[SaraHap] SARA Happenings Supplement September 2009

[Chris Hoare]

Hi All: 

This is a supplemental edition for September.

SARA Happenings is issued to foster communication within the Search and Rescue community in Alberta. It is going to 226 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.

Subscription and unsubscription information is at the end of the newsletter. 


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VITAL STATS ON OPERATION OCTOPUS

WHEN: October 24th and 25th - sign in will start at 0930 with the exercise beginning at 1000. 

There will be two operational periods of approximately 7 hours in duration - please let us know if there is a preference.

Sunday a.m. will have a specific educational/training session with aims of being done by noon on Sunday to allow for travel.

WHERE: Chambers Creek Group camps site located on the east side of Highway 11 approximately 35 kilometers from Rocky Mountain House (if you hit Nordegg you went too far). 

Camping will be available, first come first serve at the group site but other areas will be available such as Crimson Lake and Hela Ventures (some cabins may also be available). The Chambers Creek general campground is closed for the season. Apparently there will also be some trailer and tenting sites available at Horburg. Further details will be forwarded on as we have them.

WHO: All Alberta SAR members. Only those members with SAR Basics will be allowed in the field. Those with quads will require the safety course and appropriate gear. Any and all support and auxiliary personnel are welcome and will be used both in the exercise scenario or as logistical help for the scenario.

WHY: To enhance inter-team relations and communication and to also show off the skills of the SAR community in the province of Alberta.



Other important notes:

· We will be taking a group break from 1700-1900 hours on Saturday to enjoy a meal together and mingle with team members as well as media and dignitaries

· A pancake breakfast will be provided on Sunday a.m. for all participants

· We need a team RSVP by October 5th at the latest. Any sent after that will not likely be fed. Please indicate which operational period you are available for.

· There is potential for some remuneration if receipts are kept. On that same note please try and carpool etc. to decrease costs of such

· Make sure to emphasize that we will be running this as a real search therefore people must come prepared for the first 24 hours. One of the main goals is to see how we can all perform on a large scale so there will be hiccups etc. That is part of the learning process. Come prepared to give your all, including constructive feedback on behalf of your team.

If you have other thoughts or questions you can contact Edward Van Heeren president at rockysar.com 

Look forward to seeing you and yours in October!


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FROM THE PRESIDENT

Following is an update on some of the issues being dealt with over the summer -

Ø Insurance

o Dwight Osbaldeston, Senior Advisor with AEMA has been researching the various options available for the insurance for SAR. One of the challenges is that the Alberta Government has a policy in place saying they can't pay for insurance for organizations - however, they could grant SAR Alberta the money and do it that way. Mr. Osbaldeston was emailed and asked for an update - he said he has completed his research and a briefing note was sent to the Minister. He said government protocol doesn't allow for anyone to say what was in the briefing note other than the Minister. When asked what the government process was from here there was no reply. 

Ø Letters to MLA's and Ministers

o In July SAR Alberta wrote letters to all the MLA's in the province explaining search and rescue in the province and SAR Alberta. We have received a number of replies - mostly from cabinet ministers in support of search and rescue and expressing their thanks for the work SAR does.

Ø NIF

o SAR Alberta has put in a New Initiatives Fund proposal to help build the capacity and sustainability of the organization. It will be a three year project that will include a recruitment and retention program for teams. It will also see staff hired to help with both recruitment and retention and with capacity building of the organization. 

Ø Grant and contract

o After much delay we have received the money for the $25,000 grant. We will be hiring someone on contract to help SAR Alberta develop a framework to make the organization more financially stable. They will also help start the process of looking at our governance model. As the person is being hired later than anticipated there may be an opportunity to use some of the funds to help us with our website.

o There are other grants and government incentives available to teams that need to be advertised. Both the Justice Minister and the Minister of Culture and Spirit etc. have noted this. Calgary SAR uses one of the programs and has a link to more information. SAR Alberta will explore these options and get more information out to the teams.

Ø Provincial Exercise

o Rocky SAR has planned to hold the provincial exercise on October 24, and 25. All teams are encouraged to attend. I will be asking all regional directors to phone the teams in their area to confirm that they know about the exercise and to find out how many people from each team will be going. AEMA, the RCMP, CANADA Task Force, SARVAC President Harry Blackmore and possibly STARS, are all going to attend the event so far.

Ø Training Grant

o SAR Alberta is seeking someone to take over the training grant coordinators position. This will be an interesting year and all grants are up in the air as the government reviews its budget.

Ø Standards

o The telecoms standard will be used at the provincial exercise and will be sent out to all the teams this week. A "cheat sheet" will be made available to the those showing up for the exercise.


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SARA HAPPENINGS SUBMISSIONS 

Our regular publication date for mailings of SARA Happenings is the middle of each month. Please note that the deadline for material is the 14th of each month. 


Does your group have an event posting for the SARA Happenings mailing? If so, please send information 1-1/2 months prior to the dates you wish advertised. It will then give ample time for those reading it to respond. 

Please send all material to the editor; Chris Hoare at choare at shaw.ca PLEASE DO include contact information for members to gain further information.



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