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Leader: Politics abound in 'Genesis'

http://www.gazette.net/200409/frederick/news/204255-1.html

by Sherry Greenfield
Staff Writer

Feb. 26, 2004
A local disaster planning committee continues to come under fire,
leaving its chairman to believe it is all a game of politics.

Michael G. Hanna, chairman of the Local Emergency Planning Committee,
considers the ongoing controversy about his group, and the recently
completed Genesis Project, nothing more than politics.

"It's truly political," said Hanna, also a scientific officer with
Intracel Corporation, a biomedical research and development company in
Frederick. "You know it's just smoke and mirrors. All in all we've done
a good job in a relatively short period of time."

Hanna is referring to the ongoing debate concerning the intent of the
committee coupled with the dispute surrounding the Genesis Project, a
new emergency plan drafted by the group and Frederick County Sheriff
James W. Hagy (R). Drafts of the plan have not been made public, though
some copies have leaked out.

Part of the plan involves using Frederick Fair Grounds as a site to
treat mass causalities from Washington, D.C. or Baltimore who would be
diverted to Frederick in the event of a radiological or nuclear attack.

Frederick Mayor Jennifer P. Dougherty (D) has complained about that
aspect of the plan, as well has being excluded from the project and of
not having a copy of the plan.

But in an interview Wednesday, Dougherty stressed that her concerns are
not politically motivated. She is concerned with the safety of the city
and its residents.

"The county commissioners and I have sworn an oath to protect our
community," she said. "We asked for this responsibility. It is not
political until the people say it's political."

Hagy, who is out of the office at a conference this week, agreed
Wednesday through his spokeswoman, Frederick County Sheriff's Deputy
Jennifer Bailey. "This is not political, rather it's public safety,"
Bailey said

Among Dougherty's problems with the plan is that city roads can not
handle the influx of traffic that would come with using the fairgrounds
to decontaminate refugees, and she worried that bringing thousands of
contaminated victims into the city could be deadly for residents.

"Nobody is talking about the citizens of Spring Ridge," she said,
referring to a large housing development several miles from the
fairgrounds. "You don't bring everybody to the same site. You stop them
at the borders and determine who has been contaminated before letting
them in."

But the mayor contended that her concerns are not political.

"My concerns are the plan and the process," she said. "If it is
political, well I'm an elected official and the sheriff is an elected
official. But my job is to worry about the citizens in my community and
the businesses in my community."

John Vitarello, a Frederick heart physician and a member of the Genesis
Project, said after a closed briefing on the plan Thursday with selected
municipal officials that he wants to keep politics out of the process.
"We want to work with city officials and keep politics out of it,"
Vitarello said.

Hanna stands by the project.

"We've been questioned on why we would worry about the people in
Washington," he said. "They will be ordered to move out, and it is our
moral responsibility to handle those people coming up. They're going to
come to Frederick, and we have to plan. I'm a volunteer in this position
and I have to be patient and answer questions. But it bothers me when
the questions are politically motivated."

Left out of the planning

Dougherty said she should have had input into the planning of the
Genesis Project since the fairgrounds are in the city. She is angry that
Hagy held a meeting Thursday with officials from several municipalities
in the county, and the city was not included. Because of another regular
meeting of the Board of Aldermen, Dougherty came late to the briefing.
The meeting was closed to the public.

"It is an absolute mistake to say we're going to have a briefing and not
to have all the players involved," she said.

Hagy last week defended his decision to hold the briefing the same night
as the aldermen meeting.

"I don't pay attention to when the city's meetings are" as a county
official, he said. "I don't know what night they have them."

The mayor thinks Hanna and Hagy have become defensive in their support
of the Genesis Project, because they realize it is not practical.

"The process and the plan don't make a lot of sense," she said. "That is
why the sheriff and Dr. Hanna are so defensive."

Calls to Hanna for further comment were not returned by The Gazette's
deadline Wednesday.

Bailey said Hagy defended the planning process, saying if Dougherty
wanted input, she should have not pulled city personnel off the Local
Emergency Planning Committee last year.

"The mayor had every opportunity and she chose to not allow her people
into the decision-making process," Bailey said.

Dougherty said city workers are still part of the group, but last spring
she did notify commissioners that they would not lead or chair
subcommittees. She said she believed the group had lost its focus, and
was a waste of time for city workers.

But even as the threat of a terrorist attack continues to loom over the
country, debate has intensified concerning the intent of the committee.

"I have concerns that the Local Emergency Planning Committee has gone
beyond its statutory role of planning for the accidental release of
hazardous substances," said county Commission President John "Lennie"
Thompson Jr. (R). " ... They've gone way beyond their mission."

The Board of County Commissioners met in closed session Friday, and will
meet again today to discuss security concerns. Thompson declined to
reveal details of the discussions.

Hanna said he was unaware of Thompson's concerns and defended the
group's work and intentions.

"After Sept. 11, we were to develop a concept plan for homeland
security," he said. "I think my committee has been patient, and I think
we've done very well."

The ongoing controversy has led to uncertainty about protection for
residents during a terrorist attack.

"We don't want people to be afraid," said Leah Crace, director of the
Frederick County Chapter of the American Red Cross and a member of the
committee. "Some of this controversy has stirred up these fears. Some of
the stuff going on is not productive."

Crace wants to assure residents that in the event of an attack or
natural disaster the Red Cross and other emergency personnel are
prepared.

"We've been trying diligently to prepare the community," said Crace, who
cited the workshops, shelter plans and disaster tips they have prepared
to educate the public if an attack were to occur.

Staff Writer Brad Pierce contributed to this story.


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Local Emergency Planning Committee has long history

http://www.gazette.net/200409/frederick/news/204256-1.html

by Sherry Greenfield
Staff Writer

Feb. 26, 2004

The U.S. government required each state to form a Local Emergency
Planning Committee after a chemical explosion in India in 1986. Maryland
then passed that order onto the local jurisdictions.

Frederick County's committee formed in subsequent years, but later fell
apart, until the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. Calls for emergency
preparedness resurfaced.

Frederick City formed a 40-member Homeland Community Security Group. The
purpose of the group was to improve public safety by enabling
individuals, groups and communities to effectively plan for and manage
hazards associated with emergencies and disasters.

But by 2002, the city turned over control of group to the county's
Emergency Services Division. Mayor Jennifer P. Dougherty (D) felt the
county should assume responsibility of planning for an attack or
disaster. She made the decision shortly after taking office in January
of that year.

That October, the previous Board of County Commissioners approved the
newly formed and renamed Local Emergency Planning Committee, and Michael
G. Hanna, a scientific officer with Intracel Corporation, a biomedical
research and development company in Frederick, became its chairman.

The group included officials from the county, Frederick city, Fort
Detrick, the Frederick County Sheriff's Office, Frederick Memorial
Hospital, the American Red Cross and several private physicians.

But controversy immediately surfaced.

Several town leaders were upset there was not more representation of
municipalities on the committee and in the planning process.

But Hanna and members of the group continued to move forward, and in
July 2002 released a 42-page document detailing the county's response to
an attack.

A copy of the plan was even sent to Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr.

By March 2003, controversy erupted again when the Board of County
Commissioners hastily named County Sheriff James Hagy (R) the unified
commander in the county if a terrorist attack were to occur.

The 3-2 decision occurred shortly before the United States went to war
with Iraq. The appointment was made to protect residents against a
possible attack as a result of the conflict.

Not all the commissioners agreed with Hagy's appointment. Frederick
County Commission President John "Lennie" Thompson Jr. and Commissioner
Jan H. Gardner (D) voted in opposition.

Gardner objected because the appointment went against recommendations
made earlier by the director of the Maryland Emergency Management
Agency. The agency's Don Keldsen met with the board and informed it that
in the event of an attack, the point of contact should be Lt. Jack
Markey, the county's director of emergency management.

Keldsen had discouraged the board from appointing someone in law
enforcement, since in the event of an attack they would be busy keeping
peace and order in the county.

Dougherty also publicly opposed the appointment, based on Keldsen's
recommendation. The mayor then went a step further, and made a surprise
announcement last April that she was pulling city personnel from the
committee.

In a letter to commissioners, Dougherty said the group had lost its
focus and was waste of time for city workers. At the time, a furious
Hanna said the mayor made the decision because she was unhappy with Hagy
at the helm.

The mayor's spokeswoman, Nancy Gregg Poss, disagreed, saying it had
nothing to do with the appointment.

Dougherty said in an interview Wednesday that city personnel still
attend committee meetings, but do not chair or lead any of the
subcommittees.


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County to get $600,000 worth of radiation gear

http://www.gazette.net/200409/frederick/news/204257-1.html

by Brad Pierce
Staff Writer

Feb. 26, 2004

Some has been delivered, and the rest is expected to arrive soon. When
fully armed, Frederick County will have more radiological detection
equipment than any other non-military entity in the United States,
according to Dr. John Vitarello, head of the county's so-called Nuclear
Subcommittee.

More than $600,000 worth of gear has been secured through the Homeland
Defense Equipment Reuse program, a joint effort between the U.S.
departments of Justice and Energy to stockpile communities with the
tools they would need to combat radiological disasters, Vitarello said.
He declined to say what has been delivered and what is yet to come.

Portable monitors, similar to metal detectors, about the size of
telephone booths will be on-hand to measure levels of exposure. Hundreds
of handheld Geiger counters will be passed out to first responders,
members of the Frederick Memorial Hospital emergency response team and
medical volunteers, Vitarello said.

And somewhere in the county, three monitors that look like
air-conditioning units will be hidden in secret locations to measure
radioactivity in the air.

It's all part of the Genesis Project, Frederick County's answer to
terrorist threats in the region's metropolitan areas.

The controversial emergency plan, drafted by nuclear experts who are
members of the Local Emergency Planning Committee (of which the Nuclear
Subcommittee is a part), envisions the Frederick Fair Grounds to be used
as a decontamination and treatment site for thousands of refugees
fleeing mayhem in Washington, D.C. or Baltimore.

The scenarios contemplated by the committee are hard to imagine and easy
to criticize, New Market Mayor Winslow Burhans said. But a huge amount
of thought has gone into it and everyone is doing the best job they can,
Burhans said.

"At least they have a plan," he said, because any plan is better than no
plan.

No federal agency has identified the county as a place to retreat in the
event of a nuclear or radiological attack in Washington, D.C. or
Baltimore, Vitarello said, and certainly no one wants swarms of refugees
invading the county. But these people will be sick, shell-shocked
Americans in need of help, and they will come to Frederick County
whether they are invited or not, he said.

And that's the thrust behind the plan, which is constantly evolving with
input from local health officials and radiation experts.

No one wants this plan to be put into effect, said Chip Lagdon, a
nuclear expert who works for the U.S. Department of Energy. But having a
plan is better than doing nothing and wondering what to do when victims
come staggering into the county in need of a change of clothes and a
shower, Vitarello said.

"You're not going to stop them from coming," said Bob Loesch, another
radiation expert with the U.S. Department of Energy and a member of the
Nuclear Subcommittee.

Although Thurmont Mayor Martin Burns doesn't necessarily like the idea
of sick refugees coming into his town, he said he is open to the idea of
having an alternative decontamination site set up there, if needed. That
way, he said, at least all the required medical supplies and attention
will be nearby to cleanse town residents, as well.

Despite inaccurate reports in the media, Vitarello said Genesis
addresses what should be done in the event of a one-kiloton nuclear
detonation, not just a "dirty bomb," which is a smaller, conventional
explosion that scatters radiological particles.

Most of the time, treating patients exposed to radiation is as easy as
stripping their clothes off and washing them down with soap and water,
said Vitarello, a nuclear cardiologist with experience caring for people
with radiation poisoning.

"It's so important for us doctors to have this," he said about the plan.

Firefighters and other emergency responders in major cities were the
first in line to receive refurbished radiation detection equipment,
which is delivered to jurisdictions in need free of charge, as part of
the president's push to equip and train America's public safety
officials in anticipation of additional terrorist attacks.

But so far, Frederick County firefighters have not received any
equipment, according to Chief Roy Lipscomb of the Brunswick Volunteer
Fire Company.

"I don't know of anybody that's received anything," he said.

And at least one fire chief was not aware of the opportunities for
increased training in the use of sub-atomic gadgets. "I didn't even know
we were getting equipment," said Chief Jerry Dorsey of United Steam Fire
Engine Company in Frederick.

But it's on the way, according to Vitarello, and, as part of the
program, training will be available through the U.S. Department of
Homeland Security. Once set, a drill may be executed to test the
county's preparedness, Vitarello added.

Experts have been speaking with leaders of smaller communities in the
county about potential feeder sites, essential supplies are being lined
up from wholesale stores, and private property owners are being
approached for cooperation.

It's all being coordinated by Frederick County Sheriff James W. Hagy
(R), who Vitarello said is doing an excellent job pulling every aspect
of the plan together.

Hagy tried to keep at least some of the operation secret, in the name of
public safety, but a draft version of the plan was leaked last week.

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Detrick group sets community meeting

http://www.gazette.net/200409/frederick/news/204258-1.html

by Robert Schroeder
Staff Writer

Feb. 26, 2004

Frederick, meet Detrick.

Officials from the Maryland Department of Business and Economic
Development, Fort Detrick and a group organized to facilitate
communication between Detrick and the Frederick community will hold an
open meeting on Monday. The purpose is to brief residents and businesses
about the fort and business opportunities there.

The forum, sponsored in part by the newly formed Fort Detrick Alliance,
is scheduled for 8 a.m., Monday, at Frederick Community College's
Conference Center. It is open to the public. (Call Nancy Swain of the
county's Office of Economic Development at 301-694-1058 to RSVP.)

Mark Hoke, president of the alliance, said the purpose of the meeting is
to "provide an update on what is happening at Fort Detrick and the
opportunities that the alliance presents to Frederick County and to the
State of Maryland."

Fort Detrick Commander Col. John Ball, retired Marine Corps Brig. Gen.
Mike Hayes, who now works for the state concerning military and federal
facilities, and a representative from the Maryland departments of
Transportation and Environment will all speak.

Detrick, the county's largest employer, provides jobs to about 7,300
people. But with its often-dangerous work -- a researcher is still being
isolated after grazing her hand Feb. 11 with Ebola virus -- the
installation has found itself at the center of local and national
controversy.

Part of the alliance's mission is to educate the public about operations
at Detrick, said Hoke, a former commander of the installation. "There's
a whole lot of people who have a misconception about what's going on at
Fort Detrick," Hoke said. "That's been in my craw for several years.

"I just felt it was necessary to help to facilitate communications and
understanding between the federal facilities and the community
at-large," he said.

Residents will be able to bring concerns to the alliance about, for
example, traffic issues.

Detrick was established as Camp Detrick for biological warfare research
in 1943. The name changed to Fort Detrick in 1956, when it became a
permanent Army installation. Detrick's mission changed from an offensive
to a defensive one in 1969, when President Richard M. Nixon ended the
United States' offensive biological warfare program.

Scientists now work on cures to diseases U.S. soldiers might encounter
on the battlefield. The National Cancer Institute was set up at Detrick
in 1971 and in 1979, the Army Medical Intelligence and Information
Agency moved to the installation. These days, Detrick and National
Institutes of Health officials are mapping out plans for a new major
biodefense program.

With the base set to expand, Frederick's executive community is hoping
that it can expand along with Detrick.

Hayes said the alliance, founded in August 2003, is one of six such
groups around the state. All members are volunteers.

The alliance is not the only community group that handles Frederick's
sprawling U.S. military installation. Residents participate in the City
of Frederick's Neighborhood Advisory Council Area Two, headed by Ball.

Hoke acknowledged that residents with concerns regarding Fort Detrick
are free to approach officials through the installation's public affairs
office. But he said the alliance will hopefully give residents and
businesses another opportunity to engage Detrick.

"It's another source, that's all we are," he said.

For information about Fort Detrick Alliance, call Hoke at 301-695-7427.