Emergency officials keep county safer

Cartoonist B.J. Wood's piece today lampoons Howard "Bubba" Willis, because Richmond County's emergency management director didn't respond to media inquiries Friday even as the public anxiously was preparing for a severe winter storm.

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Chief Willis is a competent, veteran emergency official. We're sure he does a fine job.

But he's no Pam Tucker.

Tucker has been lampooned a few times herself. It goes with the territory; when you're as visible as she has to be, you're bound to take a little ribbing.

Yet when foul weather threatens, there's no one you'd rather have manning the store - or, in Columbia County's case, the Emergency Operations Center.

The war-room facility activated Sunday ahead of this week's snow and ice, with officials from county agencies gathering to monitor weather forecasts, evaluate road conditions and prepare for the worst.

Coordinated by Tucker, Columbia County's emergency and operations director, those agencies were on top of things while the snow fell and citizens slept. Road crews took care of bridges and scraped roads, deputies patrolled to look out for stranded motorists, and other emergency workers were ready for any problems that arose.

Columbia County was safer as a result. That's comforting to know.

Many thanks to all the hard-working public safety workers and road crews who work around the clock on our behalf. And many thanks to Tucker for keeping us informed about it all.