Several years ago, I began to notice something locally that concerned me.
Polk County has always had first responders who run toward danger. We have churches and neighbors who cook meals and clear debris. But at that time, we lacked a structured long-term recovery organization to help families rebuild months after the cameras left. There was no coordinated intake system for donations and no formal process to help uninsured residents navigate FEMA paperwork, nonprofit assistance, or home repair logistics.
So, I helped start a long-term recovery nonprofit group.
As that effort matured, County Judge Sydney Murphy proposed aligning long-term recovery directly within the county’s emergency management structure so coordination would begin on day one of a disaster. Recovery would not operate separately; it would be integrated from the start. She was right.
That effort evolved into what is now Polk County Recovers. I later stepped away from day-to-day involvement, confident that recovery had been properly integrated into the county’s emergency framework. Over the past seven years, through public briefings, articles, and direct observation, I have seen the steady strengthening of Polk County’s emergency management system.
Today’s emergency management came from strategic planning
Under Texas law, the county judge serves as director of emergency management. Approximately eight years ago, she appointed Courtney Comstock as emergency management coordinator, marking a transition from primarily reactive disaster response to a more strategic and structured approach. Emergency operations and hazard mitigation plans were rewritten and updated on required cycles, positioning the county to maintain eligibility for mitigation grants and long-term recovery funding. Documentation systems were modernized. The Emergency Operations Center adopted clearer coordination processes. Mapping capabilities expanded. Situational awareness tools improved. Interagency coordination deepened. The focus shifted from responding to events as they occurred to preparing for them in advance and sustaining recovery long after immediate response efforts concluded.
Today, coordination includes the sheriff’s office, volunteer fire departments, EMS, DPS, TxDOT, municipal leaders, and state and federal partners. Polk County operates within Texas Disaster District 14 and works through established Texas Division of Emergency Management channels. Resource requests now move through established channels, often before they are needed, rather than afterward.
This framework has been tested repeatedly
Since 2017, Polk County has operated under Hurricane Harvey, the EF-3 Tornado in Onalaska, Hurricane Laura, Winter Storm Uri, multiple flood events, including the 2024 floods, Hurricane Beryl, hazardous material incidents, the Carter Lake Dam evacuation, and numerous locally declared emergencies. During that period, the county navigated five federally declared disasters.
During each event, first responders serve as the immediate line of defense. Law enforcement secures life and property. Volunteer fire departments conduct rescues and clear roads. EMS stabilizes medical emergencies.
When the Carter Lake Dam situation unfolded, and residents were evacuated, Dunbar Gym was operational as a shelter within hours. Cots were deployed. Intake systems were active. Coordination with the Red Cross was underway.
During hurricane and flood events, the county activates points of distribution at locations such as Pedigo Park or the commerce center to distribute water, MREs, tarps, and essential supplies in a coordinated manner. Distribution is coordinated and documented, with volunteer fire departments assisting in delivery to impacted areas.
Recovery operates with equal strategic planning and structure
Polk County Recovers, led by Acting President Ray Ware and supported by a team of five dedicated volunteers, serves as the administrative and coordination arm of long-term recovery. Working inside the emergency operations framework, the organization connects documented needs with available resources. It coordinates with outside nonprofits, faith-based groups, state agencies, and volunteer organizations. It assists with case management oversight, project planning, and communication between the county and external recovery partners. In many ways, Polk County Recovers functions as the eyes and ears of recovery, gathering information, identifying needs, and ensuring the right resources are aligned to the right situations.
Center of Hope, under Executive Director Mike Fortney, serves as the operational delivery arm. It maintains a large volunteer base that operates a weekly community food pantry and other services, but can also mobilize during disasters. During the Onalaska tornado, Center of Hope played a critical role in food distribution, intake, and sorting of donated goods, and direct assistance to families. It serves as the county’s designated donations management partner and assists families who lack sufficient insurance to rebuild. If Polk County Recovers provides the eyes, ears, and coordination, Center of Hope provides the hands, feet, and sweat, delivering tangible assistance directly to residents who need it most.
Communications resiliency has been reinforced through the Upper Lake Livingston Wireless Association, led by Mark Jackson. HAM radio operators staff the Emergency Operations Center when activated and coordinate directly with first responders in the field, providing backup communications when traditional systems fail. During hurricanes and other major incidents, when cellular towers or infrastructure may be offline, their network helps maintain critical command-and-field connectivity.
Today, Polk County’s Emergency Management system is recognized by state partners as a model of what a county-level organization can be. Courtney now assists other counties during disasters and contributes to emergency management discussions at the regional and state levels. Polk County is no longer just receiving guidance. It is teaching it.
One of the most important tools developed during this transformation is ALERTMEPOLKCOUNTY. It delivers real-time emergency notifications by phone call, text message, and email, providing critical information about evacuations, shelter locations, road closures, severe weather, public safety threats, and other urgent situations. Only about 20% of residents, businesses, and organizations are enrolled. That should be 100%. The county pays for this system with the help of regional grants. If you are not registered, you are choosing to receive information later rather than sooner during a crisis.
Please go register. Encourage your family to register. Encourage your church and your business to register. https://www.polktx.gov/397/Alert-Me-Polk-County
Emergency management does not begin when winds rise, and it does not end when debris is cleared. The work continues long after the sirens fall silent. It continues in living rooms where families sort through damage, in churches and community centers where volunteers organize assistance, and in quiet acts of service that rarely make headlines.
It takes more than plans and protocols. It takes leadership. It takes volunteer firefighters who leave their own homes to protect someone else’s. It takes deputies and EMS crews who move toward danger without hesitation. It takes nonprofit leaders, faith-based organizations, and an army of citizens willing to help neighbors rebuild when the cameras are gone.
The government’s responsibility is to serve the people, but resilience is built by all the people. In moments of crisis and in the long months of recovery that follow, Polk County has shown that emergency management is not just a function of authority. It is a reflection of community character.
When storms approach, Polk County stands together as one community, and I am proud of that.
