Diverting Disaster?

Note - I don't normally make personal commentary and observation here, please forgive me!

Maybe its just me but the story in the Huntsville Times this past Sunday (July 6, 2008) entitled Diverting Disaster - Outdoor Event Organizers Plan Ahead by John Peck and Steve Doyle gave me serious pause and left me questioning the story all together. There are a number of questionable comment in this piece that I need to draw attention to.

The first occurs in the very first paragraph where the story of Big Spring Jam promoter Donn Jennings "still marvel[ed]" at the Allman Brothers band having a better weather forecaster than he did. As the story is told, "The Jam had official weather experts in place" yet the Allman Brothers band had their own access to radar and apparently a much better "weather expert" in place because they told the Jam organizers that a bad one was on they way a full 45 minutes before Jam "weather experts" saw it coming. HHmmmm...

Next, we have a quote from Mr. Jennings, "Quite frankly, we sit back and wonder how in the world that wind made that big thing fall on that boy." Physics Mr. Jennings, that's how. It isn't that complicated. Now lets combine that statement with one from Rex Reynolds, Huntsville's Public Safety Chief. "I'm very pleased at the planning that went into [the airshow]." Hhmm, does that include the inadequate inspection of the tentage, service equipment (including the portable air conditioning equipment), complete absence of emergency evacuation plans, and the incredibly inadequate "plan" for traffic control? Wow. Despite these planning deficits, Mr. Reynolds was able to add that they've "debriefed and debriefed" since the airshow and were able to find several positives. Again, wow. (Sorry, almost forgot to mention the Mr. Reynolds did admit that traffic flow and more thorough checks of large tents could "possibly [need] improvement.")

Now lets compare this response with that of Dale Baxter and Hundley Batts, Sr. security coordinator and event founder respectively for the Black Arts Festival that happened to be going on at the same time across town at Alabama A&M University. Their view of the approaching storm on radar prompted them to close their event early. A decision many festival goers disapproved of since the storm ultimately missed their venue. Even in hindsight, Baxter still thinks he made the right call saying he'd much rather err on the side of caution. But here's the kicker. Baxter goes on to say that in spite of having a good plan, "...with any good plan you can always improve it and make it better... We will not take a chance at any time, on anybody."

Now don't get me wrong. As an amateur weather enthusiast even I agree that the micro burst that caused the damage at the air show would have been very difficult at best to predict. I'm not bringing down the boom on the weather forecasters so much as the officials in charge of planning for and conducting the event. As the old saying goes, "failing to plan is planning to fail" and they did a bang up job of that. It was frustrating enough dealing with the traffic in a calm and orderly entry and exit on Saturday. I can't imagine that anyone in a position of responsibility for the air show felt that the traffic planning was adequate for normal circumstances let alone crisis mode.

I bring up these points and direct this critical finger toward those responsible because I've seen the "impossible" happen. In the late 80's I was a young and eager soldier in the US Army, assigned to V Corps headquarters in Frankfurt, Germany. There were dozens of air shows each year back then and a friend and I frequented as many as we could get to. We even made it to the Paris air show twice. We were also present on August 28, 1988 as three jets crashed, one into the spectator stands, at Ramstein Air Force Base. Granted, the Huntsville Air Show is not nearly as large scale nor does it host as many jet fighters as were present that day at Flugtag '88, but the risk profile is just as great.

One last example of personal experience. On occasions too numerous to count, I've had the pleasure of attending major league baseball games all across the country. Without question the best venue / city cooperation can be found in Arlington, Tx, home of the Texas Rangers. Consistently I've been in the midst of a 50,000+ strong crowd and have been able to get from my seat to my car to the freeway in less than 30 minutes...the vast majority of which was consumed walking from my seat to my car! If they can do it with 50,000+ surely we can do it here, right?

Come on City of Huntsville, Airport Authority, Madison County, the FAA, and everybody else involved here. Be honest with your assessment of what happened, LEARN from not only the events of this air show but from literally thousand of other large spectator events around the country and pull out a much improved plan next time! Act like the big city you think you are!

Looking for a Car in Huntsville, Alabama?

If you are looking for a new or used car in the Huntsville, Alabama area, let me point you toward a new website that has just come online. Its called Huntsville Autos and features a comprehensive listing of makes and models available for sale in and around Huntsville.

The site is an affiliate of eBay Motors and does all the sorting and filtering for you to narrow the list down to the north Alabama market. Then with one click you can visit the main site to see all the details of the listing, contact the buyer, or Buy It Now!

So check out Huntsville Autos, you might find the car of your dreams and never have to leave the couch!

Huntsville Real Estate Market Bucks National Trend

While most areas of the country are suffering through a significient downturn in the real estate market, Huntsville and Madison County are enjoying the benefits of their close ties with the US Army, NASA, and government contractors.

With the exception of the Mobile market, the Huntsville / Madison County real estate market is the strongest in the state with an expected growth rate around 3% this year. All other major metro areas in the state are expecting negative growth.

It only takes a short Sunday afternoon drive around any part of the Huntsville Madison County area to see new construction going up, especially on the far west and far east parts of the area. New developments like McMullen Cove are flourishing and builders are happy.

Existing home sales are slower that new home sales but not by much. With the much anticipated influx of residents resulting from BRAC related relocations, home owners, builders, and investors and anxious to get their product on the market.

If you have a home and are looking to sell or if you're moving into the Huntsville area, you should have a much easier time that many of your counterparts around the country.

Sunny Sunday In Store for Huntsville and Madison County

After another Saturday of rain and thunderstorms yesterday, the skies look pretty clear for Huntsville, Madison County and the rest of the Tennessee Valley for that matter. Expect to see a high temperature around 60 degrees today with lows in the 40s tonight. Monday and Tuesday promise to be beautiful spring days in the Huntsville area with highs in the low 70s and almost no chance of precipitation.