Texas Governor Rick Perry Pays a Visit to Polk County, LIVINGSTON, September 18, 2008 - Texas Governor Rick Perry visited Polk County on Thursday, September 18, 2008 and was briefed by by Judge Thompson and his team in the Multi Agency Coordination Center in Livingston. After the briefing, both Thompson and Perry addressed the Emergency Operations Center and the local media. The following are quotes by Governor Perry in his speech:
"It doesn't surprise me that the people of East Texas are getting the job done."
"If you look at the difference between where New Orleans was in 2005 and where East Texas is today there's a big difference. No offense to our friends in Louisiana, but where we're at today says alot about the can do spirit of the people of Texas."
"Ike was potentially one of the most devastating storms ever produced in the Gulf of Mexico."
"Ike was substantially more destructive to this part of Texas than Hurricane Rita was."
"The reason we haven't had a death toll, the reason we haven't had the personal devastation of people losing lives is because of the coordination of county officials pre-deploying before the storm."
"We've made a big impact on the state from the standpoint of saving lives and you cannot put a price tag on that."
"The preparation and the execution of the pre-deployment was not only monumental, but magnificent...hats off to you Judge Thompson."
"It's Senator Nickels, it's Sheriff Hammack, its Judge Thompson and the men and women who volunteer and work in this room who make me really proud to be a Texan."
