A monthly publication of the Middle East Tennessee Emergency
Radio Service, Inc. (METERS is a registered non-profit service organization
based in Meetings are held at 7 PM, the 4th Tuesday every
month. Our December Christmas Party will be at the Members’ submissions are invited for this newsletter, in
.rtf, .doc, and plain text formats, subject to space available and editing.
Editor: Larry Osterman, W8JYQ, e-mail to w8jyq (at) arrl (dot) net. Presidents Statement for
December 2005 By Alan Sims KG4MMG Season's
Greetings Members and Friends, and Merry Christmas. – Remember to
check into the NETS, Tuesday and Wednesday evenings, 146.625 at 9 PM. See you at
the Christmas Party, Dec. 20, 2005, 7 PM, at the Northshore Village Clubhouse. 73. -- Alan
KG4MMG By
Tyra Buczkowski, AI4KG We were successful in performing our first large scale
Incident Command (IC/CERT) exercise in the field. Everyone worked together as a
group and made a fine showing of what we can do. We had the training and
education but our teamwork is the key to our success at METERS. Everyone did
his or her part and demonstrated mastery of the CERT principle of doing the
most good for the most people. Colin Ickes, KEMA operations manager, and Sammy Shaffer,
KPD, made special mention of our observation and information gathering skills
and our communications expertise. We were also commended for our knowledge and
application of ICS with particular emphasis placed on our number one
priority--safety. In addition to the CERT training, our TEMA training on ICS,
Hazmat response, and WMD response aided us tremendously in knowing what to look
for and how to report it. All those hours of class time and study were well
worth it. As we look to the New Year ahead, my wish for METERS and
all the folks in Again, thank you one and all for a
job well done. Treasurer Talk! By Dave Ogle KE4YBZ Reminder #3: If you haven't
paid, it is time to pay your 2006 METERS Membership Dues. Only TEN Bucks! I will be taking Cash and/or checks at
the next METERS gathering, Tuesday, Dec. 20. Also, please bring your Christmas
Party donation ($5.), to keep the food coming at this big annual December
event. Bring your wife and/or buddy. We still have a few METERS
T-Shirts available! They are only $10
each, so get them while they last! If
demand dictates, we may order more, but we have no plans to place a new order
unless and until we run out of these shirts. Thanks folks! -Dave STILL
WANTED: Net Control
Operators and Alternate Net Control Operators - All METERS
Members Can Qualify! Requirements: * Amateur
Radio License: Any level. * Radio: Anything that can reliably communicate through
our local repeaters. * Time
Involved: As little as 30 minutes a
month. * Skills
Needed: Ability to follow a net script
and log check-ins *
Benefits: Develop your skills for use
during emergencies and enjoy communicating with your fellow METERS members and
area hams. We will
provide a net script and net logging sheet.
All you need is the desire to become an NCS! We need net control stations and alternate
net control stations for the Monday evening 75 Meter Relay Net and for the
Wednesday night METERS training net.
Please let me know if you are interested and we will get you
started! Thanks! Connie Harrison K9GWB, METERS Net
Manager, (k9gwb (at) metersinc (dot) org) ARES Wake Up
Call By Jerry
Reimer KK5CA, SEC From Gary
Buczkowski AG4XO & Allen Kaplan W1AEL (District EC) If 9/11/2001
was a wake up call to Hurricane
Katrina was arguably the worst natural disaster to ever hit the In the 1950s
and 1960s, the nation's focus for disaster preparedness was personal
responsibility. Now it's: "When will the government get here to help
me?" Many of us who have been around for a while, remember all the
booklets, courses, even TV programs on self-reliance. While some official agencies
were spinning their wheels during the first few days following Hurricane
Katrina, some non-government organizations and private individuals mobilized
and got to work. Emergency
communications is often a low priority in the thinking of most emergency
planners, yet it is the central nervous system that conveys intelligence
information and resource requests during any disaster. In my opinion, it should
rank as high as emergency medical care. What good is emergency medical care if
those in need cannot communicate their needs? If our "plan" is to
wait until ARES is "activated" by some government official, we may
have a long wait. The important thing, whether your ARES group is deployed or
not, is to be prepared for such a deployment. Jerry, KK5CA SEC ( How
to Identify a Stroke (Reminder) From the Church notebook, via W8JYQ STROKE IDENTIFICATION: RECOGNIZING A STROKE Sometimes symptoms of a stroke are difficult to identify.
Unfortunately, the lack of awareness spells disaster. The stroke victim may
suffer brain damage when people nearby fail to recognize the symptoms of a
stroke. Now doctors say a bystander can recognize a stroke by asking these
three simple questions: 1. *Ask
the individual to SMILE 2. *Ask
him or her to RAISE BOTH ARMS. 3. *Ask
the person to SPEAK A SIMPLE SENTENCE (Coherently - i.e. It is sunny out
today). If he or she has trouble with any of these three tasks, call 9-1-1
immediately and describe the symptoms to the dispatcher. After discovering that a group
of non-medical volunteers could identify facial weakness, arm weakness and
speech problems, researchers urged the general public to learn the three
questions. They presented their conclusions at the American Stroke
Association's annual meeting last February. Widespread use of this test could
result in prompt diagnosis and treatment of the stroke and prevent brain
damage. A cardiologist says if everyone
who gets this message sends it to 10 people; you can bet that at least one life
will be saved. BE A FRIEND AND SHARE THIS ARTICLE WITH AS MANY FRIENDS AS
POSSIBLE. You could save their lives. By Tyra Buczkowski, AI4KG,
Vice President There was an article in the commentary/opinion section of
The Christian Science Monitor recently (12/12/05) written by Paul C. Light
about "disaster preparedness". This quiz is derived from that article. Some of the answers
(found at the end of this article) may surprise you. 1. In a poll of the a. tomorrow b.
twenty years from now c. within five
years 2. According to that same poll, what percentage of Americans
did not have a disaster contact plan for their families? a. 10% b.
25% c. 50% d. 67% 3. Also found in the July poll, about what percentage of
respondents did not know what to do, or where to get help, regarding disasters? a. 10% b.
25% c. 50% d. 67% 4. In response to the question of, what they would do if a
terrorist act occurred in their community, people said they would? a. gather supplies b.
flee c. contact their families &
friends d. pray e. volunteer f.
all of the above Even after Hurricane Katrina, most people in the The responses to question 4 about what they would do in the
aftermath of terrorism in the community are very revealing. Your fellow
citizens think they are going to be able to gather supplies, contact their
loved ones, leave the area, volunteer, just like nothing is wrong. They think
communications systems will be fully operational, travel will be unimpeded,
stores will be open with fully stocked shelves. Hopefully all these things will
be true but one cannot rely on these things following a disaster. The
responsible person should have at least three days’ supply of water, food, and
prescription & non-prescription medicine for all living under your
roof-including pets or other critters you are responsible for. You should also
consider and be prepared for evacuation and/or sheltering-in-place. You do not
know which of these you will have to endure after a disaster, possibly both. Please make a New Years’ resolution to prepare yourself
and your loved ones for a disaster just in case. Here are some internet
resources which may help in disaster preparedness. Have a Merry Christmas and Safe, Healthy, Happy New
Year! -- Tyra AI4KG Quiz Answers: 1 - C, 2 -
D, 3 - C, 4 – F Editorial
Notes Some of us have finished the CERT Training program, but for those
who didn't, we will have an opportunity to "go again" in the New
Year. CERT, which stands for Community Emergency Response Team, consists of
eight or more sessions to familiarize citizens with the emergency operations of
local governments and agencies. Upon completion of the program, you may be
called on to assist Incident Commanders at neighborhood or area emergency sites
needing additional manpower. They may find our EmComm skills especially
helpful. Please watch for CERT announcements here and in the weekly Net
Reminders. Some of us, who have sessions to make up, will also be sitting in
with the new CERT classes (me, for one!).
–W8JYQ
Community Emergency Response Team
THE FINAL
EXERCISE
Fourteen METERS
members participated in the CERT final exercise on Saturday December 10, 2005.
They received their much-deserved CERT certificates and graduated with the
distinction of responding to the test disaster quickly and effectively.
Everyone
must know how to get the message into the system. I am talking
about basic planning documents and guidelines. Let me be very clear. I am talking about everyone (in ARES)
knowing how to originate, relay and write a radiogram. Most
importantly, I am talking about having people who
are equipped with knowledge and experience.
We
have all heard some ham say: "I am not interested in any preparedness activity
or meetings or training, but in an emergency I'll be there to help!" Visualize for
a moment what would happen if the musicians within a
community took this same attitude. "I am
not interested in attending any practice sessions or rehearsals. But the next
time the symphony has a concert I'll be there with my horn! Since I own an
instrument and play with it once a week, doesn't that make me qualified? And,
why do you insist that we all play from the same page of music?" If any
Amateur Radio operators should be leading the fight against this sort of apathy
and ignorance, it should be ARES leaders and members. Apathy and ignorance are
killers. If not now, when? If not me, who?
During a BBQ a friend stumbled and took a little fall - she assured everyone that
she was fine (they offered to call paramedics) and just tripped over a brick
because of her new shoes. They got her cleaned up and got her a new plate of
food. While she appeared a bit shaken up, Ingrid went about enjoying herself
the rest of the evening. Ingrid's husband called later telling everyone that
his wife had been taken to the hospital - (At 6:00 pm, Ingrid passed away.) -
She had suffered a stroke at the BBQ - had they known how to identify the signs
of a stroke perhaps Ingrid would be with us today. It only takes a minute to
read this-
A neurologist says that if he can get to a stroke victim within 3 hours
he can totally reverse the effects of a stroke...totally. He said the trick was
getting a stroke recognized, diagnosed and getting to the patient within 3
hours.
Observations On Disaster Preparedness