Get Ready For Another Hurricane Season

A special section on hurricane preparedness is included in today's newspaper, as June 1 marks the official start of the Atlantic season.

We hope the section is read and will not be tossed in the recycle bins - at least not right away. It contains a lot of useful information that will come in handy in preparing for a storm.

Another way to prepare is to be informed, and the Highlands County Emergency Management staff is doing its part by sponsoring the annual Highlands County Hurricane Seminar this Tuesday. It will start at 6:30 p.m. at the Agri-Civic Center, located at the corner of George Boulevard and U.S. 27, in Sebring.

As Bill Nichols, director of the Highlands County Emergency Operations Center, said, "I don't think you need to be afraid. The more you prepare, the less you're afraid. The more you know, the less you fear."

We hope residents will take the time to attend - especially newcomers to the area who have never experienced a storm - or those who have specific questions they would like to have answered.

Complacency is always a problem for emergency management officials as a new storm season begins. It has been almost four years since the triple hit the Heartland took with hurricanes Charley, Jeanne and Frances.

It is understandable that people have other things on their mind - skyrocketing gas prices, food prices, the economy - to name a few. Preparing for a storm probably isn't high on the priority list.

However, all it takes is one hurricane - even a minimal Category 1 - to injure people and destroy property.

We don't want that to happen.

In order to minimize the chances of that residents need to be ready. That's something we hope everyone will remember.