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.
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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2002 MARC Productions
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