Remember this episode of Parks and Recreation? ⇐ You’re gonna wanna click that.
Well this week, a hurricane hit the Town of Zebulon.
This fictional emergency management drill came courtesy of Wake County – in efforts to help Zebulon establish an official protocol for such an event. While there wasn’t as much stress involved with the drill we underwe
nt as the one conducted in Pawnee, it was still interesting to see the factors that needed to be considered and how protocol would unfold. How do departmental roles change? What does declaring a state of emergency even mean? And what are the priorities of the Town government if a disaster were to hit? The answers to these questions, and many others, began to develop as the scenario came to a close. This drill was just the first of several to come, and I am actually pretty sad I won’t be able to be around as they continue to practice and the scenarios become more advanced.
What else did I do this week? Thanks for asking.
I attended a Wake County Land Development meeting, where a discussion about emerging changes of the current permitting system for the County took place. And although I lack a lot of contextual knowledge in this area, it was clear to me from the beginning that the alterations to the system stemmed from a desire to accomplish fundamental local government goals, i.e., accountability, citizen accessibility, and efficiency. If things end up as described in the course of this meeting, I believe that these goals will have been attained.
I also spent time in an assessment center held by the ZPD for a Lt. position. I was given the chance to observe an oral board process and help assess a written exercise. Depending on how many of my posts you have read, you may recall that I had the chance to serve as an assessor for a position at the Town of Chapel Hill recently. My involvement in that experience was used to better prepare me for my time in the ZPD assessment center, and it definitely paid off. My understanding of the process, throughout the entire time, was much different than if I was a novice.
The ZPD also did something else really awesome for me this past week. And for you to understand how awesome this really was, I have to describe to you one of my favorite things. No, it is not brown paper packages tied up with strings. It’s dogs! I have grown up around dogs my entire life, and I love playing with them. I’m sure you’ve guessed by now, but the ZPD let me hang out with their most handsome officer – Rocco! I couldn’t believe how smart and well-trained he was! I mean, I knew police dogs were a caliber above the rest but I was thoroughly impressed by his attentiveness and obedience to his handler.
Thanks goes to Jesse Brown for answering my questions and letting me play with Rocco!
