Viewers Share Tips On How To Survive The Storm

POSTED: 6:41 pm EDT August 24, 2011UPDATED: 7:01 pm EDT August 24, 2011
ONSLOW COUNTY — Many members of the community have been telling us how they’re preparing for the storm.

On Wednesday, military wives were discussing their plans for the weekend on facebook.

They shared a lot of tips and advice to each other so others will know what to do if the hurricane hits the East.

Jen Garrett-Bowden said, “You may want to keep personal family pictures, scrapbooks, jewelry and important documents on hand in a bag in case you need to evacuate…make sure your cell phone is charged and have a manual can opener!”

Debbie Smith said to “get a cooler filled with ice and put drinks in it…then tape your refrigerator shut so food will stay cold for longer.”

Onslow County Emergency Services Director, Norman Bryson, wants people to be prepared as well. This is one of the tips he shared.

“Have some cash on hand because we may have power outages and if they need to go get additional supplies day after the storm the ATM machines may not be operating,” Bryson said.

After reading everyone’s reactions on facebook we decided to head out in the community to find out how other people are preparing for the storm.

“I’m leaving [town]. We have my husband all stocked up on water and food and he’s got MRE’s and i’m leaving. I’m not dealing with it,” Mariela Earhard, a military wife said.

Earhard said she’s hitting the road to Tennesee with her husband’s family before the storm arrives.

“Our neighborhood floods and with a 2 year old and being pregnant I don’t want to deal with the storm,” Earhard said.

Aerial Casias says her husband is on military training so she’s home alone.

“I’m going to go buy a lot of non-perishible items and a bunch of water, formula and diapers,” Casias said.

Casias said if you have the time to prepare you should prepare.

“[Whatever] you can do you should do because you don’t know what’s going to happen [with the storm],” Casias said.

Copyright © 2011 WCTI/WFXI/WYDO. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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Should Teachers "Friend" Their Students?

As of Aug. 28, “friending” students on social networking sites like Facebook will be downright illegal for Missouri teachers. The state is the first to enact such a law.

Senate Bill 54, known as the Amy Hestir Student Protection Act, will make it illegal for teachers and students to communicate privately via these sites and requires school districts to draw up policies by January that will outline acceptable and unacceptable student/teacher interaction online. The law will not prevent students from becoming “fans” of a teacher’s public Facebook Page.

The law’s namesake is a 40-year-old woman who was sexually molested by a teacher when she was in her early teens and, until recently, had not shared her ordeal with others.

The Missouri State Teachers Association is seeking an injunction to prevent the enforcement of a portion of the new law, citing their constitutional rights to free speech and association. They believe the law will lessen their ability to effectively communicate with students about classroom issues and emergencies. The law will not ban teachers from using Facebook and other social websites.

Missouri state senator Jane Cunningham told the Huffington Post that the law “only stops hidden communication between an educator and a minor child.”

The law was proposed following an investigation conducted by the Associated Press between 2001 and 2005 that uncovered 87 cases of Missouri teachers who had lost their license due to sexual misconduct with a student.

Is this a First Amendment violation? Is it appropriate for teachers and students to have an online relationship? If so, how would it be beneficial and what are the risks?

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