[SaraHap] SARA Happenings November 2009

Sat Nov 14 16:16:16 MST 2009

Hi All: 

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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REGIONAL REPRESENTATION

It was by design that within the province there are 6 regions. Within these regions are many individual SAR organizations of who are represented at the provincial level by the individuals they appoint as Directors and their Deputies. These Board directors are their voice.

However there are some regions that are missing full representation either by way of no director or no deputy. It is the member organizations responsibilities to ensure they are having their voice heard by appointing individuals to these positions.

I ask that those member organizations who do not have full representation seek out those would be willing to take this task on.

As well for those Regional representatives that do not have a director or deputy seek out from those member organizations of which you represent to aid you in locating one.

Thank you to those Directors and Deputies who take the time to be representatives for their regions and make a concerted effort at maintaining communication levels between SAR Alberta and SAR member organizations.

Thank you 

Secretary; Mary-Ann Warren mwtracks at netzero.net 

SAR Alberta

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OPERATION OCTOPUS REPORT

Congratulations to all of those Search and Rescue volunteers who made the trek to Chambers Creek October 24th and 25th. A big thank you to all of you that took the time to attend as well as all of those members who helped out in any way. Once again, the search and rescue community has shown what it can really do.

Not surprising, there were problems along the way, some which may have been operational and others that were organizational. So overall, we learned lots from the organizational aspect (which we will happily share with the next organization to run with it), and we hope all those who attended also learned something, whether as a group or an individual.

You will be happy to hear that in part due to some great sponsorship, as well as help from Canada Task Force 2 and SAR Alberta, there will be money to return to those who travelled here. Look for more information to follow in your mailbox. 

For the enlightenment of all, we felt the following, constructive comments might be good for all of the membership to read. Granted they are only highlights from the evaluators, as well as the team evaluations, but there is some truth for all of us.

*registration at the base was confusing and not complete at the initial sign-in; there was some redundant action when people signed in at the road. (ie. It was not clear that sign in at the road was for the site as a whole, while at the base it was for the actual operation)

*there was a plan in place for coverage of Rocky SAR in the case of a real call out. (Thanks Red Deer for being ready and willing!)

*Search managers and planning staff should know how dog teams work - nobody asked for our suggestions about the most effective search strategy for our teams, or if there is a difference between a tracking dog and an air-scent dog (yes, there is!) 

*Some of the header info (ie. Search manager and incident file #) should be permanently posted outside the ops center

*Make sure gear works before bringing it into the field!!; equipment brought to command site should be search ready and accessible

*The search teams could have been intermingled with different team members to allow greater learning opportunities.

*Surprised trackers were not used at all ; trackers and dogs should have been deployed first to try and establish line of travel or containment (and for all those who attended, there were tracks purposefully left)

*each search manager should carry a management kit so that they can quickly get organized - has all their forms and supplies to manage an event

*if repeating this type of exercise, bring in SAR management group in the day before and pre-plan the mission

*having command in two different places caused problems

*I would like to see a more "feasible" scenario.why we would call SAR province wide. Something like a downed airliner would be better.

*event committee should pre-determine and enforce what mapping systems will be used for the event; we should consider using Lat/Long for mapping. All GPS have it and UTM is a hassle for air services which we need.

And did we mention that pretty much every sheet mentioned something about COMMUNICATION! I think we all knew that was an issue and likely will be an Achilles heel for a long time to come yet.

This is not all inclusive, but hopefully, if nothing else, conversation and team communication was initiated.

Thanks again to all who took part in one form or another, and here's hoping we get a chance to grow together again in the near future!!

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SAR BASICS/SAR FUNDAMENTALS PROGRAM CERTIFICATES

Instructors information

There has been a lapse in SAR Alberta providing the SAR Basic program certificates. In hopes of rectifying this I have taken on the task of issuing certificates. 

To obtain certificates for your students for the following years from 2007-present please submit:

-Names of participant/s

-Dates course was taken

-Location of course

-Instructor/s name

-Instructors mailing address

I will also need the SAR basics instructors to provide:

-Dates/s on which they took their instructors training

-Company or instructor who delivered this training

-Instructor Course/s taken

I will only be sending these certificates out to the instructors. If you have not yet received your certificate for this course please contact your instructor and give him/her this information.

For the future, after a SAR Basics course has been conducted, instructors please submit the information in a timely manner.

Submit information to mwtracks at netzero.net 

Thank you

Mary-Ann Warren

Secretary

SAR Alberta

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SEARCH DOG PUPPIES

Greetings

My name is Christine Lyseng, and I am a former SAR Dog Handler of the now Canadian Search Dog Assoc., formerly called RCMP/CSDA.

I now raise and breed Working Belgian Malinois dogs. My adult dogs are directly imported from Holland and have an extremely high working drive. All information on my dogs and litter can be found at the following link. http://www.majesticmalinois.com/puppies/Poster.pdf 

The following link is to the pedigree of the Dam and Sire, which should have been included with the above information. 

http://www.majesticmalinois.com/pedigrees/Majestic_A_Litter.pdf 

It is my hope that you will pass along this information to anyone/group seeking a working dog, as this entire litter possess a very high working drive, and are not suited for the average pet owner.

Thank you for your time and consideration.

Sincerest Regards, 

Christine Lyseng

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GSAR WORKSHOP

SAR volunteers from across Canada attended a GSAR workshop in Toronto, October 2 to 4. This workshop was supported by the National Search Secretariat (NSS) (see http://www.nss.gc.ca for more information) and the Search and Rescue Volunteer Association of Canada (SARVAC) (see www.sarvac.ca for more information). 

There were two parts to the conference: part one was the "Train the Trainer" workshop for the AdventureSmart Programs (see www.adventuresmart.ca for more information) and part two was a Volunteer Sustainability Town Hall.

In part one, the need for a National Search and Rescue Prevention Strategy was presented. The National Prevention Strategy is supported by the Federal Government through the NSS. Additional endorsement from SARVAC and the provincial SAR groups will ensure the program is delivered. As a result of the need to reduce SAR incidents through preventative measures, the National Strategy has adopted the AdventureSmart programs. AdventureSmart originated in British Columbia in response to a 130% increase in SAR events over a 15 year period.

Sessions were held for each of the following AdventureSmart Programs; Hug A Tree; Survive Outside; and Snow Safety Education. There were train-the-trainer sessions and the expectation is that each of the delegates will train a team of members who can deliver these programs in the community. The delegates from Alberta met while in Toronto, and have agreed to provide a unified roll-out for these programs in this province. Information regarding this, as well as opportunities for our members to take this training will be forthcoming.

The president of SARVAC, Harry Blackmore, talked about the need for a national identity for SAR groups. SARVAC is working with the NSS and provincial organizations to create such an identity and recognition of a national affiliation. 

Part Two, the Volunteer Sustainability Town Hall consisted of a large group meeting with the president of Volunteer Canada (see http://volunteer.ca for more information) and SARVAC. Based on data collected from SAR groups across Canada, a profile of SAR volunteers was presented. In addition to the anecdotal information, the following data is interesting:

National

Size of team (number of members)..............48

Average Age (in years).................................40

Per cent male...............................................74

Per cent of groups rural................................76

Urban..............................................................3

Both..............................................................19

Enough volunteers - ........................yes.......69%

Right kind of volunteers - .................No

Need fundraisers, trainers, outreach.............64%

Number of hours per volunteer............Increasing

Turnover rate.......................................Increasing

Actively Recruit - .............................yes.......74%

Employer Support - .........................yes.......60%

Solicit Employer support -................No........53%

Will changes in number and type of volunteers affect your operations in the future - 

.........................................................yes........57%

In general, the needs and issues of SAR groups are consistent across the county. According to Statistics Canada, 46% of Canadians volunteer and generate 8% of the GDP. Volunteerism is essential to building healthy and quality communities. 

General comments regarding volunteerism that came out in the meeting included:

· people are in a time famine

· volunteering shapes our character

· volunteers are asked to take on complex work and make huge time commitment

· life draws us away from volunteering

· some considerations

* one size doesn't fit all

* there are generational differences in why people volunteer

* it would appear that 10% of the volunteers do about 52% of the work

* part of volunteering should be to mentor younger volunteers

* there is a general reluctance in volunteers to take on leadership roles

Best regards,

Norman Mathew ( 780-984-6855 ) normanmathew at xplornet.com 

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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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