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<P><B><FONT face=Arial>Hi All:</B> </P>
<P>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.</P>
<P>Subscription and unsubscription information is at the end of the newsletter.
</P>
<P>
<HR>
</P><B>
<P>REGIONAL REPRESENTATION</P></B>
<P>It was by design that within the province there are 6 regions. Within these
regions are many individual SAR organizations of who are represented at the
provincial level by the individuals they appoint as Directors and their
Deputies. These Board directors are their voice.</P>
<P>However there are some regions that are missing full representation either by
way of no director or no deputy. It is the member organizations responsibilities
to ensure they are having their voice heard by appointing individuals to these
positions.</P>
<P>I ask that those member organizations who do not have full representation
seek out those would be willing to take this task on.</P>
<P>As well for those Regional representatives that do not have a director or
deputy seek out from those member organizations of which you represent to aid
you in locating one.</P>
<P>Thank you to those Directors and Deputies who take the time to be
representatives for their regions and make a concerted effort at maintaining
communication levels between SAR Alberta and SAR member organizations.</P>
<P>Thank you </P>
<P>Secretary; Mary-Ann Warren </FONT><A
href="mailto:mwtracks@netzero.net"><U><FONT face=Arial color=#0000ff><FONT
face=Arial color=#0000ff>mwtracks@netzero.net</U></FONT></FONT></A><FONT
face=Arial> </P>
<P>SAR Alberta</P>
<P>
<HR>
</P><B>
<P>OPERATION OCTOPUS REPORT</P></B>
<P>Congratulations to all of those Search and Rescue volunteers who made the
trek to Chambers Creek October 24<SUP>th</SUP> and 25<SUP>th</SUP>. A big thank
you to all of you that took the time to attend as well as all of those members
who helped out in any way. Once again, the search and rescue community has shown
what it can really do.</P>
<P>Not surprising, there were problems along the way, some which may have been
operational and others that were organizational. So overall, we learned lots
from the organizational aspect (which we will happily share with the next
organization to run with it), and we hope all those who attended also learned
something, whether as a group or an individual.</P>
<P>You will be happy to hear that in part due to some great sponsorship, as well
as help from Canada Task Force 2 and SAR Alberta, there will be money to return
to those who travelled here. Look for more information to follow in your
mailbox. </P>
<P>For the enlightenment of all, we felt the following, constructive comments
might be good for all of the membership to read. Granted they are only
highlights from the evaluators, as well as the team evaluations, but there is
some truth for all of us.</P>
<P>*registration at the base was confusing and not complete at the initial
sign-in; there was some redundant action when people signed in at the road. (ie.
It was not clear that sign in at the road was for the site as a whole, while at
the base it was for the actual operation)</P>
<P>*there was a plan in place for coverage of Rocky SAR in the case of a real
call out. (Thanks Red Deer for being ready and willing!)</P>
<P>*Search managers and planning staff should know how dog teams work – nobody
asked for our suggestions about the most effective search strategy for our
teams, or if there is a difference between a tracking dog and an air-scent dog
(yes, there is!) </P>
<P>*Some of the header info (ie. Search manager and incident file #) should be
permanently posted outside the ops center</P>
<P>*Make sure gear works before bringing it into the field!!; equipment brought
to command site should be search ready and accessible</P>
<P>*The search teams could have been intermingled with different team members to
allow greater learning opportunities.</P>
<P>*Surprised trackers were not used at all ; trackers and dogs should have been
deployed first to try and establish line of travel or containment (and for all
those who attended, there were tracks purposefully left)</P>
<P>*each search manager should carry a management kit so that they can quickly
get organized – has all their forms and supplies to manage an event</P>
<P>*if repeating this type of exercise, bring in SAR management group in the day
before and pre-plan the mission</P>
<P>*having command in two different places caused problems</P>
<P>*I would like to see a more "feasible" scenario…why we would call SAR
province wide. Something like a downed airliner would be better.</P>
<P>*event committee should pre-determine and enforce what mapping systems will
be used for the event; we should consider using Lat/Long for mapping. All GPS
have it and UTM is a hassle for air services which we need.</P>
<P>And did we mention that pretty much every sheet mentioned something about
COMMUNICATION! I think we all knew that was an issue and likely will be an
Achilles heel for a long time to come yet.</P>
<P>This is not all inclusive, but hopefully, if nothing else, conversation and
team communication was initiated.</P>
<P>Thanks again to all who took part in one form or another, and here’s hoping
we get a chance to grow together again in the near future!!</P>
<P>
<HR>
</P><B>
<P>SAR BASICS/SAR FUNDAMENTALS PROGRAM CERTIFICATES</P></B>
<P>Instructors information</P>
<P>There has been a lapse in SAR Alberta providing the SAR Basic program
certificates. In hopes of rectifying this I have taken on the task of issuing
certificates. </P>
<P>To obtain certificates for your students for the following years from
2007-present please submit:</P>
<P>-Names of participant/s</P>
<P>-Dates course was taken</P>
<P>-Location of course</P>
<P>-Instructor/s name</P>
<P>-Instructors mailing address</P>
<P>I will also need the SAR basics instructors to provide:</P>
<P>-Dates/s on which they took their instructors training</P>
<P>-Company or instructor who delivered this training</P>
<P>-Instructor Course/s taken</P>
<P>I will only be sending these certificates out to the instructors. If you have
not yet received your certificate for this course please contact your instructor
and give him/her this information.</P>
<P>For the future, after a SAR Basics course has been conducted, instructors
please submit the information in a timely manner.</P>
<P>Submit information to </FONT><A href="mailto:mwtracks@netzero.net"><U><FONT
face=Arial color=#0000ff><FONT face=Arial
color=#0000ff>mwtracks@netzero.net</U></FONT></FONT></A><FONT face=Arial> </P>
<P>Thank you</P>
<P>Mary-Ann Warren</P>
<P>Secretary</P>
<P>SAR Alberta</P>
<P>
<HR>
</P><B>
<P>SEARCH DOG PUPPIES</P></B>
<P>Greetings</P>
<P>My name is Christine Lyseng, and I am a former SAR Dog Handler of the now
Canadian Search Dog Assoc., formerly called RCMP/CSDA.</P>
<P>I now raise and breed Working Belgian Malinois dogs. My adult dogs are
directly imported from Holland and have an extremely high working drive. All
information on my dogs and litter can be found at the following link. </FONT><A
href="http://www.majesticmalinois.com/puppies/Poster.pdf"><U><FONT face=Arial
color=#0000ff><FONT face=Arial
color=#0000ff>http://www.majesticmalinois.com/puppies/Poster.pdf</U></FONT></FONT></A><FONT
face=Arial> </P>
<P>The following link is to the pedigree of the Dam and Sire, which should have
been included with the above information. </P></FONT>
<P><A
href="http://www.majesticmalinois.com/pedigrees/Majestic_A_Litter.pdf"><U><FONT
face=Arial color=#0000ff><FONT face=Arial
color=#0000ff>http://www.majesticmalinois.com/pedigrees/Majestic_A_Litter.pdf</U></FONT></FONT></A><FONT
face=Arial> </P>
<P>It is my hope that you will pass along this information to anyone/group
seeking a working dog, as this entire litter possess a very high working drive,
and are not suited for the average pet owner.</P>
<P>Thank you for your time and consideration.</P>
<P>Sincerest Regards, </P>
<P>Christine Lyseng</P>
<P>
<HR>
</P><B>
<P>GSAR WORKSHOP</P></B>
<P>SAR volunteers from across Canada attended a GSAR workshop in Toronto,
October 2 to 4. This workshop was supported by the National Search Secretariat
(NSS) (see http://www.nss.gc.ca for more information) and the Search and Rescue
Volunteer Association of Canada (SARVAC) (see www.sarvac.ca for more
information). </P>
<P>There were two parts to the conference: part one was the "Train the Trainer"
workshop for the AdventureSmart Programs (see www.adventuresmart.ca for more
information) and part two was a Volunteer Sustainability Town Hall.</P>
<P>In part one, the need for a National Search and Rescue Prevention Strategy
was presented. The National Prevention Strategy is supported by the Federal
Government through the NSS. Additional endorsement from SARVAC and the
provincial SAR groups will ensure the program is delivered. As a result of the
need to reduce SAR incidents through preventative measures, the National
Strategy has adopted the AdventureSmart programs. AdventureSmart originated in
British Columbia in response to a 130% increase in SAR events over a 15 year
period.</P>
<P>Sessions were held for each of the following AdventureSmart Programs; Hug A
Tree; Survive Outside; and Snow Safety Education. There were train-the-trainer
sessions and the expectation is that each of the delegates will train a team of
members who can deliver these programs in the community. The delegates from
Alberta met while in Toronto, and have agreed to provide a unified roll-out for
these programs in this province. Information regarding this, as well as
opportunities for our members to take this training will be forthcoming.</P>
<P>The president of SARVAC, Harry Blackmore, talked about the need for a
national identity for SAR groups. SARVAC is working with the NSS and provincial
organizations to create such an identity and recognition of a national
affiliation. </P>
<P>Part Two, the Volunteer Sustainability Town Hall consisted of a large group
meeting with the president of Volunteer Canada (see http://volunteer.ca for more
information) and SARVAC. Based on data collected from SAR groups across Canada,
a profile of SAR volunteers was presented. In addition to the anecdotal
information, the following data is interesting:</P>
<P>National</P>
<P>Size of team (number of members)..............48</P>
<P>Average Age (in years).................................40</P>
<P>Per cent male...............................................74</P>
<P>Per cent of groups rural................................76</P>
<P>Urban..............................................................3</P>
<P>Both..............................................................19</P>
<P>Enough volunteers – ........................yes.......69%</P>
<P>Right kind of volunteers – .................No</P>
<P>Need fundraisers, trainers, outreach.............64%</P>
<P>Number of hours per volunteer............Increasing</P>
<P>Turnover rate.......................................Increasing</P>
<P>Actively Recruit – .............................yes.......74%</P>
<P>Employer Support – .........................yes.......60%</P>
<P>Solicit Employer support –................No........53%</P>
<P>Will changes in number and type of volunteers affect your operations in the
future – </P>
<P>.........................................................yes........57%</P>
<P>In general, the needs and issues of SAR groups are consistent across the
county. According to Statistics Canada, 46% of Canadians volunteer and generate
8% of the GDP. Volunteerism is essential to building healthy and quality
communities. </P>
<P>General comments regarding volunteerism that came out in the meeting
included:</P>
<P>· people are in a time famine</P>
<P>· volunteering shapes our character</P>
<P>· volunteers are asked to take on complex work and make huge time
commitment</P>
<P>· life draws us away from volunteering</P>
<P>· some considerations</P>
<P>* one size doesn’t fit all</P>
<P>* there are generational differences in why people volunteer</P>
<P>* it would appear that 10% of the volunteers do about 52% of the work</P>
<P>* part of volunteering should be to mentor younger volunteers</P>
<P>* there is a general reluctance in volunteers to take on leadership roles</P>
<P>Best regards,</P>
<P>Norman Mathew ( 780-984-6855 ) </FONT><A
href="mailto:normanmathew@xplornet.com"><U><FONT face=Arial color=#0000ff><FONT
face=Arial color=#0000ff>normanmathew@xplornet.com</U></FONT></FONT></A><FONT
face=Arial> </P>
<P>
<HR>
</P><B>
<P>SARA HAPPENINGS SUBMISSIONS </P></B>
<P>Our regular publication date for mailings of SARA Happenings is the middle of
each month. Please note that the deadline for material is the 14<SUP>th</SUP> of
each month. </P>
<P align=center></P>
<P>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. </P>
<P>Please send all material to the editor; Chris Hoare at </FONT><A
href=""><U><FONT face=Arial color=#0000ff><FONT face=Arial
color=#0000ff>choare@shaw.ca</U></FONT></FONT></A><FONT face=Arial> PLEASE DO
include contact information for members to gain further information.</P>
<P> </P>
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