Wednesday, July 25, 2018

Newport News Now 7-25-18

WEDNESDAY. JULY 25. 2018
Help Clear the Peninsula Regional Animal Shelter! 
The second annual Clear the Shelters campaign is here! Now through August 18 the Peninsula Regional Animal Shelter, in partnership with WAVY-TV 10, is featuring various types of pet training and helpful information on both social media, in addition to 50% off adoption fees cats, kittens and adult large dogs. On August 18, national Clear the Shelters day, PRAS is hosting another big adoption promotion so stay tuned to the shelter’s Facebook page to find out what that is! In the meantime, stop by the PRAS adoption lobby during adoption hours to pick up free educational handouts or visit with adoptable animals.

The Peninsula Regional Animal Shelter is a collaborative venture supported by four separate Hampton Roads communities: Newport News, Hampton, Poquoson, and York County. This 30,000 square foot state-of-the-art facility is managed and operated by the City of Newport News on behalf of the four jurisdictions. This "open-admission" shelter contains a full service veterinary clinic and has capacity for approximately 100 dogs and 180 cats, as well as pocket pets and other small companion animals. The shelter's primary responsibilities include holding stray animals until they can be reunited with their owners, rehoming owner-surrendered pets, and facilitating pet adoptions. The shelter also houses animal control offices for the participating jurisdictions.

The shelter is open 7 days a week from 8:00 a.m. until 5:00 p.m. for owner surrenders, stray drop-offs, and owner re-claims. The shelter’s adoption hours are as follows:

Monday: 12:00 PM - 5:00 PM
Tuesday: CLOSED
Wednesday: 12:00 pm - 5:00 PM
Thursday: 12:00 PM - 5:00 PM
Friday: 12:00 PM - 7:00 PM
Saturday: 11:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Sunday: 12:00 PM - 5:00 PM

For additional information visit the shelter’s website
Waterworks Participates In Emergency Exercise
for Dams Evacuation
The Newport News Waterworks Department owns and operates six dams and reservoirs which are used to store and supply source water to the City’s two drinking water treatment facilities. Four of those dams, Lee Hall Dam, Harwood’s Mill Dam, Little Creek Dam, and Diascund Dam, are classified as high-hazard by Virginia Dam Safety Regulations. Dams classified as high-hazard when they are more likely to result in loss of life and cause significant downstream property damage if they were to fail. State regulations require all high-hazard dams to have an Emergency Action Plan (EAP) to protect the lives and property of citizens downstream. Since all parties involved during a dam breach emergency must understand each other’s roles to successfully implement an EAP, the Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR) requires dam owners execute an EAP Tabletop Exercise (TTX) every six years to bring stakeholders together to evaluate the EAP and response procedures, and to resolve concerns regarding coordination and responsibilities.

Waterworks hosted a Dams EAP TTX last month at the Lee Hall Maintenance and Operations Center in Newport News. The exercise began with a simulated tropical storm event and proceeded with discussions by participants to evaluate the EAPs for Waterworks’ four high-hazard dams. Participants included all members of Waterworks’ emergency response teams as well as emergency management representatives from all local jurisdictions in which the dams are located. This included officials from Newport News, York County, James City County, and New Kent County. Also in attendance were representatives from various state agencies including DCR, VDOT, and the Virginia Department of Emergency Management.

The hands-on, interactive atmosphere allowed participants to become more familiar with the EAPs and promoted relationship-building and problem-solving between agencies in order to improve future communications and coordination during a real event. The exercise validated strengths in current emergency plans and procedures, but also prompted valuable discussions about opportunities for improvement that will allow all parties to better respond to a dam emergency and protect the lives and property of citizens downstream.