Hopefully, when this column is read, ALL citizens in Shreveport and for that matter, Caddo Parish will have running water.
I realize that many citizens have broken/busted water pipes that prevent water from actually flowing into their residents.
Thankfully there are many water distribution locations, local organizations, and citizens assisting in this much-needed effort.
Similarly, I hope all citizens in the parish have--or will have very soon-- basic food supplies.
I read the forecasts of snow, ice, and extreme cold before it the weather fronts arrived in the city. Presumably, almost every citizen in the parish were also knowable of the impending vortex disaster.
Like many, I did NOT make adequate precautions other than filling my gas tank.
I did NOT buy a show shovel (did any stores have them?), I did not buy fireplace logs, I did not stock up with 2 weeks supply of bottled water or food.
Geez, I am failed to wash dirty clothes and run my dishwasher in advance.
So what did I actually do to prepare other than filling my gas tank? Not much.
Well, I did hope and pray that the weather forecast was a hoax. And I did bring a briefcase of work home--that I never touched until coming back to my office.
So I did NOT prepare. Plain and simple, despite the fact that I had plenty of information and the economic resources to do so.
Everyone acknowledges that the weather challenges were a once-in-a-lifetime event--or hopefully so.
it is universally agreed that public agencies and citizens pulled together in an extraordinary fashion that is unprecedented for our area. And thankfully they continue to do so.
Fortunately, I did NOT lose electricity, I did have trickles of water to keep pipes from freezing, and I hustled up food and water. I can emphasize with those who did not have any of these basic necessities.
However, I am NOT ready to bash any public agencies for not being more prepared.
Last summer any requests for local governments to stockpile water in multiple locations, have a registry of senior citizens who had limited resources, or to buy snowplows would have not gotten much traction from government officials. Or for that matter the general citizenry.
At that time, COVID-19 was an overriding government priority. And public safety as well.
Add to that Shreveport was and still is staring down the barrel of the Department of Justice/Environmental Protection Agency consent decrees for sewage overflows.
This is not to say that there should be a meaningful post-mortem review of what did and did not work well from the perspective of responses by local agencies to this crisis.
Once this is completed spending priorities for governmental bodies can be reviewed and plans of action can be modified.
As in all other governmental decisions, funding will be a critical issue.
In today's world discernment between "wants" and "needs" is the challenge.
To say the least, this latest weather crisis has put new spins on these classifications for public spending.
I suggest that those who are currently criticizing public officials spend their energy on helping resolve the pending water/food challenges.
There is plenty of time to later play computer warrior and throw out arrows if that is one's overriding concern.
John came to Shreveport in January of 1977 when he was transferred to Barksdale AFB.
He’s been active in Shreveport politics since deciding to make Shreveport his home.
John practiced law for 40 years and he now monitors local politics. He regularly attends Shreveport City Council and Caddo Parish Commission meetings.
John is published weekly in The Inquisitor, bi-monthly in The Forum News, and frequently in the Shreveport Times.
He enjoys addressing civic groups on local government issues and elections.