FY 2012 Popular Annual Financial Report FY 2012 Popular Annual Financial Report | Page 17

City Working Together During
Challenging Times

W

hile the City is organized
in teams, all departments
worked together this year
to help our community during difficult
times. Whether it was the complications
associated with responding to the
West Nile Virus outbreak or a train
derailment downtown, departments
worked quickly to ensure the safety for
our residents.
In what health experts called the
worst year ever for West Nile Virus
in North Texas, Arlington initiated
its multifaceted response plan that
included education, public notification
of reported cases, trapping and testing
of mosquitoes in areas of concern,
follow-up testing, and targeted spraying
and larvacide application. Fire Chief
Don Crowson credited the City’s ability
to contain the number of WNV cases
in Arlington to coordinated efforts
of the Multi-Departmental WNV
Response Team.

Arlington also faced the devastation
of a tornado producing winds in excess
of 135 mph that damaged more than
500 homes and apartments on April 3.
Every City department came together
to ensure safety on the streets and to
support residents through the creation
of the Tornado Recovery Center, a
one-stop shop.

Here are a few highlights of the
tornado response:
• The Arlington Fire Department
conducted systematic searches and
set up checkpoints to maintain safety
and security.
• Public Works and Transportation set
up barricades, repaired signal lights
and cleared debris from the roads.
• Parks and Recreation launched the
Re-LEAF program that provided free
trees to people who had
lost theirs in the storm.
• Animal Services
launched its online
lost-and-found pet
finder tool ahead of
schedule to aid those
separated from their
pets after the tornado.
• The Library created
a lost and found for
photos discovered in
storm debris.

Another unexpected event
occurred when a freight train derailed
in downtown Arlington. Six tanker
cars, four carrying corn syrup and two
empty ones, were part of the accident
that had no injuries. The City was able
to open all major intersections that
were affected a short six hours later.

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