© 2024 University of Missouri - KBIA
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

Missouri Task Force Helps with Hurricane Matthew Rescues

Jocelyn Augustino
/
FEMA Photo Library

Missouri is providing assistance to hurricane-damaged areas of the southeastern United States.

First, Missouri Task Force was deployed last week to central Georgia as Hurricane Matthew pounded the east coast.

On Monday the group was redirected to North Carolina to assist with flood rescues, according to its Facebook page. Missouri Task Force 1 is based in Columbia and is operated by the Boone County Fire Protection District.

Meanwhile, Governor Jay Nixon is sending an environmental specialist to Florida to assist with debris removal there. In a written statement, Nixon says the specialist will help coordinate team operations as they remove and dispose of debris that contains hazardous materials.

So far, there have been no requests to activate the Missouri National Guard.

Missouri Public Radio State House Reporter Marshall Griffin is a proud alumnus of the University of Mississippi (a.k.a., Ole Miss), and has been in radio for over 20 years, starting out as a deejay. His big break in news came when the first President Bush ordered the invasion of Panama in 1989. Marshall was working the graveyard shift at a rock station, and began ripping news bulletins off the old AP teletype and reading updates between songs. From there on, his radio career turned toward news reporting and anchoring. In 1999, he became the capital bureau chief for Florida's Radio Networks, and in 2003 he became News Director at WFSU-FM/Florida Public Radio. During his time in Tallahassee he covered seven legislative sessions, Governor Jeb Bush's administration, four hurricanes, the Terri Schiavo saga, and the 2000 presidential recount. Before coming to Missouri, he enjoyed a brief stint in the Blue Ridge Mountains, reporting and anchoring for WWNC-AM in Asheville, North Carolina. Marshall lives in Jefferson City with his wife, Julie, their dogs, Max and Mason, and their cat, Honey.