Each ARES team set up communications with their local coordinating station, and
 a substantial amount of traffic was handled by all stations. The Weather
Service staff was impressed by the SKYWARN reports they received from the SET
particpants. -- ARRL WPA Section News

Washington and Multnomah, Oregon County ARES Groups Assisted Public Safety for
the Oregon International Airshow, September 22-24 -- Washington County and
Multnomah County ARES programs along with local members of Community Emergency
Response Teams (CERT) joined forces with various public safety emergency
services, supporting their efforts in an auxiliary capacity for the show.
The[FullSizeRender(1).jpg] mission of ARES and CERT members included: Assisting
 people locate lost family members; increasing response time by public safety
personnel, should an emergency arise; providing auxiliary radio communications,
 should a significant event overwhelm public safety radio communications
assets; providing directions (or escort) to local public service and safety
areas, for situations such as minor injuries, water, etc; providing
organizational literature; and recruiting new members.

Washington County ARES works to accommodate the specific needs of the County,
while maintaining communications interoperability with the remainder of the
state, and nation. Within the County, Washington County ARES officially serves
the Countywide Dispatch Center, the

Sheriff's Office, the Department of Land use and Transportation, nine cities,
three hospitals, two public utilities, and one fire agency. As such, Washington
 County ARES, by means of a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) is authorized to
conduct emergency communications for those agencies. -- Ivan R. Loock, N7PRM,
ARRL Public Information Officer


K1CE For a Final: Notes from Irma

Here on the Florida peninsula, as Irma took aim with its giant swath, I was
ordered under "house arrest" into the Volusia county public hospital where I
work, for the storm's duration. The hospital is ten stories high, and I offered
 to serve as a human repeater if necessary. I checked the Volusia County
Disaster App frequently to find information and the census of area Red Cross
shelters, which, according to what I heard, were served by radio amateurs.
After the passage of the storm and authorities opened the roads for regular
travel, I drove home, observing the jaw-dropping, extensive damage to trees,
power lines, homes, stores, bulletin boards and other structure. I assessed my
neighborhood and checked to see if neighbors were okay. Some were returning to
their homes after driving as much as or more than a thousand miles during what
was described in the media as the largest evacuation in US history. I could see
 the looks of weary fatigue patently on their faces.

Which brings me to my point: Consider joining or starting a neighborhood CERT
team. The Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) is a FEMA initiative under
the Ready program's Citizen Corps, of which the ARRL is an affiliate. From
FEMA: "The Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) program educates volunteers
 about disaster preparedness for the hazards that may impact their area and
trains them in basic disaster response skills, such as fire safety, light
search and rescue, team organization, and disaster medical operations. CERT
offers a consistent, nationwide approach to volunteer training and organization
 that professional responders can rely on during disaster situations, which
allows them to focus on more complex tasks. Through CERT, the capabilities to
prepare for, respond to and recover from disasters is built and enhanced."

One of the many aspects of this program that I like is that the radio amateur
does not have to leave his home and family to travel in a potentially unstable
environment for a deployment somewhere distant. Instead, he or she "deploys in
place." He or she can take care of his/her home and family, while also
assessing his neighborhood for damage and injuries possibly requiring outside
support from first responders, making their response possible through radio
communications to the EOC, ARES and other nets. CERT functions can include
damage assessment, basic triage, First Aid, light search and rescue, and fire
and flood control.

Unlike first responders, radio amateurs are found in just about every
neighborhood throughout the country, ready to respond "in place." Make joining
or starting a CERT team in your neighborhood a priority this post-hurricane
season. There is a wealth of information on the Ready.gov website for CERT.

And last but not least, make a donation to Ham Aid. I just did, and it felt
good to know my contribution will help put radio gear in the hands of those who
 need it most: the operators in the trenches of many current disaster areas,
such as in Puerto Rico. Donate to Ham Aid!

_____________


ARRL -- Your One-Stop Resource for Amateur Radio News and Information

Join or Renew Today! ARRL membership includes QST, Amateur Radio's most popular
 and informative journal, delivered to your mailbox each month.

Subscribe to NCJ -- the National Contest Journal. Published bi-monthly,
features articles by top contesters, letters, hints, statistics, scores, NA
Sprint and QSO Parties.

Subscribe to QEX -- A Forum for Communications Experimenters. Published
bi-monthly, features technical articles, construction projects, columns and
other items of interest to radio amateurs and communications professionals.

Free of charge to ARRL members: Subscribe to the ARES E-Letter(monthly public
service and emergency communications news), theARRL Contest Update (bi-weekly
contest newsletter), Division and Section news alerts -- and much more!

Find us on Facebook. Follow us on Twitter.

ARRL offers a wide array of products to enhance your enjoyment of Amateur Radio

Donate to the fund of your choice -- support programs not funded by member
dues!

____________________________________________________________________________


The ARES E-Letter is published on the third Wednesday of each month. ARRL
members may subscribe at no cost or unsubscribe by editing their Member Data
Page as described at http://www.arrl.org/FandES/field/ares-el/.

Copyright (C) 2017 American Radio Relay League, Incorporated. Use and
distribution of this publication, or any portion thereof, is permitted for
non-commercial or educational purposes, with attribution. All other purposes
require written permission.

www.arrl.org

)\/(ark

Always Mount a Scratch Monkey
Do you manage your own servers? If you are not running an IDS/IPS yer doin' it
wrong...
... Northerners eat fried chicken with a knife and fork.
---
 * Origin:  (1:3634/12.73)