractions in the Americans with Disabilities Act. Once an infraction is found, he then sues the company for thousands of dollars instead of giving the company time to fix the situation. Most companies don’t want to bother with trials so they settle out of court for a few thousand dollars.
Most people would say it is highway robbery at its finest, while some people would call him a hero. Do you think it is right to do what he is doing? I personally don’t think it is a very fair way to make money. I know that people using wheelchairs do have a challenge moving in everyday life, but this is taking it to an extreme.
How many of you think the company should have time to fix the situation before being sued? I personally think that the company should at least have a few weeks to fix the problem before being sued. Most of these infractions are so simple, that they could be fixed in a day. These infractions include things such as the tables not being fit for handicap people or bathrooms that are not handicap accessible.
A person wouldn’t even have to be in a wheelchair to be able to do this and make money off of it. Anyone could read up on the Americans with Disabilities Act and go out and find some of these infractions. At a time of economic downfall, I don’t think this is very loyal. I think it is more like parasitic, feeding off of businesses hit hard by the falling economy. This is the kind of news that needs to be put in feature stories and video news releases to get it out to the public so it can be supported or stopped. I believe news like this could even make it so bills are passed to protect businesses from parasites like Tom Mundy.
Most people would say it is highway robbery at its finest, while some people would call him a hero. Do you think it is right to do what he is doing? I personally don’t think it is a very fair way to make money. I know that people using wheelchairs do have a challenge moving in everyday life, but this is taking it to an extreme.
How many of you think the company should have time to fix the situation before being sued? I personally think that the company should at least have a few weeks to fix the problem before being sued. Most of these infractions are so simple, that they could be fixed in a day. These infractions include things such as the tables not being fit for handicap people or bathrooms that are not handicap accessible.
A person wouldn’t even have to be in a wheelchair to be able to do this and make money off of it. Anyone could read up on the Americans with Disabilities Act and go out and find some of these infractions. At a time of economic downfall, I don’t think this is very loyal. I think it is more like parasitic, feeding off of businesses hit hard by the falling economy. This is the kind of news that needs to be put in feature stories and video news releases to get it out to the public so it can be supported or stopped. I believe news like this could even make it so bills are passed to protect businesses from parasites like Tom Mundy.
Wednesday, February 18, 2009
Oops, Wrong Number!
“Hello Sexy Hunter!”
That is what many people heard last fall when they called the number issued by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS). One number switched with another on the duck stamp could have cost the USFWS hundreds of thousands of dollars. Last fall there was 3.5 million duck stamps printed with the number 1-800-872-6724 (1-800-TRAMP24) on them instead of 1-800-782-6724 (1-800-STAMP24).
The first number led the callers to “Intimate Connections” instead of the USFWS licensing department. Instead of a person asking you which license you would like to purchase, you were connected to a heavy breathing female telling you what you could get for $1.99 a minute! How many times do you think the duck stamp was looked at by high officials of the USFWS? I am sure it was numerous times, but every one of them failed to look at the number. How many of you think you would have proofread the number instead of just looking at the picture and the writing on it?
This is a big reason why everything has to be proofread many times and every mistake has to be fixed before anything is circulated. This has changed many people’s opinions on how professional the USFWS is. It was just a simple mistake that could have cost hundreds of thousands of dollars for the government. If the USFWS would have recalled all of the stamps and issued new ones, it would have cost $300,000. That is a huge loss just because of a little mistake that no one caught before issuing the stamps.
The credibility of a company or organization can change in many people’s opinions with just one little mistake. How would you have liked to been the person answering the phone for the USFWS to help the customers that had called the number already? I’m sure most people were polite after hearing what had happened, but I’m sure there were quite a few rude people also.
This is a huge example of why companies require every email to be reviewed by at least three to five different people. Every little mistake in a big company can end up costing thousands of dollars. It might not loss that can be seen, but a loss in business that they were going to get and business that ended up leaving the company because of the lack of professionalism. Do you think you have ever been judged by a misspelling?
That is what many people heard last fall when they called the number issued by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS). One number switched with another on the duck stamp could have cost the USFWS hundreds of thousands of dollars. Last fall there was 3.5 million duck stamps printed with the number 1-800-872-6724 (1-800-TRAMP24) on them instead of 1-800-782-6724 (1-800-STAMP24).
The first number led the callers to “Intimate Connections” instead of the USFWS licensing department. Instead of a person asking you which license you would like to purchase, you were connected to a heavy breathing female telling you what you could get for $1.99 a minute! How many times do you think the duck stamp was looked at by high officials of the USFWS? I am sure it was numerous times, but every one of them failed to look at the number. How many of you think you would have proofread the number instead of just looking at the picture and the writing on it?
This is a big reason why everything has to be proofread many times and every mistake has to be fixed before anything is circulated. This has changed many people’s opinions on how professional the USFWS is. It was just a simple mistake that could have cost hundreds of thousands of dollars for the government. If the USFWS would have recalled all of the stamps and issued new ones, it would have cost $300,000. That is a huge loss just because of a little mistake that no one caught before issuing the stamps.
The credibility of a company or organization can change in many people’s opinions with just one little mistake. How would you have liked to been the person answering the phone for the USFWS to help the customers that had called the number already? I’m sure most people were polite after hearing what had happened, but I’m sure there were quite a few rude people also.
This is a huge example of why companies require every email to be reviewed by at least three to five different people. Every little mistake in a big company can end up costing thousands of dollars. It might not loss that can be seen, but a loss in business that they were going to get and business that ended up leaving the company because of the lack of professionalism. Do you think you have ever been judged by a misspelling?
Monday, January 26, 2009
The Animals WIll Be on Their Own!
As I watched five-hundred deer eat the hundred bushels of screenings I put out in the field for them, I wondered how many deer are still alive just because of this weekly "miracle" for the deer. How many of you have ever fed wildlife or watched wildlife brought to an area by being fed?
The ban on feeding wildlife
As the legislature season is upon us, one bill has had a lot of controversy. This bill is named SB2351. If this bill is passed, all wildlife feeding will have to cease. It was brought to attention by people that thought it was unethical to place bait out in front of their stand and wait for deer or other animals to come and eat the bait. Once the animal is at the bait, it is then harvested.
Doug Leier is a proponent to the bill. He doesn't necessarily believe it is unethical, but that it could spread diseases between animals. When food is placed out for animals in the winter, it can draw many different types of animals from many miles. When animals are bunched up together like that, diseases can spread like wild fire.
Many people think people are just out there baiting for hunting. According to Willard Swanke, a hunting guide in western North Dakota, there are many reasons a person could feed animals. He uses feed to keep deer away from his hay bales that he feeds his cows. Is that a wrong reason to feed animals? What about the handicap people that can't get out much to hunt? Is it wrong for them to bait? If this bill is passed, nobody will be able to feed animals whatsoever!
This topic has had many external publics, including Barnes County Wildlife Federation and the North Dakota Guides and Outfitters Association, holding meetings and sending out newsletters to let the public know their idea on the bill. The internal public can't really say much because the animals can't talk! What do you think the animals would say about baiting/feeding? I'm sure there would be mixed results. I'm sure some would love the feeding aspect but not the baiting aspect. After reading this, are you for feeding wildlife or do you think it should be banned?
Now back to that first question I asked. How many answered that they had never fed or watched any wildlife being fed? For those that said they hadn't, how many of you have seen a bird at the bird feeder? Or even put that bird feeder up? Will birds be the next thing we can't help in the winter?
The ban on feeding wildlife
As the legislature season is upon us, one bill has had a lot of controversy. This bill is named SB2351. If this bill is passed, all wildlife feeding will have to cease. It was brought to attention by people that thought it was unethical to place bait out in front of their stand and wait for deer or other animals to come and eat the bait. Once the animal is at the bait, it is then harvested.
Doug Leier is a proponent to the bill. He doesn't necessarily believe it is unethical, but that it could spread diseases between animals. When food is placed out for animals in the winter, it can draw many different types of animals from many miles. When animals are bunched up together like that, diseases can spread like wild fire.
Many people think people are just out there baiting for hunting. According to Willard Swanke, a hunting guide in western North Dakota, there are many reasons a person could feed animals. He uses feed to keep deer away from his hay bales that he feeds his cows. Is that a wrong reason to feed animals? What about the handicap people that can't get out much to hunt? Is it wrong for them to bait? If this bill is passed, nobody will be able to feed animals whatsoever!
This topic has had many external publics, including Barnes County Wildlife Federation and the North Dakota Guides and Outfitters Association, holding meetings and sending out newsletters to let the public know their idea on the bill. The internal public can't really say much because the animals can't talk! What do you think the animals would say about baiting/feeding? I'm sure there would be mixed results. I'm sure some would love the feeding aspect but not the baiting aspect. After reading this, are you for feeding wildlife or do you think it should be banned?
Now back to that first question I asked. How many answered that they had never fed or watched any wildlife being fed? For those that said they hadn't, how many of you have seen a bird at the bird feeder? Or even put that bird feeder up? Will birds be the next thing we can't help in the winter?
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