From choare at shaw.ca Tue Jan 19 07:32:20 2010 From: choare at shaw.ca (Chris Hoare) Date: Tue, 19 Jan 2010 07:32:20 -0700 Subject: [SaraHap] SARA Happenings January 2010 Message-ID: <754623D2E07E4897AD5741F0D15D2A51@user978bb393cd> 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. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- SAR ALBERTA MEMBERSHIP SAR Alberta has worked hard in the last year to obtain insurance coverage for its regular membership. SAR Alberta has also once again secured training grant money for teams and training courses. Now it is time that you the membership communicated back to us. Sent out recently was a request for statistics from the regular membership. So far we have received back only 9 replies. Thank you to those organizations for this information. It is very important that we have these stats from our organizations to show the number of volunteers we have, number of incidents we respond to etc. Without these numbers we lose leverage when trying to obtain funding for items such as insurance or training courses for you the membership. Please get your statistics to Rodney Dietrich at accountinggod at shaw.ca before Jan 23, 2010. Also for near future notices SAR Alberta will also be asking from its membership information on their budgets with stats on a more regular basis. Thank you Mary-Ann Warren Secretary SAR Alberta -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- SCENT DOG NEWS The December 09 newsletter is available at our web site - www.sardaa.ca just scroll down the main page to the SCENT DOG NEWS banner. Or go directly to http://www.sardaa.ca/ScentDogDec09.pdf Michelle Limoges SARDAA Secretary & Dog Handler -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- CALLING ALL TRACKERS Michelle Hebert (UTS Sign-cutter) and Les Brace (Canadian Tracking Technologies) invite you to join us in a tracking exercise. We supply the location, scenario to work out, meeting room for briefing and debriefing, help for novice trackers and interested people, snacks and lunch. You supply tracking stick (some extra available), notepad and pencil, and enthusiasm. All trackers are welcome., Purpose: To get the tracking community together for practice and socializing. Where: Mulhurst Lutheran Camp, www.mulhurstlutherancamp.ca When: April 17th, 2010, 9:00am to 5:00pm Note: (hours for this practice can be claimed as UTS tracking hours) If you are interested in coming or have any questions, please contact Michelle. mhebert at airsurfer.ca 780-445-9022 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- EDITOR'S NOTE My apologies for the delay in sending, but I had a technical problem here. Christopher Hoare [Ed.] choare at shaw.ca -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 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. To subscribe or unsubscribe visit http://castrov.dyndns.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/sara-happenings enter your e-mail address and click on "Edit Options". Automatic subscribers will need to click on "EMail My Password to Me". You can subscribe and unsubscribe on the same page. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://castrov.dyndns.org/pipermail/sara-happenings/attachments/20100119/17e5dae6/attachment.htm From kwhyte2 at gmail.com Tue Feb 16 14:54:58 2010 From: kwhyte2 at gmail.com (Kester Whyte) Date: Tue, 16 Feb 2010 14:54:58 -0700 Subject: [SaraHap] SARA Happenings February 2010 Message-ID: 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. *CAVE RESCUE WORKSHOPS* NOTE: Information on BCCR / ACRO events can be found at http://www.missioncontrol.co.nz/itm/Calendar.aspx?ID=10 *ACRO/BCCR Cave Rescue Workshops* ? Hinton, AB, May 21 ? 25, 2010 (and Horne Lake, BC if you can?t make the Hinton one!) The annual round of Companion Cave Rescue and Cave Rescue Response workshops are now being scheduled and registration is open. Details for the workshop can be found both on the event listing link above or on the cancaver website at http://www.cancaver.ca/bccr/BCCRtrain.htm The workshops are open to all cavers and those interested in caving and cave rescue ? including tasking agencies. These workshops filled very quickly (max 20 participants) so don?t delay in signing up and getting your registration form and fees in. *Alberta Speleological Society Annual Bring a Friend Caving Trip *? Sat Feb 27, 2010, Rat?s Nest Cave A great reason to support and join the A.S.S.! Try your taste at caving by joining A.S.S. members on tours through Rat?s Nest Cave. For more information refer to http://www.caving.ab.ca/events Note: trips are usually organized by invitation of A.S.S. members to ?friends? so call around and find out which members are A.S.S. members and see if they?re willing to take you on a trip! *BC Cave Rescue Seminar *? July 2010, Vancouver Island Check the events calendar above for more details as this event unfolds! This is an intense 8 day seminar (day and evening!) covering all aspects of self-rescue and organized rescue in cave environments. It is usually attended by those with a variety of backgrounds including recreational cavers, cave rescue members, SAR volunteers, and other technical rescue agencies. There will likely be a contingent attending from Alberta so feel free to join in! *ACRO Training / Practices* We hope to organize a number of one day training sessions for 2010 in various topics including single rope technique, cave rescue pre-planning, rope rescue rigging, mock drills, etc. If you have suggestions for topics / locations, please contact Cindy Heselton at acro_cindy at yahoo.ca Cindy Heselton Training Director Alberta Cave Rescue Organization http://www.missioncontrol.co.nz/itm/Calendar.aspx?ID=10 *FROM THE BOARD* *SAR Alberta Annual General Meeting* The SAR Alberta Annual General Meeting will be held Saturday May 1, 2010 in Edmonton. The location of the meeting will be announced. Mail out packages will be going out in a couple of month?s time. *New SAR Alberta Web Site Coming Soon *The SAR Alberta website is being totally redesigned. Look for the launch of the new web site in the near future. *Mark Work Warehouse Discount Cards Now Available* To receive discount cards for your volunteers, member organizations are required to provide SAR Alberta a membership list and their annual statistics. Send your information to your Regional Director or Deputy to receive cards for your members.* Regional Elections* Excerpt taken from the SAR Alberta Bylaws: 5.2.2 Each Region shall have an election for their Regional Director and Regional Deputy Director prior to the Annual General meeting at which they are installed. If your region is without partial or full representation it is the regional organization?s responsibility to elect interested parties to represent them. If these positions are not filled the Board may appoint an individual to fill the vacancies. *New Interim Training Coordinator* The SAR Alberta Executive appointed Norman Mathew as the new SAR Alberta Training Coordinator. This position was vacant and with work being done on the training grant it was important to have this position filled. Mary-Ann Warren mwtracks at netzero.net Secretary SAR Alberta *PINCHER CREEK ? SPOT PROBLEM* Pincher Creek SAR has recently been responded a couple of times due to back country travellers activating their SPOT. SPOT is a satellite personal tracker, that can be used to send an emergency alert. We were unfamiliar with SPOT at the time and so did not know what the limitations and behaviour of the devices are. We are offering our lessons learned to help other SAR groups. The SPOT can only send messages, not received them. It has no way to verify that the message actually has gone out, so the SPOT will automatically resend its message several times. Due to the irregular satellite coverage of the GlobalStar system, messages might not be received by the satellites with any particular attempt. Three kinds of messages can be sent: Check-In-OK, Need-Help, and 911. Each message includes your GPS location (lat and long). Check-In and Need-Help will send a text or e-mail message that you can set ahead of time to up to 10 people. 911 goes to the nearest 911 centre. The Check-In-OK message in sent every 5 minutes for 20 minutes. The Need-Help message is sent every 5 minutes for an hour. The people set up to be notified may receive the message multiple times. This has caused difficulties for us, before we understood how the SPOT worked, because families were imagining that the button was being pushed several times. 911 will send a message every 5 minutes for as long as the device is left on or until Cancel is pressed. If you receive a notification related to SPOT Need-Help messages, we recommend you discuss how the SPOT works with the family, to make sure they are not misinterpreting the level of urgency. If you discuss our experiences with SPOT, you can contact: Janet Jones *CALLING ALL TRACKERS* Michelle Hebert (UTS Sign-cutter) and Les Brace (Canadian Tracking Technologies) invite you to join us in a tracking exercise. We supply the location, scenario to work out, meeting room for briefing and debriefing, help for novice trackers and interested people, snacks and lunch. You supply tracking stick (some extra available), notepad and pencil, and enthusiasm. All trackers are welcome., Purpose: To get the tracking community together for practice and socializing. Where: Mulhurst Lutheran Camp, www.mulhurstlutherancamp.ca When: April 17th, 2010, 9:00am to 5:00pm Note: (hours for this practice can be claimed as UTS tracking hours) If you are interested in coming or have any questions, please contact Michelle. mhebert at airsurfer.ca 780-445-9022 *A REMINDER FROM ?K? DIVISION* Believe it or not spring is just around the corner. With spring, comes various SAR gatherings and of course volunteer recognition activities. You are reminded that Search and Rescue groups are encouraged to review their records and submit the names of eligible volunteers. It is the responsibility the volunteer?s Search and Rescue team, as well as the volunteer, to ensure that an application is submitted to request an award. Applications must be submitted to the RCMP ?K? Division SAR Coordinator by February 28th, 2010. Incomplete applications will not be considered and will be returned. Completed forms must be sent to the RCMP ?K? Division SAR Coordinator via E-MAIL: mike.self at rcmp-grc.gc.ca OR al.fraser at rcmp-grc.gc.ca This is applicable to the initial launch as well as through coming years. The RCMP will not be maintaining a database of Search and Rescue volunteers and automatically generating the awards. Cheers......Al Fraser Corporal W. A.(Al) Fraser, MOM, KStJ, BA, BEd. Operational Readiness & Response Coordination Emergency Operations Program Coordinator RCMP "K" Division - Alberta. Work - (780)412-5662 Fax - (780)412-5801 Pager - (780)418-9138 Cell - (780)405-6004 e-mail: Al.Fraser at rcmp-grc.gc.ca For year round emergency preparedness information www.GetPrepared.ca *A LINK FROM RIC * This Red Deer Advocate article showcases RD SAR equipment: http://www.albertalocalnews.com/reddeeradvocate/news/local/Search_and_rescue_team_has_high-tech_equipment_83244117.html Submitted by Ric Henderson rhenderson at reddeercounty.ab.ca *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. To subscribe or unsubscribe visit http://castrov.dyndns.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/sara-happenings enter your e-mail address and click on "Edit Options". Automatic subscribers will need to click on "EMail My Password to Me". You can subscribe and unsubscribe on the same page. -- "Arrival", "Deadly Enterprise" and "The Wildcat's Victory" are available here -- http://www.double-dragon-ebooks.com/eAuthor.php?Name=Christopher%20Hoare See my website at http://www.freewebs.com/chriskander/ and blog http://thewildcatsvictory.wordpress.com -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://castrov.dyndns.org/pipermail/sara-happenings/attachments/20100216/c26edbc8/attachment.htm From kwhyte2 at gmail.com Mon Mar 15 18:34:44 2010 From: kwhyte2 at gmail.com (Kester Whyte) Date: Mon, 15 Mar 2010 18:34:44 -0600 Subject: [SaraHap] SARA Happenings March 2010 Message-ID: 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. *FROM THE BOARD* SAR Alberta Annual General Meeting The SAR Alberta Annual General Meeting will be held Saturday May 1, 2010 in Edmonton. Civil Emergency Response Course Instructors If you are a CER instructor or know of one could you please contact the SAR Alberta Secretary mwtracks at netzero.net so the CER instructors list can be updated. Thank you. SAR Basics Course Instructors If you are a SAR Basics instructor or know of one could you please contact the SAR Alberta Secretary mwtracks at netzero.net so the SAR Basics instructors list can be updated. Thank you. Mary-Ann Warren Secretary SAR Alberta *CAVE RESCUE WORKSHOPS* NOTE: Information on BCCR / ACRO events can be found at http://www.missioncontrol.co.nz/itm/Calendar.aspx?ID=10 ACRO/BCCR Cave Rescue Workshops ? Hinton, AB, May 21 ? 25, 2010 (and Horne Lake, BC if you can?t make the Hinton one!) The annual round of Companion Cave Rescue and Cave Rescue Response workshops are now being scheduled and registration is open. Details for the workshop can be found both on the event listing link above or on the cancaver website at http://www.cancaver.ca/bccr/BCCRtrain.htm The workshops are open to all cavers and those interested in caving and cave rescue ? including tasking agencies. These workshops filled very quickly (max 20 participants) so don?t delay in signing up and getting your registration form and fees in. BC Cave Rescue Seminar ? July 2010, Vancouver Island Check the events calendar above for more details as this event unfolds! This is an intense 8 day seminar (day and evening!) covering all aspects of self-rescue and organized rescue in cave environments. It is usually attended by those with a variety of backgrounds including recreational cavers, cave rescue members, SAR volunteers, and other technical rescue agencies. There will likely be a contingent attending from Alberta so feel free to join in! ACRO Training / Practices We hope to organize a number of one day training sessions for 2010 in various topics including single rope technique, cave rescue pre-planning, rope rescue rigging, mock drills, etc. If you have suggestions for topics / locations, please contact Cindy Heselton at acro_cindy at yahoo.ca Cindy Heselton Training Director Alberta Cave Rescue Organization http://www.missioncontrol.co.nz/itm/Calendar.aspx?ID=10 *WING NIGHT * Our annual Wing Night will take place Thursday, March 25 at Average Joe's Pub, 390 Baseline Road, Sherwood Park. This is a chance to get together and socialize... come and join us for a social evening out; bring friends and relatives - sit around, have a drink and food, participate in our silent auction and 50/50 draw, and generally have a good time. Questions - just ask me! Hope you will join us! Michelle Limoges udcdoberman at shaw.ca SARDAA Secretary & Dog Handler *CALLING ALL TRACKERS * Michelle Hebert (UTS Sign-cutter) and Les Brace (Canadian Tracking Technologies) invite you to join us in a tracking exercise. We supply the location, scenario to work out, meeting room for briefing and debriefing, help for novice trackers and interested people, snacks and lunch. You supply tracking stick (some extra available), notepad and pencil, and enthusiasm. All trackers are welcome., Purpose: To get the tracking community together for practice and socializing. Where: Mulhurst Lutheran Camp, www.mulhurstlutherancamp.ca When: April 17th, 2010, 9:00am to 5:00pm Note: (hours for this practice can be claimed as UTS tracking hours) Pre-registration is required, please contact Michelle for the form. Deadline is April 2, 2010. mhebert at airsurfer.ca Michelle Hebert Secretary SAR 1st Response cell: 780-445-9022 home: 780-963-7859 *PROVINCIAL INSTRUCTOR DATABASE * SAR Alberta is in the process of developing a database of instructors that are qualified or certified to teach SAR related courses. To this end, we are requesting that SAR members who are certificated instructors in SAR courses self-identify for inclusion in the database. This is a voluntary registration. The purpose of the database is to assist SAR groups in finding instructors for their regular training as well as for granted training. If you are interested in being included in the database, please e-mail the following information to: normanmathew at xplornet.com First and last names: E-mail: Address: City: Postal Code: Course(s) certificated to teach: Certificate credentials (NFPA, St. John Ambulance, ERI, UTS, etc.): Comments: If you have any questions, please contact Norman Mathew at: normanmathew at xplornet.com *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.caPLEASE DO include contact information for members to gain further information. To subscribe or unsubscribe visit http://castrov.dyndns.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/sara-happenings enter your e-mail address and click on "Edit Options". Automatic subscribers will need to click on "EMail My Password to Me". You can subscribe and unsubscribe on the same page. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://castrov.dyndns.org/pipermail/sara-happenings/attachments/20100315/8720c4fd/attachment.html From choare at shaw.ca Sun Mar 7 08:22:08 2010 From: choare at shaw.ca (Chris Hoare) Date: Sun, 07 Mar 2010 15:22:08 -0000 Subject: [SaraHap] Test Message-ID: Test1 -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://castrov.dyndns.org/pipermail/sara-happenings/attachments/20100307/5da63f41/attachment.html From choare at shaw.ca Thu Apr 15 20:47:03 2010 From: choare at shaw.ca (Chris Hoare) Date: Thu, 15 Apr 2010 20:47:03 -0600 Subject: [SaraHap] SARA Happenings April 2010 Message-ID: <0878C337472D41958DC1AD7F5965C9A9@user978bb393cd> 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. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- SAR ALBERTA ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING The 2010 SAR Alberta Annual General Meeting is to be held Saturday May 1, 2010 at the Radisson Hotel, Edmonton South_4440 Gateway Blvd. If planning on staying in Edmonton, the Radisson Hotel and SAR Alberta has a block of rooms set aside under 'Search & Rescue' for discounted prices. Luncheon cost: $20.00 minimum (Actual cost not available at time of mailing) *Please RSVP for attendance at the Luncheon to Rodney Dietrich accountinggod at shaw.ca 780_231_8877 by no later than Monday April 26, 2010. The Annual Mail_out has gone out so expect to see them in your mailbox. 2010 SAR ALBERTA CALL FOR CANDIDATES/OFFICERS ELECTION SAR ALBERTA is seeking Candidates for election in the following positions. PRESIDENT _ The term of the Vice_President, President and Past President is one (1) year. VICE PRESIDENT_ The term of the Vice_President, President and Past President is one (1) year. TREASURER _ The term of the Treasurer is two (2) years, beginning on each even_numbered year. If you know of someone who may be interested in this commitment fill in and submit a Nomination form. Nomination Forms have gone out with all mail out packages. Please submit ALL paper work via email or mail to the SAR Alberta Secretary no later than April 26, 2010. Thank you Mary_Ann Warren mwtracks at netzero.net Secretary SAR Alberta Suite 142, 9768_170 st Edmonton, Alberta T5T 5L4 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- CAVE RESCUE WORKSHOPS NOTE: Information on BCCR / ACRO events can be found at http://www.missioncontrol.co.nz/itm/Calendar.aspx?ID=10 ACRO/BCCR Cave Rescue Workshops - Hinton, AB, May 21 - 25, 2010 (and Horne Lake, BC if you can't make the Hinton one!) The annual round of Companion Cave Rescue and Cave Rescue Response workshops are now being scheduled and registration is open. Details for the workshop can be found both on the event listing link above or on the cancaver website at http://www.cancaver.ca/bccr/BCCRtrain.htm The workshops are open to all cavers and those interested in caving and cave rescue - including tasking agencies. These workshops filled very quickly (max 20 participants) so don't delay in signing up and getting your registration form and fees in. This portion added for April - Doug Munroe hdmunroe at ucalgary.ca There are a small number of places still available in our Cave Rescue Response workshop in Hinton on May 23-25. Members of SAR groups who are interested in getting some exposure to cave rescue, including its technical rope and unique logistical aspects, are welcome to attend. The cost is $60 for members of SAR groups; experience with vertical caving or single rope technique is desirable but not strictly necessary. Anyone interested can contact Cindy Heselton, ACRO's training director, at acro_cindy at yahoo.ca .ACRO's annual Companion Rescue workshop, which is intended for small caving parties and SAR volunteers who wish to get more exposure to single rope technique, is taking place on May 21-23. There is presently a waiting list for the companion rescue workshop, so those interested in taking the rescue response workshop should move quickly! BC Cave Rescue Seminar - July 2010, Vancouver Island Check the events calendar above for more details as this event unfolds! This is an intense 8 day seminar (day and evening!) covering all aspects of self_rescue and organized rescue in cave environments. It is usually attended by those with a variety of backgrounds including recreational cavers, cave rescue members, SAR volunteers, and other technical rescue agencies. There will likely be a contingent attending from Alberta so feel free to join in! ACRO Training / Practices We hope to organize a number of one day training sessions for 2010 in various topics including single rope technique, cave rescue pre_planning, rope rescue rigging, mock drills, etc. If you have suggestions for topics / locations, please contact Cindy Heselton at acro_cindy at yahoo.ca Cindy Heselton Training Director Alberta Cave Rescue Organization http://www.missioncontrol.co.nz/itm/Calendar.aspx?ID=10 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- CALLING PAST MEMBERS - VERNON Vernon, BC, Search and Rescue are searching for past members to celebrate Vernon Search & Rescue 50th Anniversary. Please contact Stephanie at 250-503-6423 for more info -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- NATIONAL VOLUNTEER WEEK National Volunteer Week -- April 18 - 24, 2010 The RCMP is proud to work with the thousands of volunteers that dedicate countless hours to community and crime prevention programs across Canada. This National Volunteer Week, we salute their contributions and thank them for their commitment in helping us achieve our goal of safe homes and safe communities. The RCMP also values and acknowledges its partnerships with several community volunteer organizations such as our Search and Rescue units across Alberta. Their valuable services, talents and support enhance our community policing initiatives and help maintain public safety. The theme for this year's National Volunteer Week is "From Compassion to Action". This theme clearly articulates the motivation behind the SAR member. Corporal W. A.(Al) Fraser, MOM, KStJ, BA, BEd. Operational Readiness & Response Coordination Emergency Operations Program Coordinator RCMP "K" Division - Alberta. Work - (780)412-5662 Fax - (780)412-5801 Pager - (780)418-9138 Cell - (780)405-6004 e-mail: Al.Fraser at rcmp-grc.gc.ca -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- TRAINING NEWS By the time you receive this issue of SARA Happenings, those groups which applied for a training grant will have received a letter from the Minister indicating if the application was successful. Many groups may be disappointed to learn that they were not successful in their bid for a grant. The information below outlines the criteria that were applied when reviewing the grants: *grants were provided with the best interests of SAR and Emergency Management in Alberta *grant requests totaled almost twice as much as the monies available, so only half of the projects could be funded *duplicate courses in a region were not funded; in such cases one group received the grant and is expected to open the course to other groups in their region (and further if space available) *ICS was not approved for anyone; this course will be available free of charge in a different way at some time in the future; higher levels of ICS will be offered through a train_the_trainer program *boat safety was not approved for anyone, other than at the "Basic Operator Level" at a cost of $55/student ($15 for the book and $40 for the test) *a Provincial Training exercise in the southern part of the province is being approved *Basic First Aid was not generally funded (unless that is the only first aid course requested); rather Wilderness First Aid (to the St. Johns or Red Cross standards) was approved because it includes Basic First Aid/CPR/AED *initial two day SAR Management course was not approved for anyone pending the development of standards for this course (it is really a team leadership course) If your group is planning to apply for a training grant in the 2010/2011 training year, plan to attend the SAR Alberta Annual General Meeting on May 1. There will be an information session about how the grant process works and the direction of grants in the province. The entire grant process will be moved earlier in the year, so watch for an announcement in the June issue of SARA Happenings. If you require further clarification or information, please contact the interim Training Director at normanmathew at xplornet.com -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- THANK YOU TO ALL WHO REPLIED Thanks to everyone who replied to my e-mail message entitled test1. Since I sent it to the mail server on March 6th I'm not sure why it turned up this week - perhaps Brett has been tuning up the mail server and fixed my mail-out problem. In the event you receive the newsletter twice, I'll apologize now. I will try to send through my shaw mail account but will have to revert to the gmail if the newsletter doesn't show up. Thanks, Chris, newsletter editor. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ALBERTA SAFETY SENSE Alberta's Premier Safety Emagazine for Home, Work and Play Volume 17_ Number 4 April 2010 SARA Happenings received this from Jeff Morrow publisher at albertasafetysense.ca Not sure if it was approved by SAR Alberta, but members can check it out to see if it fits a need of theirs. Alberta Safety Sense: Pages_1_5 Featured Articles: Safety on the Slopes; Snowmobile safety; HEALTH & WELLNESS: Sick Call_ But not if you keep your home healthy and clean Alberta Safety Sense Pages_ 6_10 Featured Articles: HUMAN FACTORS: Albertans had the highest rate of H1N1 deaths; COMMUTER SAFETY: Spring drive time; GOING GREEN; SUN SAFETY Alberta Safety Sense Pages 11_15 Featured Articles: THE GREAT OUTDOORS; WORKSAFE ALBERTA; FARM SAFETY: Community groups deliver new programs; LIFESTYLES: Food Safety Alberta Safety Sense Pages 16_20 Featured Articles: Vitamin D Deficit; INJURY PREVENTION: The Weekend Warriors; SCHOOL DAYS: Shop class safety; Fat Nation_ Canadians ignoring fitness and diet For advertising information please visit: http://www.worksite_news.com/default.cfm?pageid=231753 Or call toll free: 1_888_430_6405 Email: safetysense at shaw.ca Published monthly by Morrow Communications Inc. 3216_108A Street Edmonton, Alberta T6J 3E2 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 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. To subscribe or unsubscribe visit http://castrov.dyndns.org/cgi_bin/mailman/listinfo/sara_happenings enter your e_mail address and click on "Edit Options". Automatic subscribers will need to click on "EMail My Password to Me". You can subscribe and unsubscribe on the same page. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://castrov.dyndns.org/pipermail/sara-happenings/attachments/20100415/3ddf1a18/attachment.htm From choare at shaw.ca Sun May 16 07:20:10 2010 From: choare at shaw.ca (Chris Hoare) Date: Sun, 16 May 2010 07:20:10 -0600 Subject: [SaraHap] SARA Happenings May 2010 Message-ID: <5B58245361F6419D98A7ADFE339CF13E@user978bb393cd> 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. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- NEW BOARD AND DIRECTORS At the 2010 Annual General Meeting held May 1 in Edmonton, elections were held for the President, Vice President and Treasurer's positions. Thank you to all those who sat on the Board for the last year. Secretary Mary-Ann Warren mwtracks at netzero.net SAR Alberta 2010 Board Executive President - Don Drebert Vice President - Daryl Black Secretary - Mary Ann Warren Treasurer - Rodney Dietrich Past President - Monica Ahlstrom Directors North East Director - Steven Medford North East Deputy Director - Al Tomalty (Standards Coordinator) North Central - Both positions vacant North West Director - Vacant North West Deputy Director - Carianne Budalich (Adventure Smart Coordinator) Central Director - Edward Van Heeren Central Deputy Directors - Bev Sliger South Central Director - Bruce Marshall South Central Deputy - Vacant South Director - Cory Bohaychuk South Deputy Director - Jan Hurl Committee Training Coordinator - Norman Mathew Standards Committe - Al Tomalty -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- FROM RED DEER SAR Two items - 1. Texas Full Scale Exercise (FSE): Once again some of RDSAR's USAR TF members deployed to College Station, Texas to take part in Texas Task Force 1's FSE. This is the second consecutive year that members have made the journey to the joint USAR training event, which provides the closest environment possible to an actual disaster. TX-TF1 and RDSAR have a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) which allows the sharing of training opportunities and potential joint deployment/mission opportunities during large scale incidents. The team's deployment was 4 days, leaving Calgary on Apr 23rd and returning from Houston the afternoon of Apr 26th. Team members participated in the simulated explosion and building collapse scenario and integrated into roles of Command, Planning, Logistics, Technical Search, Rescue, and Medical. 2. SAR Day On May 8th, Red Deer SAR celebrated SAR Day with a display and demonstration at the Parkland Mall in Red Deer. Team members were on hand to provide preventative information, as well as showcase team equipment and recruit new volunteers. After the successful day, seven team members received the Alberta Emergency Services Medal during a presentation and barbecue. The medal is presented by the Province in acknowledgement of 12 years or more of service. Congratulations to Marcel Schur, Jamie Schur, Bev Sliger, John Malinic, Jim Hunter, Shawn Hare, and Steve Jeffery. Sent by - Ric Henderson, Assistant County Manager Director of Emergency Management Red Deer County 38106 Rge. Rd. 275 Red Deer County, AB T4S 2L9 Phone: 403.357.2371 www.reddeercounty.ab.ca -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- RECRUITING BROCHURE The brochure was created by Rene J. Collins rene at collinscraft.com At DSAR. It is a large file so is not reproduced here. The link to it is http://www.hdtvcamera.com/SAR-Brochure.pdf. It may take a while to download so patience will be required. It is also high res. and can be reproduced on most equipment. SAR groups may use it, and will likely find a consumer colour laser printer works quite well for what we need. The concept of the brochure is to get the potential new recruits through the door and let the individual SAR teams do the rest to get them to stay. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- NOTICES RECEIVED Editor also received a couple of newsletters/notices that are too large to reproduce here. I provide links so SAR members may contact the organisations for more info. 1. The May 2010 online edition of Alberta Safety Sense was sent by Jeff Morrow publisher at albertasafetysense.ca It is a full colour large format production which is outside the scope of this newsletter to reproduce. 2. The second item is announcing a Leadership Development Workshop to take place in Grande Prairie May 27th and Edmonton May 28th . The information was sent by marketing at ctrcanada.com For Canadian Training Resources Ltd Suite 400 7015 - Macleod Tr. SW Calgary, Alberta T2H 2K6 www.ctrcanada.com -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- CAVE RESCUE WORKSHOPS Most of these workshops are still far enough ahead that reminders are appropriate. Some are far enough ahead that plans could still be made. NOTE: Information on BCCR / ACRO events can be found at http://www.missioncontrol.co.nz/itm/Calendar.aspx?ID=10 ACRO/BCCR Cave Rescue Workshops - Hinton, AB, May 21 - 25, 2010 (and Horne Lake, BC if you can't make the Hinton one!) The annual round of Companion Cave Rescue and Cave Rescue Response workshops are now being scheduled and registration is open. Details for the workshop can be found both on the event listing link above or on the cancaver website at http://www.cancaver.ca/bccr/BCCRtrain.htm The workshops are open to all cavers and those interested in caving and cave rescue - including tasking agencies. These workshops filled very quickly (max 20 participants) so don't delay in signing up and getting your registration form and fees in. This portion added for April - Doug Munroe hdmunroe at ucalgary.ca There are a small number of places still available in our Cave Rescue Response workshop in Hinton on May 23-25. Members of SAR groups who are interested in getting some exposure to cave rescue, including its technical rope and unique logistical aspects, are welcome to attend. The cost is $60 for members of SAR groups; experience with vertical caving or single rope technique is desirable but not strictly necessary. Anyone interested can contact Cindy Heselton, ACRO's training director, at acro_cindy at yahoo.ca . ACRO's annual Companion Rescue workshop, which is intended for small caving parties and SAR volunteers who wish to get more exposure to single rope technique, is taking place on May 21-23. There is presently a waiting list for the companion rescue workshop, so those interested in taking the rescue response workshop should move quickly! BC Cave Rescue Seminar - July 2010, Vancouver Island Check the events calendar above for more details as this event unfolds! This is an intense 8 day seminar (day and evening!) covering all aspects of self_rescue and organized rescue in cave environments. It is usually attended by those with a variety of backgrounds including recreational cavers, cave rescue members, SAR volunteers, and other technical rescue agencies. There will likely be a contingent attending from Alberta so feel free to join in! ACRO Training / Practices We hope to organize a number of one day training sessions for 2010 in various topics including single rope technique, cave rescue pre_planning, rope rescue rigging, mock drills, etc. If you have suggestions for topics / locations, please contact Cindy Heselton at acro_cindy at yahoo.ca Cindy Heselton Training Director Alberta Cave Rescue Organization http://www.missioncontrol.co.nz/itm/Calendar.aspx?ID=10 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 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. To subscribe or unsubscribe visit http://castrov.dyndns.org/cgi_bin/mailman/listinfo/sara-happenings enter your e-mail address and click on "Edit Options". Automatic subscribers will need to click on "EMail My Password to Me". You can subscribe and unsubscribe on the same page. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://castrov.dyndns.org/pipermail/sara-happenings/attachments/20100516/aaba2dce/attachment.htm From choare at shaw.ca Sat Jun 19 07:41:51 2010 From: choare at shaw.ca (Chris Hoare) Date: Sat, 19 Jun 2010 07:41:51 -0600 Subject: [SaraHap] Fw: SARA Happenings June 2010 Message-ID: ----- Original Message ----- From: Chris Hoare To: SARA Happenings Sent: Tuesday, June 15, 2010 7:36 PM Subject: SARA Happenings June 2010 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. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- AMBER ALERT BY CELL Cellphone users invited to sign up for free Amber Alert text messages (Amber-Alerts-Cellphon) Source: CP - Canadian Press May 26 13:51 OTTAWA, Ont. Canada's Amber Alert system is going wireless in an effort to reach millions of cellphone users. The country's cellphone industry is getting together with the RCMP and other police forces to offer free Amber Alerts to most wireless phone users. The alerts, which are issued to the public after a reported child abduction will be sent as text messages to those who sign up for the service. Getting the word out quickly after an abduction is a big part of police efforts to help get a child returned safely. Those who want to join the program which is available in all 10 provinces and three territories can subscribe online at www.WirelessAMBER.ca or sign up directly from their phones. So far, the companies taking part are Bell, Fido, Koodo, MTS, NorthernTel, Rogers, SaskTel, Solo Mobile, Tilibec, TELUS, Videotron and Virgin Mobile. ``Through co-operation between the RCMP and wireless service providers, this initiative will demonstrate how technology can help fight serious criminal activity and make the most vulnerable citizens in our society safer,'' said Vic Toews, Canada's minister of public safety. Bernard Lord, who heads the Canadian Wireless Telecommunications Association, added, ``If one of our most precious citizens is abducted, wireless Amber Alerts can put the immediate power to help in the hands of Canada's 23 million cellphone customers.'' Message from RODNEY DIETRICH accountinggod at shaw.ca -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- RECRUITING BROCHURE The brochure was created by Rene J. Collins rene at collinscraft.com At DSAR. It is a large file so is not reproduced here. The link to it is http://www.hdtvcamera.com/SAR-Brochure.pdf. It may take a while to download so patience will be required. It is also high res. and can be reproduced on most equipment. SAR groups may use it, and will likely find a consumer colour laser printer works quite well for what we need. The concept of the brochure is to get the potential new recruits through the door and let the individual SAR teams do the rest to get them to stay. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- NEW WEBSITE IS LIVE Check out www.saralbaerta.ca for our new website. We will be forwarding from our ''old'' site at www.saralberta.org to the new one so no need to change bookmarks or links. If you or your group has any information on the site please verify it for accuracy. The site will reflect the professionalism of Alberta''s SAR community and it''s only as good as we make it. Changes should go to webchange at saralberta.ca and please be include the Page/Section and the specifics around the change. Thank-you and let''s make this a website we all can be very proud of. Daryl Black daryl.black at rescuetraining.ca Ed. Note: I could not access the new website through the www.saralbaerta.ca link in this message but the redirect from the at www.saralberta.org site worked. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- BC CAVE RESCUE SEMINAR July 2010, Vancouver Island Check the events calendar above for more details as this event unfolds! This is an intense 8 day seminar (day and evening!) covering all aspects of self_rescue and organized rescue in cave environments. It is usually attended by those with a variety of backgrounds including recreational cavers, cave rescue members, SAR volunteers, and other technical rescue agencies. There will likely be a contingent attending from Alberta so feel free to join in! Cindy Heselton at acro_cindy at yahoo.ca Training Director Alberta Cave Rescue Organization http://www.missioncontrol.co.nz/itm/Calendar.aspx?ID=10 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 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. To subscribe or unsubscribe visit http://castrov.dyndns.org/cgi_bin/mailman/listinfo/sara_happenings enter your e_mail address and click on "Edit Options". Automatic subscribers will need to click on "EMail My Password to Me". You can subscribe and unsubscribe on the same page. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://castrov.dyndns.org/pipermail/sara-happenings/attachments/20100619/71ab8459/attachment.html From choare at shaw.ca Wed Aug 11 17:05:45 2010 From: choare at shaw.ca (Chris Hoare) Date: Wed, 11 Aug 2010 17:05:45 -0600 Subject: [SaraHap] Test Message-ID: <1AA5D0FAEEC140768D397E6F308ADB35@user978bb393cd> test -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://castrov.dyndns.org:8080/pipermail/sara-happenings/attachments/20100811/72088bdd/attachment.html From choare at shaw.ca Sun Aug 15 14:31:55 2010 From: choare at shaw.ca (Chris Hoare) Date: Sun, 15 Aug 2010 14:31:55 -0600 Subject: [SaraHap] test Message-ID: <98E8B4B7EEDB4E70BD1292C22FAF9409@user978bb393cd> test -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://castrov.dyndns.org:8080/pipermail/sara-happenings/attachments/20100815/d8443aec/attachment.htm From choare at shaw.ca Mon Aug 16 13:27:58 2010 From: choare at shaw.ca (Chris Hoare) Date: Mon, 16 Aug 2010 13:27:58 -0600 Subject: [SaraHap] SARA Happenings August 2010 Message-ID: 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. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- FROM THE BOARD Please distribute as wide and far as possible: From: daryl.black at incidentleadership.ca Though the summer months typically see a slowdown of activity, this year is an exception. With so many things going on (to include a number of high profile searches) the Executive of SAR Alberta has been very busy. I'd like to apologize for the lack of communication over the past few months but rest assured that there are things going on even though we tend to keep our nose down and butt up a bit too much as we doggedly pursue resolutions to outstanding issues and shape the present and future of SAR in Alberta on your behalf. The commo blackout has also meant a lengthy and arduous read below so for that I apologize. The activities have been centred around ensuring the SAR community is well_represented, accepted and respected as critical stakeholders who work in partnership with AEMA and the RCMP for example. To that end we are achieving that goal. The following sections are some of the highlights of what we've been up to: SEARCH AND RESCUE ALBERTA TOPICS SAR AB_ Standards Meeting Al Tomalty, continuing his outstanding work as Standards Chair for SAR Alberta, is conducting a Standards Committee meeting at the end of this month. Watch the SAR Alberta website for the current standards as we put them up for member download and reference. ALBERTA EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT AGENCY TOPICS AEMA_ FESTI_ Fire, Emergency Services Training Initiative The FESTI project is going along at a rapid pace. For background check out: http://festi.alberta.ca/festi/ 1. From a SAR perspective, the FESTI Program held a conference call with members of various SAR disciplines to include GSAR, tech rescue, heavy urban, canine and dive. The purpose was to socialize the FESTI program with individuals and determine any glaring errors or omissions. Nothing major was identified and the FESTI team will be continuing. 2. At the request of Tom Sand, Manager of Training for AEMA, Norm Mathew (Training Chair), Don Drebert (President) and Daryl Black (Vice_President) met to discuss the upcoming months' activity with regard to FESTI and some of the things we'll be working jointly on with regard to training. In his words: "Now is the time to shape the future of training delivery in Alberta." To begin, SAR Alberta will be assisting with job performance requirements for SAR responders, basically everything that is needed at all levels of SAR response (ground pounder_ Search Manager and all points in between) to ensure that FESTI and AEMA take into account all of the requirements we need to do our jobs properly. In addition, we discussed some pain points and challenges with regard to the current 'system.' We highlighted examples such as inconsistent course delivery, lack of a clear process to distribute course certificates, capacity to deliver the required training, lack of Search and Rescue Alberta influence over some delivery providers and instructors also evaluating their own classes/participants, lack of a clear and accepted accreditation process for trainers. We will continue to work with FESTI to shape and influence the future training system. For example, Tom assured us that AEMA, as far as he was concerned, would be the issuing authority for certificates. More updates as they become available. A huge thank you and job well done goes out to Norm Mathew who has painstakingly compiled a list of current instructors and courses. Norm's time and effort has meant that we are ahead of the curve with regard to determining the future of training delivery. AEMA_ Insurance Yes, this has been a long and difficult journey.with little visible progress being made. From a SAR Alberta perspective we are committed to working with all parties and have made this our highest priority. AEMA has passed ownership of implementing the province_wide Algoma insurance policy from Trent West, Fire Commissioner to Spence Sample, also of AEMA. Spence has stressed that he wants agreements in place on September 1, 2010. While an extremely aggressive timeline we are leveraging Algoma's administrative resources to prime the contact with the various SAR groups so watch your Inboxes and voicemails for contact from Algoma directly. There is a critical meeting with Algoma, SAR Alberta and AEMA Tuesday, August 10. AEMA Training Grant The application form is being signed off by AEMA in the next couple of weeks so watch the website for that and more accurately watch for an announcement. AEMA/RCMP_ Meeting with a member of the Tasmanian Law Enforcement Community As part of a whirlwind tour across North America, a representative from Tasmania wanted to meet with AEMA, the RCMP and representatives form the SAR community to see how we did business. Without going into a lot of detail we are very very progressive and he was extremely impressed with the working relationship and professionalism of the volunteer SAR community here in Alberta. Great work everyone! R.C.M.P._. 'K' Division HQ Meeting The new Search Reports and Expense Forms will be available on the SAR website under the heading RCMP within a few days. Don Drebert and Daryl Black met with Mike Self and Al Fraser of the RCMP to discuss outstanding issues between the RCMP and SAR AB and the SAR community in general. We brought up the expense rates to be submitted to the detachments by SAR teams and felt that the rates didn't accurately reflect the reality of costs incurred by the teams. After some re_wording and good discussion, the rate sheet was altered, links added and 'K' Division stressed that the rates were guidelines only and that ultimately the costs would be authorized by detachment commanders provided they were reasonable and accurate. The sheets provide a guideline only. When available from the SAR website, PLEASE USE THE new FORM AND RATES FOR SUBMISSION FOLLOWING A SEARCH ACTIVITY. R.C.M.P. Ground Search and Rescue Working Paper This was provided to SARA Happenings as a pdf attachment, but the mail program does not handle attachments. It, too, will be available from the SAR website soon. Mike Self has updated an extensive document as it relates to the RCMP and SAR in Alberta. I'd highly recommend everyone taking a look at this document as it contains a lot of great information for our reference. R.C.M.P. Evidence Handling and Increased Scrutiny As part of recent court cases, there will be increasingly intense and extensive scrutiny of witnesses involved in criminal cases, including those relating to a search. While always a factor and concern, it is even more important to ensure members are well trained, their training documented and backgrounds checked. 'K' Division is working to protect those in the SAR community as much as possible and this includes review of current standards and practices as they relate to how SAR members handle and document evidence. More to come, RCMP_ Annual District Meetings Annually each RCMP district holds operational meetings whereby the various detachment commanders meet to discuss issues pertinent to their respective districts and coordinate activities. Seeing this as an excellent opportunity to 'advertise' the vast and very_capable SAR community in Alberta, SAR Alberta and 'K' Division will be working with the various districts to ensure some presentation time at the meetings for local groups, SAR Alberta and 'K' Division headquarters. As the meetings are announced 'K' division will be notifying SAR Alberta and the local SAR groups so that we can get on the agendas to spread the word about what we do and how we do it. Daryl D. Black; President; Incident Leadership Canada Inc. (780) 425_8900 www.incidentleadership.ca -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 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. To subscribe or unsubscribe visit http://castrov.dyndns.org/cgi_bin/mailman/listinfo/sara_happenings enter your e_mail address and click on "Edit Options". Automatic subscribers will need to click on "EMail My Password to Me". You can subscribe and unsubscribe on the same page. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://castrov.dyndns.org:8080/pipermail/sara-happenings/attachments/20100816/7044c02a/attachment.htm From kwhyte2 at gmail.com Sat Sep 18 11:00:35 2010 From: kwhyte2 at gmail.com (Kester Whyte) Date: Sat, 18 Sep 2010 11:00:35 -0600 Subject: [SaraHap] SARA Happenings September 2010 Message-ID: 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. ------------------------------ * SAR STATISTICS * It is that time again for the collection of 2010 statistics (Jan 1 to Dec 31) The spreadsheet template should be available from the SAR website (either now or soon). I would like to have the information back to me by Jan 7 Your info/numbers shows the valuable service our volunteers provide our communities throughout the province. Should you have any questions, please let me know Thanks Rodney Dietrich SAR Alberta - Treasurer *accountinggod at shaw.ca* ------------------------------ *2011 TRAINING GRANTS NOW AVAILABLE* Grant applications for the 2011 training year are now available on the AEMA web site. You can access the application by clicking on this link: * http://www.aema.alberta.ca/Grant%20Funded%20Training.cfm*. If the link does not work, copy it and paste it into the URL bar on your browser. The deadline for submission of the grant application is October 31, 2010. Please follow the instructions in the application. Note that successful applications will have the funds deposited directly into the group?s account, so you will need to complete the financial institution information form included in the application package. The following information may be useful as you complete the application form: * incomplete applications will not be considered * the statistics for your group must be sent to SAR Alberta by the end of the first week of January, 2011; forward these directly to Rodney Dietrich, Treasurer, SAR Alberta: *accountinggod at shaw.ca* * membership in SAR Alberta must be current * proof of registration under the Alberta Societies Act must be included * compliant forms for the 2010 grant year must be included with the application package, if the group received a grant in 2010 * grants will be awarded to efficiently serve regional needs; that is two of the same course will not be granted to the same region * for the 2011 training year, at least one grant will be awarded for a provincial exercise and at least one grant will be awarded for a Search Manager course * when completing the financial (expenses) portion of the application, keep in mind that instructors who are members of a SAR Alberta member group, or whose training was provided through financial support of the Government of Alberta, or any SAR group in Alberta may not be paid; reasonable expenses to secure the services of the instructor are permissible (distance allowance, accommodation, meals), as well as costs for instructional materials * send the application package directly to AEMA as indicated in the application package * should the application be successful, be sure to retain receipts for all expenses incurred as they need to be submitted with the compliance form; copies are acceptable, as the treasurer of the group will require originals for the group??s treasury information If you have any questions, please contact Norman Mathew, SAR Alberta Training Coordinator, at *normanmathew at xplornet.com*. * ------------------------------ * *RCMP SUBMISSION: SAR NEWSLETTER ARTICLE* "Well, it is hard to imagine that summer is over and much sooner than we had all hoped. It has been a busy summer with people searches and evidence searches taking place across the province. I wish to thank all of you who gave up those few nice summer days to answer the call for assistance. As always your commitment is very much appreciated by the RCMP. As you may be aware, an updated GSAR report has been brought into service. In July of this year Sgt. Mike Self introduced a slightly modified document for use when reporting on any type of search. This report consists of a cover sheet of instruction; a fill in the blank sheet; a narrative sheet; and a list of expense rates (which is always subject to change). All expenses require prior authorization by the Tasking RCMP Detachment Commander. This report has the same distribution as before with one (1) copy for the Incident Commander at the tasking Detachment and one (1) copy for the ""K"" Division RCMP SARCoordinator. The report may be faxed or e-mailed to us in ""K"" Division as per instructions on the front sheet. I must thank you for the thoroughness of the reports as of late! Take care and let hope for a long and warm fall. Sgt. Mike Self & Cpl. Al Fraser" The forms are available from the SAR Alberta website ? http://www.saralberta.ca/index.php?option=com_content&view=category&layout=blog&id=60&Itemid=104 Should you have any questions please let me know.... * Al.Fraser at rcmp_grc.gc.ca* ------------------------------ * THE MAIL AND WIKI PROBLEMS * The SARA wiki and mailing lists have largely been inaccessible since August 2 while Shaw has been experiencing service outages. I've switched over to Telus and things should be back again. However, Telus blocks port 80, so you will have to access the web site on port 8080. Links to pages, like the main wiki page *http://saralberta.dnsalias.org:8080/mediawiki/index.php/Main_Page*need to have ":8080" inserted after the ".org". Similarly for the mailing list interfaces: * http://castrov.dyndns.org:8080/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo* I've tested what I can and everything seems to work, but there was a lot of things I had to touch in the conversion. There may well be some new problems. So please let me know if you have any difficulties or see things that don't work. Take Care, Brett Wuth *wuth at castrov.cuug.ab.ca* *wuth at acm.org* ------------------------------ * BISCUIT THE DOG RESCUED FROM SEPTIC TANK * Published: August 17, 2010 6:36 AM Updated: August 18, 2010 6:09 AM [image: Biscuit relaxes at home with owner Edward Primus.] Biscuit relaxes at home with owner Edward Primus. by RANDY FIEDLER/Advocate staff When you?re 98 in people years, the old eyes aren?t what they used to be. Unfortunately, Biscuit the border collie found out the hard way when the 14_year_old pooch took a tumble into the family?s septic tank on a rural property about eight km northeast of Red Deer. Lucky for Biscuit, Red Deer County was called and three of its staff arrived with seven members of Red Deer Search and Rescue. Assistant county manager, and Search and Rescue volunteer Ric Henderson said Biscuit was about four metres below the surface, standing in septic waste up to his belly. Search and Rescue set up a tripod and lowered veteran volunteer Kristy Kozuska into the hole, which was only about 75 cm across and was even more narrow towards the bottom of the tank. It took only about 15 minutes to get set up and Kozuska was able to get a sling around Biscuit and both were pulled to the surface in less than 10 minutes. The dog immediately came to her when she reached the bottom of the stinky tank. "He was pretty happy to be rescued," said Henderson. "He?s an old dog and friendly." As soon as they got to the surface, both were hosed off. Biscuit appears to be fine. The Red Deer Advocate. ------------------------------ * THE GRAPHIC * Please let me know if there was a problem with the graphic above in your newsletter copy. It?s included partly as a test. Don Drebert had asked for a *poster* to be included in this newsletter but it gave me too many problems. (Much too large) The event is for the Mantracker appearance November 18th at the Ardrossan Rec Complex. I expect you can find the info at www.atra.ca. ------------------------------ * 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.caPLEASE DO include contact information for members to gain further information. To subscribe or unsubscribe visit http://castrov.dyndns.org:8080/cgi_bin/mailman/listinfo/sara_happeningsenter your e_mail address and click on "Edit Options". Automatic subscribers will need to click on "EMail My Password to Me". You can subscribe and unsubscribe on the same page. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://castrov.dyndns.org:8080/pipermail/sara-happenings/attachments/20100918/a7ee5f77/attachment.html From choare at shaw.ca Sun Sep 19 13:50:25 2010 From: choare at shaw.ca (Chris Hoare) Date: Sun, 19 Sep 2010 13:50:25 -0600 Subject: [SaraHap] SARA Happenings September 2010 Message-ID: <8B8B9A1205064DC4B4D66C3AE3BEF816@user978bb393cd> 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. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Apologies for lateness, mail server hasn't been responding. CH. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- SAR STATISTICS It is that time again for the collection of 2010 statistics (Jan 1 to Dec 31) The spreadsheet template should be available from the SAR website (either now or soon). I would like to have the information back to me by Jan 7 Your info/numbers shows the valuable service our volunteers provide our communities throughout the province. Should you have any questions, please let me know Thanks Rodney Dietrich SAR Alberta - Treasurer accountinggod at shaw.ca -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2011 TRAINING GRANTS NOW AVAILABLE Grant applications for the 2011 training year are now available on the AEMA web site. You can access the application by clicking on this link: http://www.aema.alberta.ca/Grant%20Funded%20Training.cfm . If the link does not work, copy it and paste it into the URL bar on your browser. The deadline for submission of the grant application is October 31, 2010. Please follow the instructions in the application. Note that successful applications will have the funds deposited directly into the group's account, so you will need to complete the financial institution information form included in the application package. The following information may be useful as you complete the application form: * incomplete applications will not be considered * the statistics for your group must be sent to SAR Alberta by the end of the first week of January, 2011; forward these directly to Rodney Dietrich, Treasurer, SAR Alberta: accountinggod at shaw.ca * membership in SAR Alberta must be current * proof of registration under the Alberta Societies Act must be included * compliant forms for the 2010 grant year must be included with the application package, if the group received a grant in 2010 * grants will be awarded to efficiently serve regional needs; that is two of the same course will not be granted to the same region * for the 2011 training year, at least one grant will be awarded for a provincial exercise and at least one grant will be awarded for a Search Manager course * when completing the financial (expenses) portion of the application, keep in mind that instructors who are members of a SAR Alberta member group, or whose training was provided through financial support of the Government of Alberta, or any SAR group in Alberta may not be paid; reasonable expenses to secure the services of the instructor are permissible (distance allowance, accommodation, meals), as well as costs for instructional materials * send the application package directly to AEMA as indicated in the application package * should the application be successful, be sure to retain receipts for all expenses incurred as they need to be submitted with the compliance form; copies are acceptable, as the treasurer of the group will require originals for the group''s treasury information If you have any questions, please contact Norman Mathew, SAR Alberta Training Coordinator, at normanmathew at xplornet.com . -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- RCMP SUBMISSION: SAR NEWSLETTER ARTICLE "Well, it is hard to imagine that summer is over and much sooner than we had all hoped. It has been a busy summer with people searches and evidence searches taking place across the province. I wish to thank all of you who gave up those few nice summer days to answer the call for assistance. As always your commitment is very much appreciated by the RCMP. As you may be aware, an updated GSAR report has been brought into service. In July of this year Sgt. Mike Self introduced a slightly modified document for use when reporting on any type of search. This report consists of a cover sheet of instruction; a fill in the blank sheet; a narrative sheet; and a list of expense rates (which is always subject to change). All expenses require prior authorization by the Tasking RCMP Detachment Commander. This report has the same distribution as before with one (1) copy for the Incident Commander at the tasking Detachment and one (1) copy for the ""K"" Division RCMP SARCoordinator. The report may be faxed or e-mailed to us in ""K"" Division as per instructions on the front sheet. I must thank you for the thoroughness of the reports as of late! Take care and let hope for a long and warm fall. Sgt. Mike Self & Cpl. Al Fraser" The forms are available from the SAR Alberta website - http://www.saralberta.ca/index.php?option=com_content&view=category&layout=blog&id=60&Itemid=104 Should you have any questions please let me know.... Al.Fraser at rcmp_grc.gc.ca -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- THE MAIL AND WIKI PROBLEMS The SARA wiki and mailing lists have largely been inaccessible since August 2 while Shaw has been experiencing service outages. I've switched over to Telus and things should be back again. However, Telus blocks port 80, so you will have to access the web site on port 8080. Links to pages, like the main wiki page http://saralberta.dnsalias.org:8080/mediawiki/index.php/Main_Page need to have ":8080" inserted after the ".org". Similarly for the mailing list interfaces: http://castrov.dyndns.org:8080/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo I've tested what I can and everything seems to work, but there was a lot of things I had to touch in the conversion. There may well be some new problems. So please let me know if you have any difficulties or see things that don't work. Take Care, Brett Wuth wuth at castrov.cuug.ab.ca wuth at acm.org -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- BISCUIT THE DOG RESCUED FROM SEPTIC TANK Published: August 17, 2010 6:36 AM Updated: August 18, 2010 6:09 AM Biscuit relaxes at home with owner Edward Primus. by RANDY FIEDLER/Advocate staff When you're 98 in people years, the old eyes aren't what they used to be. Unfortunately, Biscuit the border collie found out the hard way when the 14_year_old pooch took a tumble into the family's septic tank on a rural property about eight km northeast of Red Deer. Lucky for Biscuit, Red Deer County was called and three of its staff arrived with seven members of Red Deer Search and Rescue. Assistant county manager, and Search and Rescue volunteer Ric Henderson said Biscuit was about four metres below the surface, standing in septic waste up to his belly. Search and Rescue set up a tripod and lowered veteran volunteer Kristy Kozuska into the hole, which was only about 75 cm across and was even more narrow towards the bottom of the tank. It took only about 15 minutes to get set up and Kozuska was able to get a sling around Biscuit and both were pulled to the surface in less than 10 minutes. The dog immediately came to her when she reached the bottom of the stinky tank. "He was pretty happy to be rescued," said Henderson. "He's an old dog and friendly." As soon as they got to the surface, both were hosed off. Biscuit appears to be fine. The Red Deer Advocate. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- THE GRAPHIC Please let me know if there was a problem with the graphic above in your newsletter copy. It's included partly as a test. Don Drebert had asked for a poster to be included in this newsletter but it gave me too many problems. (Much too large) The event is for the Mantracker appearance November 18th at the Ardrossan Rec Complex. I expect you can find the info at www.atra.ca. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 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. To subscribe or unsubscribe visit http://castrov.dyndns.org:8080/cgi_bin/mailman/listinfo/sara_happenings enter your e_mail address and click on "Edit Options". Automatic subscribers will need to click on "EMail My Password to Me". You can subscribe and unsubscribe on the same page. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://castrov.dyndns.org:8080/pipermail/sara-happenings/attachments/20100919/42a78d78/attachment.htm From kwhyte2 at gmail.com Tue Oct 19 08:17:26 2010 From: kwhyte2 at gmail.com (Kester Whyte) Date: Tue, 19 Oct 2010 08:17:26 -0600 Subject: [SaraHap] SARA Happenings October 2010 Message-ID: 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. ------------------------------ * STANDARDS COMMITTEE REPORT * The Standards Committee has been hard at work. We have put the finishing touch on 4 levels of man tracking. They are SARA Beginner Tracking, Intermediate Tracker, SARA Tracker member and Tracker Team Leader Standard. This goes well with our SARA Team member standard and the three vehicle standards already completed, ATV, Snowmobile and Boat Operator standard. At the moment we are working on a Dog Standard and finishing up Swift Water Level 1 and 2 standard. ------------------------------ * RESCUE PHILOSOPHY * Hardly any submissions this month ? room for a change of pace ? I?m sure all of us in the rescue community watched the rescue of the Chilean miners. Here is an extract from a commentary by Michael Vlahos, Professor of Strategy at the United States Naval War College. "Miners. Trapped. No way out. Miraculously rescued. Happy end. End of story. Not so fast. The resurrection of Chile?s lost miners is a testament to the power of belonging and meaning in human life. We live because eternal hope lives in our collective self. We draw meaning from the river of humanity. Only in this way can we take comfort from the desperate enterprise of life ? because our life is eternally shared. Because we belong to a river of life that must go on, our single summer night has meaning. In the end it is all right ? because we go on together. We all have the same deep_wired drive to make our lives make sense joining ourselves to the river of sacred identity. My work focuses on how "civilization" ? complex post_Neolithic groups of societies ? created a celebratory ritual we call war. In history war has always served to create identity, to celebrate identity, and to help identity migrate and transform. War is perhaps our most special human vehicle for framing and reframing consciousness, and for helping consciousness to change. But thankfully war is not our only ritual of identity. Consider the Chilean alternative in the same sacral Christian_national context. Buried, the miners have come back to Chile ? to the body of the nation ? from a Stygian sarcophagus. Moreover the lingering and overhanging evil that may have placed them there ? Latin America?s daunting legacy of racism and iniquity and latifundial_corporate evil ? was instantly expunged by a Presidential commitment to Chile?s buried own. Ancient legacies can be cast off. The nation can find celebration and renewal without war ? and create that sacred moment when the people are one and whole again." http://www.huffingtonpost.com/michael-vlahos/chilean-transcendence_b_762475.html ------------------------------ * 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. To subscribe or unsubscribe visit http://castrov.dyndns.org:8080/cgi_bin/mailman/listinfo/sara_happeningsenter your e_mail address and click on "Edit Options". Automatic subscribers will need to click on "EMail My Password to Me". You can subscribe and unsubscribe on the same page. -- My fantasy "Rast" to be released by MuseItUp Publishing in March 2011. "Arrival", "Deadly Enterprise", "The Wildcat's Victory", and "The Wildcat's Burden" are available here -- http://www.double-dragon-ebooks.com/eAuthor.php?Name=Christopher%20Hoare See my website at http://www.freewebs.com/chriskander/ and blog http://thewildcatsvictory.wordpress.com -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://castrov.dyndns.org:8080/pipermail/sara-happenings/attachments/20101019/a8661a14/attachment.html From choare at shaw.ca Mon Nov 15 19:10:35 2010 From: choare at shaw.ca (Chris Hoare) Date: Mon, 15 Nov 2010 19:10:35 -0700 Subject: [SaraHap] SARA Happenings November 2010 Message-ID: <80DED641A7B347C5A0EB20DB64A3713E@user978bb393cd> Hi All: SARA Happenings is issued to foster communication within the Search and Rescue community in Alberta. It is going to 237 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. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ACCESS TO MINUTES The 2010 SAR Alberta Annual General Draft Meeting Minutes are posted on the SAR Alberta website for viewing. Please forward any corrections to the SAR Alberta Secretary at mwtracks at netzero.net by no later than March 31, 2011. Thank you: Mary-Ann, SAR Alberta -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- STANDARDS COMMITTEE REPORT The Standards Committee has been hard at work. We have put the finishing touch on 4 levels of man tracking. They are SARA Beginner Tracking, Intermediate Tracker, SARA Tracker member and Tracker Team Leader Standard. This goes well with our SARA Team member standard and the three vehicle standards already completed, ATV, Snowmobile and Boat Operator standard. At the moment we are working on a Dog Standard and finishing up Swift Water Level 1 and 2 standard. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 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. PLEASE DO NOT send me any .docx files; thanks. To subscribe or unsubscribe visit http://castrov.dyndns.org:8080/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/sara-happenings enter your e-mail address and click on "Edit Options". Automatic subscribers will need to click on "EMail My Password to Me". You can subscribe and unsubscribe on the same page. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://castrov.dyndns.org:8080/pipermail/sara-happenings/attachments/20101115/7a922c29/attachment.htm From kwhyte2 at gmail.com Thu Dec 16 14:03:46 2010 From: kwhyte2 at gmail.com (Kester Whyte) Date: Thu, 16 Dec 2010 14:03:46 -0700 Subject: [SaraHap] SARA Happenings December 2010 Message-ID: Hi All: SARA Happenings is issued to foster communication within the Search and Rescue community in Alberta. It is going to 237 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. ------------------------------ * MESSAGE FROM THE PRESIDENT * Good day fellow SAR providers Once again the Christmas season is upon us and with a short break in our day jobs coming up there is sure to be travel involved for many of us, be it across town or to exotic destinations to be with family and friends. We at SAR Alberta ask that you plan your trip carefully and prepare for that unexpected thing that has a habit of showing up when you least expect it. In the past weeks I have made it my personal mission to help with the insurance. Jen from Jardine Lloyd and Thompson and I took a list of SAR teams from the province and split the list. I felt that as the president it is my responsibility to ensure that each and every team was contacted and given the chance to apply and to make sure no one was excluded. It is this open line of communication that is the basis of our continued success at the provincial level to represent the teams throughout the province. One challenge that was encountered was that some of the member organizations contact information with SAR Alberta and on the web site was not correct which resulted in us having to contact more than one person to get the team info that we needed. I would urge all team executive to please visit our web site at www.saralberta.ca and check to ensure that your organizations information it is correct and up to date. If changes need to be made please send them to Daryl at daryl.black at incidentleadership.ca Please remember those other surrounding teams, the RCMP and other agency?s look to this resource as a way of contacting teams for help in times of need. The following is an update from Ray Gilmour, the deputy minister, advising that the position of managing director has been filled. Tom Sand the manager of training will be the SAR liaison for AEMA. "I am very pleased to advise that Mr. Dana Woodworth has been appointed to the position of Managing Director of the Alberta Emergency Management Agency, and will join the Agency on Monday, November 22, 2010. Dana brings an accomplished background with the Canadian Armed Forces, including an assignment as the Commanding Officer of the Kandahar Provincial Reconstruction Team from 2007 to 2009, and a series of leadership positions within the Canadian Forces and most recently in the private sector. Dana's collaborative leadership style will help strengthen the Agency's partnerships in support of Alberta municipalities and government departments. I know that he looks forward to working together with you to provide Albertans with the assurance that their communities are supported by a highly effective, integrated and coordinated emergency management system before, during and after emergency events." Ray Gilmour Deputy Minister The work with FESTI is continuing with Daryl being very involved and providing lots of input. It is good to see AEMA values the input of SAR professionals into the FESTI program which creates a strong partnership with the two organizations. The web site is coming along but as we all know that it is a work in progress. It is the vision of all executive and board members for it to be a tool to be used by all SAR providers in the province and an up to date conduit of information. Please visit the web site and see what you think, make sure your team?s information is current and feel free to send suggestions to myself or your board rep. Rodney and I had the pleasure of attending a fundraiser in Ardrossan that was sponsored by the Alberta Trail Riding Association. The guest speaker was Terry Grant who most people know as Mantracker. It was a fun evening of story telling and question and answers about the show. The thing that impressed me is the commitment that Terry has towards Search and Rescue and getting the message out that SAR is a worthwhile cause and needs to be supported. Rodney and I manned a booth at the back and sold pictures to be autographed and tee shirts. When all was said and done we had a total donation of $475.00. Hat?s off to Lisa from the ATRA for including SAR in their function. Have a happy holiday season Sincerely Don Drebert President Search and Rescue Alberta ------------------------------ * 2011 SAR ALBERTA: CALL FOR CANDIDATES * OFFICERS ELECTION The Following SAR Alberta Officers are up for Elections next year: President Vice President Secretary If you are interested in running for one of these positions the nominations forms and information on each position may be found on the SAR Alberta website or maybe obtain by contacting the SAR Alberta Secretary at mwtracks at netzero.net Nominations forms due in by April 20, 2011 ------------------------------ * BOARD UPDATE ** New Email Addresses for SAR Alberta Executive and Board Coming Soon * In an effort to streamline and simplify communication we have arranged to have generic mailboxes created for the SAR Alberta Board.. For now we are test_driving the process so not everyone is on it yet but in the future you will be able to simply type in president at saralberta.ca (for example) and the email will go to the current president. This means YOU don??t have to update your distribution lists, SAR Alberta will take care of that for you. You??re talking, we??re listening. Currently we have president at saralberta.ca, vicepresident at saralberta.ca, treasurer at saralberta.ca, and secretary at saralberta.ca. * Fire Emergency Services Training Initiative Update * Submitted by Daryl Black, Vice_President, SAR Alberta This is a very pivotal and exciting time for search and rescue in Alberta! The purpose of this story is to provide answers with regard to some questions around SAR Alberta representation as well as a bit more information with regard to what the FESTI team has been up to. The questions surrounding FESTI are excellent and show that the membership is thinking about how important it is to be properly represented and that SAR Alberta is the ideal forum and mechanism to make that happen. The project has been on the go for a long time and a lot of background work has been occurring. Now that hard work is paying off. * Training Delivery Working Group: * I have been the representative on the Training Delivery Working Group. This group is made up of a wide range of representation from across police, fire, EMS, SAR, industry, municipalities, Alberta Advanced Education, Solicitor General and others. The mandate of this group has been to identify: * * *1.* System_Wide Training: These are courses and topics that are interoperable and should span across multiple disciplines (SAR, Disaster Social Services, Amateur Radio, and Fire Service, Emergency Management as well as police and EMS). This list has been reviewed with a sub_group representing a range within SAR discipline. We are currently working on that list and it will be circulated when it has been worked on a bit more. In general there are three levels: Basic, Intermediate, and Advanced. The good news is that most of the courses proposed are covered off in our basic training in first_aid, SAR and Civil Emergency Response. Courses include ICS, Critical Incident Stress management, evidence handling to name a few. This means that we are way ahead of the curve in our well_trained SAR community. * * *2.* SAR_Specific Training: a focus group has been established representing a wide range of the SAR discipline to include GSAR, heavy urban, technical etc. This group is looking at the system_wide training above and determining who within SAR needs those courses and to what level. The levels proposed are: * * *Support*_ aka Admin. Not an active field searcher i.e. person who makes phone calls, works at the ICP or Base. * * *Searcher:* Field worker. Boots on the ground. * * *Search Manager/ Incident Management Team member.* Those who manage and direct the strategy and tactics. * * *3.* Training delivery methods best suited for the particular discipline and content: A big component is how we get training out to emergency workers in the province. Concepts around regional and cross_discipline training (i.e. if Fire Service has an ICS in an area then load the program with SAR, police, disaster social services and amateur radio) are being reviewed in addition to leveraging technology (on_line training, video conferencing) as well improving our instructor_led course delivery in terms of capacity and capability. * Accreditation, Certification and Standards Working Group: * For clarification, FESTI is looking at, in most cases, the minimum requirements for a particular role. This means that if a group or region wishes to exceed said standard then there is flexibility to do just that. As well, FESTI is taking into account the different requirements some regions and groups may have with regard to specific training so it is not mandating a one_size fits all approach to providing SAR service in the province. To that end SAR Alberta has been working on standards for some time and that work is continuing through our Standards Committee and its Chair, Allan Tomalty. There are lot of moving parts for this project and you are encouraged to visit http://festi.alberta.ca/ for backgrounder information. *Have a Group Newsletter?* Share it with the rest of SAR Alberta! Many of you have excellent newsletters that you circulate electronically amongst your members and partners. In SAR Alberta we are recipients of some of those newsletters and though that it would be great if we could facilitate wider scale distribution so we all can learn what each other has been up to. With that goal in mind and if you don??t mind sharing please add *vicepresident at saralberta.ca* to your newsletter distribution lists and your newsletter will be posted on our website. * The Website Needs Your Help! * It has been a huge challenge with regard to our website and membership contact information. Much of the issue has been around SAR Alberta not having your most up_to_date contact information (not the whole issue so we??re clear) so we??ve gone through the site again. Now it??s your turn. Please go to the SAR Alberta website and review your team??s information. Why? Not only is it important for administrative purposes but operationally more and more of our partners and fellow SAR groups are looking to the website to get callout numbers and procedures. . If there are changes then please send those changes to *secretary at saralberta.ca* Daryl D. Black President Incident Leadership Canada Inc. (780) 569_4269 *www.incidentleadership.ca* "Bringing Order to Chaos Through the Art of Leadership and the Science of Human Factors" ------------------------------ * 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<%C2%90>PLEASE DO include contact information for members to gain further information. PLEASE DO NOT send me any .docx files; thanks. To subscribe or unsubscribe visit http://castrov.dyndns.org:8080/cgi_bin/mailman/listinfo/sara_happenings enter your e_mail address and click on "Edit Options". Automatic subscribers will need to click on "EMail My Password to Me". You can subscribe and unsubscribe on the same page. -- My fantasy "Rast" to be released by MuseItUp Publishing in March 2011. "Arrival", "Deadly Enterprise", "The Wildcat's Victory", and "The Wildcat's Burden" are available here -- http://www.double-dragon-ebooks.com/eAuthor.php?Name=Christopher%20Hoare See my website at http://www.freewebs.com/chriskander/ and blog http://thewildcatsvictory.wordpress.com -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://castrov.dyndns.org:8080/pipermail/sara-happenings/attachments/20101216/4851aebc/attachment.htm