[KYHAM] Amateurs and clubs needed to help with this initiative

[NB4K]

Kentucky has 176 public school districts, and a total of 1,249 public
schools. Therefore, we as Amateurs are asked to help with this next
Initiative to help protect our children and grandchildren. If you, your
club, society, association, or ARES group are asked to help please do
so as it will take many of us to cover this many schools. PLEASE READ
ON!

NOAA PUBLIC ALERT RADIO PROGRAM 

We are pleased to announce a joint initiative of the National Oceanic
and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the Department of Education,
and
the Department of Homeland Security to distribute over 16,000 NOAA
Public Alert Radios free of charge to every public school in the 20
urban areas and two states listed above. NOAA Public Alert Radios are
designed to signal different types of alerts ranging from weather
emergencies to child abductions, from chemical accidents to acts of
terrorism. The Radio acts as a sentry, standing guard 24/7, to sound
an
alarm when danger threatens. 

These Radios are currently being delivered directly to the schools in
your area. The Radio package will include a letter from all three
Secretaries of the sponsoring Federal Departments and a short brochure
about the NOAA Public Alert Radio. An advance copy of the letter and
the
text of the brochure are available at: 

    http://www.citizencorps.gov/doc/FINAL%20Letter%209-2005.pdf 
   
http://www.citizencorps.gov/doc/FINAL%20PublicAlertRadioBrochure.pdf


A joint press release will also be issued shortly and we anticipate
some
national media coverage. 

As Citizen Corps Council points of contact within the jurisdictions to
receive these life-saving Public Alert Radios, we are asking that you
help us ensure that the Radios have been delivered, registered on the
NOAA website, and programmed appropriately. Please work with your
local
Citizen Corps affiliates and partners, such as local amateur radio
operators, storm spotters, and CERT teams, to organize volunteers to
contact the schools in your jurisdiction to set up appointments to
assist them. You can find a listing of the schools receiving radios
at:
http://public-alert-radio.nws.noaa.gov/ An outline of the requested
actions for Citizen Corps volunteers is available at:
http://www.citizencorps.gov/doc/Citizen%20Corps%20Volunteer%20Info%20FIN
AL.doc

You might also want to have a brief group training session with your
volunteers to fully explain the radio functions before they begin to
contact the schools. 

We also encourage you to leverage this opportunity to get some
publicity
for your Citizen Corps Council's activities. Possible media friendly
Activities could include: 

MEDIA EVENT WITH THE MAYOR, SCHOOL PRINCIPAL, LOCAL METEOROLOGIST,
EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT, CITIZEN CORPS 

Mirroring the Federal partnership behind this project at the local
level
would underscore the collaboration so necessary in maintaining safe
and
secure communities. A press event at a local school with relevant
participants discussing alerts, warnings, and preparedness would
reinforce how actions taken before an event occurs can lessen the
impact.

Especially in the wake of the devastation caused by Hurricanes Katrina
and Rita, we must all have a renewed commitment to preparedness and
community planning to involve all citizens of the community.  

SCHOOL SAFETY DAYS 

The contributions of the Radios to schools could also be a springboard
to organize a "School Safety Day" in the school. Participants of your
programs could include your own Citizen Corps Councils, Citizen Corps
Affiliates, local school personnel, emergency managers,
meteorologists,
Chamber of Commerce, American Red Cross, police, fire, elected
officials, PTA members and other non-profit organizations.

  
PRIVATE SECTOR OUTREACH 
  
You could also work with merchants who stock the radios (Radio Shack,
Best Buy, Target, Walmart, Office Depot, Home Depot and others) to
have
a "Safety Day" in a local mall or other widely visited public venue.
Local National Weather staff can provide guidance for the use of the
radios and you could also promote some of your other Citizen Corps
programs and activities. And be sure to think of the vulnerable and at
risk population within your community. 

The possibilities are far-reaching, including possible plans to
broaden
distribution of the radios beyond public schools to day care centers,
senior centers and other locations where the public would most
benefit.


If you have any questions, please contact: George Wilcox at NOAA
headquarters by phone: 301-713-9478 x186 or by email:
George.T.Wilcox at noaa.gov. 

Thank you for your help in making our schools a safer place for our
children! 
  
National Office of Citizen Corps

--------------------------------------------------------------------
ARRL Kentucky Section
Section Manager: John D. Meyers, NB4K
nb4k at arrl.org
----------------------

John D. Meyers, NB4K
Kentucky Section Manager
Ky. District 7 Amateur Radio Emergency Team
Chairman KD7ARET
218 Cory Lane
Butler, Kentucky  41006
895-472-6690
859-512-9598