Basic survival skills were taught during an Emergency Preparedness Class conducted at the REACH Center on 2nd Avenue in Opelika during the afternoon hours of Saturday, September 9th of 2023. Sponsored by the East Alabama Republican Assembly, the free event which was open to the public and included a complimentary BBQ lunch covered preparedness basics, handling disasters and emergency situations, food storage, preparation, water purification, sheltering, protecting money and self-defense.
Starting off the class was a presentation by John Rice where he demonstrated the critical necessity of possessing a water purification system such as a Berkey Water Filter. Rice stated "The reason I start out with water purification is because nothing else is going to work if you don't have pure water. Where are you going to get your water? Well, you are going to get it out of lakes, springs and all those kinds of things. You can get it anywhere, you can get it from your rooftop, you have gutters that start collecting water. You have all that."
Rice went on to continue "Now, what the purification system is not going to do is take out all of the radioactive materials. We have a solution for that, potassium iodide tablets. The shelf life of these is about five years. It says thyroid blocking in a radiation emergency only" Emphasis was placed on "bugging in" instead of "bugging out" with a home based survival plan that included utilizing ninety day stockpiles of essential medications, protein rich foods such as peanut butter, locally grown wildflower honey for pollen resistance and cast iron dutch ovens with concave lids for cooking.
Dr. Buddy Bruce of the Animal Health Center of Opelika shared his expertise as a veterinarian with decades of experience in caring for pets with remedies that work for humans as well and vice versa. Bruce remarked "Emergency supplies to have on hand are basically the same as they are for people. You need bandages, you need things to wrap with, you are going to think gauze and you are going to think tape and all of those things. You need some sort of tape to wrap with, you need ACE bandages, things like that. Think about those things to wrap to things up with, you can make them out of torn sheets. You need these supplies for yourself as well as for pets, they're the same. You need a topical antibiotic. Neosporin, you don't have to buy neosporin by brand name, you can buy generic."
Marine Corps veteran and Opelika Police Department officer Cameron Hunt was up next to share his expert advice on the use of firearms for survival and self defense. Hunt demonstrated the effectiveness of air rifles, .410 shotguns and .22 caliber rifles in taking down small game that can provide food that is rich in protein and other essential nutrients in difficult times when shopping at a supermarket may not be an option. Protecting yourself and loved ones was also explored with the highly popular AR-15 rifle and Glock pistol on display as classic examples of how to eliminate threats before they can do harm.
Attendees enjoyed a delicious barbeque meal. Door prizes were raffled off which included folding knives, wildflower honey and a silver piece. Each and every guest appreciated the treasure trove of vital knowledge that was imparted to them by the crew from John Rice Preparedness who conducted the class and their seminars can be requested through their official facebook page which can be viewed at;
I wish I had known about this, I definitely would have attended!