On Oct. 6, President Bush signed the Pets Evacuation and Transportation Standards Act (HR 3858) into law. The Humane Society of the United States has been working with Congress to ensure that animals will not be left behind in the next disaster. The legislation was also supported by the Doris Day Animal League, Best Friends Animal Society and the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.
The HSUS was the first group to respond to Hurricane Katrina’s stranded animals. Some 10,000 animals were rescued in Louisiana and Mississippi but many others were left behind. An estimated 50,000 pets had been abandoned.
A city or state must submit a plan that details a disaster preparedness program to qualify for funding from the Federal Emergency Management Agency. The PETS Act will require the state and local emergency preparedness officials to include a plan of how they will accommodate households with pets or service animals.
Hurricane Katrina demonstrated that when given a choice, many people will remain behind with their pets, thus risking their lives. It is clear that it’s necessary to have a plan that includes populations with pets as a “matter of public safety.” Health and safety risks within a disaster area are only exacerbated by abandoned pets.
The PETS Act also authorizes federal funding to states to assist emergency shelter facilities that are pet-friendly. This act allows FEMA to provide assistance for people with pets and service animals, and for the animals themselves after a major disaster.
The bill was passed unanimously in the Senate and by 349 “ayes” in the House of Representatives. “The House and Senate have taken an important step in ensuring that Americans will never again be forced to make an impossibly difficult choice: leave their animal behind while they flee a disaster or take their chances by staying in a disaster-stricken area with their pet,” said Wayne Pacelle, HSUS president and CEO. Pacelle goes on to say that, “It’s important to have pets included in government disaster and evacuation planning, but responsibility still lies primarily with individual families to plan ahead and be prepared. If it’s not safe for you, it’s not safe for your pets.”
Currently there are more than 358 million pets in the United States living in 63 percent of the households.
News
Paw Prints: PETS Act protects animals in disasters
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Rockville correctional facility program teaches life skills
It’s hard to know who benefits the most: the inmates or the dogs.
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AAA mag recognizes city for arts works
The nonprofit organization that uses outdoor sculpture to draw attention to Terre Haute is getting some notice of its own.
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State pushing for convenience stores to make safety a higher priority
In 2002, after New Mexico forced convenience store owners to put sweeping security measures into place for clerks working late-night hours, the number of robberies dropped by 92 percent. Assaults, murders and other crimes at convenience stores also dropped dramatically.
Now Indiana officials are hoping voluntary compliance with similar safety standards will bring about similar results.
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Patriotism & Honor
From his vantage point, Sonner Faught could see almost every volunteer in the cemetery.
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Graduation turns to mourning in Clinton
Jeana Lunsford’s graduation from South Vermillion High School Saturday should have been a time of celebration.
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School choice proponents foresee growth of vouchers
Twenty-seven Vigo County students benefited from tax-supported vouchers during the first year of the Choice Scholarship Program, and that number is expected to grow for 2012-13, say Indiana school choice leaders who visited Terre Haute Thursday.
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Tales of obstruction meet first takeover attempts
A decade after Indiana legislators gave the state the power to take over chronically failing schools, the first implementation of the law is meeting with resistance, skepticism and questions about its costs.
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MIKE LUNSFORD: Raising a flag for my father, veteran or not
My daughter, Ellen, and I stood at my parents’ graves on Mother’s Day a few weeks back and talked about how it couldn’t possibly have been so long since we lost them. My dad, for instance, has been gone for 16 years, and that is nearly unimaginable
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3 rescued from burning residence
Quick action on the part of some first-responders is credited with saving the lives of three people in a Vermillion County fire early Saturday morning, according to the Vermillion County Sheriff’s Department.
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He never forgot a name: Friends remember victim of fire at Garfield Towers
When Freddie Poore met you, he never forgot you.
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Hometown boy embraces ‘Promise I Made’: Clinton native Ken Kercheval takes role in Dreams Come True production
Thanks to some help from a hometown boy in Hollywood, “This Promise I Made” is still on track to be kept in Clinton.
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STATE OF THE STATEHOUSE: Many say they don’t vote in primary because of tag that comes with it
A couple of columns ago, I posed a question about why most Indiana polling places on primary election day had so few customers.
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Police looking for convenience store robber
Police are seeking a robbery suspect following a Saturday morning armed robbery at the Jiffy MiniMart at 25th Street and Eighth Avenue.
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Graduation ‘responsibility’: Rose-Hulman stages 134th commencement exercises
Inventor Dean Kamen gave a first-hand demonstration Saturday of how to be an innovator.
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THE OFF SEASON: To the seniors, one last lecture before you go …
It dawned on me one day last week, as I sat at my desk in my teacher clothes and shoes, a stack of ungraded essays calling to me from a rather tall and depressing pile, that I hadn’t missed a high school graduation in 33 years.
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HOT MEMORIAL DAY weekend ahead for workers, campers, garage salers
The Memorial Day weekend is the unofficial kickoff of summer, and this weekend is expected to be a scorcher with consecutive days of temperatures in the low to mid-90s.
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Water rescuers
Emergency personnel wheel a man who was removed from a vehicle that had been driven into the water at Crystal Lake on Boston Avenue near 14th Street at about 9 p.m. Friday.
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For many, camping outdoors is the way to beat the heat, enjoy nature
Stringing up fishing poles in the shade of American flags, households full of Hoosiers are packing into parks across the state this weekend.
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Towns along National Road readying for next week’s miles-long yard sale
Stretching 824 miles from Baltimore to St. Louis, the National Road — known as U.S. 40 through Indiana — will soon be the host site for perhaps the longest bargain market in the country.
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Rose grads honoring late president Branam at commencement today
Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology’s Class of 2012 will honor the memory of Matt Branam during today’s commencement ceremony by wearing special pins with the phrase “Make It Happen; Make It Fun,” a favorite saying of the former Rose-Hulman president, who died unexpectedly on April 20.
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Vigo County Jail Log: May 26, 2012
The following individuals were booked into the Vigo County Jail by area law enforcement on Thursday and Friday, based on jail records. Charges are recommended by arresting officers but are not final until the Vigo County prosecutor reviews the case and files official charges.
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Quiz King
Matt Aselage doesn’t usually watch TV game shows, but he is certainly up-to-date on current events.
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A fallen soldier returns home
An Army carry team moves a transfer case containing the remains of Spc. Arronn D. Fields early Thursday morning at Dover Air Force Base, Del.
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Official touts trade with northern neighbor
A top Canadian diplomat told a Terre Haute audience Thursday his country was “disappointed” when President Obama at least temporarily rejected a proposed transcontinental oil pipeline from Alberta to Texas.
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Caution urged for summer’s kickoff
Lane restrictions in construction zones on Interstate 70 and other highways around the state will be lifted to accommodate holiday travel for the Memorial Day Weekend.
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Letters delivered
Several positions will be eliminated this summer at the Terre Haute mail processing facility as the U.S. Postal Service begins moving the operation to Indianapolis, a U.S. Postal Service spokesman has confirmed.
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Companies seek Vigo tax abatements
Two Vigo County companies are seeking tax abatements for expansion projects, one of which is included as part of a county incentive package.
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High-speed chase suspect caught in West Virginia
The suspect in a cross-country, high-speed chase originating in Terre Haute last week was reportedly in federal custody Thursday evening.
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Second victim of deadly I-70 semi-trailer crash identified
The Vigo County Coroner’s Office has identified the passenger of a semi-tractor crash on May 16 in the eastbound lanes of Interstate 70 near the 12-mile marker.
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Brazil remembers a Fallen Son
A small town seemed sadly quiet Wednesday, waiting to honor a local fallen warrior.
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