Called my local city government and Catholic church in SE WI, and they were all obliviousabout the y2k situation---no preparations, nothing, zilch...not even any hints on telling the older folks of the parish to fill their bathtubs!!!!! WHat is going on here>? What should be done???? The answer I received from City hall ( population here is around 5,000) was that if the electricity went off, they could all go to town hall, which would hold about 500!!! The lady at the parish knew NOTHING and seemed so surprised about this info, she made me feel like a complete paranoid crank!! The levels of laissez-faire are mind boggling!!!! ARGHHHHHHH Thanks for letting me vent-- Jess

-- Jess (alisaunde@aol.com), December 21, 1999

Answers

Yes, Jess, it's a major concern. Seems that the big surprise of the millennium will be that there is NO contingency plan for many places. I fear that so many elderly people with fragile health and are not robust enough to handle major disruption in their lives will die if the power is out for ten days or so.

It grieves me to think of this.

-- formerly (formerly @nowhere.zzz), December 21, 1999.

I am in WI, too. You could give them the letter given to Milwaukee County residents by the Milw. Sheriff. Makes it clear the situation is real and risky and that people should be prepared for up to 5 days. (City of Milw. has installed huge generators to pump sewage if the power goes out. Etc. This in newspaper articles, not in the leltter.) Can be found on-line at http://www.mkesheriff.org/html/emerg/lepc/homeguide.htm Get in touch and I can send you other stuf

-- Shivani Arjuna (Sarjuna@aol.com), December 21, 1999.

Thank you, I will. This is so depressing. I wish these people would take it seriously. I would have thought that at least the Catholic church would have briefed the parishes. I am not a church go-er, but I know ALOT of folks will turn to their churches for help if something happens...what will they do? *sigh*

-- Jess (alisaunde@aol.com), December 21, 1999.

tried the Milwaukee county Sherriff link and couldn't get thru...

-- Jess (alisaunde@aol.com), December 21, 1999.

Indeed, this is a crying shame what will happen to the elderly, infirm and all others that can't fend for themselves without help.

So what? The government(s) don't give a rodent's posterior about me and thee.

It's been posted, the government hired a Public Relations firm to "spin" all this into oblivion, and they've earned every penny of their fee, 'cause it's worked. The vast majority of the American Public either isn't aware or doesn't care as "everything is 99.9% fixed. Yeah sure.

Prepare for the worst, and hope for the best.

-- Richard (Astral-Acres@webtv.net), December 21, 1999.

Jess,

I'm originally from the Port Washington/West Bend area (now live in Rockford, IL) and my family still lives up there. I know that Ozaukee and Washington Counties (which include the cities of Port Washington, Cedarburg, Grafton, West Bend, etc.) have had several community Y2K meetings this year....so I'm interested in what city you are referring to.

-- BrianL (bliebenstein@camcar.textron.com), December 21, 1999.

Risks are enormous in the central and northeast US, because you just can't get through a winter without fuel and food. If we have more than a bump, we are going to lose many people. The risks are higher where electric power is reliable, because people there will have relaxed over the years, and not be ready for failure. Where power is iffy, people are more likely to be prepared.

It's too late now to do any prepping - if something isn't in the pipeline already, it won't get to the store shelves by 1/1/2000. Now it's just a matter of holding our collective breath and seeing what happens.

244 hours to go, and the alarm was sounded 11,000 hours ago, more or less. What a waste.

-- bw (home@puget.sound), December 21, 1999.

Yep, about the elderly. My grandmother is on coumadin, a blood thinner, b/c she had artificial heart valves put in 12 years ago. (She also takes about 23 other meds daily.) They (the artificial valves) normally do not last that long. The blood thinner is necessary DAILY so that the artificial valves do not get "clogged up" --literally. If she goes 2 or 3 days at the most without it, she dies a painful death.

God help us all.

-- preparing (preparing@home.com), December 22, 1999.