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Anti-terrorism dollars eaten up in lunch, snacks

Emergency Management Alert, September 13, 2004

Baton Rouge, LA, officials aren't too happy with where their terrorism funding is going. With $1.3 million federal anti-terrorism money dedicated to the Baton Rouge police and sheriff deputies, those departments have yet to purchase valuable and necessary equipment. However, the parish Office of Emergency Preparedness (OEP) spent $30,000 in catering, groceries, and decorations, the Associated Press reported.

In the past three years, OEP records show $21-a-gallon coffee and $13-a-gallon tea, and more than $1,600 in restaurant tabs, The Advocate reported on September 12. Records also showed hundreds of dollars in grocery trips to purchase cookies, pickles, snacks, an artificial Christmas tree for $176, and $76 worth of candy.

"Here we are almost three years after September 11, and we don't have the equipment it takes to react to what we believe are the most probable events from a terrorism standpoint that could occur," said Col. Mike Barnett, chief criminal deputy for the Sheriff's Office. "Our guys are going to do exactly what they did in New York City. They're going to respond, and they're going to be injured and die."

OEP officials defended the snack splurges as catered meals for training sessions on weapons of mass destruction and anti-terrorism.

"We're talking about first responders here," said Keith Cranford, assistant to OEP Executive Director JoAnne Moreau. "These folks work hard-often through lunch. They've dedicated themselves to what they're doing. If we can cater lunches for them, then we're going to do it."

The OEP spent more than $1,600 on restaurant meetings where menu items included catfish, shrimp, and bread pudding.

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