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Meeting November 19, 2005
Official minutesMEMBERS and GUESTS PRESENT:
Art Jordan, Glenn Schultz, Jake Weber, Doyle Wenzel, Charlie Arvidson, Janyth Arvidson, Sharon Fisher, Darrell Monroe, Brooks Hanford, Jim Peters, Sarah Jordan
The future meeting dates and locations are as follows:
March 18, 2006 Camp Murray EOC
Board Meeting 11:30 a.m., General Meeting 12:00 p.m.
May, 2006 State SAR Conference TBA
September 2006 Ellensburg, Wa
Board Meeting 11:30 a.m. General Meeting 12:00 p.m.
Items for the agenda were asked for at 11:50.
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 Doyle Wenzel moved and Brooks Hanford seconded to accept the minutes for the Sept. 17, 2005 as written.
The motion passed unanimously.
President's Report:
Art Jordan reported that the flu pandemic is being planned for at the state level. If/when a flu pandemic occurs, it will have a huge impact on the economy and the residents of the state of Washington, as there is lots of contact between Asia and Washington
State. Businesses will be impacted, as employees get sick. Prevention is key. Have a flu shot and stay has healthy as possible. A vaccine for the avian flu has not been developed yet.
In 1918, some people wore masks to minimize exposure to themselves. This may happen again and if it does, the best masks are the cheapest as you would want to change them often. Thinking about how to limit being exposed to germs in other ways (shopping carts, bathroom door handles, faucets) would be helpful, too. Having food supplies at home so you wouldn’t have to go to the store during a flu outbreak may not be feasible for many people who don’t have the funds to buy ahead.
Quarantines are a possibility, too. Employees would not be allowed to come to work ill.On the Washington State website under the department of health, flyers are available for downloading about how to limit your and others exposure to the flu. Also on the Center for Disease Control website.
Yearly EMC report can be accessed through the DEM website.
Secretary’s Report:
We were able to get the addresses of all the DEM offices in the state of Washington. Would we want to do a mailing or email about what SAR resources are currently available in our state? Send to the DEM and ask them to pass the message on to their Sheriff’s Department if that agency coordinates SAR for their county?
Not all counties have SAR units (Benton County for example). First email will ask adjoining counties for information. It was suggested that we ask Chris Long for money for mailing to DEMs and ask Ron Rials for their SAR conference mailing list.
Treasurer’s Report:
Current balance: $1289.03
No checks, no deposits.Committee Reports:
None.
Old Business:
The SAR Conference was discussed. Art talked to Ron Rials and they did receive the SARVAC seed money. He will talk to Ron about the following:
1. Can SARVAC be the one to send the money to the next host county?
2. Scheduling the meeting day and time for the SARVAC meeting at the conference. The preference would be for Sunday morning right after breakfast (8:00 a.m.)
3. Publicity for SARVAC. Could a PR blurb be put into the 2006 conference pamphlet?
4. Presenting awards Saturday night.
Awards:
Junior Volunteer of the Year: under 21 as of May 1st prior to the conference where the award would be presented.
Senior Volunteer of the Year: 21 and older as of May 1st to the conference where the award would be presented. An adult member who did something significant in the past year or two.
Lifetime Achievement: SAR career over 15 years. Exemplary dedication and service to the community.Brooks Hanford moved and Jake Weber seconded a motion to add $500 to make the SARVAC seed money to a total of $2,000.00. It passed unanimously.
It was discussed that it would be nice to encourage counties who host the state conference pay SARVAC dues since the money generated is used to support the conference and mailings.
New Business:
We need to coordinate a system for choosing the SAR conference host county. Sharon will draft an application form and email it to the staff. Members will be asked for comments, then it will be sent to Noel to put on the website.
Suggestions were requested by Sharon for how to best use time and human resources to train new SAR personnel. The amount of time required for training is difficult for many new members to commit. WAC 118-04 states what skills SAR volunteers are responsible for having, but making sure that individuals have enough knowledge and background to be competent SAR volunteers can be a challenge.
Different counties approach training in different ways. Kitsap has 3 different levels: type 1 is the most basic, type 2 adds search operations, and type 3 is field trained. Snohomish trains for 1 long weekend (16 hours) for all requirements except First Aid and CPR. Cowlitz has been using NASAR materials and standards. Glenn Schultz agreed to send Yakima an agenda of their academy.Doyl e Wenzel asked if SAR volunteers are officially considered First Responders. Art will try to get official confirmation of our status as SAR volunteers.
It was suggested that we ask Noel McRae about if the website colors could be changed. Can it be printed without background color? Color also takes “forever” to download.Regional/County Activity:
Yakima:October 22-November 5 there were 7 missions involving 29 individuals, but one 1 of those was lost. Other individuals were stranded in snow, injured, or ill. In one case, the Fire Department was not prepared for a wilderness rescue and the ambulance personnel weren’t prepared for the weather, and SAR volunteers were successful. The SAR units in Yakima moved to the Sheriff’s Office, which is a new building for them. There are still some glitches as the locks at the jail won’t lock and the locks at the sheriff’s office won’t unlock.
Kitsap: A couple of call backs, but no searches. More adults are showing an interest in ESAR. Currently, 20 young adults and adults are in training. The training cycle for ESAR includes 160 hours of training.
Snohomish: A man with a medical condition drove across a field and into a river. He floated down the river a ways and had to be rescued. There was a search for a girl’s arm that had been cut off in a water skiing accident and human remains were found in Marysville. 52 searches to date this year.
Cowlitz: Not much activity. Quick turn-arounds. Near Mt. St. Helens, 3 people got stuck in the snow. A hunter pulled out their rig. Alzheimer walk away was searched for. Funding and commitment for Project Lifesaver is being worked on in Cowlitz County. The annual mock search was held in October. It included SAR, HAMS, and Dive.
Okanogan: Quiet year in Okanogan. Hunters walked out as searchers were starting. A fisherman was grounded on an island in the Methow. A hunter had a heart attack and was carried to where he could be picked up by a helicopter.
Adjourned: Meeting was adjourned at 3:30 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.