For well over two years now, federal, state, and local authorities have crafted plans to deal with possible major terror attack on Washington D. C. Now millions of dollars may come available to invest in an infrastructure to handle the strain of hundreds of thousands of people pouring into the West Virginia mountains.
We saw how disaster preparedness worked in Louisiana a few years ago. A corrupt city of New Orleans and Louisiana state government misspent money and provided no leadership when hit by a massive hurricane. West Virginia's county, city, and state governments need to figure out not only how to solve problems, but what the biggest problems are likely to be.
Certainly first and foremost we need better infrastructure. Virginia must get on board to link Corridor H to the interstate system or risk creating a dangerous bottleneck that terrorists could strike in a second wave attack. US 50 needs serious upgrades. Even if it ultimately falls short of a four lane expressway, traffic not used to mountain travel needs a road easier to navigate. First responders in the Potomac Highlands need training on how to handle chemical, biological, and radiation related conditions. Predetermined quarantine areas need to be determined as well as where to place the rest of the people fleeing the event.
We need to address all these issues and more. What we do not need is to spend this money in the same old ways. The priorities and methods that have dominated Legislative decision making for over seventy years need to change overall, but especially in this situation. People's lives, evacuees and residents alike, will hang in the balance by the thousands; politicians and planners need to repsect and remember that. Hopefully those that represent the Potomac Highlands and Eastern Panhandle can make others in the state appreciate the potential here for effective deliverance or utter disaster.
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