By Mary Doclar Star-Telegram Dallas Bureau

IRVING -- Attention, Chicken Littles: The sky is not going to fall as a result of the Y2K bug.

At least that's the word from officials with the Federal Emergency Management Agency, who told public officials from Texas and four other states yesterday that forecasts of cataclysmic collapse from the Year 2000 computer problem are greatly exaggerated.

"There's no need to hoard, there's no need to take money out of banks, there's no need to head for the hills," FEMA Deputy Director Mike Walker said during a news conference at a Y2K preparedness workshop at the Harvey Hotel, one of 10 being held across the country to prepare for the transition.

The Y2K problem stems from the inability of older computer chips to recognize more than the last two digits in a year. Unaltered hardware and software reads 2000 as 00, which creates miscalculations that could disrupt nearly every aspect of American life.

Many small towns and counties, as well as small businesses, are far from being ready for the change, Walker said. He predicted numerous small disruptions, but said they would be localized and limited in scope and duration.

"A lot of progress has been made, but a great deal of work remains to be done," he said.

Walker's call for calm amid the doomsday events being predicted by people he described as "naysayers and fearmongers" won applause from one of the approximately 200 public officials attending the two-day event.

Arlington Emergency Management Coordinator Gary Pipes said that all of the city's critical systems such as fire, police and water will be Y2K compliant by Dec. 31, 1999. However, the city can't grant absolute assurances that all of the problems will be fixed before the change occurs, he said.

City officials plan to gather at the city's Emergency Operations Center on New Year's Eve to monitor disruptions across the globe and address any local problems that might arise, Pipes said.

"As far as the computer systems failing and all of our civilization coming to a halt, that's just not true," Pipes said. "People need to take a reasoned approach to this."

Nevertheless, FEMA officials advise residents to bring in a small amount of supplies and money as if they were preparing for a winter storm. They also encourage residents to check with people they do business with to ensure that their systems are compliant.

Texas is well prepared for the Y2K change, a state official said.

"The outreach to local jurisdictions is very proactive," said Jack Colley, assistant state coordinator with the Texas Division of Emergency Management. "Our elected officials all are very responsive to any type of contingency that might face the public, and this is not any different."

Even as they urged the media to allay the fears about Y2K, FEMA officials declined to open all sessions of the workshop to the media and public, saying they didn't want to discourage attendees from having a free and open discussion.

A report on the findings from the workshops will be issued in May, FEMA officials said.

-- Smart Guy (no@y2krackpots.com), March 11, 1999

Answers

And Bill "..did not have an affiar with that woman, Miss Lewinski."

-- Jon Johnson (narnia4@usa.net), March 11, 1999.

...."FEMA officials declined to open all sessions of the workshop to the media and public, saying they didn't want to discourage attendees from having a free and open discussion."

If "There's no need to hoard, there's no need to take money out of banks, there's no need to head for the hills," .. then there is no need to close the meetings to the public. That being the case, there is nothing for FEMA to discuss that the public should not hear.

Dan

-- Dan (DanTCC@Yahoo.com), March 11, 1999.

Quote from article:

""There's no need to hoard, there's no need to take money out of banks, there's no need to head for the hills," FEMA Deputy Director Mike Walker said during a news conference at a Y2K preparedness workshop at the Harvey Hotel, one of 10 being held across the country to prepare for the transition. "

Isn't Mike Walker the ex Arkansas highway patrolman that was VERY close to Clinton. He began working for FEMA sometime after Clinton took office in 1992.P> Ray

-- Ray (ray@totacc.com), March 11, 1999.

Ray -

Not sure where you got that idea. A quick Alta Vista search resulted in:

Robert M. "Mike" Walker: Deputy Director

"Mike Walker was appointed by the President and confirmed by the Senate as Deputy Director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency in September 1998. Previously, Mr. Walker was the 23rd Under Secretary of the Army, a post he has held since November 1997. As Under Secretary, Mr. Walker was the No. 2 civilian leader in the Department of the Army. In his Army position, Mr. Walker was responsible for assisting in the general management of the Department. Mr. Walker served as a member of the Secretary of Defense's Management Council and was responsible for managing the Department of Defense's support to domestic disasters. Mr. Walker served as Acting Secretary of the Army for the first six months of 1998."

He's a career Capitol Hill staffer (approx. 25 years) and essentially got hired away from the Army by FEMA.

-- Mac (sneak@lurk.com), March 11, 1999.

"Isn't Mike Walker the ex Arkansas highway patrolman that was VERY close to Clinton. He began working for FEMA sometime after Clinton took office in 1992.P> Ray "

Predictably stupid response from one of the True Believers. Everything is a conspiracy...(yawn)

-- Smart Guy (no@y2krackpots.com), March 11, 1999.

NEW YORK (AP) - Journalists should shun the role of ``Chicken Little'' in reporting Year 2000 computer problems and avoid undermining Americans' confidence in the banking system, a senior regulator said Wednesday.

``If glitches occur or problems loom, report fully on them, of course, but make sure to place the problem in an appropriate context,'' Federal Reserve Board member Edward W. Kelley Jr. said during a panel discussion at the Freedom Forum Media Studies Center. ``Balance and perspective are key.''

Kelley said the Federal Reserve was conducting ``extensive advance planning'' to ensure that banks and savings institutions have cash on hand to meet any surge in demand late in the year from Americans nervous about losing access to their money if computers misread the year ``00'' as 1900 rather than 2000.

Moreover, federal regulators are conducting their second inspection of every one of the nation's 10,600 banks and S&Ls to ensure that customer records are secure, he said.

As journalists report the story over the next 10 months, ``no one should be `Pollyanna' about Y2K, but based on the huge amount of work being done to prepare, it is just not responsible to be a 'Chicken Little' either,'' he said. ``We do not expect the sky to fall.''

Journalist members of the panel explained the difficulties in covering the Year 2000 story. Different sources, for example, present sharply conflicting scenarios, ranging from the sky-is-falling outlook to more rosy visions.

``We have to curb a traditional impulse, which is to answer a question once and for all,'' said Jonathan Krim, assistant managing editor of the San Jose Mercury News. ``This is about whether or not people are going to do the work, spend the money and get the job done in time.''

The Y2K bug occurs because many computers programmed to recognize only the last two digits of a year won't work properly beginning Jan. 1, 2000, when machines will assume it is 1900. Some computers can be reprogrammed, but many devices have embedded microchips that must be replaced.

``Planes aren't going to fall from the sky, elevators aren't going to the basement and pacemakers aren't going to stop,'' said John A. Koskinen, chairman of the presidential Y2K committee, referring to several frightening - but unlikely - scenarios. ``But a lot of things are.''

While both Koskinen and Kelley painted a generally optimistic picture of how well the federal government and the Federal Reserve System were preparing for the date changeover, they acknowleged there would be inevitable problems.

Kelley said the nation's financial system would not ``freeze up or collapse.''

``But is that a guarantee?'' he said. ``No, I can't do that. An educated confidence? Yes.''

Other members of the panel, titled ``Y2K: The Press and Preventing Panic,'' were Barnaby J. Feder, a business and financial reporter for The New York Times; Jeff C. Gralnick, executive vice president of CNN Financial News; James W. Walker, an ABC News correspondent, and Jonathan Wolman, managing editor of The Associated Press.

-- Sysman (y2kboard@yahoo.com), March 11, 1999.

Sysman,

Yesterday's conference on Y2K, the press and panic can now be heard at this link:

http://webevents.broadcast.com/freedomforum/mar99/freeradio990310.ram

RealPlayer software required.

-- Kevin (mixesmusic@worldnet.att.net), March 11, 1999.

Ah, yes. More DGIs. Bless their little pointed heads, ya gotta love 'em. And so supercilious, too.

No conspiracy, maybe. But Herr Klinton DID appoint his former flakcatcher "Buddy" Young as FEMA Region 6 director. His bio is at http://www.fema.gov/reg-vi/rd6bio.htm. Yes, ol' Buddy was a long time Arkansas state trooper. And he has the signal honor to serve as namesake for the prez's dog. Or vice versa, whichever.

========== Raymond Lloyd (Buddy) Young Regional Director, Region VI Raymond Lloyd "Buddy" Young was appointed Director, Region VI by President Clinton in 1993. As Regional Director, he coordinated FEMA mitigation, preparedness and disaster response and recovery activities in: Arkansas, Louisiana, New Mexico, Oklahoma and Texas. In 1997, he served as Acting Deputy Director for the agency. Mr. Young is a veteran of 26 years of service for the Arkansas State Police. He joined FEMA after serving as director of security for then- Governor Bill Clinton...

==========

Pay attention, people. Please...

-- nobody (nobody@home.org), March 11, 1999.

Smart Guy commented:

""Isn't Mike Walker the ex Arkansas highway patrolman that was VERY close to Clinton. He began working for FEMA sometime after Clinton took office in 1992.P> Ray "

Predictably stupid response from one of the True Believers. Everything is a conspiracy...(yawn)

Smart Guy (no@y2krackpots.com), March 11, 1999. "

OK Smart Guy, it wasn't Mike Walker but it was one of his henchmen named Buddy Young. You obviously wern't aware of this before you yawned. You need to brush up on your history DUMB guy!!.

Ray

-- Ray (ray@totacc.com), March 11, 1999.

italics off

Ray

-- Ray (ray@totacc.com), March 11, 1999.

The odds were in Clinton's favor; he had to be innocent of SOMETHING.

-- KoFE (ooo@ooo.ooo), March 11, 1999.

"OK Smart Guy, it wasn't Mike Walker but"...

In other words, I was wrong before, but NOW I'm telling the truth...

-- Smart Guy (no@y2krackpots.com), March 11, 1999.

Dumb Guy commented:

"OK Smart Guy, it wasn't Mike Walker but"...

In other words, I was wrong before, but NOW I'm telling the truth... "

Dumb Guy, are you a bootlicking, leftwing socialist???

Ray

-- Ray (ray@totacc.com), March 12, 1999.