Meeting September 17, 2005
Official minutes
MEMBERS and GUESTS PRESENT:
Art Jordan, Glenn Schultz, Jake Weber, Chuck Dunnavant, Chris Long, Bill Gillespie, Charlie Arvidson, Sharon Fisher, Darrell Monroe, Brooks Hanford, Norma Snelling, Sarah Jordan
Next SARVAC Meeting: November, 19 2005 at Camp Murray EOC
Board Meeting 11:30 a.m., General Meeting 12:00 p.m.
The meeting was called to order at 12:00 p.m.
Introductions
Everyone at the meeting introduced themselves to the group.
Acceptance of the minutes. Brooks Hanford moved and Chuck Dunnavant seconded to accept the minutes with the March and May dates corrected to 2006. The motion passed unanimously.
President's Report:
Reviewed his goal of SARVAC getting more involvement statewide. Would like to know from SAR volunteers: What can SARVAC can offer counties and what needs are not being met in the counties? Meeting locations of 2 west side, 1 east side, and 1 at the State SAR Conference are meant to make attending SARVAC more convenient for volunteers.
At the Governor's Advisory Council Meeting Sept. 2, 2005, council members were updated on the response for Hurricane Katrina. In Washington State, earthquakes and/or volcano eruptions are natural events that will happen at some point in the future. Plans for response to those events are in place and under regular review. The possibility of a flu pandemic is also being prepared for. If one happens, it will have a huge impact on businesses and services.
Yearly EMC report can be accessed through the DEM website.Secretary's Report:
Dues notices were sent to the SAR Coordinator in each county in Washington.
Treasurer's Report:
Current balance: $1289.03
Bills paid: SAR conference awards $96.77, mailing expenses $20.19, secretary of state $10.00, conference fee for a 2004 award winner $95, copying $8.08.Since the last report, Asotin and Cowlitz counties have paid yearly dues. With the additional $500 given to Chelan, $2000 is now being provided by SARVAC as seed money to help the host county defray start up costs. Was it forwarded to King County? If so, was it credited to SARVAC?
Committee Reports:
None.
Old Business
The SAR Conference was discussed including concerns over the rising fees. Chelan was a good, solid conference with about 1,000 attendees even with the increased registration fee. However, the cost of SAR Conferences is going to continue rising and the day of $50 registration fees is probably long gone. (If port-a-potties and/or garbage disposal costs were donated, it could drop the costs some, but not much.)
Chelan County recognized SARVAC's contribution to the conference on their conference website.How to inform SAR volunteers about SARVAC was discussed. Do we send an information letter to counties about SARVAC? Who do we send it to? County Departments of Emergency Mangement? SAR Councils? SAR groups?
Art will contact King County and Chelan County before the November meeting about SARVAC and the its contribution to the state conference each year. He will also get a list of DEM directors for mailings to SAR groups. One idea
is to mail a letter with an enclosed stamped postcard asking for a response to:Do you have a SAR Council?
Do you have SAR groups?
Contact person: Name, address, and email
None of either in the county.
SAR in Washington State is very local and focused on own unit or county. Some people don1t see a need for a statewide organization. But, you can1t put together a statewide organization only when you need one and a statewide organization has much more clout than individual counties. So, how to build SARVAC should be a priority.
It was moved by Sharon and seconded by Sarah that the Lifetime Achievement Award replace the Meritorious Award and that we reserve the right to recategorize an applicant if the application was submitted in the wrong category. Parameters will be addressed at the November meetingNew Business:
Chris Long shared about the upcoming management/leadership training January 23-27, 2006. The courses are intended for advance level SAR. Those people in charge of searchers. Tentatively, three courses will be offered depending upon the number of individuals who sign up. The course and course materials will be paid for by DEM, but the travel and lodging is the participant1s responsibility.
Blanket mission numbers were discussed. These were implemented to lower the bureaucratic burden and to help when groups were planning ahead for trainings, etc. However, they still must have some specifics such as when, where, and what the mission will be.
The Washington State SAR Conference will be in King County in 2006. Okanogan had considered hosting the 2007 conference, but Pierce County will be the host. It is getting very difficult for a small county to host this event as
it takes a commitment from the Sheriff1s Office and much time. Smaller counties will probably need to partner with a neighboring county in order to host a conference in the coming years.
Chris Long asked that SARVAC develop a procedure for determining the host county. It is the largest SAR conference in the country and probably in the world. The conference has always had field-oriented training at a reasonable cost. It does require an 18-24 month commitment by the host county. Ideas were discussed, and it was decided that an application needs to be drafted and decided upon at our November meeting and in place by May 2006 so a final decision can be made by September 2006. This would give a county 19 months to organize the conference which includes finding a suitable location, a food vendor, classrooms (tents, chairs, electricity), instructors, etc.
Charlie Arvidson will bring the information from Lewis County to the next SARVAC meeting. Sharon Fisher will bring a draft application, and Art will talk to Chelan and Lewis Counties. Other ideas would be welcome, too.Out-of-county standards continue to be discussed. WSSARCA is working on getting the proposed format approved by the Sheriff's Association so that the next steps can be taken. Washington State does have standards: WAC 118-04. In addition Washington law states that the local law enforcement officer is responsible for choosing whom to use to help with SAR missions.
Chris Long reviewed the current lawsuits involving SAR. He reminded the group that mission numbers are intended to cover volunteers for search related incidents. They are not intended to replace equipment that has worn out, rather something that was damaged in the course of a mission or as a direct result of a mission. For example, if a transmission "gives up the ghost", it wouldn't be covered. However, if a transmission was damaged as a result of pulling a snowmobile trailer on a mission, it would be covered.Regional/County Activity:
Yakima: We1ve had a fair number of searches this summer, many in the Chinook Pass/Bumping Lake area.
Yakima Sheriff Office was informed by cell phone of a patient in a diabetic coma, at Two Lakes, before contact was lost. Teams covered three possible routes to the Last Know Position, with the primary team covering 24+ miles, round trip. It appears the cold, damp weather caused an error in the glucose meter readings, indicating normal instead of low blood sugar. The patient was given glucose and transported out by a horse team. The reporting party had climbed a hill to make the cell phone call and returned to Two Lakes, in a valley out of cell range.
A wife dropped her husband off at White Pass for a day hike to Chinook Pass on the Pacific Crest Trail (PCT). She drove to Chinook Pass, where the parked car was found, to walk south on the PCT to meet him. When she failed to rendezvous he reported her missing. The husband provided information in detail (what socks she was wearing, etc.) but information on a firearm in his possession kept changing. She was found safe, on the wrong trail, the next day. She had hiked the PCT, decided to return to the car, but took the wrong trail at Dewey Lake. She walked within 30 minutes of Highway 410, five miles from the PCT. Not knowing her location, she decided to return the way she had come until dark, where she was found the next day. It appears the husband, an Air Traffic Controller, is by nature very meticulous but really had forgotten about the gun in his possession.
A young man, with known medical concerns, was hiking with friends and his dog. Returning to the trailhead he began walking ahead of the group. His friends found his pack on the trail, but could not find him at the trailhead. Returning to the pack, it was now missing as well as the subject. His friends located him the next morning, in good condition, as the search was beginning. The dog had bolted; the subject placed his pack in the trail and followed his dog. Although locating the dog and his pack, at some point his medical condition caused him to lose consciousness. He awoke confused and unaware of where he was.
An aircraft accident from 25 years ago was located near Satus Pass. The airplane impacted in Yakima County then skidded into Klickitat County. Klickitat County made the recovery.
A roaming dog returned with a human leg in Buena, a small town south of Yakima. After searching the area with K-9 and ground teams, the dog returned that weekend with a part of another human leg. After attempting to electronically track the dog without success, a concerned citizen reported finding human remains just south of the search area.
The Search and Rescue office will be moving from the Yakima county Courthouse to the new Yakima County Sheriff Office sometime after the end of October.
It is becoming more common to send a single searcher by his/herself instead of a search team. This is not done in the majority of searches and is done using experienced searchers under good weather conditions or in vehicles only.
Kitsap: Volunteers went to Skamania County to help in the search for a missing woman. Hunters found her body. Volunteers also went to Skagit County to search for hikers/climbers who walked out on their own. Four kids were found near Potlach by FLIR.
Snohomish: Searches for overdue climbers; an 80 year old man who had had a hip replacement and high blood pressure and who had not taken any food or water with him (he was looking for Sasquatch); a missing Alzheimer patient was found in Everett; an injured hiker was short hauled out.
Thurston: In county, things were quiet, but sent teams to Skamania, Cowlitz, Grays Harbor, and Potlach.
Cowlitz: Turn arounds; woman lost in a blackberry patch.
Okanogan: Searched 3 days for a man reported last seen riding his horse near a boat launch. His wet horse was found the next day near the boat launch. For 1 week after, boats looked up and down the Columbia River. It turned out he was due in court shortly after he disappeared. He was later found in Idaho.
A bicyclist, above the Methow River, called by cell phone to say he didn1t know how to get where he wanted to go. Even with directions, he got lost. He was found by Scott Miller.
Three lost children were found quickly.
Clallam: Twenty-month-old child walked away from home. Was found by a neighbor. Deputy was helped after he was involved in a chase by car, then on foot, and ended up in a ravine needing help. A news reporter in the Olympic National Park fell and got a concussion. He was out 2 nights and was hypothermic before he was found.
Training: Wednesday nights of classroom instruction and then the 4th Wednesday night is field training to practice the classroom instruction.
Chris Long - Washington State: There are 600-700 searches in an average
year. This year there have been about 650 missions.Adjourned: Meeting was adjourned at 2:30 p.m.
Meetings are the third Saturday of March and November at Campu Murray,
the third Saturday in September in Ellensburg
and at the state SAR conference in May.
SARVAC‘s mailing address
SARVAC
Washington EMD
Camp Murray WA 98430-5122Any information you would like to see announced, may be addressed to SARVAC‘s web manager.
Noel McRae, a life member of Cowlitz County Search and Rescue Team, has agreed to be the webtech.For information about the site you can contact the webtech at webtech@wasar.bizland.com
Chris Long [the State SAR Coordinator of WA]
can be reached at the web address: c.long@emd.wa.gov,
WA-SAR.net: www.wa.gov/wsem.