Dear Editor,

The West End lost a true friend last week and from what I am hearing, maybe the whole State. Jayme worked for the Clallam County Sheriff’s Department but her involvement extended far beyond our county limits. It is she who came into Forks after a full day’s work, sometimes even from a business trip somewhere on the I-5 corridor, to teach us the Community Emergency Response Training for some two years.

This was at night when she should get to go home to her family. She was so concerned that every one of us would know what to do if there was an earthquake, whether to be individually prepared or to help the community in various ways. She gave 500 percent. But that’s just the tiny part I know first hand. I gather she was a dynamo in Emergency Preparedness across the state and for sure in our county, such as advanced CERT classes at Peninsula College’s main campus.

What’s impossible to do justice to is her personal warmth. I certainly was not a friend, just a business buddy of sorts, but I will miss her as if I had been. I think all of us who knew her feel that way. It’s just how she was.

You can honor Jayme by making sure you prepare for emergencies. If you have the resources, put staple food and water (one gallon a day/person, or have a darn good filter) for at least three days in your vehicle in case you get trapped somewhere in the boonies of US 101. Prepare for 4-6 weeks in your storage area(s). Keep some spare clothes aside. Maybe dried coffee that dissolves in cold water! Get your tetanus shot or booster. Keep meds in a handy place. Have solar chargers for some small devices. (Maybe not all towers will be down.) You know the drill. Now go do it.

Oh, and maybe even take CERT classes online from the FEMA website. You can; it’s just not as fun as when Jayme taught it. (Well, it’s pretty dry, but still a good idea.)

Be safe, be well.

Katie Krueger

Forks