[BCVHFA] Fw: OHIO ARES DISTRICTS

[Ed Thornsburg]

OHIO ARES DISTRICTS REALIGNED NINE DISTRICT MAP INCLUDED
EFFECTIVE NEW YEARS DAY

By Frank Piper, KI8GW
Ohio Section Emergency Coordinator


The realignment of the Ohio ARES map, which has been discussed the past
year, has been finalized. The changes are effective, January 1, 2007. A
realignment proposal was first introduced by former SEC John Chapman,
WB8INY during the 2006 Ohio Section ARES conference. This new plan
aligned the Ohio ARES districts with those of the Ohio Citizen Corps
Lead Volunteer Center Districts, which
coincided with Homeland Security districts.

Burt any hams commented that there was little to input asked
for by the hams of the section, and there were many questions left
unanswered, such as the large size of a few districts (one being 18
counties), compared to one small district (5 counties). Plus I found
there was no evidence that the previous SEC had taken into account any
effect this new mapping would have on existing structures such as
SKYWARN, Red Cross districts, local EMA plans, etc.

So, in very short time of taking over as SEC on June 1, I made a
statement that no redistricting would be done without further study. A
few weeks later, I made another statement that NO redistricting would
happen in 2006, so I would have time to study the plan with my DEC's,
and the Ohio Citizen Corps.

I was on a mission to not implement a plan for implementations sake,
but to develop a plan that would work within the Ohio section that
would have the most benefit for all served agencies, and have "buy-in"
from the ARES volunteers who would have to work within the plan.

An Internet chat group was set-up for myself and the DEC's, to share
files, and have open discussions. Places I visited to give talks
(Madison County ARC (London), Voice Of Aladdin Hamfest (Columbus),
Northwest Area SKYWARN (Norwalk), Clark County ARES (Springfield), and
Portage County Hamfest) always included a discussion on the proposed
plans, and requested feedback. Much feedback was given by the DEC's,
several county EMA directors, and even the office of the Cleveland
National Weather Service.

The final plan came to my mind after input from all the meetings I
visited, and the discussions with the DEC's on the chat group. It was
apparent that several of the larger sections could not get away from
being covered by multiple DEC's. But, if we had left things the way
they were, several of the Ohio Citizen Corps districts would have been
overlapped by up to 3 DEC's! With this new plan, many of the larger
districts will be covered by no more than 2 DEC's, making it easier for
coordination of events within those Ohio Citizen Corps districts.

THE NEW ARES DISTRICT MAP


The new Ohio map of ARES districts is available on the Ohio Section Web
Site >www.iarc.ws/ohio>). It shows that we are changing the district
boundaries to align with the Lead Volunteer Centers of the Ohio Citizen
Corps and the Regional Medical Response System, while still supporting
existing SKYWARN reporting plans. This new plan also falls in agreement
with the National Incident Management System, maintaining 8 to 11
counties per District Emergency Coordinator.

The new district plans, with county listings, are as follows:

District 1--WB8HHZ/DEC
Cuyahoga-Erie-Hancock-Huron-Lorain-Lucas-Ottowa-Sandusky-Seneca-Wood

District 2--N8WBD/DEC
Allen-Auglaize-Defiance-Fulton-Henry-Mercer-Paulding-Putnam-Van
Wert--Williams

District 3--W8ILC/DEC
Champaign-Clark-Darke-Greene-Miami-Montgomery-Preple-Shelby

District 4--N8TVU/DEC
Adams-Brown-Butler-Clermont-Clinton-Hamilton-Highland-Warren

District 5--KB8WPZ/DEC
Ashtabula-Carroll-Columbiana-Geauga-Lake-Mahoning-Portage-Stark-Summit-Trumbull-Tuscawaras

District 6--KC8GNL/DEC
Ashland-Crawford-Holmes-Knox-Marion-Medina-Morrow-Richland-Wayne-Wyandot

District 7--W8UL/DEC
Delaware-Fairfield-Fayette-Franklin-Hardin-Licking-Logan-Madison-Pickaway-Union

District 8--N8SUZ/DEC
Athens-Gallia-Hocking-Jackson-Lawrence-Meigs-Perry-Pike-Ross-Scioto-Vinton

District 9--W8FHF/DEC
Belmont-Coshocton-Guernsey-Harrison-Jefferson-Monroe-Morgan-Muskingum-Noble-Washington

This new district plan will take effect beginning January 1, 2007. I am
asking all DEC's to work together to make the transition smooth, and to
have all affected counties information transferred prior to the January
1 date to the best of their ability.

One of the first actions I had taken upon accepting the SEC position
was a promise to the Amateur Radio operators of the Ohio Section, that
I would not implement a plan without getting buy-in form the DEC's and
EC's of the Ohio Section. I'm proud to say that the teamwork within the
Section allowed all of us to come up with a "Win-Win"
solution, which will allow the Ohio Section ARES to better serve all of
the served agencies within Ohio.

--------------------------------------------------------------------
ARRL Ohio Section
Section Manager: Joseph J. Phillips, K8QOE
k8qoe at arrl.org
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