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It shall be our purpose to further amateur radio by serving the public; to promote technical knowledge, fraternalism, and individual operating proficiency; and to advance the general interest and welfare of amateur radio in the community.

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Public Service News


MARC Is Involved In Public Service !

   

     

      Public Service Communications are at the very core of the Amateur Radio Service and the Massillon Amateur Radio Club is dedicated to providing communications service to our community. 

    We provide communications for walk-a-thons, bicycle races, parades plus many other community events. Many of our members participate in the Amateur Radio Emergency Service. The Amateur Radio Emergency Service (ARES) consists of licensed amateurs who have voluntarily registered their qualifications and equipment for communications duty in the public service when disaster strikes. Every licensed amateur, regardless of membership in ARRL or any other local or national organization, is eligible for membership in the ARES. The only qualification, other than possession of an Amateur Radio license, is a sincere desire to serve. 

ecomm2.jpg (41821 bytes)  Attesting to our commitment to public service, over the past five years the MARC has been constructing a mobile communications trailer called EComm 1. ECOMM 1 is the identifier of the Massillon Amateur Radio Club's emergency communications trailer. Designed and custom outfitted by the members of the MARC, this vehicle serves as our main instrument of public service. Completely outfitted with communications equipment, the trailer can operate on all frequencies from HF to VHF including Amateur Television. It is ready at all times to be transported to the scene of any emergency. Completely self-contained, it stands ready to serve in any emergency situation or community event.

  To maintain a high level of readiness, the MARC routinely participates in yearly training exercises with several local and national organizations such as the American Red Cross and the National Weather Service. We also actively participate in several amateur radio service exercises, most notably "Field Day", sponsored by the ARRL, the National Association for Amateur Radio. These operating events help to keep our skills sharp and ready should we be called upon to assist in an emergency situation.

   Many of our members also participate in our local Skywarn Spotter program. Typically, trained volunteer spotters report into a local operations center, and these reports are relayed to the National Weather Service. Reports are delivered to this local center by many means including Amateur Radio. Specialized training is necessary to become an effective skywarn spotter and many of our members attend yearly spotter seminars to remain proficient in this program. In 1999 the Massillon Amateur Radio Club was asked to allow our primary 2 meter amateur repeater to be used as a backup to the Stark County ARES Skywarn repeater should it become necessary. The MARC has always been committed to assisting the Skywarn program here in Stark County.

   As part of the local Skywarn Spotter program, the MARC has also established memorandums of understanding with both Massillon Community and Doctors Hospitals here in Stark County. We have established full time fully operational amateur radio stations to be staffed by MARC volunteers in the event the National Weather Service issues a severe weather warning for our area. Massillon Community Hospital is also the home of our UHF Communications Repeater, a further testament to the mutual cooperation that exists between our two organizations.

       In 2000 we continued that commitment by establishing an amateur station at the Regional Emergency Dispatch (RED) Center located in Massillon. This office handles the dispatching responsibilities for several local police and fire departments and completes the circle in a carefully prepared area disaster plan that we are an integral part of. We have also created several portable packet stations that can be setup at these three locations to relay sensitive and confidential information back to either Red Cross command centers or the Stark County Emergency Operations Center. We also maintain close ties with the Stark County Emergency Operations Center located in the Stark County Sheriff's Office. 

We are always looking for ham operators to become involved in public service communications here at the MARC. If you are interested in this important aspect of the amateur radio service, you are encouraged to contact us. If you would like to know more about Emergency Communications here in Stark County we recommend you check out the Stark County Amateur Radio Emergency Service website at http://www.qsl.net/wd8aye . Make a difference, become involved in emergency service communications !. Let us show you how. Contact us by email  at [email protected] or you may contact our ARES Assistant Emergency Coordinator Terry Russ, N8ATZ at (330) 837-3091.


Club Assists With CROP WALK 

    On Sunday afternoon October 6th, several members of the MARC assisted the Brewster United Methodist Church with their annual CROP Walk. Known as the Christian Rural Overseas Program (CROP), it is a program that provides interfaith hunger education sponsored by local churches. The Brewster walk is a collaboration of over 11 area churches.

Providing both safety and support communications, club members monitored the walkers as they took to the Towpath Trail, walking from Navarre to John Glenn Cove Park, enjoying the beautiful fall foliage along the Ohio & Erie Canal Trail. With over 100 walkers participating this year, event sponsor Pastor Merlin Kerstetter requested the clubs assistance again this year. This marks the third consecutive year the club has provided communications assistance for this event.

  Ecomm1 was again utilized at John Glenn Park to provide net control duties for the walk, with additional operators at church registration and along the route. Because the route would take the walkers across a busy street, we again used Amateur Television to provide live video surveillance of traffic flow along the road.

We are glad to report that all walkers completed the course safe and sound. A special thanks to the following club members for their assistance during this event. They were, Don - W8DEF, Linda - K8MOO, Terry - N8ATZ & xyl Lynnette, Ed - WA8DRT, Charlie - KB8STV and guest walker Greg Miller - W8XY. 

 

Sights From The 2002 CROP Walk

CROP Walk Volunteers ready for action !
L to R are - Ed, WA8DRT - Don, W8DEF - Linda, K8MOO - Charlie, KB8STV - Greg, W8XY and Terry, N8ATZ


CROP Walkers break for refreshments at John Glenn Park


The "Gator" Rescue ATV stands ready for assistance if needed.


MARC Assists in Holiday Parade

  On Saturday, November 23rd Santa Claus officially arrived in Massillon via fire truck and the Massillon Amateur Radio Club helped him arrive safe and sound in the 48th annual Massillon Holiday Parade. This is the longest running annual public service event handled by the MARC.

Sponsored in recent years by the Downtown Merchants Association, our responsibilities included parade line-up of the nearly 100 units that make up the parade each year, safety communications, logistical support to parade organizers and coordination of the WHS TV production control by providing last minute line-up changes & additions. Parade safety is always one of our most important responsibilities as we assist the Massillon Police Department with crowd and traffic coordination while the parade is in motion.

With the increased size of the parade this year, organizing the unit line-up continues to be one of most important responsibilities (and most hectic !), as well as providing marshaling duties to help keep the parade moving. As in previous years the club had the honor of showing off our EComm Trailer in the parade, modestly decorated to fit the holiday theme of the parade. It is always heartwarming to see the great response received from the residents of Massillon as make our way along the parade route.

Communications Coordinator Perry Ballinger - W8AU, as well as parade chairman Don Harwig, President of the Downtown Merchants Association want to thank the club for all its dedicated support of this annual holiday tradition. This years volunteers included ... Terry - N8ATZ, Gary - WC8W, Jason - KC8LIN, Dan - N8DZM, Saundra - N8TZB, Linda - K8MOO, Don - W8DEF, Gene - W8KXR & xyl Marylin, Rick - KC8LYG, Jim - WA8GXM, Sam - WA8YGR, Dennis - K1FFA, and Joe - WD8BGW fulfilling his primary role as member of the Massillon Police Department.

Congratulations on another job well done and a great community service !

 


Section Emergency Coordinator Report 

  The Spring 2002 issue of the Ohio Section Journal is out and Section Emergency Coordinator Larry Rain - WD8IHP had some very interesting items in this edition. The following are a few excerpts. 

The ARES forum at the Dayton Hamvention this year will be on the tragedy of the 911 disaster of the World Trade Center. If everything goes as planned, we will have speakers from the New York Section who worked in the operations center at Ground Zero and will explain the many problems that arise when you find yourself handling communications for such a major disaster. We hope at the end of the forum hour we will have some time left for a short Q & A session.

Just to give you a few stats on the Ohio Section, we have had 53 students complete the Level 1 ARRL Emergency Communications course, 25 complete the Level II Course and 13 complete the Level III Course as of the end of January, 2002. I feel this speaks very highly of the amateur community in the Ohio Section. Keep up the great work.

One major project that I am undertaking at this time is to compile a master data base of all of motorized command vehicles and trailers that are available in the Ohio Section by county. All EC's will be contacted by their respective DEC's to provide this information along with a detailed list of the operating equipment housed within these vehicles. In the event of a large disaster in the Ohio Section where multiple command posts could be needed, this information will be available to all nine DEC's so that they will have the flexibility of calling extra units into their area when needed. You can read the complete edition of the Spring 2002 Ohio Section Journal by going to the MASER website. Click Here to go directly to the Ohio Section page.


MARC Opens The 2002 Public Service Season

The Summit County Amateur Radio Emergency Service in conjunction with the MARC participated in the first annual Multiple Sclerosis Society MS Walk on Sunday, April 21st at both the Canal Fulton Community Park and Quail Hollow State Park. As usual, Amateur Radio played an important part in this now annual club community service event. 

Serving in our usual role, we provided support and safety communications at both locations. Quail Hollow State Park under the direction of Jack Wade - N8LCS reported about 200 to 300 participants, who braved the cold and damp temperatures as well as the parks often muddy trails to complete either a 7 mile or 1 mile route through the parks scenic trails. The Canal Fulton Community Park location offered either a 6.2 mile route or a 1.5 mile hike along the Ohio & Erie Canal Towpath Trail along the historic Tuscarawas River. Even with the usual early spring rains, participation in this walk was about 500 strong which has convinced local coordinators to make this location an annual event. With the Canal Fulton location being close to Summit County, Ohio ARES District Coordinator Jim Miller - K8EIO, offered to provide several Summit County ARES volunteers to help with the event. Volunteers staffed rest stops, shuttle buses, and provided logistical support for this event. The MARC's Emergency Communications Trailer, ECOMM 1, was utilized as Net Control at Canal Fulton location and provided solid communications for the event. The units new heating/air conditioning unit also performed well, keeping volunteers warm and dry during the event. 

The event organizers were very impressed with the amateurs ability to provide solid communications during this event, especially when one walker needed minor medical attention and amateur radio was used to quickly summon a medical unit to the scene. All volunteers were presented with a MS Walk T-Shirt at the conclusion of the event.  Amateur event coordinator Jack Wade - N8LCS also wishes to thank everyone who volunteered for this annual club event. Staff at the Quail Hollow State Park included, Bruce Putnam - AB8FB, Russ McMahen - N8PII, Jason Stroll - KC8LIN, Wes Mast - NV8M, Rick Garner - KC8LYG, Dan Anastis - N8DZM, Saundra Becker - N8TZB and Don Wade - W8DEA all from the MARC. Canal Fulton volunteers were Charlie Scherger - KB8STV, Don Finley - W8DEF, and Terry Russ - N8ATZ all from the MARC. Summit County ARES under the direction of Jim Miller - K8EIO, EC Summit County also participated with help from Larry Fields - WD8ITF, Curt Witte - KA8QKY and Patti Albright - KC8HWG. A special thanks also to Jim Farriss - WA8GXM for delivery and setup of EComm 1 at the park.

Check out the Current News Page for some nice pictures of this years event courtesy of Patti - KC8HWG, Charlie - KB8STV and Don - W8DEF. Click Here for a direct link.    


Red Cross Training Class Well Attended

     On Tuesday, March 19th, members of the MARC participated in a Red Cross class held at the Western Stark County Chapter in Massillon. The class "Introduction To Disaster Services" was conducted by Bruce Robinson, Director of Emergency Services.

The video based course introduced participants to disasters, the community response, and the role of Red Cross Disaster Services. The class covered the seven major areas of disaster services and is a required course for those who wish to join the Red Cross as a volunteer.

Bruce discusses Disaster Preparedness to MARC

Club participation was exceptional with 18 members taking part in the introductory course organized by club Training Coordinator Charlie Scherger - KB8STV.

Congratulations to the following for taking part in this Red Cross course. They were, Don Finley-W8DEF, Jason Stroll-KC8LIN, Bryon-KF8UN, Gary Lewis-W8SSB, Don Guisinger-KC8RPE, Don Wade-W8DEA, Linda Finley-K8MOO, Jim Farriss-WA8GXM, Terry Russ-N8ATZ, Ann Ballinger-N8GAF, Rich Ross-KA8ZQH, Randy Phelps-KD8JN, Charlie Scherger-KB8STV, Jules Labourcane-KA8MMN, Sam Marang-WA8YGR, Bruce Putnam-AB8FB, Gene Beckwith-W8KXR, and Gary Blagg-KC8IHR.

Members Don and Linda Finley, Jim Farriss and Sandra Becker-N8TZB have been involved in the Red Cross for many years and Bruce Robinson hopes the introductory class will inspire a few new volunteers ! 


FEMA Training Class Well Attended

    17 Members of the MARC under the direction of club Training Coordinator Charlie Scherger - KB8STV completed the first of what we hope will be a semi-annual club training program series. Our first attempt at this type of "no charge" training was FEMA's sponsored "Emergency Response to Terrorism", presented by the National Fire Academy. This course, part of FEMA's Independent Study Program, consists of self-paced courses designed for both the general public and people who may have emergency responsibilities, a perfect starter for amateur radio operators involved in the Amateur Radio Emergency Service. Their website, Click Here, gives a brief introduction to the program with links to their many available home study courses. 

With Charlie as course instructor and assisted by Don Finley - W8DEF, the basic outline of the course was presented through slides which defined what terrorism is, types of terrorism incidents, appropriate responses and basic HAZMAT fundamentals. Participants were then required to complete a twenty question open book test at the conclusion of the class. Once submitted, recipients will receive a nice certificate of completion from FEMA. 

A special thanks goes out to Charlie, MARC's Public Service Award recipient for 2001, for spearheading an effort to provide additional training to the amateur operators of Stark County. This is one of the major goals of the Stark County ARES and Charlie is helping us to achieve this important goal. Congratulations to the following MARC members for successfully completing this initial FEMA class. They are Gary Kline - WC8W, Randy Phelps - KD8JN, Don Wade - W8DEA, Anne Ballinger - N8GAF, Linda Finley - K8MOO, Perry Ballinger - W8AU, Bruce Putnam - AB8FB, Russ McMahen - N8PII, Gene Beckwith - W8KXR, Jules Laborcane - KA8MMN, Byron Berger - KF8UN, Jack Wade - N8LCS, Rick Garner - KC8LYG, and Terry Russ - N8ATZ. Our instructor Charlie Scherger - KB8STV, assistants Don Finley - W8DEF and Jason Stroll - KC8LIN have previously taken and completed this course.


ARRL Emergency Communications  

                              Public Service has and will continue to be a very important part     of the Amateur Radio Service. Our continued existence as a hobby may be dependent on our ability to demonstrate a continued need of our very valuable part of the radio spectrum.

We continually demonstrate this need by participation in numerous training exercises - Skywarn, Field Day, SET, etc and by providing communications during public service events - parades, bike-a-thons, races, to name but a few. 

    Over the last several years mainly due to reduced licensing requirements we have added many new amateurs to our hobby. While this was necessary ours is still a technical hobby and we depend on this level of expertise when participating in public service events.

    As amateur radio emergency communications has continued to evolve, it became apparent that some form of formal certification would soon be necessary in order to assure that we continue to provide trained and qualified communicators. With this in mind the ARRL has developed through their Certification and Continuing Education Program an Emergency Communications Course. Because the topic of emergency communications is so diversified and so much information is available, the material is broken into three levels: Introductory, Intermediate and Advanced Emergency Communications (Level I, II, III).

    The Level I Emergency Communications Course (EC-001) is currently available online only. The course has been developed in segments -- learning units with objectives, informative text, student activities, and quizzes. The entire Level I course is interactive and includes direct communications with a Mentor and other students. The Mentor assists students by guiding them through the course. Students take three 25 question multiple - choice assessments (exams) during the course (75 questions total). Those who successfully complete the course and pass the assessments earn an attractive certificate and ID card. The ARRL has established a very detailed website page that describes the Emergency Communications course. Click Here to go their directly. 

    The online course usually fills quickly and are open for registration each month. Class capacity is about 50 students and opens on or about the second Monday at about 4 PM EST. Registration remains open until all seats are filled. The fee is $ 40.00 for ARRL members and $ 70.00 for non members.

    EmComm Certification is an opportunity to provide the public service community with trained amateur radio operators who will have a consistent level of expertise in emergency communications no matter where in the United States they live. The goal therefore is to provide consistently knowledgeable communications people who have a positive service oriented attitude.

    Stay tuned to this page for further updates in this exciting new program !


MARC Involved in Search & Rescue Operations


                               
Friday morning January 25th started off calm for club members Don Finley - W8DEF and Jim Farriss - WA8GXM, that is until their Red Cross pagers activated with news of a missing 75 year old Alzheimer's resident who had been missing for more than eight hours prompted a full scale search effort involving several local public safety agencies including both the American Red Cross and Amateur Radio. 

With approximately 60 to 65 personnel from various fire departments including additional support from the Ohio Department of Natural Resources, local Police and the Stark County Sheriff as well as the Ohio Highway Patrol involved in the massive rescue effort, Red Cross & ARES member Don Finley - W8DEF was immediately dispatched to the scene to provide Red Cross meal support. Red Cross Coordinator Jim Farriss - WA8GXM also stood ready in case the clubs Emergency Communications Trailer, ECOMM 1, was called into service.

During the height of the search efforts, a Metro LifeFlight helicopter and a Ohio Highway Patrol search plane circled the area while a rescue boat combed the waters and fields surrounding the Tuscarawas River. Other personnel set out on foot or mounted all terrain vehicles.

Thankfully the woman was found unharmed sitting inside a locked vehicle in a local business parking lot. Although Amateur Radio participation was minimal, Navarre Fire Chief Ray Gallaher, incident commander was ready to call out additional amateur support in the event the search continued throughout the evening. 


     

     

What if it happens here ? That's the title newsline from the Massillon Independent newspaper article of Monday, October 22, 2001 and Amateur Radio is mentioned as part of the cities emergency preparedness plan.

The events of September 11th redefined the meaning of emergency preparedness, both local & national and the Massillon Amateur Radio Club is stepping up our efforts to provide communications support to our community should an emergency occur.

We are fortunate to have a presence in our public service community as we already have permanent two meter stations setup at both Massillon Community and Doctor's Hospital as well as our newest station located at Massillon's Regional Emergency Dispatch Center. This liaison helps to unite us with several local police & fire departments.

Our EComm 1 Communications Trailer has been upgraded continuously over the past several years in preparation for any local emergency. It will soon have a permanent commercial public service radio installed that will provide a direct link with nearly all of our local public service agencies.

Massillon has had a disaster plan loosely in place since 1975 and it has been steadily upgraded each year as possible threats to the city became apparent to local officials. The MARC has been an integral part of that plan almost since that time but over the years our ties to local government slowly faded due to inactivity. 

We have taken part in numerous local practice exercises and drills primarily under the direction of the Red Cross, an agency with whom we have developed a very strong relationship over the years. This would undoubtedly be the focus of our activities in the event of a local emergency, but I can envision an expanded role since the real worth of professionally trained radio operators was demonstrated to the world at both the World Trade Center and the Pentagon disaster sites.

City officials are keenly aware of the fact that any number of both natural and man made disasters could land squarely here in Massillon. Everything from weather related disasters such as tornadoes and floods, disasters such as toxic spills, railroad accidents or even airplane crashes are all possible in our small community. City planners have already stated that all local resources would be taped to assist in a local emergency situation including amateur radio. The real question is ARE WE READY ?

Click here to read the full text of the recent story in the Massillon Evening Independent.


        
Click here
for info on Stark County Skywarn.       

      Click Here for details on ECOMM 1.

       Click Here for a guide to working public service events.

 

  This page was last updated on - 01/19/03

 

   

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 This page was last updated on  01/19/03

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