From dick at twohams.com  Sat Feb 10 14:33:21 2007
From: dick at twohams.com (Dick Flanagan K7VC)
Date: Sat Feb 10 14:37:22 2007
Subject: [NevadaARES] Nevada ARES SEC Monthly Report (FSD-96)
Message-ID: <5.2.1.1.2.20070210110456.0484ce80@mail.greatbasin.net>

ARES SEC Monthly Report (FSD-96)

1. Section: Nevada (NV)

2. Month: January

3. Year: 2007

4. Total ARES members: 306 reported

5. Changes since last month: +5

6. Number of active nets: 13

7. Total Sessions: 73

8A. Number of ECs/DECs reporting this month: 3 DEC's/8 EC's

9A. Number of nets, drills, tests & training sessions: 60

9B. Number of volunteer hours: 441

10A. Number of public service events this month: 0

10B. Number of volunteer hours: 0

11A. Number of emergency operations this month: 2

11B. Number of volunteer hours: 322

12A. Total number of ARES/RACES events this month: 58

12B. Total volunteer hours: 765

Northwest District I DEC: Reported

Carson City: Reported

Churchill County: No EC

Douglas County: Reported

Humboldt County: No EC

Lyon County: Reported

Mineral County: No EC

Pershing County: Not Reported

Storey County: Not Reported

Washoe County: Reported

Northeast District II DEC: Reported

Elko County: Not Reported

Eureka County: No EC

Lander County: No EC

White Pine County: No EC

Southern District III DEC: Reported

Clark County: Reported

Esmeralda County: Reported

Lincoln County: Reported

North Nye County: Reported

South Nye County: Reported

SEC's GENERAL REPORT (January 2007) Happy New Year to everyone! Since
I am not only SEC but acting Northwest DEC, I have submitted comments
from the reporting ECs from that district below. An announcement of a
new DEC for that district will be made during February, and will be
reported next month.

Work still continues with EMCOMMWEST 2007. Many changes and additions
to the website, including a preliminary forum schedule (which will be
added to and changes made from time to time), and registration is now
open online together with sign-ups for the Saturday night banquet.
More information as it becomes available.

Lots going on in Washoe County as you will see below, including the
adventure into ATV training and production. Very exciting to see what
can happen in this part of amateur radio! I plan a visit to Elko over
the first weekend in April, and Dick Flanagan, K7VC our SM and I will
travel to Las Vegas on April 28 for their quarterly meeting.

Work continues on the update of the Section Emergency Plan, which
should be completed by spring. Frequency input and information being
gathered from all parts of the state so that it can be included. Staff
and Net information also being updated.

A new Northwest DEC will be announced in February.

SOUTHERN DISTRICT REPORT: Southern NV ARES DEC Report for January
2007: The first Northern Nye County ARES meeting was held in Tonopah
this past month. Northern Nye County EC Dave KE7LC, Esmeralda County
EC Ron WB5KLJ and AEC Bruce K7LAF attended the meeting at my house. We
discussed plans regarding the Mt. Oddie repeater 146.64 (123PL),
membership, ARES mutual aid support and coordination with Southern Nye
County ARES. Much thanks goes to Jerry KC6ILH for his group's efforts
in coordinating the communications support effort during the Pahrump
valley power/communications outage. We are still working on getting
signed ARESMAT agreements with neighboring counties.

South Nye County ARES(r) report by EC, Jerry KC6ILH. On 14 Jan 07 and
16 Jan 07, the Pahrump Valley experienced power outages. The first one
was valley wide due to a drop of a main feed line. The second was due
to a switch burning due to overload and ware. The first one we had to
rely on knocking on doors and intermittent phone service to notify
everyone. The second we had enough time prior to loss of phones to let
all know to respond. The first outage we served for over 20 hours, the
second call out lasted more than 4 hours. We set up communications
between shelters and the EOC for the first outage. On the second we
had personnel at the Sheriff, Valley Electric (Also the EOC site), as
well as the shelters.

Lessons learned: Make sure that you recharge and replenish as soon as
you return to your home site. You never know when you will be called
out again. UHF works well inside of buildings and also having
pre-assigned working frequencies assisted due to the loss of all
repeaters. Everyone came up on the assigned frequencies and
communications went smoothly. We also now have some more sites that
the town wants to have HAM antennas installed so that we can provide
better assistance in the future.

Clark County ARES(r)/RACES report by EC, Charlie AA5QJ ARES/RACES
Meeting held Sat Jan 27. Updates from leadership. Discussed Amateur
Radio Comm Team concepts, including resource typing.

NORTHEAST DISTRICT REPORT: Comments From Joe Giraudo, N7JEH, Northeast
District Emergency Coordinator. All pretty quiet in Northeast Nevada.
American Red Cross responded to a large multiple-family fire in
Wendover, Utah. No communication-related requests or problems were
encountered.

The Elko Volunteer Examiner team performed their final scheduled Morse
code test session in January. The Section 75 meter net is averaging 15
members through January. Suggestions for a 40 meter net have been
presented and will be explored before the summer months arrive.

NORTHWEST DISTRICT REPORT: Washoe County: This was a busy month so I
will be brief. On January 11th, 2007 I attended the Nevada Statewide
Evacuation Conference in Las Vegas. From the lessons learned after
Hurricane Katrina, each state is required to develop a mass evacuation
plan and Aaron Kenneston, manager of our Regional EOC took on the task
of coordinating the evacuation plan. (Details on
http://washoeares.hopto.org soon)

IHCC: On January 12th I was invited by Stefanie McCarty from the
District Health Department to attend the Inter-Hospital Coordinating
Council meeting to introduce myself. After the meeting I met with
Steve Matles KC7FEN who is the Safety Officer for Renown Medical
Center as well as the Liaison to the Medical Community. I will be
meeting with Steve later to bring ARES back into the picture with the
hospital emergency backup communications plan. (more to follow).

VOAD: Also on January 12th, Frank Walsh KE7AJO Washoe County AEC
attended the VOAD meeting at the REOC. The topic of discussion was
Earthquake safety and preparedness including the plans by the Red
Cross for regional Mass Sheltering. (more to follow).

ARES/CERT EXERCISE: We had a good exercise with a CERT team on January
13, 2007 The exercise took place at the Grand Sierra Resort
(Previously known as the Hilton). The exercise scenario was a small
plane crash on the East Wing on the 22nd floor where renovation is
taking place by construction workers. The CERT teams were provided
radios by the hotel Security Director and ARES was there to support
their communications. Thanks to Andy KD7ZEV, Steve KE7HLS, Joe WA6RKN,
Frank KE7AJO. Dee, KA7LOZ (Details on http://washoeares.hopto.org
soon)

LEPC: On January 25th, Frank and I attended the Local Emergency
Planning Committee meeting at the REOC as representatives of ARES.

DOAg: On January 26th, I met with Dr. Keith Forbs of the Department of
Agriculture, who is the Task Force Leader responsible for the rescue
of family pets and service animals. I explained what Amateur Radio and
discussed what ARES can do to provide emergency communications between
the animal shelters and hospitals within the state. (more to follow).

ATV: On 1/28/07, KE7FPR-Mark, KE7BQX-Kevin performed our first
on-the-air Amateur Television (ATV) broadcast from the Washoe County
Regional EOC. Also present at the test were, WA6MTY-Bob and
KE7FYF-Sean. (Details on http://washoeares.hopto.org soon)

RENOWN: On January 30th I had my first meeting with Steve Matles
KC7FPS to plan for backup communications for Renown Medical Center.
That evening Frank KE7AJO, Andy KD7ZEV Technical AEC and I took
inventory in the radio room.

SNCAT: On Wednesday the 31st, Andy KD7ZEV and I met with the director
of Sierra Nevada Community Access Television (SNCAT) to discuss the
final plans for the three day crash course for the WC ARES ATV Team in
the use of the SNCAT cameras, control room, studio and editing
capabilities that will start Saturday February 3rd. (more to follow).
(Details on http://washoeares.hopto.org soon)

WCSEOC: A couple days during January I worked with Chris Smith KC7PZS
the Emergency Manager of Washoe County School District to program the
VHF/UHF radio in his mobile command vehicle and the school District
EOC. Andy and I will be working with Chris to setup the computer in
his mobile command vehicle for Packet (Outpost and Paclink). Then
later we will setup the packet station in the WCSEOC. (more to
follow).

REOC: Kevin KE7BQX, AEC for the REOC reported that the two commercial
VHF antennas and VHF Bandpass filters ordered for the REOC have
arrived and we are waiting on a quote from Tower Services to install
them. The new antennas and filters should reduce the interference
problems from Red Peak installations.

NWS: Dee KA7LOZ AEC for the NWS reported that the commercial VHF
antenna arrived and is making arrangements for getting the antenna and
new coax installed.

Dick Young, KD7JMR EC, Douglas County had no comments due to it being
a slow month with no activity other than the continuing ICS training
with DCART.

14. Signature: Don Carlson, KQ6FM - SEC

15. E-mail: kq6fm@charter.net

--
Dick Flanagan K7VC NV SM
k7vc@arrl.org


From kb7reo at yahoo.com  Wed Feb 14 15:31:14 2007
From: kb7reo at yahoo.com (Glenn KB7REO)
Date: Wed Feb 14 15:35:18 2007
Subject: [NevadaARES] Fwd: DISASTER_COMMUNICATORS_FORUM
Message-ID: <20070214203114.46902.qmail@web34309.mail.mud.yahoo.com>


--- "Nevada Amateur Radio Repeaters, Inc."
<w7aor@narri.org> wrote:

> From: "Nevada Amateur Radio Repeaters, Inc."
> <w7aor@narri.org>
> To: <w7aor@narri.org>
> Subject: DISASTER_COMMUNICATORS_FORUM
> Date: Wed, 14 Feb 2007 12:04:37 -0800
> 
> bcc distribution 
> 
>  
> 
> We now have 50 yahoo group members.
> 
>  
> 
> Please register at
>
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/DISASTER_COMMUNICATORS_FORUM/
> so you can be
> informed of e-mails, activities and information in
> group files.. 
> 
>  
> 
> 73
> 
>  
> 
> Kent 
> 
>  
> 
> 


Southern NV ARES DEC
Spotter HN-3
http://nv.arrl.org
From dick at twohams.com  Fri Feb 16 18:39:19 2007
From: dick at twohams.com (Dick Flanagan)
Date: Fri Feb 16 18:43:41 2007
Subject: [NevadaARES] High Altitude Balloon Launch Set For Saturday February
	17
Message-ID: <5.2.1.1.2.20070216153902.00ba5ec0@mail.greatbasin.net>

Hi Dick,

I wondered if you can get the word out on list serves in NV for hams
to listen for the downlink radios for the UNR NASA balloon launching
tomorrow morning near Barstow CA.  Las Vegas and Southern Nevada
should have a real good chance of hearing it.  There is an address
below for radio reports to Professor Eric Wang KE7BQV.

The last balloon launched in the Black Rock Desert rose to almost
100,000 feet.

I'm unable to post on the UNR list site.  Erv and the computer folks
at UNR are working on it.

Thanks & 73,
Gary K7VY

FWD Message:

"Hams are asked to listen for the high altitude, balloon carrying
amateur radio tomorrow near Barstow California.   The balloon will
approach an altitude of 100,000 feet."

We will be launching between 0700 and 0800 on Saturday February the
17th.

Frequencies: Main APRS GPS: 433.800 (KE7BQV-12) Secondary APRS GPS:
144.390 (KE7BQV-11) Upload link: 146.390 (please do not put any
traffic on this) Ground teams will be using 449.825 (no hope of
hearing this)

The best chance you have is probably on 144.390 (1.5 Watts with
Steve's N7KP J-pole antenna). Launch location is just outside Barstow,
CA: N 34? 57.60' (34? 57' 36") W 116? 42.67' (116? 42' 40") Regards,
Eric KE7BQV

Please send reports to:
Eric L. Wang Associate Professor, Department of Mechanical Engineering
Associate Director, Nevada NASA Space Grant 1664 N. Virginia St. / MS
312 University of Nevada, Reno Reno, NV 89557 e mail: eric.wang@unr.edu
PH: 775-784-6094 eFAX: 801-881-8708 www.me.unr.edu

---- End forwarded message ----
--
Dick Flanagan K7VC NV SM
k7vc@arrl.org


From dick at twohams.com  Thu Feb 22 01:55:05 2007
From: dick at twohams.com (Dick Flanagan)
Date: Thu Feb 22 02:00:03 2007
Subject: [NevadaARES] ARES E-Letter for February 21, 2007
Message-ID: <5.2.1.1.2.20070221225335.036f3ea8@mail.greatbasin.net>

The ARES E-Letter
February 21, 2007
=================

Rick Palm, K1CE, Editor

<http://www.qrz.com/database?callsign=K1CE>,

===================================
ARES reports, other related contributions, editorial questions or
comments: <k1ce@arrl.net>;;
===================================

+ THE VIEW FROM FLAGLER COUNTY

It happened while I was away. My wife Joanne, W1GUN, huddled with our
cat in an inner closet after she received a midnight call from the
county EOC to take immediate cover from an advancing tornado.
Luckily, it missed. Others were not as fortunate: storms hit several
communities south of us, taking 20 lives, leaving devastation. The
ARES response is summarized in the lead article.

======
IN THIS ISSUE:

+ CENTRAL FLORIDA TORNADO DISASTER
+ OHIO SNOWSTORM RESPONSE
+ NOR'EASTER RESPONSE
+ LANDMARK ARRL EMERGENCY PLANNING REPORT RELEASED; NATIONAL ARES
DATA BASE, MAJOR DISASTER EMERGENCY COORDINATOR AMONG RECOMMENDATIONS
+ ARRL COMMITTEE TO FORMALLY STUDY BACKGROUND CHECKS
+ EMERGENCY COMMUNICATIONS MANAGER POSITION OPEN IN NEWINGTON
+ LEAGUE ROLLS OUT EMERGENCY RADIO PUBLIC RELATIONS CAMPAIGN, WEB
SITE
+ FIRST RESPONSE COALITION CAMPAIGN FOR NATIONAL DAY OF RECOGNITION
+ ORANGE COUNTY (CA) HOSPITAL SUPPORT GROUP UPDATE
+ LETTERS: ON NERPC REPORT
+ LETTERS: RED CROSS BACKGROUND CHECKS
+ LETTERS: TRAINING COURSE FOR COMMUNICATIONS UNIT LEADER (ICS)
+ CORRECTION: PACIFIC NORTHWEST SNOW STORM
+ LETTERS: MORE ON THE COMMUNICATIONS UNIT LEADER (ICS)
+ PROFILE: LES RAYBURN, N1LF
+ TRAINING OPS RESOURCE
+ K1CE FOR A FINAL
=====

+ CENTRAL FLORIDA TORNADO DISASTER

Tornadoes cut a swath west-to-east just north of the I-4 corridor, a
notorious tornado alley in Central Florida, in the middle of the
night, February 2. The NWS rated two of the three tornadoes as EF-3
events -- 160-165 MPH winds -- on the new "Enhanced Fujita Scale."
See <http://www.spc.noaa.gov/faq/tornado/ef-scale.html>

In a matter of minutes, 20 people lost their lives, with the storms
impacting four counties. ARES was active in Lake, Seminole, Sumter
and Volusia counties -- all designated as federal disaster areas.

Twenty Sumter County ARES operators under the leadership of EC JT
Fleming, W3GQJ, provided communications between the county EOC and
shelters. Other ARES teams stood by to fill other gaps when needed.
ARES op Irv Butler, KB1E, worked in Lake County, providing
communications to The Salvation Army meals relief teams. ARES/RACES
volunteers from Seminole and Lake counties installed a backup
repeater in Paisley to restore radio communication for Lake County
Fire and Rescue. The 145.23 MHz repeater was down after the storm
toppled the 1500-foot commercial radio tower that had supported the
repeater's antenna. The repeater serves the East Central District
ARES during disasters, although the organization has trained members
to use simplex if and when repeaters fail.

East Central District EC Jay Musikar, AF2C, commended the "great team
work on the part of Butler, and Dick Fess, K4FUY, EC Seminole County,
and three talented ARES members Bob Beach, W8LCZ, Dave Blum, KF4GTJ,
and Carl De Poy, K8BBT, who put a Mutual Aid Communications (MAC)
Unit in place at the Paisley site along with its 100 foot tower to
bring Lake County Fire Rescue back on-line." Musikar cited a "great
job of two ARES teams pulling together toward a common goal."

By daybreak on Saturday, the Lake County EOC was involved in a
search-and-rescue phase, with assets deployed to the hardest hit
areas, especially the Paisley and Mack Lake areas.

Seminole County saw its share of devastation after an EF-2 (130 - 135
mph winds) tore through it soon after the storm in Lake County.
Despite the damage in Seminole, Dick Fess, K4FUY, and his team were
able to assist Lake County ARES. Volusia County was not spared
either, with an EF-1 tornado damaging New Smyrna Beach.

Lake County ARES was later reactivated to support a "Base Camp"
operation. They expected to be providing up to four operators for an
indefinite period of time. Primary operations were run on the N4FLA
147.00 MHz repeater with a remote base link to other county repeaters
as needed. "Base Camp" will coordinate and deploy volunteer clean-up
and repair assets as well as water, ice, and food into the impacted
Lady Lake and Mack Lake areas.

Lake County released a public information memo at:
<http://www.lakecountyfl.gov/media/news_releases/news_release.aspx?id
=344>

-- from local reports, ARRL Letter

+ OHIO SNOWSTORM RESPONSE

February 14 -- In Northern Ohio, Seneca county activated a net to
receive snowstorm reports of local weather, road conditions, and
stranded motorists by mobile hams. DEC Karl Erbland, K8ARL, oversaw
the net, which operated from the Seneca county EOC. The Ohio Single
Sideband Net, on 3927.5 kHz, was used to keep counties in Northern
Ohio in contact with each other; local VHF and UHF repeaters were
also used.

In District 3 (Western Ohio), ARES groups in Darke, Green, and Shelby
counties assisted local EMA's and hospitals with transportation of
essential personnel. Montgomery county ARES was activated by their
local EMA and a net was held on the local 145.11 repeater. Before the
storm hit, the Ohio SEC sent messages to all District ECs to have
their ARES groups ready to be deployed in the event of shelter
openings, or requests of served agencies. "I am proud of all the ARES
volunteers in Ohio who responded, or were prepared to deploy upon
notification," said Frank Piper, KI8GW, Ohio SEC

+ NOR'EASTER RESPONSE

SKYWARN was activated in the northeast for a major Nor'easter
blizzard. The storm dumped 1-3 feet of snow across northeast New
York, New Hampshire, Vermont, northwest Massachusetts and Maine with
whiteout, blizzard conditions, and strong winds. SKYWARN hams and the
National Weather Service Forecast Offices in Taunton, Massachusetts
(WX1BOX) and Gray, Maine (WX1GYX) received the SKYWARN reports of
snowfall, wind damage and flooding.

Several repeaters and linked repeater systems across New England were
used and the New England Reflector System was active. The system was
used for getting SKYWARN reports from across New England and as a
pathway for the NWS in Taunton to communicate with their counterpart
in Gray, Maine, directly and through NWS liaison Ken Grimmard, N1DOT.
"We continue to build a strong SKYWARN program for the NWS Gray Maine
office. These reports that we get from spotters are extremely helpful
and we had two ham operators Jerry Hume, KB1NHD, and David Lowe,
KB1NJP, at the office for much of the afternoon and evening. We
currently have EchoLink capability and 2 Meter/440 capability at
WX1GYX," said Tom Berman, N1KTA, a forecaster at the NWS Gray Maine
office.

With no HF capability at NWS Gray yet, the NWS Taunton office was
requested by NWS Gray to go to the Seagulls Net on 3940 kHz to get
reports of snowfall and weather conditions from the net as it covers
much of Maine and New Hampshire. The reports were then delivered to
NWS Gray via EchoLink. "Here is an example of how HF and
EchoLink/IRLP communications can complement one another," said Rob
Macedo, KD1CY, ARES SKYWARN Coordinator for NWS Taunton,
Massachusetts, who also filed this report.

+ LANDMARK EMERGENCY PLANNING REPORT RELEASED; NATIONAL ARES DATA
BASE, MAJOR DISASTER EMERGENCY COORDINATOR AMONG RECOMMENDATIONS

The much-anticipated report of the League's National Emergency
Response Planning Committee appointed by President Harrison a year
ago was received by the ARRL Board last month, and is available to
the ARES community at:
<http://www.arrl.org/announce/reports-2007/january/NERPC-32aa.pdf>

The panel of expert amateur and professional emcomm members worked
hard over the last year to provide recommendations to the Board that
would improve ARRL's national preparedness. Committee Chairman and
ARRL First Vice President Kay Craigie, N3KN, noted that "these
wide-ranging and sometimes challenging recommendations require
responsiveness to rapid political and technological changes."

Flagship recommendations include the drafting and population of a
National ARES Data Base; the creation of a new "Major Disaster
Emergency Coordinator" position for incidents transcending Section
boundaries; and the development of course and certification
requirements for ARES operators. (Courses would include ARRL's ARECC
Level 1, Red Cross combined course in Adult CPR/First Aid Basics, Red
Cross Introduction to Disaster Services, FEMA IS-100 (Introduction to
Incident Command System), FEMA IS-200 (ICS for Single Resource and
Initial Action Incidents) and FEMA IS-700 (National Incident
Management System)).

The report is 29 pages long and contains in-depth rationales for the
recommendations summarized above, as well as a plethora of additional
related recommendations and information. Readers are urged to read
the report and comment to the editor. Future issues will feature the
opinions of ARES members and others as the Headquarters staff and
appropriate standing committee members work to implement the
committee's recommendations. The report represents the most
comprehensive study and slate of action items in the matter of ARRL
emergency communications planning and programs in the modern history
of the League.

[It is not to be missed. - ed.]

+ ARRL COMMITTEE TO FORMALLY STUDY BACKGROUND CHECKS

In another significant ARRL Board action, the organization will study
the controversial issue of background checks for Amateur Radio
volunteer communicators. Citing the "increasingly-common practice
among served agencies of requiring volunteers, including radio
amateurs serving the agencies under the auspices of ARRL-sponsored
programs, to submit to personal background investigations," and that
"some types of background investigations raise valid concerns among
the League's volunteers regarding personal privacy and identity
theft," the President will appoint a committee to study issues
related to background investigations and to recommend a policy on
background investigations which addresses the interests of both the
League and its volunteers. The Board recognized that the ARRL "must
define and safeguard its own organizational interests as well as act
in the best interests of individual volunteers serving under ARRL
auspices, and should negotiate Memoranda of Understanding with served
agencies based on well-reasoned policy on background investigations.
Recommendations will be submitted at the 2008 Annual Meeting, with
interim reports supplied to the Executive Committee.

+ EMERGENCY COMMUNICATIONS MANAGER POSITION OPEN IN NEWINGTON

The ARRL Board of Directors approved the position of Emergency
Communications Manager at HQ in Newington, Connecticut. The post will
be responsible for relations with served agencies -- including
governmental agencies, memoranda of understanding administration,
ARRL internal emergency response planning, simulated emergency tests,
emergency communications training, the Amateur Radio Emergency
Service (ARES) database and related activities.

Qualifications include:
* knowledge of Amateur Radio, including HF, VHF and digital modes
related to
emergency communications
* five years' minimum ARES/RACES experience or equivalent
* ARRL Field Organization leadership experience
* knowledge of and experience with ICS and NIMS (FEMA 100 and 700
certification highly desirable, 200 and 800 certification
recommended)
* completion of the Level 1 ARRL Amateur Radio Emergency
Communications
course (EC-001)
* superior speaking and writing skills
* Emergency communications professional and/or first responder
experience is desirable.

The Emergency Communications Manager will act as ARRL emergency
communications liaison to government agencies, including FEMA and the
Department of Homeland Security. This individual also will:

* administer memoranda of understanding between ARRL and served
agencies, such as the American Red Cross
* maintain and encourage relationships with all ARRL served agencies
* create and administer ARRL's internal emergency response plan
* coordinate Simulated Emergency Tests
* assist field personnel with emergency communications and public
service events, as required
* maintain and update ARRL emergency communications training
materials and publications plus ARRL emergency communications and
public service Web content
* maintain the ARES volunteer database
* act as liaison to ARRL emergency communications Field Organization
leadership
* write/edit occasional material for QST and other ARRL publications
* manage other emergency communications and public service-related
issues.

[In the editor's opinion, the successful candidate should have
professional emcomm credentials across a broad range of experience.
During my tenure at HQ, I had responsibility for these functions, but
the problem was my lack of direct professional emergency
communications experience. While I gained a marginal amount of on the
job training, I always felt that the functions would ultimately be
best served by a professional with governmental emcomm experience as
well as a solid Amateur Radio (ARES) field background. Also, a keen
understanding of the nuances of working with volunteers is imperative
- ed.]

+ LEAGUE ROLLS OUT EMERGENCY RADIO PUBLIC RELATIONS CAMPAIGN, WEB
SITE

"Ham Radio . . . Getting the message through for your family and
community" is the theme of the League's 2007 public relations
campaign. The "Emergency Radio" Web site
<http://www.emergency-radio.org/> has debuted.

The new Web site is a partner to the "Ham Radio . . . Getting the
message through for your family and community" brochure now
available. "If an emergency or disaster should happen, the new 'Ham
Radio . . . Getting the message through' site has the capability to
quickly upload current information, providing PIOs with words and
pictures to circulate to the media while the event is still news,"
ARRL Media Manager Allen Pitts, W1AGP reports.

The Web site provides page space for emergency communication and
disaster relief organizations to discuss their work. "So far,
SKYWARN, MARS, SATERN and RACES have taken advantage of our offer,
showing the versatility of ham radio in disasters and emergencies,"
Pitts says, "and more are expected." A "How to Get Started" tab on
the Web site offers step-by-step instructions.

+ FIRST RESPONSE COALITION CAMPAIGN FOR NATIONAL DAY OF RECOGNITION

Every day, firefighters, police officers and emergency medical
personnel make sacrifices to save lives, protect property and uphold
the law. Despite their countless contributions and selfless acts,
there exists no NATIONAL DAY to recognize first responders'
dedication and service.

Visit the First Response Coalition Web site and sign the petition to
make September 22 National First Responder Appreciation Day. In the
third week of September, 2001, the full measure of sacrifices made by
first responders during 9/11 came to light and thus September 22 was
chosen.

Supporters can also "Tell a Friend" about National First Responder
Appreciation Day by e-mailing the information from the FRC Web site
directly to their contact lists. Once the FRC's online petition
obtains 25,000 signatures, it will be forwarded to Congress and
meetings will be held with key offices to call for a Congressional
resolution.

First Responders deserve this long-overdue appreciation. If you have
any questions about National First Responder Appreciation Day or the
FRC <www.firstresponsecoalition.org>, call 202-263-2904 -- Steven
Jones, Executive Director, First Response Coalition, 919 18th Street
N.W., Suite 950, Washington, D.C. 20006

+ ORANGE COUNTY (CA) HOSPITAL SUPPORT GROUP UPDATE

The Hospital Disaster Support Communications System (HDSCS) of Orange
County, California, is a group of 80 radio amateurs who have
volunteered to provide backup internal and external communications
for critical medical facilities whenever normal communications are
interrupted for any reason.

Last year, HDSCS averaged over three events per month. While there
were only three emergency callouts during 2006, many drills, standby
operations, and special demos at Orange County hospitals were held.
One of the standby operations was as serious as any emergency callout
when phone work caused the phones to be down longer than expected.
During the overnight event, HDSCS communicators handled numerous
pharmacy and lab requests along with two Code Blues and
communications related to an emergency surgical procedure on a child
at 2:30 AM when phones were out in the OR. This was the perfect
example of why it is valuable to have hams on site when phone work is
being done.

Last month, HDSCS held its annual Year End Finale/Year Beginning
meeting. This is a special tradition with HDSCS when top members
(known as the Disaster Dozen) are recognized, and members take the
final exam, while enjoying chocolate. (The chocolate is a 10 lb.
Nestle Crunch Bar). The final exam is a test on HDSCS procedures,
hospital and EMS terminology and emergency problem solving. Members
are put in teams to take the exam. It's a great team building
activity.

This year's Orientation and Review Workshop at the county EOC will be
held March 3. -- April Moell, WA6OPS, ARES Emergency Coordinator,
Hospital Disaster Support Communications System <emcom4hosp@aol.com>,
<http://www.hdscs.org>

+ LETTERS: ON NERPC REPORT

I wanted to take the time to eat a bit of crow, and admit that my
skepticism about the work done to date by the NERPC [see above
related story on the National Emergency Response Planning Committee
report -ed.]. I've reviewed the report in detail, and found it to be
very complete in its scope, and I applaud its common sense
recommendations. I think that [the members] have done a remarkable
job, and I hope that the League moves quickly to implement the
recommendations of the committee.

One area of concern is the growing number of national organizations
seeking to utilize Amateur Radio resources without being formally
involved in discussions with the League. Two that come to mind are
the new relationship between MARS and the TSA. The other is the
SHARES/NCS organization, which also draws most of (though not all of)
its members from MARS. The League should move to formalize a
partnership between ARES and MARS quickly. Otherwise, I fear that
future disasters will find these organizations competing for
resources and duplicating efforts. Again, my sincere thanks for the
obvious work and thought that went into this report. -- Les Rayburn,
N1LF, Helena, Alabama, Official Emergency Station

+ LETTERS: RED CROSS BACKGROUND CHECKS

The American Red Cross policy of requiring background checks for its
volunteers is a good one. Such a policy protects, to the extent
possible, other volunteers and the communities they serve. Members of
communities in peril have often been "easy marks" for all sorts of
abuses and, while one can never predict what any person will do,
screening out known offenders reduces the likelihood of such
problems.

This good idea, however, has been implemented in a counter-productive
way.  Given the method for submitting information, it is obvious that
some unknown company is conducting the checks. This is a serious
problem. Many of these companies are Internet-based and provide
information from one or several databases that often contain massive
amounts of inaccurate information, the sources of which are often
unknown. There is usually no meaningful way to challenge these
inaccuracies. Equally problematic is the fact that none of these
databases has complete criminal histories. It is not uncommon for
their reports to indicate that a person has no criminal record when,
in fact, he does.

Many of these companies compile the information provided by the ARC
or other submitting entity with the information obtained from other
databases and sell it to various marketers and other database
companies. Credit history, while still used as a screening tool by
most employers and in the law enforcement community, has never proven
to be an accurate indicator of trustworthiness. Many Americans are in
debt and have had credit problems. That does not make them dishonest.
If only those with good credit histories were hired or used as
volunteers, there would be a huge void in the workforce and volunteer
force.	

The ARC can avoid these problems by having state police or other law
enforcement agencies conduct the criminal background checks. The
records of these agencies are far more accurate and any discrepancies
or errors can be traced, confirmed or ruled out. I suspect that the
cost of law enforcement checks versus the on-line checks may be a
factor in the current process; however, ruling out people because of
erroneous database information or, worse, allowing a person to serve
who in fact has a criminal record that some database company is not
privy to, harms both the volunteer community and the citizens it
serves. It is unrealistic and unfair to suggest that those who do not
subject themselves to the current process have "something to hide";
rather, most have their good names and confidential information to
protect - - something they lose control of when they submit this
information to some Internet database company.

Until the ARC implements a procedure that provides accurate
information and protects the privacy of its volunteers, it will
continue to needlessly discourage capable and qualified volunteers
from providing their services. --
Leon Grauer, N0TAZ, Esq., Newark, New Jersey

+ LETTERS: TRAINING COURSE FOR COMMUNICATIONS UNIT LEADER (ICS)

The last issue noted "a recommendation that DHS/FEMA establish a
training course for the "Communications Unit Leader" position, and
that it be made a standard part of an Incident Command System (ICS)
response." The course already exists as S-358 in the wildland fire
arena. NIMS/FEMA is using our stuff, and we are writing updates of
the course in an attempt to "de-smoke" it so it applies better to
all-risk use. I am one of the "Subject Matter Experts" involved with
rewriting the course. We should have it ready to teach a test class
this spring and then get it formalized to release for general use.
Instructors are to be fully qualified Comm Unit Leaders (COML) with a
Communications Coordinator (COMC) being the lead. A lot of our COMLs
are also hams. -- Jim Shepherd, N7WVZ, USDA Forest Service COML
Member Type II Incident Management Team (Great Basin)

+ CORRECTION: PACIFIC NORTHWEST SNOW STORM

Just a quick correction to the Pacific Northwest storm story in the
last newsletter: Bill Bowden, KI7AO, and Kittitas county are in
Eastern Washington. So the storm was a state-wide effort on the ARES
front. - Mark J. Tharp, KB7HDX, ARRL Section Manager Eastern
Washington

+ PROFILE: LES RAYBURN, N1LF

A frequent and respected contributor, Les Rayburn, N1LF, has a
professional career developing training materials for the emergency
management field, and works closely with various federal agencies
directly involved in the response to wide scale disasters. He is an
active member of the International Association of Emergency
Management (IAEM), Association of Public-Safety Communications
Officials - International (APCO), and other organizations related to
the field. Part of Rayburn's daily routine is closely tracking
advances in emergency management and communications. Currently, he is
developing training videos on ICS and NIMS specifics for two federal
agencies. Rayburn's background includes prior military service as a
submarine radioman, where he held a Top Secret security clearance.

Rayburn has passed the ARRL's ARECC Level 1, 2, and 3 courses, as
well as NIMS/ICS training courses ICS100, 200, 300, 400, 700/800, and
701. He is First Aid/CPR certified, has completed CERT training and
is active in a leadership position on the Helena, Alabama CERT team.

Rayburn's personal response vehicle is fully equipped for VHF/UHF/HF
communications including Pactor 3 Winlink capabilites. He is an
active member of the NCS/SHARES organization (NCS-047) and spent over
six weeks involved in various missions for NCS in the aftermath of
Katrina/Rita.

Rayburn's production company also produced a documentary on that
response, called "Postmark: Katrina" which aired on the Weather
Channel in 2006. He has been an OES for two years; a SKYWARN member
for almost two decades.

Having worked directly under the Operations Section leader in several
past large scale incidents, Rayburn can "talk the talk" with
emergency managers and present a professional appearance for Amateur
Radio. He is adept at solving problems on the fly, knowing when to
play by the book, and when to throw the book out.

+ TRAINING REGISTRATION AND DATA BASE RESOURCE

A National database for State approved training (FEMA/ICS, etc.) is
available at: <https://ks.train.org/DesktopShell.aspx> It is
maintained by the Kansas State Department of Health and Welfare and
is available in 23 states so far. You can create your own account and
update your class attendance, then just have your transcript
forwarded from FEMA, or other State approved agency. In Kansas it
goes to the KDHE Office and they will validate the class for you.
Once you create your account, you can log in to any of the States who
have a XX.train.org site and it will list the classes you have taken.
The information you list isn't available to the general public. But
it is available to the other states involved in the Training Network.

This is a free service, maintained by a State agency. It should make
verifying you credentials very easy. I am sure there are other
organizations that do this, but most charge a membership fee
<http://www.nrcev.org/> etc. Link to the Credentialing FAQ:
<http://www.fema.gov/txt/emergency/nims/credent_faq.txt> -- Ken
Collins, NU0B, Montgomery County, Kansas RACES Officer

[I registered for the above database service. According to the
acknowledgement received, "There are many benefits to your free TRAIN
account, including:
  -    Access to information on hundreds of courses in public health
and related fields.
  -    The ability to save your searches for courses in the subjects,
formats, or competencies that interest you, with optional e-mail
notices of new courses.
  -    An online transcript to keep track of your learning.
  -    Quick online registration for courses that use the TRAIN
registration system.
  -    Message and document boards to communicate with other
professionals.
  -    24-hour access to special state and local announcements.
  -    A 5-star review system to help you find the best courses for
your needs.

It looks pretty good to me. - ed.]

+ WINLINK 2000 YAHOO GROUP

There is a Yahoo Group that is devoted to the topic of Winlink 2K as
it specifically applies to EMCOMM. See
<http://groups.yahoo.com/group/wl2kemcomm/> -- N1LF

+ K1CE FOR A FINAL: ORLANDO HAMCATION NOTES

With the absence of the Miami Tropical Hamboree this month, the
sister Orlando Hamcation was packed last weekend. I made it through
the throng to attend the Northern Florida Section ARES Meeting,
hosted by SM Rudy Hubbard, WA4PUP, and featuring speaker John
Fleming, WD4FFX, of the State Department of Emergency Management EOC.
It was great to see Fleming, a key supporter of Amateur Radio as an
emergency communications asset to the State. He drove all the way
from Tallahassee to participate.

I was also pleased to see Sherri Brower, W4STB, the Section Manager
of Southern Florida. I don't know her very well, but it seems to me
she has a perfect personality for the job, full of infectious
enthusiasm and dedication to her mission. My bet is that she serves
her constituency to our south very well.

Hubbard and SEC Joe Bushel, W2DWR, spoke on ARES planning and
programs in the Section, and afforded East Central District EC Jay
Musikar, AF2C, an opportunity to tout the tornado relief efforts of
his team of affected county ECs.

It was also nice to put faces to call signs heard on the air, my
favorite activity of any hamfest! See you next month. 73, Rick K1CE

======================================================================
The ARES E-Letter is published on the third Wednesday of each month
by the American Radio Relay League--The National Association For
Amateur Radio--225 Main St, Newington, CT 06111; tel 860-594-0200;
fax 860-594-0259; <http://www.arrl.org/>. Joel Harrison, W5ZN,
President.

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Scroll down to the section "Which of the following would you like
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======================================================================
--
Dick Flanagan K7VC NV SM
k7vc@arrl.org


