One would think it was almost planned for dozens of residents to be hunkered down in one of Alachua County’s safest buildings during a tornado watch to learn how officials respond to local emergencies.
But one thing you can’t control is Mother Nature.
Week two of Alachua County’s Citizen Academy kicked off Thursday at the Emergency Operations Center, at 1100 SE 27th St. in southeast Gainesville, where participants got an up-close look into public safety and how fire rescue, the sheriff’s office and others respond to emergencies and natural disasters.
The eight-week educational course, run by Alachua County Strategic Performance Manager Donna Bradbrook, partners with local constitutional officers, judicial officers, library district, school board and health department to give residents a unique opportunity to learn about various aspects of local government and the daily activities performed by some of the county’s top officials.
“Session 2, like all sessions, builds on what we learned the previous week and shows how taxpayer dollars are put to use with our first responders,” Bradbrook said. “I always enjoy coordinating with our county firefighters, paramedics and the sheriff’s office to take us outside of our classroom-style training and help us better understand their daily challenges in the field and for their willingness to answer an abundance of questions.”
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