Relief
Saturday December 3, 2005
We were told that background checks were running 4 days (not including Sundays) with some 3 days and others 5. Friday was four days from when I was fingerprinted. Some had received their calls on Thursday. By Saturday morning all the folks in my group who arrived on Monday had received a call. Even some who had arrived Tuesday had received calls and few who arrived Wednesday were beginning to receive calls.
I had not received a call. Was there a problem? Why the delay?
They handed out an organization chart and a listing showing the assignments of the 150 or so people known to the managers. At least 20% of these people were not yet on site and the total was expected to double over the next few weeks. The 26 Counties (nee, Parishes – important to get that terminology down) to be served have been divided into six regions. Leads have been assigned to five of the six regions and all but three of the parishes. Anticipated staffing in each parish is based on the difference between the needs and planning capacity in the parish. Those with the most damage, primarily in the New Orleans area, will already have ten people plus or minus assigned. Some parishes don’t have anyone assigned yet.
I have given the role of Parish Lead. I am looking forward to and I am confident that I can handle that challenge. I have been assigned to Allen Parish, which is a rural area hit by Hurricane Rita in the western part of the state one or two parishes north of the coastal areas. Wind damage and damage to the economy but not the devastation of the coastal communities. My first reaction is disappointment – I was hoping to be assigned to one of the harder hit Parishes in the southeast. It seems that for the most part, due to the severity of the issues, those were assigned team leaders from the early arrivals and there was an attempt to use local people more well versed in the community and politics of the areas whenever possible. They needed me as a Parish Leader and this was where I was placed. They are still making adjustments, things may change, things may not.
After letting the assignment sink in, however, it becomes more comfortable. The population is actually about the same as the British Virgin Islands (less than the town in Massachusetts where I live) although – sight unseen – it does not seem to have the dense development of the major communities found in the BVI. In its own way my job is as challenging as that faced by folks assigned to the areas in the southeast. Eventually I will have about a dozen people working for me – right now there is one other name in our box on the chart and she has yet to arrive. Unlike the hard hit areas, it is not clear what progress if any has been made in finding and leasing a “store front recovery center.” Once Tuesday’s Parish Leaders meeting at the Headquarters in Baton Rouge is over, I will be a bit of a one man band trying to create a functioning office so new comers can hit the ground running and at the same time keeping up with the region wide schedule which calls for a workshop with government officials from throughout the Parish the following week.
As my mind wraps around the things that need to be done, I shift from disappointment to impatience wanting to get started as soon as possible. But I still do not have clearance. What if there is a problem? Will I be doing this work?
Just as we are breaking for lunch at 1:00 pm, my cell phone rings. My clearance has come through, can I go right over to the building where I was fingerprinted to get my identification badge and then to the joint field operations center to pick up a computer and cell phone. And take Ben with me – he has been cleared too. A weight has been lifted off my shoulders. Ben and I dash out, roll through a fast food place, accomplish our tasks and get back by 2:30 pm for the next briefing: south Louisiana history and culture and the predominant characteristics of each of our parishes.
As Sherlock would say, the game is now afoot.
We were told that background checks were running 4 days (not including Sundays) with some 3 days and others 5. Friday was four days from when I was fingerprinted. Some had received their calls on Thursday. By Saturday morning all the folks in my group who arrived on Monday had received a call. Even some who had arrived Tuesday had received calls and few who arrived Wednesday were beginning to receive calls.
I had not received a call. Was there a problem? Why the delay?
They handed out an organization chart and a listing showing the assignments of the 150 or so people known to the managers. At least 20% of these people were not yet on site and the total was expected to double over the next few weeks. The 26 Counties (nee, Parishes – important to get that terminology down) to be served have been divided into six regions. Leads have been assigned to five of the six regions and all but three of the parishes. Anticipated staffing in each parish is based on the difference between the needs and planning capacity in the parish. Those with the most damage, primarily in the New Orleans area, will already have ten people plus or minus assigned. Some parishes don’t have anyone assigned yet.
I have given the role of Parish Lead. I am looking forward to and I am confident that I can handle that challenge. I have been assigned to Allen Parish, which is a rural area hit by Hurricane Rita in the western part of the state one or two parishes north of the coastal areas. Wind damage and damage to the economy but not the devastation of the coastal communities. My first reaction is disappointment – I was hoping to be assigned to one of the harder hit Parishes in the southeast. It seems that for the most part, due to the severity of the issues, those were assigned team leaders from the early arrivals and there was an attempt to use local people more well versed in the community and politics of the areas whenever possible. They needed me as a Parish Leader and this was where I was placed. They are still making adjustments, things may change, things may not.
After letting the assignment sink in, however, it becomes more comfortable. The population is actually about the same as the British Virgin Islands (less than the town in Massachusetts where I live) although – sight unseen – it does not seem to have the dense development of the major communities found in the BVI. In its own way my job is as challenging as that faced by folks assigned to the areas in the southeast. Eventually I will have about a dozen people working for me – right now there is one other name in our box on the chart and she has yet to arrive. Unlike the hard hit areas, it is not clear what progress if any has been made in finding and leasing a “store front recovery center.” Once Tuesday’s Parish Leaders meeting at the Headquarters in Baton Rouge is over, I will be a bit of a one man band trying to create a functioning office so new comers can hit the ground running and at the same time keeping up with the region wide schedule which calls for a workshop with government officials from throughout the Parish the following week.
As my mind wraps around the things that need to be done, I shift from disappointment to impatience wanting to get started as soon as possible. But I still do not have clearance. What if there is a problem? Will I be doing this work?
Just as we are breaking for lunch at 1:00 pm, my cell phone rings. My clearance has come through, can I go right over to the building where I was fingerprinted to get my identification badge and then to the joint field operations center to pick up a computer and cell phone. And take Ben with me – he has been cleared too. A weight has been lifted off my shoulders. Ben and I dash out, roll through a fast food place, accomplish our tasks and get back by 2:30 pm for the next briefing: south Louisiana history and culture and the predominant characteristics of each of our parishes.
As Sherlock would say, the game is now afoot.
posted by J Corlss at 7:18 PM
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