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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1964 USDA MINUTES 71/a eisect.- MINUTES OF THE USDA STATE DEFENSE BOARD College Station, Texas d Au a Time: 10:00 a.m., August 7, 1964 Place: USDA Building, College Station, Texas Members present: V. G. Young CES Dr. John L. Wilbur, Jr. ARS Cary Palmer SRS John L. McCollum AMS A. E. Mandeville FS L. D. Smith FHA J. R. Coover (for H. N. Smith) SCS Others present: Tommy Hollmig, Civil Defense Specialist, CES Leonard A. White, Special Agricultural Programs Staff Assistant, ASCS In the absence of W. Lewis David, Chairman, V. G. Young presided over the meeting. Minutes The minutes for June 10, 1964, were approved as written. Report on Rural Shelter Analysis Workshop Mr. Hollmig passed out to each of the board members tabulation of evalua- tion sheets for the Rural Shelter Analysis Workshop held at Denton, Texas, on July 14 and 15, 1964. He explained briefly the objectives and results of this workshop, which was designed primarily to enable county agents and other agricultural personnel to determine fallout protection afforded by existing buildings and to be better able to advise rural people regarding protection for themselves and their livestock. State Fair Exhibit Mr. Hollmig reported that he has visited with the company which will build all the agricultural exhibits for the State Fair of Texas and has submitted a proposal of the rural civil defense exhibit so that a bid can be made. At this time a bid has not been received, but it is expected to be reasonable considering the possibilities for use of the exhibit. Payment will be made from special defense funds. The exhibit has been tentatively booked to be shown at several stocks shows and fairs over the State. -2- AMS Representation on County Defense Boards Mr. McCollum read a letter received from AMS headquarters concerning the addition of AMS representatives to county defense boards in metropolitan areas. It appears that immediate consideration is not being given to this request and that there will be further delay in approval of AMS representatives at the county level. Answers to Test Exercises A draft of suggested answers to Situations No. 1 and No. 2 was distributed to the board members by Mr. White. There followed a general discussion of the answers as they should be stated to avoid giving counties any mis- information or omission of any important details. A few suggestions were made and it was agreed that the answers will be printed and distributed to the county defense boards essentially as they were presented in the draft submitted by Mr. White. A memorandum accompanying the answers will point out that because of different conditions, the same answers will not neces- sarily be correct for different counties. Fallout Shelter in Basement of USDA Building Mr. Young inquired as to the progress being made in the remodeling of the USDA Building basement for maximum efficiency in case of an emergency. Mr. White stated that very little has been done toward obtaining equip- ment and giving the basement a higher protection factor. Several months ago an estimate was sent to Washington of the cost involved in making these improvements, but an answer was received stating that there were no funds available for this use. It was suggested by Mr. Young that perhaps a used generator might be obtained from ASCS surplus stocks for very little cost. ARS Exercise Concerning Vesicular Stomatitis Dr. Wilbur mentioned that recently ARS had carried on a test exercise pertaining to an outbreak of vesicular stomatitis. All reported cases of vesicular stomatitis were treated, for reporting purposes only, as cases of foot and mouth disease and a report was made up on the actions which would have been taken and the cost which would have been incurred in an outbreak of this type. He reported that if this had been an actual situation, the cost would have run in the millions of dollars. Emergency Drought Areas Mr. White pointed out the counties which have been designated as disaster areas because of drought conditions and those which have been approved for haying and grazing of conservation reserve land and diverted acres. Applications for the Livestock Feed Program have been received from several counties, but at this time no counties have been approved under this program since grain is being harvested now and is available in most areas. • -3- Invitation to State Civil Defense Representatives to Attend Board Meetings It was suggested by Mr. Young that it might be quite beneficial to invite a representative of the State civil defense organization to be present at each of our meetings in the future in order to establish and maintain a close working relationship with that agency. It was pointed out that the Texas State Department of Health is extremely interested in solid relation- ships with other agencies and that perhaps a representative of that agency might like to attend our meetings. Mr. Hollmig stated that that agency was in the process of preparing a progress report of their activities and that it might be more helpful to wait until this report is finished before inviting a representative of that agency. Meetings of County Defense Boards Mr. White reported that several recommendations have been received from county defense boards that they meet quarterly instead of monthly. It was the combined opinion of the board that monthly meetings should be held by both the State and county defense boards. It was felt that monthly meetings should be beneficial to board members not only for dis- cussion of their responsibilities as board members, but for discussion of other programs carried on by the various agencies represented. Federal Telecommunication System The question was raised as to whether any county defense boards are on the Federal Telecommunication System. Several county ASCS offices are in cities where this service is available and as it is extended, many others can be brought into the system. It is felt that this will greatly increase the communications capability of county defense boards having access to the system and those in adjoining counties as well. Retention of State Defense Board Minutes by Co unty D efense Boards An inquiry was received by Mr. White from the Hartley County defense board as to how long State Defense Board minutes should be retained. It was the opinion of the board that minutes of this type should be kept for one full calendar year plus the monthly minutes of the current year. It was decided that since some of the minutes contain policies established by the State Defense Board, a summary will be prepared in the State office of all policy matters covered in the minutes and a supplement to the County Defense Operetions Handbook covering these policies will be pre- pared and distributed. Future policy changes will be released as supple- ments to the handbook. Publications The following publications were discussed: 1. iUSDti State Defense Board ER Memorandum No. 78 • -4- 2. Quarterly Report on Defense Activities by Secretary of Agriculture - January /March 1964 3. Chapter 8, "Food ", to The National Plan 4. USDA State Defense Policy Memorandum No. 27 5. Amendment 3 to USDA County Defense Operations Handbook 6. USDA State Defense Policy Memorandum No. 28 A 7. USDA State Defense Board ER Memorandum No. 79 8. USDA State Defense Board ER Memorandum No. 80 9. "The Pesticide Situation for 1963 -64" was distributed to each member. MINUTES OF THE USDA STATE DEFENSE BOARD College Station, Texas Time: 10:00 a.m., June 10, 1964 Place: USDA Building, College Station, Texas Members present: W. Lewis David, Chairman ASCS V. G. Young CES Dr. John L. Wilbur, Jr. ARS Cary Palmer SRS John L. McCollum AMS A. E. Mandeville FS L. D. Smith FHA J. R. Coover (for H. N. Smith) SCS Others present: Roy E. Westerfield, Regional Defense Coordinator, Department of Health, Education and Welfare Orman H. Farley, Bureau of Commercial Fisheries W. C. McMillen, Regional Representative, OEP Tommy Hollmig, Civil Defense Specialist, CES Leonard A. White, Special Agricultural Programs Staff Assistant, ASCS MORNING SESSION Minutes The minutes for May 1, 1964, were approved as written. Training Exercises Based on Simulated Emergency Situations Mr. White gave a preliminary report on results of training exercises which were sent to all county defense boards for study and completion. Of the number received at the present time, it appears that the exercises have been well received and that a majority of the county defense boards are aware of their duties in a time of emergency. Only a few county boards seem to be confused as to the actions to be taken, but some replies were so general it is difficult to determine whether USDA personnel are pre - pared for an emergency. When reports have been received from all counties, an answer sheet will be prepared and sent to the counties, showing the most common errors and omissions and where improvements can be made. 2 Department of Health, Education and Welfare Mr. Roy E. Westerfield, Regional Defense Coordinator, Department of Health, Education and Welfare, gave a brief report on the defense activities of his agency. He stated that the basic programs involve reaching people to teach survival techniques. One of the most important programs is the Civil Defense Adult Education program which began in July 1959. The course is 12 to 16 hours in length and includes the basic shelter program and some elements of health, education and welfare for the protection of the family group. Approxi- mately 149,000 people have completed the course since 1959, with over 5,000 teachers having been trained. Another program being discussed is the training of radiological monitors on the same basis as the survival course is taught. This would supplement the teacher training for radiological monitoring instructors. The Emergency Welfare Services program covers emergency lodging, feeding, social services, clothing, registration inquiry, and financial assistance. Guidelines are prepared by DHEW and the program is administered by the State government. A formal agreement has been signed with the Texas De- partment of Public Welfare providing for that agency's carrying out assign- ments of the Emergency Welfare Services program, working closely with the Red Cross. The county welfare director is responsible for carrying out the program at the county level. Perhaps the most successful program is the Emergency Health Services pro- gram. This program, known as the Medical Self -Help program, over a two - year period, has been taught to 19,000 persons and it is expected that approximately 60,000 persons will be trained this year. The goal of this course is to train one member in each family. Air Force bases are con- sidering using this course to replace part of their present medical train- ing and approximately 100 schools have adopted the program as a part of their regular health classes. The Emergency Hospital Program is another. of the many and varied programs of HEW. Under this program complete 200 -bed general hospitals are stored at various suitable sites over the state ready to be set up wherever needed in emergency situations. These hospitals are designed for austere care but include operating room facilities with necessary equipment and drugs. Of the 2,700 units throughout the nation, 88 are located in Texas. A list showing the location of these 88 Texas sites will be furnished county defense boards later. During the coming year the Public Health Service will ask each community in which one of these hospitals is located to pre- pare a utilization plan, including staffing arrangements. A team made up of a district health advisor and a group of persons having knowledge of the medical profession, communications, transportation, etc., will be ap- pointed in each of the 17 Defense and Disaster Districts to assist in the administration of these units. Mr. Westerfield reported that Texas is the most aggressive State in the Health Mobilization program. 3 Meeting with State Department of Public Welfare On May 11 a meeting was held at the Defense Center in the Department of Public Safety Building at Austin to discuss the responsibilities and functions of the State Department of Public Welfare under emergency con- ditions. Those present were Mr. Rayford Young, Department of Public Welfare; Inspector C. 0. Lane, Office of Defense and Disaster Relief; Colonel Parks Bowden, Office of Defense and Disaster Relief; Miss Mattie Treadwell, Office of Emergency Management; and Leonard A. White, repre- senting the USDA State Defense Board. This meeting was called at the request of Mr. Young who has recently assumed the defense duties of his Department. Mr. Young felt that he did not have sufficient knowledge of the actions which should be taken by the Department of Welfare and did not have enough information on functions of other organizations with which he will be working. He stated that he in- herited a large quantity of publications and other material and that he does not know what is obsolete and what is still in effect and that he has not had time to make a close examination of this material and put his files in order so that they are usable. After a discussion of the defense responsibilities of the State agencies and USDA Defense Boards, it was decided that closer coordination is needed at all levels. Arrangements were made for improving liaison among agencies by the exchange of information and occasional joint meetings of the heads of State agencies and the USDA State Defense Board. A motion was made by Mr. Young that we furnish our county defense boards as complete a list as is practicable of those agencies or individuals who have defense responsibilities at the local level and ask that they make acquaintance of these agencies or individuals and establish and maintain liaison with such. The motion was amended by Dr. Wilbur to provide that lists of these agencies and individuals sent to county boards several years ago be up -dated and the boards reminded that they should continue to maintain liaison with all persons and groups with whom they would be required to work in an emergency. The motion, as amended, was seconded by L. D. Smith and passed. Feed Grain Shortage Area Mr. White reported that Cary Palmer and his staff have checked the figures pertaining to potential feed grain shortage areas in Texas and have fur- nished statistical data which clarifies the situation. It was decided that we now have enough current, detailed information to submit a letter to Washington, including a map showing the normal feed grain shortage areas and total storage capacity, with the recommendation that surplus CCC feed grain be stored in facilities near these shortage areas. Combination of Potter and Randall Count Defense Boards Mr. White reported that the approval has been received from Washington to combine the county defense boards of Randall and Potter counties, in 4 accordance with the request made at the Potter County USDA Defense Board meeting on April 10, at which the Chairman of the Randall County USDA Defense Board was present. However, it is now the opinion of the Randall County Defense Board that it would be more practical for the two boards to remain separate as the two county civil defense organizations will operate as separate entities. For this reason, no further plans will be made for the consolidation of the two boards, although they will be expected to coordinate their activities to whatever extent is necessary. Exhibit at Texas State Fair Mr. Tommy Hollmig reported that a 12 °x20' space in the Agriculture Build- ing at the Texas State Fair has been approved for a rural civil defense exhibit. Plans are being made to incorporate the defense activities of all USDA agencies into an overall civil defense exhibit, including materials, slides, posters, etc., from each agency. Members of the various agencies will meet with Mr. Hollmig during the Rural Shelter Analysis Workshop to be held at Denton on July 14 and 15 to discuss plans for the exhibit. 4 -H Civil Defense Method Demonstrations Mr. White and Mr. Hollmig briefly reported on the 4 -H Civil Defense Method Demonstrations held on the A&M campus on June 3. In nearly every case the material and presentation were excellent, and the participants showed a thorough knowledge of their subjects. Teams from Deaf Smith, Tarrant, and Swisher counties won first, second, and third places, respectively. It was suggested that perhaps one or more of these teams might be available to participate in the civil defense exhibit at the State Fair. Bureau of Commercial Fisheries Mr. Orman H. Farley, Bureau of Commercial Fisheries, stated that his agency now makes a monthly list of frozen fish in storage in each state in the region. Because the Board felt it might be beneficial for us to have this information on hand also, it was asked that we be placed on the monthly mailing list for this data for Texas. AFTERNOON SESSION Mr. McMillen gave a report on activities in the Office of Emergency Plan- ning. Work on the revised National Plan is progressing well with Chapter 1 having been completed and distributed and initial distribution now being made on Chapter 8. The entire revision should be completed by September 1. He also stated that the "Example of State Plan for Emergency Management of Resources" has been printed and will be distributed through agency channels. The USDA State Defense Board will receive a large supply of the chapter on Food Management and other chapters related to our princi- pal responsibilities. A total of 28 states are now in the process of executing contracts for State Resource Management Plans using matching Federal funds. Texas has been allocated $47,000 of Federal funds and 5 plans have been made to hire one full -time professional person, one secre- tary, and another professional person either part-time or for a limited period. The evaluation of defense readiness of the U. S. Department of Agriculture in Texas which had been requested by the Office of Emergency Planning was completed. In the course of this evaluation, several matters relating to the work of the USDA Defense Boards were discussed. In view of Mr. David's emergency assignment at the regional level, Mr. McMillen is of the opinion that he should attend occasional meetings of the Regional Preparedness Board at Denton. He also thinks we need more coordination among State defense boards in this region. Coordination with State agencies has been generally good but we need to furnish lists of successors to board members to agencies having defense responsibilities. It was decided that this will be done. Definite plans should be made for alerting USDA employees with definite instructions on the actions to be taken in an emergency. Instructions will be issued to the support staff informing them of the meaning of the three Defcons and setting forth the actions to be taken under each. Although the basement of the USDA Building has been designated as a fall- out shelter for the USDA State Defense Board and staff, additional work is needed to be ready for operations. Sandbags should be provided for shielding the two window wells and preassignment of the space should be made in order to avoid confusion and loss of time if it should be neces- sary to operate from that space. Better communications facilities are needed in the basement and some thought will be given to obtaining addi- tional telephones and extending the teletype system as soon as possible. In an emergency the USDA State Defense Board would be working with other Federal agencies having a supporting role to USDA activities. The need for formal written agreements with these agencies was discussed and it was decided that they should be arranged wherever necessary. It was decided that the Board will not meet during July. The next meet- ing will be held Friday, August 7. County USDA Defense Board SITUATION NO. 2 Time: June 1964 Thermo- nuclear weapons have been exploded in the State of Texas at various locations. Early reports indicate that radioactive fallout will arrive in your county in approximately five hours. State Defense Board has been set up at College Station; State Civil Defense headquarters have been set up at Austin. Freeze order is in effect. You have communications with neighboring counties but not with Austin or College Station. 1. What steps would your USDA County Defense Board and rationing board take to begin enforcing freeze order? 2. How would you resupply retail stocks if wholesale stocks were not available in your county? 3. What type of educational information would you release to the public? How? 4. Who do you contact for information regarding radiation levels in your county? UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE USDA STATE DEFENSE BOARD College Station, Texas August 13, 1964 In reply refer to: 7-LAW To: County Defense Board Members From: W. Lew Sts tat a Davd, De e f ense sea Boa USDA Boar a Jib efe414•441 7044 , Se Df Boad � �i' Subject: Test Exercises No. 1 and No. 2 Attached are general answers to the questions furnished you previously in test exercises No. 1 and No. 2. These answers would apply to operations in the average or normal county and will not necessarily be correct for all county defense boards as the local situations would vary widely and the proper response in any county is the one which best fits the situation in that county. The most common deficiency noted in replies received from county defense boards is that the local civil defense organization was ignored. In each exercise, question No. 1 was directly related to the rationing responsi- bilities of the local civil defense organization and the reply should have included actions taken by the local organization. One purpose of the test exercises, in addition to testing the readiness of USDA defense boards, was to emphasize the coordination required with the local defense organization and local government. Replies to question No. 2, Situation No. 2, were generally good but a number of counties proposed to requisition food stocks when wholesale stocks in the county were exhausted. In this situation, there would prob- ably be very little food in the county which could be requisitioned and any available in the hands of processors or producers could probably be channeled into retail outlets by voluntary action. Replies from a number of counties on the type of educational information to be released to the public included instructions on crop production and use of land contaminated by fallout. In each situation described, the most pressing need would be for information which would help rural people to survive and give as much protection as possible to their livestock and food and water supplies. Information on production and use of land should follow at a later date after the immediate danger has passed and conditions have been evaluated. Replies received indicate that most counties devoted considerable thought and effort to these exercises and in many cases the local civil defense director was consulted regarding his operations under the conditions des- cribed. We believe that this has been of benefit to all concerned and we -2- hope that it will result in a closer working relationship between county defense boards and county and city civil defense organizations in the future. The ultimate goal is to have an active civil defense organization in each county working closely with the USDA county defense board and coordinating all activities. If you have any questions or desire any additional information concerning these exercises, please contact the State Defense Board. ANSWERS TO TEST EXERCISES SITUATION NO. 1: Attack on United States imminent. Emergency has been declared by President and Governor. USDA County Defense Board and County Civil Defense have been alerted to activate emergency operating centers. 1. What documents would civil defense rationing authorities and USDA county defense board bring to the emergency operating center? Civil defense rationing authorities would bring authorization for rationing from County Judge or Governor, all prepositioned orders, all records available on population, retail stocks, etc., and complete ration kits and instructions, including material for printing ration coupons. (Civil defense organizations in Texas do not yet have ration kits.) They should also have a copy of the county civil defense plan of operations and any other material which would be useful in enforcing rationing at the retail level The county defense board should bring the County Defense Operations Handbook, all emergency records, food facility data cards, all pre - positioned freeze orders and announcements, and the USDA county defense board plan of operations. They should also have a copy of the county civil defense organization's plan of operation, including names of officials and responsibilities assigned. Any other available data on food supplies, shelters, etc., should be included. 2. What are your plans so far as your alternates are concerned? Generally speaking, alternates should report to the emergency operating center and should be used in whatever capacity is needed immediately preceding and during the attack. They should be kept informed of current conditions and all actions taken. When conditions permit, they should be placed on a stand -by basis and should keep the Chairman of the county defense board and their agency representative informed of their where- abouts at all times for the duration of the emergency. When placed on a stand -by basis, they should return to their regular duties. 3. What type of information would you give the public and what means of communication would you use? The public should first be given information on how best to protect themselves and their food supplies, livestock, and crops. General information on survival will be given by the local civil defense organization but protection for rural people, livestock, crops, rural water supplies, etc., should be furnished by the USDA county defense board in coordination with the local civil defense director. Radio and television will generally be the best methods of communication as there would not be time to distribute printed material, although this could be done later if the attack does not materialize or if the county is not hit within a few hours. Information should be given on how instructions will be issued in the future so that rural people may keep in touch with the civil defense organization. In some cases, it may be necessary to telephone community committeemen or others who can relay information to families in their neighborhoods. SITUATION NO. 2: Thermo- nuclear weapons have been exploded in the State of Texas at various locations. Early reports indicate that radioactive fallout will arrive in your county in approximately five hours. State Defense Board has been set up at College Station; State civil defense headquarters have been set up at Austin. Freeze order is in effect. You have communications with neighboring counties but not with Austin or College Station. 1. What steps would your USDA county defense board and rationing board take to begin enforcing freeze order? Both the USDA county defense board and the rationing board would pub- licize the freeze order after consultation with each other, explaining the necessity for the order, how supplies will be released after an inventory is made, the way in which retail and wholesale stocks will be replenished, and how consumer rationing will be instituted. Heads of city and county governments should be consulted and law enforcement agencies should be given complete information on the freeze order and asked to cooperate in its enforcement. Prior contacts and planning with civil defense authorities and local government officials would be invaluable in a situation of this sort. The general public should be informed of the freeze order by means of radio and television, while wholesalers and retailers can be contacted by telephone where there are only a few such businesses in the county. 2. How would you resupply retail stocks if wholesale stocks were not available in your county? Contact neighboring county defense boards in an attempt to have any available wholesale stocks routed to retailers within the county. Use any processor stocks of staple groceries which may be in the county to replenish retail supplies and use any produce directly from farms, if available. There is also the possibility that contact with the State Defense Board might be established through a neighboring county which was able to make contact. The actual situation could vary so widely in different counties that the proper answer to this question would usually involve studying the situation carefully and taking whatever action is necessary and possible to obtain food supplies. 3. What type of educational information would you release to the public? How? With fallout only about five hours away, the principal interest of the public will be in protection for themselves and their families. This type of information should be released first, particularly on methods of increasing protection in farm buildings and methods of protecting livestock, food supplies, and water supplies. Information should also be given on how future instructions will be issued and the fact that monitoring operations will be carried on after fallout arrives and that people will be notified regarding radiation levels in dif- ferent parts of the county. Radio and television should be used to get this information to the public as there would not be time to use newspapers, etc. In some cases, it might be necessary to telephone the information to a community committeeman or other person and have him pass it along to his neighbors. SITUATION NO. 2 (Continued): 4. Who do you contact for information regarding radiation levels in your county? The county civil defense organization should be contacted for informa- tion regarding radiation levels in the county. The SCS monitor would be able to give considerable information on radiation levels, but in a county which has an adequate civil defense organization, a great deal of other monitoring will be done. All monitoring reports should be given to the county civil defense director so that he would have all information available on radiation levels. A well - planned county civil defense program providing for accumulation, evaluation, and reporting of radiological monitoring data is necessary. -d- MINUTES OF THE CT co USDA STATE DEFENSE BOARD College Station, Texas F"'" V Time: 10 :00 a.m., September 18, 1964 Place: USDA Building, College Station, Texas Members present: W., Lewis David, Chairman ASCS V. G. Young, Deputy Chairman CES Dr. Ted Rea (for Dr. John L. Wilbur, Jr.) ARS Paul Walser (for H. N. Smith) SCS Morris Williamson (for L. D. Smith) FHA John L. McCollum AMS A. E. Mandeville USFS Cary D. Palmer SRS Others present: Tommy Hol1m;g, Rural Civil Defense Specialist, CES Bill Lyle, Agricultural Engineer, CES Sherilyn Bailey, Rural Civil Defense Specialist, CES Leonard A. White, Special Agricultural Programs Staff Assistant, ASCS Minutes The minutes for August 7, 1964, were approved as written. Attendance at County Defense Board Meetings Information obtained for our quarterly defense report to Washington discloses that some county defense boards have not been holding monthly meetings. Minutes of meetings also indicate that many counties fail to hold meetings because of the lack of a quorum of members attending. In order to remedy this situation, it was agreed that each agency repre- sentative on the State Defense Board shall prepare a letter to be sent to their respective representatives on county defense boards emphasizing the necessity of regular attendance at all board meetings. State Fair Exhibit Mr. Hollmig reported that work on the defense exhibit to be displayed at the State Fair of Texas is progressing nicely. He distributed re- productions of the plan for the exhibit and briefly explained details pertaining to the different aspects of rural defense to be included. Page 2 Mr. Hollmig stated that informative literature will be placed in the exhibit for distribution to those persons expressing an interest and desiring more information. A partial schedule of personnel to man this exhibit has been prepared. However, since the fair will run from October 10 through 25, additional help is needed. Agency representatives offered to supply the needed additional personnel to complete the schedule as follows: Oct. 19 and 20 - Agricultural Research Service Oct. 21 - Farmers Home Administration Oct. 22 - Soil Conservation Service Oct. 23 - Agricultural Stabilization and Conservation Service Names of persons assigned and dates on which they will be on duty are to be forwarded to Mr. Hollmig as soon as possible in order that State Fair passes may be obtained and other necessary arrangements made. Since it is planned to display this exhibit at many of the county and regional fairs during the remainder of 1964 and 1965, a motion was made by Dr. Rea, seconded by Mr. Mandeville, that the county defense boards be assigned the responsibility of manning the exhibit when it is at a local or county fair in their area. The motion carried. Mr. Hollmig also reported that a smaller exhibit has been furnished by USDA and it is thought that perhaps this exhibit can be used at the smaller fairs, should the original exhibit not be available when needed. Signing of State Defense Board Correspondence Authorization was given to Leonard A. White to sign the State Defense Board mail in the absence of W. Lewis David, Chairman. Operation High Heels III Mr. David reported on an exercise being held by OCD called Operations High Heels III which will involve designated personnel participating in an alert at the underground center in Denton on September 28. Mr. David will participate in this exercise and make a report at the next State Defense Board meeting. McLennan County will be the only county defense board which will participate in this exercise. They, too, will make a report on their activities during the exercise. Page Joint Meet' t with State Defense Council A joint meeting with the State Defense Council was discussed. It was decided that Mr. White should set up a meeting with the Council for a date in December if possible. It was agreed that the next meeting will be held Wednesday, November 4, at 10 :00 a.m. at College Station. Thereafter meetings will be scheduled on the first Friday of each month. Defense Training Slides A set of 67 slides on the defense program of USDA were received with appropriate narratives and a memorandum from Washington regarding their use for training purposes. A number of these slides were shown to the members. It was suggested that an additional 10 sets of the slides be ordered and be made available to county defense boards and State Defense Board members who wish to use them for training purposes. Mr. Hollmig stated that he has several sets of slides similar to this one that might be used for the same purpose after the script accom- panying the slides is edited and brought up to date. It was suggested that a set of 67 slides might require too much time to serve a useful purpose. Mr. David asked Mr. Hollmig and Mr. White to select slides appropriate for a 30- minute program and revise the script accordingly. Emergency Feed Program Mr. White displayed a map showing the counties which have been approved for haying and grazing and for the Emergency Livestock Feed Program. He gave a brief explanation of the factors considered in the approval of counties for these programs. Mr. V. G. Young announced that Bill Lyle, Agricultural Engineer, has been appointed to the Attack Analysis Staff to replace Bobby Joe Ragsdale. Mr. White discussed a memorandum dated August 21 which transmitted a statement on key steps in readiness at the county level and suggested use of selected slides to illustrate readiness steps and assist in train- ing. This publication will be mailed to each county defense board member and to State Defense Board members. The following publications were discussed: 1. USDA State Defense Board Information Memorandum No. 84 2. USDA State Defense Board ER Memorandum No. 81 3. USDA State Defense Board ER Memorandum No. 82 Page 4 4. USDA State Defense Board Information Memorandum No. 85 5. Amendment 3 to "Directory of Key USDA Regional and State Defense Personnel" 6. Secretary's Quarterly Report on Defense Activities - April - June 196+ 7. Quarterly Report of Defense Activities (USDA State Defense Board) - J9ane through August 1964 County USDA Defense Board SITUATION NO. 4 Time: August 1964 At the present time in your county what are you doing or what should you be doing in regard to: 1. Management of food; 2. Food production; 3. Crop protection and meat inspection; 4. Civil defense information and education; 5. Proper use of soil and water; 6. Radiological monitoring. • County USDA Defense Board SITUATION NO. 3 Time: July 1964 Severe floods have tied up your county. Emergency has been declared by the Governor. USDA County Defense Board and Civil Defense organizations have been activated. State and Federal funds are available. In this situation, what do you visualize your responsibilities might be? NOTE: If severe floods are unlikely in your county, substitute wide- spread tornado damage, unusually severe blizzard conditions or earthquakes.