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HAZMAT conference focuses on partnerships

By Maggie Plummer

POLSON — Partnership and gratitude were the themes for the 15th Annual Indian Nations and Neighbors HAZMAT (Hazardous Materials) Conference, held at KwaTaqNuk Resort March 12 to 15.

This may have been the last year for this conference due to shifts in funding, according to organizer Jolene Jacobson of Tribal Disaster and Emergency Services (DES).

Tribal elder Octave Finley officially opened the conference, leading flag-presenting members of the Veterans Warrior Society into the large room and taking a turn at the microphone to welcome everyone.

In his introductory remarks, Octave praised the local HAZMAT programs for working so well together and "not fighting all the time, like some do."

Other parts of the welcoming included brief talks by Lake County Commissioner Mike Hutchin, State DES Administrator Dan McGowan, Tribal Law and Order Officer Don Bell, and FEMA Region VIII Director Scott Logan of Denver.

Hutchin and others took turns "roasting" and teasing Jolene, who over the years has been the main organizer of these conferences. At times the roomful of some 153 conferees had fun chanting "Jo-lene, Jo-lene."

Several speakers said they feel sad that these valuable conferences might be ending.

One of them was Steve Stanley of the Lake County Office of Emergency Management. He and Jolene have worked together for years, in what many call the most successful cooperative efforts between the Tribes and Lake County.

Steve, the first main speaker at the conference, addressed the topic of partnerships.

"Turf is a non-issue for us," he said, referring to his office and Tribal DES. "We get the job done and figure out the problems later... There will always be areas in which we disagree. That's OK, we can still do good things together."

The two local programs really do everything together, he pointed out. The result of that cooperation has been what he calls a "win-win situation."

One great example of that, he said, was a serious tire fire in September 2001, just south of Polson. Because of the Tribes' government-to-government relationship with federal agencies, federal officials promptly showed up at that fire with a checkbook, he recalled.

"We had to bury that tire fire," Steve said. "We moved 1,079 yards of dirt, using local contractors. There was a $110,000 bill for the dirt. The situation lasted 24 hours and not days - only because of this partnership."

Other speakers during Tuesday's session included Robert Desrosier of the Blackfeet DES, Tom Zeigler, Jon Miller, Cindy Mulloney, Dave Ball, and Shane Haberlock.

On Wednesday, after a presentation by Fred Cowie that included how to develop realistic local practice events, participants had breakout sessions to deal with "table-top" emergency scenarios such as a KwaTaqNuk casino filling with smoke, a town's drinking water becoming smelly and discolored, or a local motel employee reporting a chemical smell in a room.

Conference participants had plenty of chances to relax, too. Wednesday evening they enjoyed a traditional Thanksgiving feast followed by a fun karaoke session with Denim and Lace.