Pointed Bestgen email gets quick response: Governor has declared the area a “disaster” (MCTH-Doreen Creed) – Sturgis City Councilman Branden Bestgen was at the Meade County Commission’s second special disaster meeting of the week and was frustrated at what he was hearing. He had told the board two days prior that someone needed to be “a bulldog” to get something done. Bestgen took on that role himself after he left the latest meeting. He went home, fired up the computer and sent an email to Trevor Jones, the governor’s secretary of public safety. It is under that department that the office of emergency management, the highway patrol, and homeland security fall. Bestgen knows Jones from the time he was the assistant chief of police in Sturgis. There was frustration at the commission meeting in part due to the fact the governor had only declared an “emergency” and not a “disaster”. The two designations may appear to be the same, but they are miles apart when it comes to assistance from either the state or the federal government. The state had not issued a release or informed the local county emergency managers that Gov. Dennis Daugaard had recently signed a “state disaster delegation” and has forwarded it on to President Barak Obama. But Jones told Bestgen that this critical document has been finalized. Jones in a phone call to Bestgen said the governor was currently making his second trip to the area via helicopter that he had a KOTA television crew with him. Jones told Bestgen the governor said the devastation extends from Buffalo to Edgemont. In response to the local frustration about the apparent lack of interest from FEMA, the federal government, and state government. Jones said, “He would personally do whatever he could, and ring whatever bells he had to, to ensure that we’re taken care of to the extent of their abilities. “In a nutshell, he told me that if we (city, county) follow the proper procedures, FEMA will reimburse 75 percent of the costs.” Jones said when Ft. Pierre was flooding a few years ago, the city took out a $5 million loan to build the dikes; and they did it without a firm commitment from FEMA. Ultimately, FEMA reimbursed them, but they were the ones that had to stick their necks out without any assurance of support. This is the Bestgen email that got Jones’ quick response: “I’m emailing you since I know you personally, and you work directly for Governor Daugaard. “I sit on the City Council for Sturgis, and I wanted to make you aware of a growing dissatisfaction with the response from the State of South Dakota. “I just left the second emergency meeting held by the Meade County Commissioners, and I can tell you that they publically spoke about the lack of response from the Governor’s Office. “Practically speaking, there may not be much the state can do. But I do think this is a critical time for the state to take the lead in the media with helping West River. Our disaster has had no national media attention and no FEMA representation. The federal government shutdown couldn’t have occurred at a worse time for us. We would really like to see our governor and top state officials here, with the media, assisting in every way possible. “At the first Meade County emergency meeting I attended, I overheard someone say that they wished Bill Janklow were still the governor, because then we’d have the type of state response we expect. This was the same meeting when the representative from OEM didn’t have firm responses to questions asked. As a representative of the citizens of Sturgis, that concerns me. I realize there is a federal government shutdown, but I would think there are people in state government that have the cell phone numbers of furloughed federal employees, that they could call to get the answers we need now. I actually expected to see Kristi Turman (state’s OEM director) at that meeting, and was surprised when she wasn’t there. “In Sturgis alone, we have lost millions of dollars in commercial buildings and businesses. Losing these businesses has a massive ripple effect because they employ people, and some are important to everyday life. The following list includes a few that were destroyed, and some that were just damaged: Shopko, UPS, Scott Peterson Motors, Campbell Supply, Flex Fitness, Blue Devil Detailing, Midwest Vending, Sturgis Williams Middle School, Landsport, Broken Spoke, and Butte Electric. “Some of these are small business owners that have worked all their lives, and now it’s gone. Some of the buildings are covered by insurance; others are not. But either way, life has dramatically changed for them and for the community because many of them provide services that keep our community operating; and now they’re closed. “In addition to what occurred within the city, the financial and emotional toll on local our farmers and ranchers is beyond words. I’m sure you’ve seen pictures, or heard of the devastation from all of the cattle that died during the blizzard. “I would ask that you urge Gov. Daugaard to step up his presence and response to this disaster,” he concluded. Bestgen got a response back from his “cage-rattling” almost immediately. (MCTH Opinion: “Way to go Branden! MCTH concurs with your analysis of “I think we’ll see a dramatic increase in visibility.”)
Posted on: Thu, 10 Oct 2013 20:07:48 +0000
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