Page 127 - South Mississippi Living - July, 2018

SERVICES
northern Gulf of Mexico. The office at 600 Convent Street can house up to 30 people from around the county and municipalities who hunker down to monitor the state-of-the art equipment. Mandatory evacuations are issued from that office.
Jackson County has three emergency shelters built after Hurricane Katrina to federal guidelines. They are in St. Martin, Vancleave and Hurley. There is also a shelter for pets in Vancleave.
When faced with a high rain type of emergency, the Jackson County Road Department plays a key role, Etheridge said. Joe O’Neal serves as the road manager.
“Our road department will shift priorities and clear the drainage areas,” Etheridge said. “Even when ice is an issue in the winter, the road department will work to keep the
bridges clear.”
Once a storm has passed, the Jackson
County Solid Waste Department, under the management of Rhonda Powell, works on disposing the tons of debris using federal guidelines.
Etheridge, who retired as Moss Point Fire Chief in 2003, enjoyed retirement for only five days before going to work for the Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality. An Ocean Springs resident, he joined the Jackson County Office of Emergency Services in 2012. His motivation to keep working? “I don’t want to go home and clean house,” he joked.
Jackson County Office of Emergency Services
600 Convent Ave., Pascagoula 228.769.3111
TOP: HIGH WATER RESCUE TRUCKS located throughout Jackson County.
ABOVE: THE GREEN HAZARDOUS MATERIAL TRUCK is equipped to respond to emergency spills.
LEFT: THE HEADQUARTERS of the Jackson County Office of Emergency Services is in this 44-year-old building at 600 Convent Ave., in downtown Pascagoula. The building’s interior has been modernized to accommodate the equipment needed today for emergency responses.
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July 2018 • SOUTH MISSISSIPPI Living 127