Local News
New emergency management coordinator to start
OTTUMWA — Joshua Stevens isn’t worried about dealing with potentially stressful situations in his new job.
Stevens of Oskaloosa will start Monday as Wapello County’s full-time emergency management coordinator. He graduated in 2002 from Indian Hills Community College with a degree in criminal justice and has worked as the assistant emergency management coordinator in Mahaska County where he has responded to flooding and ice storms.
“I kind of like to be involved in situations like that. When there’s a stressful situation and there’s processes to be followed, I think I perform quite well,” Stevens said.
He will answer to the emergency management commission, which includes mayors of seven towns in the county, the Wapello County sheriff and a county supervisor.
“Initially, I want get in and review plans that are currently in place and see if there are opportunities that I can build on,” Stevens said.
One of his main goals with the new job is to get community members involved with emergency management.
“I want to get a lot more community involvement,” he said. “The community is where you get your volunteers from. You can’t just rely on first responders.
“I really want to partner with as many entities that I can,” he said, such as faith-based organizations and local businesses. “I think together there’s a lot of good stuff we can do in Wapello County.”
When there isn’t an emergency, Stevens will be doing a lot of planning, which involves brainstorming with other officials.
“We sit down, prepare a plan and just make sure it’s going to work,” he said.
In the past, the Ottumwa Fire Chief has split his time as fire chief and as the county’s emergency management coordinator. Now, both positions are full-time, and the emergency management coordinator is a county employee.
Stevens’ salary comes from the emergency management budget, which is funded through property taxes and federal emergency management money through the state. His office will be in the law center.
“I want citizens and community members to know that it’s an open door office, if there are concerns or anything like that I’m definitely open to hearing people’s feedback or suggestions; we don’t think of everything,” he said.
Pat Shaver can be reached at (641) 683-5360 or by e-mail at p.shaver@ottumwacourier.com.
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