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SARA Happenings - March 2002
Hi,
This is our regular mailing intended to improve communication within the
Search and Rescue community in Alberta. It's going out to over 160 e-mail
addresses that are listed as the primary contact of SAR Alberta member
groups or which were requested to be added to the mailing list. If you
want to be added or removed from the list, please send mail to sara-happenings-ctl@castrov.cuug.ab.ca.
NEW PRESIDENT'S MESSAGE
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Wow, what happened to the last two years? It seems like just yesterday
I left the AGM in Red Deer early, only to get home to Cold Lake to a phone
message from Brett Wuth welcoming me as the new Vice President. Then I
remember Brad Marshall telling me at the 2001 AGM that we had lots to
do during his shorter then normal term and thinking "what's the hurry,
we got lots of time". Well, here we are a couple of years later,
and hopefully, a little smarter.
What a ride it's been. It's hard to believe all we have accomplished during
this period. Things like delivering the conference, improving communications
around the Province, our Government funding, SAR Day, inter-agency relationships,
to name just a few. I agree we still have some work to do polishing up
these items as well as a couple that have to be tackled, but I feel that
we have laid the foundation for a great organization in SAR Alberta.
During the last couple of weeks, I have heard some rumblings that SAR
Alberta has lost the "big picture" and is not delivering up
to expectations. I guess I would like to take this opportunity to request
from all of you; if you have a specific problem with the way things are
being done, or if you have any ideas you feel would benefit SAR Alberta,
please bring them up to your SAR Team or Region's Director or Deputy Director.
Without this input, the Board and Executive will continue to travel along
the road thinking that all is ok.
This is going to be the basis of my term as your President; I plan to
focus less on structure and more on other aspects of the SAR community's
needs. I feel the past Executives and Boards have built a strong, well-organized
structure. It is now time to work on what our members feel is lacking,
and I pledge not to get hung up in the politics of SAR, but to stay focused
on the bottom line, working together to the benefit of the potential survivor.
Well, that's my two cent's worth. It's only been a couple of weeks since
I took over the big chair, and I must admit, I'm still working on my "sea
legs" but it is starting to all fall into place. I am looking forward
to the year and hope I get a chance to work with, or at least meet, many
of you. My door is always open and my phone is always on. Let's work together
to make this the best year for SAR Alberta ever.
John Rotheisler
President, SAR Alberta
jroth@telusplanet.net
CIVIL EMERGENCY RESPONSE INSTRUCTOR APPLICATION
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SAR Alberta's Training Committee has just completed the development of
the new Civil Emergency Response course and is now roceeding with the
next phase, which is a CER Instructor's course so we may start delivering
the program in Alberta. The CER Instructor's course will be delivered
by Calgary Fire Department at their training facilities in the city, on
May 4 & 5th.
Those people who are active SAR Fundamentals Instructors in Alberta, and
interested in also becoming instructors for the new CER course are encouraged
to apply by downloading the application package accessible on the Training
Committee's SAR Alberta webpage at http://www.saralberta.org'
(access committee pages on legend, and then the Training link). DEADLINE
FOR MAIL-IN APPLICATION IS MARCH 31st.
Inquiries regarding the CER Course are to be directed to Provincial Training
Coordinator Fred McFall at fredm@monarch.net.
The Training
Committee would like to thank Disaster Services and Calgary Fire Department
for their assistance in providing this opportunity for SAR Alberta's membership.
DISASTER SERVICES TRAINING GRANTS
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SAR Teams that hosted grant-funded training courses this past year need
to ensure they have already submitted their class rosters to Disaster
Services and have provided required documentation back to their sponsoring
municipality. Failure to do so may impact both SAR
Alberta's and your SAR Team's access to grant funding in the future.
Disaster Services training grants for the upcoming 2002-2003 funding year
are being finalized this week, and municipalities will be
receiving cheques on behalf of their successful applicants by the end
of March. SAR Teams who are targeted to host a training course this
next year or will be conducting other training opportunities open for
attendance, should be contacting the SAR Alberta Training Committee
regarding their intentions. Please direct information or inquiries to
Provincial Training Coordinator Fred McFall at fredm@monarch.net.
PROVINCIAL SAR DAY - MAY 4, 2002
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SAR Alberta is please to announce that on May 4th this year, we will once
again be celebrating and promoting Provincial SAR Day. This is the third
year for this event, and each year SAR Alberta attains more media exposure.
In turn, bringing higher profile to the operational work of our membership.
There is even interest from other provinces to promote the day in their
area of the country, moving this
SAR Alberta initiative towards a nationally declared event.
To ensure that Provincial SAR Day is a success across Alberta, your SAR
Team needs to get on board. What your local SAR Team does for activities
on that day is up to you. You may consider open houses, demonstrations,
preventive education workshops or anything else in which the public would
take an active interest. Be flexible and creative and consider the appeal
of the activities from the perspective of the public and media.
So that SAR Alberta can promote your SAR Day activities throughout the
province and in your local area, you need to complete the SAR Day event
registration form recently mailed to your SAR Team, or accessible at `http://www.saralberta.org'.
Deadline for SAR Day event registrations is MARCH 31st. Inquiries regarding
the event should be directed to Provincial SAR Day Coordinator Craig Goddard
at <ve6cnz@hotmail.com. Together, we can ensure Search And Rescue in
our province receives the attention it deserves.
(In the last issue of SARA Happenings the date for the declared SAR Day
was incorrectly marked as May 5, 2002. Please note the correct date above,
May 4, 2002. If you have any questions contact Craig Goddard ve6cnz@hotmail.com.
SAR ALBERTA COMMITTEES NEED VOLUNTEERS
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SAR Alberta relies on its provincial committees to perform much of the
work that produces tangible results for you. As expectations for the provincial
association continue to increase, so too does the need for additional
volunteer support on our committees. Involvement may be on a general committee
for a one-year term, or a topic/issue specific sub-committee for either
a one-year term or for the duration of the project.
The following is a list of all SAR Alberta committees. Many have vacancies
for the right person to fill: Bylaws and Policies; Nominations and Elections;
Standards; Training; Fund Development; Communications; Preventive Education;
Telecommunications; Awards. Of particular note, the Bylaws and Policies
Committee is needing a Chair for this current 2002-2003 term.
If you are interested in getting involved with any of the committees listed,
please contact the committee's Chair (name and E-mail address available
at `http://www.saralberta.org' under Committee Pages in legend). Committee
Chairs are responsible for the determination of who serves on their committee.
If you are interested in the B & P Committee Chair's position, please
contact President John Rotheisler at jroth@telusplanet.net
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REGIONAL MEMBERSHIP DISCUSSION PAPER AND
QUESTIONNAIRE
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SAR Alberta, through its Bylaws and Policies Committee, is currently considering
changes to the policies that determine which members are a part of which
Region. The Committee has already examined the policy alternatives and
hosted a workshop discussion at the recent Provincial Conference. It also
released, in January, a discussion paper and questionnaire intended to
spur discussion in the membership regarding this issue that directly affects
us all. The discussion paper and questionnaire are available on the Bylaws
and Policies Committee webpage at `http://www.saralberta.org'
(access Committee Pages, then the Bylaws and Policies link). Submissions
are encouraged from formal representatives of SAR Alberta members, as
well as individuals SAR workers in the province, and others who feel the
current discussion may impact them.
The SAR Alberta Board will review the committee's recommendations and
decide whether to endorse them for presentation at the 2003 Annual General
Meeting. Any change to the policies will require a bylaw change. Each
member will receive notice of the proposed changes. At the 2003 AGM, it
will be the membership who will decide whether to change the bylaws. Inquiries
regarding this Regional Membership Review may be directed to Bylaws and
Policies Committee Member Brett Wuth at wuth@telusplanet.net
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PROVINCIAL CONFERENCE
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Co-Chairs Paul Olmstead and Jennifer Munro, along with Trade Coordinator
Brandie Howey, would like to thank everyone who assisted in hosting or
attended the 2002 Provincial Conference, held in Edmonton on March 1st
to 3rd; making this year a successful event! Total attendance was approximately
200 people, which was definitely an all-time high, and wouldn't have been
possible without the funding support provided by Alberta Municipal Affairs'
Disaster Service Branch.
With this year's conference behind us, it is now time to look ahead to
next year's event, to be hosted by South Eastern Alberta Search and Rescue.
Stay tuned for information to the exact location and dates and we'll look
forward to seeing you all there!
SAR ALBERTA WEBSITE REDEVELOPMENT
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SAR Alberta's website has been constantly evolving over the past year,
much as a result of the interest John Rotheisler has been putting towards
this vital communication tool for our organization. We are now in the
process of developing a totally new website, which will have more capabilities
and will sustain our organization for the next 2-5 years. We are currently
looking for people with a website design background who would assist us
with our current project, or be interested in administering the website
after the redevelopment is complete. If you are interested in getting
involved with this opportunity, please contact the Communications Coordinator
Brad Marshall at bmarsh@telusplanet.net
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A SEARCH IS AN EMERGENCY OR IS IT??
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Recently, several SAR groups from the Lethbridge area were involvedin
a search for a missing 3 year old child on the Blood Reserve. The child
had been missing for several hours overnight in a field and was located
eleven hours later by a SAR volunteer and canine partner.
The issue here is that while en route to the briefing, several SAR volunteers
were noted to be travelling at a speed significantly greater than the
posted speed limit. Later, while several volunteers were en route to the
search site, one of the canine teams was involved in an accident in which
her vehicle rolled in the ditch several times. The accident was the result
of a chain of events, no fault of the SAR member. The injuries were minor
to the member, no injury to the dog, but the vehicle was a write-off.
As a result of the accident, another canine team was needed to transport
the dog back to Lethbridge. Two canine teams were removed from the search
as a result of the accident. And as luck would have it, the child was
found in one of the search areas assigned to one of these teams.
While all of us recognize the need to initiate a search as soon as possible,
remember that you must be able to get to the scene to be able to be a
searcher. Remember, be safe out there and get there in one piece.
G.M. (Grant) HIGNELL, Cpl.
Lethbridge Police Dog Service/SAR Coordinator
SARA HAPPENINGS SUBMISSIONS
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The publication dates for future mailings of SARA Happenings has been
moved to the middle of each month. Please note that the new deadline for
material will be the 10th of each month.
Does your group have an event posting for the SARA Happenings mailing?
If so, to see that it is sent out on time send information 1-1/2 months
prior to the dates you wished advertised. It will then give ample notice
to those reading it to respond. Please send all material to the Communications
Coordinator, Brad Marshall at bmarsh@telusplanet.net
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