Emergency Officials Conduct Agriterrorism Preparedness Drill

Emergency management officials – federal, state, and local – have spent the last couple of days at State Emergency Management Agency headquarters in JeffersonCity, taking part in a drill aimed at keeping emergency personnel prepared for a possible agriterrorism attack. It has anywhere from 140 to 200 people practicing their response to what the exercise calls “two deliberately introduced and clearly criminal acts” in southwest Missouri. State Homeland Security Director Tim Daniel says the purpose of this practice is to make sure people know what to do in the event of a real attack. Officials will spend some time poring over the results. State Emergency Management Director Jerry Uhlmann says it’s important to look at what went right … and what went wrong. Officials taking part in the drill can’t stress enough that this is only a drill … a test … an exercise. And, it didn’t really happen.