SULLIVAN'S SALVOS
July 27, 2008
Sullivan’s Salvos 7/29/08
Summer is just FLYING by… if you have not done so yet, please visit any of our wonderful local farmer’s markets. You’ll be glad you did!
Fun Days in Swisher happen this weekend, August 1 and 2. I urge you to join the fine folks of Swisher for their annual town celebration.
I wrote a couple weeks ago about flood “heroes”. Most Salvos readers agreed that people who selflessly assist others during a crisis can rightly be called heroes.
With that in mind, I would like to mention a couple folks who have become heroes to me.
Tom Trump is a member of the Solon Volunteer Fire Department, and it just so happens Tom has a great deal of disaster experience.
That experience was tested during the recent floods. Tom volunteered in the Johnson County Emergency Operations Center (EOC) for over two weeks, serving as the person in charge of getting resources (pumps, sandbags, generators, etc.) to the people who needed them.
This was an incredibly stressful job, with requests coming from all directions (Hills, Coralville, Iowa City, the UI, the National Guard, etc. were all requesting assistance) at all hours of the day. Tom handled it all masterfully.
In addition, the guy worked his tail off. I got into a rhythm where I would get up about 6 AM, ride my bike to check the water levels at the Ambulance Department and Admin Building, then go report in at the EOC. I would stay there most of the day, occasionally going to check things out as requested, and go home around 6:30 PM or so. It made for long days. Tom was always there when I arrived, and always there when I left.
Finally, and most importantly, Tom brought a great attitude to the job. He was so calm, confident, competent, and positive. He had a laser focus on keeping people safe. He really helped keep the whole place going the right direction.
If you are ever up in Solon and meet a guy named Tom Trump, tell him thank you. We ALL owe him a debt of gratitude!
Now for our second hero of the day… Dave Moran is retiring after several years of service to Johnson County. Dave has held a number of social services positions in his time with Johnson County, and has handled each one with class.
Dave was always one of my favorite people with whom to work. I respected the fact that Dave was often assigned the “difficult” clients. Never one to complain about the daily uphill battles of his job, Dave worked hard on behalf of some of the least fortunate residents of Johnson County. Caring, compassionate, humble, intelligent, diligent… Dave quietly served the people of Johnson County well for many years.
Congratulations on your retirement, Dave Moran!
I have written before about the pride I take in Johnson County’s environmental efforts. As I have noted, one of the first things Johnson County needed to do was establish our carbon footprint. Well, here are those results!
Johnson County’s greenhouse gas emissions can be lumped into three general categories: buildings, fleet, and employee commutes.
Our buildings put off 1788 tons of carbon, and Johnson County has annual utility bills of about $176,000. Johnson County is already poised to improve this significantly once our LEED certified (Silver level) Health & Human Services Building opens. The new building projects an average annual savings of $16,000 on electric alone!
Johnson County vehicles put off 2871 tons of carbon, with an annual fuel bill of about $715,000.
Employee commutes add up to 844 tons. Employees commute 7096 miles to and from work (an average round trip of 18 miles/employee). Very few employees carpool, even fewer take the bus, and only a couple routinely bike.
That totals 5505 tons of carbon annually. In order to meet the goals of the Kyoto Protocols, Johnson County will need to reduce carbon emissions 80% by 2050. This will require a reduction of about 4% per year.
I think Johnson County can reach these goals, but the difficult work has yet to be done. Specific goals will require people to change their behaviors, and that is where it gets tough. It will take bold and definitive leadership from elected officials to really make Johnson County “green”.
DID YOU KNOW? According to the Heritage Area Agency on Aging (from information supplied to them by FEMA authorities), 51% of those applying for FEMA assistance in the seven county area served by Heritage are persons aged 60 and above. This suggests that the floods disproportionately impacted the elderly.
Anyone interested in learning more about County government should take a look at the County website-
www.johnson-county.com.
"Sullivan’s Salvos" is sent once per week to any interested party. It will give a brief update on issues of interest to Johnson County residents.
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As always, feel free to contact me at 354-7199 or rodsullivan@mchsi.com. I look forward to serving you!
---Rod
posted by Rod Sullivan @ 9:50 PM
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