The site never got any serious use as a disaster preparedness center, because the "unthinkable" never happened. It was re-opened in 1973 for several more years. While the center opened in 1968, it was closed in 1971 because of budget cuts, and would only be used in case of emergencies. A communications center had sophisticated radio and telephone equipment, to maintain communications with all the counties. A radiological defense center had equipment to compute technical data regarding the effects of any nuclear attack in a 10-county region generally covering the Albany to Binghamton corridor. There was a main operations room, where a staff could coordinate rescue operations, food distribution and other vital services. One entered the complex through a long tunnel that lead to a few rooms. State University College at Oneonta students nicknamed the center "Rocky's Hideaway," after then-Gov. But the center held only 100, and it was for civil defense officials, as well as those in high ranks in the state government. In 1967, an underground civil defense center was built for $425,000 with the intention of protecting the lives and safety of more than a million people during a nuclear attack. If there was ever the "unthinkable" event of nuclear war, Oneonta was planned as a place of safety for "essential" officials of New York state, on the grounds of the former Homer Folks Hospital today's Job Corps. During the 1950s and through the '80s, we were subject to a "Red Scare " that of the elevating Cold War with the Soviet Union. As scary as this might seem, our region is no stranger to such alerts. The Department of Homeland Security recently issued these bits of advice after the elevation from "code yellow" to "orange," the high alert for a terrorist attack. Gently explain the terrorist situation to the children. Plus, stock up on bottled water and non-perishable food items. Reprinted with permission.īuy duct tape, plastic sheeting and be prepared to seal up your windows in a "safe room" just in case. This article by Oneonta City Historian Mark Simonson originally appeared in the Daily Star, February 24, 2003.
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