The Times - Serving Waitsburg, Dayton and the Touchet Valley

DAYTON - Lisa Caldwell's job is to expect the unexpected. What hap- pens when the next flood arrives? Or the next big wildfire? The next disaster might be something new and different, like a plane crash or an emergency at a local school.

Caldwell is the new Emergency Management Director for Columbia County. She replaces Bill Peters, who left that position at the end of Novem- ber.

"My job comes in four parts," she said. "Prepared- ness, mitigation, response and recovery."

Caldwell's department covers a lot of territory. She oversees homeland security and public safety communication. That means...