K-9 One Search Drill as seen by a Ham

(GC)ARES involvement in the K9-ONE search and rescue (SAR) drill on Saturday was “a good thing” for both GCARES and the K9-ONE group. For GCARES, this drill identified another potential service area to explore, and for the K9-ONE group, this drill gave some newer “non-(GC)ARES” K9-ONE hams an example of some very good amateur radio net operating procedures.

Following a carefully pre-planned and humorous Halloween-based scenario, several search-dog based teams were deployed over assigned geographical sectors in-and-around the Michigan Renaissance Festival property in northern Oakland County. The purpose of this gathering was to drill this all-volunteer K9-ONE SAR group in their charter mission, i.e., to search for and to locate clues toward locating missing persons in unfavorable circumstances. Each team was led by a privately-owned and specifically-trained search-dog that was then followed immediately by the dog’s handler. In turn, this handler was then followed by one or more team support personnel and then, the entire team was followed a GCARES amateur radio operator. Saturday’s several teams were named for their dogs, e.g., Team Emma, Team Emmy, Team Mo, Team Tucker, Team Pepsi and Team Tigger, etc. Each team commenced its search in a specific geographical sector at a place where the quarried individual(s) was last seen (Point Last Seen) or was last known to have been (Point Last Known). The team search dogs were to pick up the scent and the trail at the PLS or PLK, and then pursue the subject as far as possible, hopefully to the successful location of the quarry.

I was initially assigned as the radio-operator for Team Pepsi, but I was quickly reassigned to Team Emmy. Team Emmy’s namesake was beautiful two-year-old tan female bloodhound. Ken, of Ann Arbor Township Fire and Rescue and the K9 Search-Rescue Team, was Emmy’s owner and handler. Since I’d never even seen a bloodhound in my sixty-five years, and had absolutely no knowledge of any dog-based search capabilities, watching Ken work with Emmy was a thrilling experience. The search support-person on Team Emmy was “Cathy”. As we were performing our search quite geographically distant from the K9-ONE base unit, I was Ken’s radio-link for any needs he had. In our case, the initial PLS scent-clue (a shovel) had apparently been inadvertently purloined earlier by a local resident, so base-contact-by-radio assistance was required. Following that matter, Ken required base-contact-by-radio to rule-out the possibility that an empty can of MONSTER JUICE was a location clue. Team Emmy also used our radio-link to address the issue of an off-property lengthy fence in connection with the search territory.

Team Emmy was not as successful as other teams, but I learned that this is one reason for deploying more than one search team. It seemed to me that heavy rain over the previous night, and Saturday’s heavy wind, would be a very understandable negative factor in this type of dog-search. However, I very surprisingly learned that rain and wind are almost non-issues for a bloodhound. “Emmy’s” involvement here was because she had been specifically trained on following a specific scent that she had been given, while other dogs are trained as “air scent” dogs, or as “cadaver” dogs. The Michigan Renaissance Festival terrain was sufficiently varied to simulate actual search conditions.

Except for a right arm scratch that I received while crawling through a heavy thicket following Emmy, I finished the search unscathed. Our search session was followed by a de-briefing session which addressed the search experience and the search results. During mid-to-late afternoon, individual dog-owners worked with other dog-owners in very specific dog-training exercises. I was impressed to see how these various dogs were trained in their areas of expertise. I am not a dog-person, but I now have great respect for search dogs and their very distinct areas of capability. I actually watched a poodle search-dog continually “pester” its too-easy-to-give-up owner-handler until the two of them finally found the target buried under leaves and brush in heavy thicket.

The Saturday weather was perfect, the food was good, and the comraderie was exceptional. During de-briefing, K9-ONE advised that (GC)ARES was a very beneficial and a very welcome supplement to their SAR program. K9-ONE also expressed an interest in building a working relationship with (GC)ARES for use during times K9-ONE was activated in the future. For this particular exercise, GCARES worked on 145.980MHz simplex, apparently the historical K9-ONE operating frequency.


Tom Root, WB8UUJ
Flushing, MI USA

Annual Meeting

In accordance with the current Bylaws of Genesee County Amateur Radio Emergency Service Inc, the annual meeting and election of officers will be held on November 3rd, 2007 at 10:00 AM in the third floor auditorium of the Genesee County Administration Building at 1101 Beach Street.

The Board offices which are open for election this year are Secretary, Director of Engineering, and Director of Specialized communications. Any one wish to run for office must be a member in good standing as of June 1st 2007.

Any one wishing to be considered as a candidate for one of these offices should submit a letter of intent and or resume to the Secretary of the board or Robert Grieve (KA8NOG) the chairman of the nominating Committee no later than 10:00 am on the 3rd of November. Nominations and seconds will be permitted from the floor however the nominee must be present and in good standing to accept the nomination.

Jerry Baker – KD8AYL
Secretary/Public Information Officer
Genesee County Amateur Radio Emergency Service, Inc.
FEMA Certified ISO 22, 100, 200, 700, 800
ARECC Certified Level 1, 2 & 3

Thanks from Tami

From: Yorks, Tami
To: N8HXQ
Sent: Friday, October 19, 2007 4:28 PM
Subject: Storms on 10-18-07

Greg,

Please pass along my thanks to all the ARES spotters for their help last evening during the storms. The ARES participation during such incidents does not go unnoticed by me or our dept. THANKS SO MUCH!

Kudos to all of your volunteers!

Tamara Yorks
Director
Emergency Management/Homeland Security

Michigan Hams Activated Due to Storms and Tornado

Fred Moses, Sr, KC8UMP, of Holly, Michigan, does ARES duty at the Fenton fire station. [Fred Moses, Jr, W8FSM, Photo]
The parking lot at Deerfield Center had lots of downed trees due to the storm. [Fred Moses, Jr, W8FSM, Photo]
On Friday, August 24 at 5:15 PM (EDT), the National Weather Service issued a severe thunderstorm warning for Genesee County. This storm produced two tornados in the mid-Michigan area that caused severe damage to several towns. The greatest damage occurred in the City of Fenton located just south of Flint. The NWS confirmed that an EF2 tornado had touched down and had torn a path 26 miles long and up to 0.5 miles wide through Livingston, Oakland, Genesee and Lapeer County, damaging at least 250 homes and businesses. An EF2 tornado, using the enhanced Fujita scale, is a wind estimate of 110-135 MPH in a three-second gust. More than 12,000 people lost power due to the storms.
ARES and SKYWARN Activated
Michigan's Genesee County ARES and SKYWARN were activated due to a severe thunderstorm watch. The storm moved into the county with such heavy rain that visibility dropped down to zero at several points. Funnel clouds were seen in the western part of the county, but these could not be confirmed. The NWS issued a Tornado Warning based on confirmed sightings in the adjacent counties to the west, as well as reports from their Doppler radar.
As spotters continued to watch the storm, Randy Bond, N8VDS, spotted the funnel heading for Fenton and reported it to the NWS via his ham radio; Fred Moses Jr, W8FSM, confirmed the sighting. Moments later, the Genesee County 911 central dispatch center received a call that the roof on the brand new Tractor Supply Company store in Fenton had caved in and that the tornado had touched down. About half of the Fenton Community Center's roof was blown off, and debris from the building blew across the road to Fenton United Methodist Church.
Genesee County 911 called out the fire departments and activated their Fire Coordination Plan. Ham radio spotters have an agreement with Genesee County fire departments to provide supplemental communications for the departments. Hams were providing communications via the SKYWARN net and the Fire Coordination net.
As the county's fire departments started to move toward the building collapse in Fenton, hams were already on the scene. Bond and Mike Schafer, KB8RVP, shifted gears from weather spotters to Fire Coordination operators. At the request of the fire chief at the scene, Bond went to the Fenton City fire station and, using ham radio, assisted their dispatch center; the storm had damaged their radio fire communications tower, so Bond and Schafer started working dispatch for them using their ham radios until the dispatch center was able to resume normal fire communications.
Jerry Baker, KD8AYL, was next to arrive on the scene at the collapsed building and after meeting with the Incident Commander, Baker was assigned the task to set up radio communications with more ARES volunteers in the Flint region.
As more reports of damage came in, the Fenton City and Township Fire Department became overloaded; their crippled communications tower did not help matters. ARES Emergency Coordinator for Genesee County Greg Ybarra, N8HXQ, coordinated the response during this incident and put out a call for help to District 3 Emergency Coordinator Greg Allinger, WA8OGJ. Allinger contacted other ARES units in the state, and Amateur Radio operators from nine Michigan counties responded to the Fenton area to help.
Evaluation of the damage started immediately after the storm. Baker was reassigned to a relief shelter to aid the Red Cross. What would normally have been a drive of less then 10 minutes took almost an hour due to trees and power lines down everywhere. "Trees as much as 36 inches in diameter and more than 100 years old had been ripped out of the ground by the storm; regular electric power was out and the damage reports just never seemed to end," he said.
The Genesee County Office of Emergency Management activated their Mobile Command Unit. The MCU has an Amateur Radio station in it, as well as radios for all public service organizations. The city set up a command post in the parking lot of the Fenton City fire department and began operations from there. Michigan State Police responded to the area and instituted an 8 PM curfew for everyone. State and local police set up road blocks. Access was restricted to police, fire, National Guard, Red Cross, Salvation Army or ARES.
ARES volunteers worked with all aspects of the incident. Damage reports and assessments continued until 1:30 AM Saturday morning when the Incident Commander determined everyone should break until 5:30 AM to get some rest.
Wearing Two Hats
The following morning presented a dilemma for the ARES personnel: They were asked to continue assisting with communications in the clean-up of the tornado, but they also needed to take care of a prior commitment. The Crim Festival of Races was scheduled that day, and ARES traditionally has supplied the communications support, as well as Amateur Radio Television (ARTV) for the Race. "The 'Crim,' as it is known locally, is a festival of races that appeals to just about anyone from the world class runners to little tikes that enjoy the Teddy Bear trot. Each year, ARES volunteers serve in the Med Tent, Command Center, Start and Finish Line, and up to 120 positions through out the course," Baker said.
In the tradition of Amateur Radio, the ham volunteers found ways to cover both activities. The race went on, with hams manning as many stations as possible and supplying ARTV pictures both for the race and County and City 911 dispatch. Those not working the Crim (after only a couple of hours' sleep) were back at the clean-up efforts in Fenton.
The clean-up efforts in Fenton began again at 5:30 AM with ham radio operators joining with fire department members and local utility crews split into eight task force units that went throughout the city, cleaning up the fallen trees and down power lines. Clean-up efforts continued all day Saturday until 8 PM. By then, the great majority of roads through out Fenton and the immediate neighborhoods had been cleared by the team effort of ARES personnel, power company workers and the fire department personnel.
One of the informal mottos of Amateur Radio is "Semper Gumby!" -- always flexible. The flexibility of the Amateur Radio volunteers, using their own equipment, allowed them to respond to the call beginning with a SKYWARN operation, then changing to a Fire Coordination activity, to 911 coverage, then damage assessment and finally to a clean-up operation. -- Information supplied by Jerry Baker, KD8AYL, Public Information Officer for Genesee County ARES

Them Bones

This has possibly been sent to this reflector many times, but I do not recall seeing it used here as a tool to drum up support within the local Clubs. At almost every Club meeting I attend, (I am a member in two Clubs), I remind people that I may be appointed as a PIO by the Kansas SM that was serving when I showed interest in designing a Club web site, and getting news stories in the local papers. But the fact remains that we are appointed, yet the entire ham community is also a mouthpiece of PR for ham radio. I urge people to get involved to help me out. I am running this prior to officer elections. I hope some of you find this helpful in your area to see what kind of "bones" you have, invokes thought to the community and each individual.
73,
Kent Stutzman,
KB0RWIPIO Kansas Section----


This article has been published many times over the years by many amateur radio news sheets. Each time it is published, the editor adds to or modifies the content to suit his or her Club situation, but the message it contains remains the same.
This message, I hope, will not only be thought provoking but will invoke a little self-criticism where needed.

The structure of an organization is made up of four kinds of bones. There are Wishbones, who spend all their time wishing somebody else would do something about this, or something about that. There are the Jawbones, who do all the talking, but very little of anything else. Next comes the Knucklebones, who knock everything that others are trying to do. Finally, there are the Backbones, who get under the load and do the work. What part of the organization's structure are you? If you are a Wishbone, Jawbone, or Knucklebone, what kind of a Ham are you? Are you happy?

Take a good look at the Backbones in your radio club. These people are not always the board members, but they certainly are the “doers” in the club. I can well imagine that the Backbones also have happy family lives, because it seems that hard work and self-confidence seem to extend into family and working partnerships as well. What constantly amazes me is the number of Backbones who spend long hours representing or working for the club. They seem to never tire making the Club's activities successful.We hear a lot about getting involved. Take it from one who knows, getting involved is the best therapy there is for adjusting to the life of a Ham.

You'll see a change for the better not only in yourself, but in your hobby and your club. You'll suddenly find people are friendlier, there is no spare time to wonder how to fill as there is work to do for each and everyone of us in the club. But, most important of all, you will suddenly realize what you are doing for others. What a beautiful example to set for your children.

So why don't you take a personal inventory? If you are honest with yourself and find you are a Wishbone, Jawbone or Knucklebone, there is no time like the present to make the change so you, too, can become a Backbone. The dedicated, hard working Backbones will welcome you joining them. Only in this way can the Club continue to serve amateur radio and the community.


Reprinted from “QUA/HAMnews” March 1991 which is published by the Bluegrass Amateur Radio Society, Inc. Lexington, Kentucky.

We send our thanks to Marty N8MG as he departs his SEC role and heads off to anew career taking him out of state. Good luck and our thanks, Marty. TheSEC position will now be filled by John WB8RCR who will hold the postconcurrently with that of STM. This will allow a closer bond between ourARES/RACES organization and the National Traffic System. We will nowconcentrate on our successes in improving tactical messaging and the handlingof long-range traffic for our served agencies. We completed another successful ARRL Michigan Section Outing this pastweekend thanks to the tireless efforts of K8ZE, KA8YKK and WB8WJV. John,Debbie and Roger planned and implemented this annual event and held it atWoodlands Campgrounds. Guests included Great Lakes Division Vice DirectorGary KI4LA and Ohio SM Joe K8QOI as well and Midland County Emergency ManagerRoger Garner KB8VSS. Roger was able to present the EM's perspective ofcommunications needs from the ARES/RACES program at one of several forumsheld at the outing. Other sessions included NCS Training by K8AMR, NTS fromWB8RCR, Networking and collaboration from AB8CB, Digital Radio from WB8TKLand an ARRL Forum. An occasional shower did not "dampen" anyone's spirit asa large pole barn adequately houses all of the key activities. The AnnualSection Breakfast was provided by the Michigan Section Staff, and thetraditional Campfire entertainment was enjoyed by everyone. Of Special Note: On Saturday and Sunday, October 6 and 7, 2007, The SteamRailroading Institute will be conducting its fall excursion from Kawkawlin toGrayling, Michigan. Amateur Radio has been asked to play a significant rolein this event. During the 2005 excursion, it was discovered that cellular coverage alongthe route was very problematic. Therefore, Amateur Radio operators are beingasked to provide periodic reports of train location and handle anyoperational traffic or emergency communications that might arise during theexcursion. Our plan is to place two radio amateurs on-board. One would beequipped with a handheld radio (and spare batteries!) and the other with aportable VHF (two-meter) radio, mag-mount antenna, and power supply.Communications will be provided through assigned stations monitoringexcursion progress via VHF repeaters along the route. "Shore" stations must be willing to place periodic telephone calls andshould have some real experience handling third-party traffic. As this eventoccurs on SET weekend, ARES groups supporting the excursion by providing thisservice can count the activity toward their SET points. The Saturday excursion leaves Kawkawlin at 8-AM and is scheduled to arriveat Grayling at 4-PM. However, one should allow extra time for any delays,which may arise. The Sunday excursion leaves Grayling at 4-PM and isscheduled to arrive at Kawkawlin at 8-PM. Again, volunteers should allow fordelays. We can set this up for two teams, one team for each day, or, ifone team wants to spend the night in Grayling and return the following day,we can accommodate this as well. Grayling will be holding a big event thatweekend, with plenty to do in the area. This is an ideal opportunity for an ARES or NTS member who is also a railfan! A safety certification briefing will be conducted at Owosso in advance ofthe event for those who will be riding the train. This will take placebefore the event, most likely in September. This briefing is required forinsurance purposes and to insure both volunteer and passenger safety. If you are a rail fan or enjoy railroad history, you will not want to missthis opportunity. If you would like to volunteer for this event, pleasecontact Jim Wades, K8SIW at: wb8siw@charter.net For those interested in railroad matters, the excursion will be pulled bythe famous Pere Marquette 1225 steam locomotive. The 1225 was built to haulfast freight between the steel mills of Indiana and Illinois and the "arsenal of democracy" (Detroit) during the war years. The 1225 is, in manyrespects, the pinnacle of steam locomotive technology, having been designedand built at the close of the steam era. Movie fans will recognize the 1225as the authentic "Polar Express" locomotive utilized for the initial filmingand modeling of the animated Christmas move "Polar Express" starring TomHanks. A link to the train's routes can be found athttp://www.mi-arpsc.org/images/Kaw-Gra.gif Don't forget - big doin's at the Mackinac Bridge the 27th and 28th of thismonth - the Mackinac Bridge 50th Anniversary Special Radio Event. Most of uswon't be around for the 75th anniversary, so get involved if you can - it'snot too late. If they have enough operators, the event will open extraoperating positions to accommodate. If you can't work at the event proper,try to work W8M over the air - see the operating plan athttp://www.macbridge50.info for times, modes and suggested frequencies. Thanks to Marv, KC8MLD, Ron, WA8OOH, Hank, N8XX, Diane, WI8K and John, KC8ULEfor their efforts to take this grand bit of Michigan to the world by radio. Station Activity Reports (SAR) for June, 2007: WB9JSR 602, KC8WSE 316,AB8SY 249, K8KV 200, K8AE 164, K8LJG 161, K8AMR 138, KD8AAD 132, WB8RCR 75,K8RDN 48, W8RNQ 45, KD8BGQ 27, AB8WF 25, KC8MLD 15, KC8ZGB 15, WD8USA 13,N8UN 10, K8ZJU 9, K8YB 5, K8KHZ 2, WA8OOH 0, KC8BMV 0. Public Service Honor Roll Reports (PSHRs) for June, 2007: KD8BGQ 280, WU8Y174, K8MFK 140, K8AE 140, K8AMR 123, WB9JSR 120, WB8RCR 120, KC8WSE 120,K8ZJU 104, K8RDN 95, AB8SY 80, K8KV 80, K8VFZ 66. SARs are reports of all the radiogram traffic you have handled in the pastmonth. PSHRs include your net and public service activities for the month.PSHRs and SARs should be filed monthly with WB8RCR. You can access a simplereporting form at: http://www.mi-nts.org/PSHR_entry.shtml to provide yourreports to WB8RCR. June Official Emergency Station reports came in from W8UY and W8WRB. YourOES reports should be filed with WA8EFK. In all cases, reporting byradiogram is encouraged. Packet messages can be routed towb8rcr@wb8rcr.ampr.org and wa8efk@wa8efk.ampr.org73,Dale WA8EFK--------------------------------------------------------------------ARRL Michigan SectionSection Manager: Dale R. Williams, WA8EFKwa8efk@arrl.org

Lapeer County Swap

***Admission: $5***
Tables: $12 at the Door
$10 in Advance
Mail-in form for admission & tables at
http://www.w8lap.com
***Handicap Accessable***
***Free Parking***
***All Sales Inside***
***Refreshments Available***
***Limited Electricity Available***
***Talk-In 146.620-***
100Hz tone
Swap info: kd8vp@juno.com
Lapeer Mi
7th Annual
Ham & Computer Swap
Sunday, August 27, 2006 at 8:00 AM—1:00 PM
Lapeer Co. Center Building—425 County Center Dr.
(See map on back)
VE Testing
Bring the original and a copy of 2
forms of ID, current license & CSCE
(if any). Contact Al, N8NPR for test
details (810)631-4957.
NO WALK-INS
2006 LCARA Swap Table & Ticket Order
Please Print
Name:____________________________________Callsign_____________
Address:_____________________________________________________
City, State & Zip:_______________________________________________
Phone:_______________________________________________________
Tables are $10 each if purchased before the swap, $12 each the day of the swap
Number of tables:_________ X $10.00 = $_________
Number of tickets:_________X $ 5.00 = $_________ Total $__________
Electricity: Limited & on first reserved basis. Do you wish electricity? Y N
Mail to: LCARA, Box 12, Hadley, MI 48440-0012
For mail-in form - online at www.w8lap.com
August 27, 2006

Swap Directions

Exit 155 (I-69) head NORTH on M - 24 for 1.2 mi., turn right on De Mille Rd. (turns into McCormick Dr.). Go
0.2 mi., turn left onto S. Court St. Go 0.2 mi., turn left to the County Center Building at 425 County Center St,
Lapeer, MI 48446.
GPS: 43.04728N
83.30788W
Lapeer County Amateur Radio Assoc.
P.O. Box 12
Hadley, MI 48440-0012

FCC Amateur Radio Enforcement Correspondence Posted (Jul 14, 2007) -- The FCC has posted additional Amateur Radio enforcement correspondence and documents on its "Amateur Radio Service Enforcement Actions" page. Special Counsel in the FCC Spectrum Enforcement Division Riley Hollingsworth has sent letters to John C. Kimbrough, WR3S (Warning Notice and Notification of Removal of Automatic Control Privileges); Steve L. Wingate, K6TXH (Warning Notice), and Anthony W. Cranston, WA2HYO (Request for Information). The FCC Enforcement Bureau now posts Amateur Radio enforcement-related correspondence and documents -- with some exceptions -- on its own Web site. Direct all questions concerning the Amateur Radio Service Enforcement Actions Web postings via e-mail only to Riley Hollingsworth in the FCC Spectrum Enforcement Divis

Weaver's Words

- Ham radio offers too many operating options?
- Coming soon.
- Congratulations Blossomland Youth ARC.
- US House and Senate bills would kill Amateur Radio.
- Division Convention.
- HR 462 alive; needs support.
- One of the many ARRL services to members.
- Got a patch?
- Our letter writing campaign is showing success.
- FCC dismisses RM 11306 without prejudice.
- Tentative Travel Schedule.

++ Ham radio offers too many Options? ++
It can be argued that the most major problem facing Amateur Radio isthat we have been too successful. We have been too successful atobtaining and developing frequency bands, and in developing and using awide variety of modes to use in our operating.To follow the logic, take a moment from reading this e-letter and thinkof the many operating options we hams have. Think, too, about the widerange of frequency bands from 160M through those that are miniscule inlength. To name just a few, there are Morse code, AM, FM, RTTY, avariety of digital modes, FSK, AFSK, variations of TV, facsimile andthen we have frequencies that range through much of the wide world ofspectra. The bottom line is that each of us, if we wish, has manymodes of operation and many frequency choices we can use and enjoy. So, what is wrong with this?The problem is that in our nearsightedness, we have become extremelyfragmented as hams instead of remaining a cohesive group. During thepast few decades we have allowed ourselves in many instances to thinkour personal choices of operating styles, modes and frequency rangesare the only choices "real" amateurs could possibly make. We have, forexample, many VHF aficionados who see no value in HF. We have manydevotees of cutting-edge digital modes who see no value in CW or AM --the older modes of communication.There are SSBers who are so infuriated with AMers they would nearlycommit murder to clear the bands of the AM clutter. But, it isn'talways new mode vs. old mode. Some of our devoted CW ops thinkbroadband digital should be banned because it is nothing more than anuisance. Yes, indeed, we are equal prejudice individuals.I could name additional ham-to-ham prejudices, but I think you get theidea.So, who or what is hurt by these prejudices? Amateur Radio is. Theseprejudices divide us into splinter groups. We have become VHF hams,digital hams, anti-CW hams, anti-AM hams. We are Contesters oranti-Contesters. We are "its my frequency" ragchewers Instead ofpulling together for the benefit of all of hamming, all too manyamateurs feel they hold no stake when "the other guy's" idea of hamradio is threatened by attacks from the government or industry. As oneexample, many HSMM-hams couldn't care less if the FCC proposedabolishing all privileges for Morse code operating. Conversely, manyCW ops would do little more than smile if broadband digital was ruledillegal on ham frequencies.Regardless of the misconception by one "side" or another, all ofAmateur Radio loses any time the FCC begins to withdraw privileges --modes or frequencies -- from another phase. Clearly, I won't now or inthe future vote in favor of any proposals to have the FCC "modernize"Amateur Radio (as some hams would view it) by banning AM or by limitingthe privileges of Morse or other forms of operation preferred byanyone.Unfortunately, Amateur Radio has become a marginally functioning, ifnot nonfunctioning, family in many instances. We find brother hamfighting brother ham, and sister ham bad mouthing sister ham merelybecause their operating preferences are different. This is no way todevelop a winning team whether it is baseball, football, doublestennis, an army . . . or a strong lobbying (advocacy) team.Actually, I will correct my initial supposition. We hams don't havetoo many choices. Worse than this, we have too little maturity inthought to manage the privileges we have been given for our commongood.The real question is, "Why don't we all act like emotionally stablepeople and work together to our mutual benefit?" Just think what aformidable force for each other's good we would make if we would speakand act in unison.

++ Coming soon ++
In a few days, I will send you a "proper" questionnaire. I hope youwill take the few minutes required to answer it. It will provide mewith information on topics that may be discussed while I am inNewington for the Board of Directors meeting later this month. Thisquestionnaire is "proper" because it is a click-on-your-answer,automatically-tabulated one. This questionnaire is being sent to threeDivisions.While the new questionnaire is open, I will be working to review theprevious, low-tech one sent you a few weeks ago.

++ Congratulations Blossomland Youth ARC ++
Congratulations to the Blossomland Youth ARC, W8BYC, of Berrien County,MI. A relatively new club, it is formed of young amateurs who largelycame into Amateur Radio through the fine efforts of Matt Severin, N8MS. Matt, a teacher at Coloma Junior High School in Coloma MI, hasincorporated Amateur Radio into his classes thanks to his personaldrive and the support of his principal and a grant through the ARRLVictor C. Clark Youth Incentive program.As of June 20, Matt had 17 students who had participated in ham cluband Amateur Radio activities. Ten of these students had becomeTechnician licensees through the school program. Six of the Techs areworking toward upgrading to General.Matt, in turn, is planning for a new freshman class this fall and thechallenge of introducing it to the wonderful world of hamming.Great job, Matt. Thanks and continued success with your program.

++ US House and Senate bills would kill Amateur Radio ++

This is what lead stories in QST back in 1910-12 would have read, ifthere had been a QST back then. It was in these years that some dozenand a half bills were presented in the US House and the US Senate tooutlaw Amateur Radio. These bills were backed by the US Navy. TheNavy wanted full charge over the use of ham-free radio waves. Hams andtheir spark gap transmitters caused disruptive QRM to military andimportant civilian communication. One 1912 bill would have placed theownership and control of all transmitting stations under the Navy.With such a political force behind ban-the-ham legislation, why didn'tone of the bills make it through Congress and become signed by thePresident?Hams, themselves, came together to lobby their US Representatives andSenators so heavily and successfully that each of the bills died. Evenback in the early days of Amateur Radio, individual amateurs, bandedtogether in advocacy (lobby) efforts successfully to beat overwhelmingodds against them.There was no ARRL in 1912, but there were a few relatively large localorganizations. Among these were the Harvard Wireless Club, RhodeIsland Wireless Association, Wireless Association of Pennsylvania andJunior Wireless Club which became better known as the Radio Club ofAmerica. The clubs in their individual ways worked nearly as one tolobby successfully against anti-ham legislation. No "no-ham" billsmade it through Congress thanks to the lobbying effort of theburgeoning Amateur Radio fraternity.Finally, a modified bill passed Congress and was signed by PresidentTaft who signed it into law. This first US radio law became best knownfor making frequencies longer than 200 meters off-limits to hams. Thephrase, "200 meters and down" grew out of this feature of the law. Thefeature also relegated amateurs to supposedly-useless frequencies --frequencies that subsequently proved to be the most useful on andsurrounding earth.++ Division Convention ++Don't forget the Great Lakes Division Convention on September 22 inCleveland. This is the day before the Cleveland Hamfest. For fullinformation, go to http://www.2007gldc.com/. One can even makereservations for a hotel room from this site.One feature of these biannual conventions is the special awards thatare made to Division amateurs. Topping the list is the George S.Wilson, III, W4OYI, Lifetime Achievement Award. For you who don'trecall, George is the only ARRL President to come from our Division. He continues to live in Owensville, KY and is a strong support of ARRL. The Convention features interesting and informative seminars onseveral aspects of Amateur Radio topics. These are given by top-notchhams in the respective areas. ARRL President Joel Harrison, W5ZN willspeak at the Convention dinner on Saturday evening. At other times, hewill be available for casual discussion. Watch for furtherinformation. Remaining, prestigious awards that will be given are theAmateur of the Year Award, the Technical Achievement Award and theNewsletter of the Year Award.Nominations for all but the newsletter award are made by GLD ARRLmembers. Nominations need to reach the Awards Committee no later than5 PM, August 17. They may be e-mailed or sent by US Mail. Theaddresses are on the nomination forms. If you know of a deservingnominee, please go to the Convention web site and print out or completethe nominating form. The winning newsletter is selected by anindependent member of the press from among the winners of eachSection's newsletter contest.

++ HR 462 alive; needs support ++

There is still time to write your US Representative urging his or hersupport of HR 462. If you haven't done this, yet, please write, soon. If you need me to send the boilerplate draft letter to you, again, justsend me an e-mail and I'll get it to you right away. We cannot affordthe luxury of remaining mostly an indifferent group if we want the FCC,Congress and the public to respect Amateur Radio and support itslegitimate needs. Each of us who are concerned about Amateur Radioneeds to demonstrate this concern and do what we can to support it. AsI see it, the least we each can do is to send a letter, an e-mail or aFAX.Just a reminder: Do not write to your US Senator at this time. Thetime to urge support for the Senate version of HR 462 will come in thefuture. Don't write to a US Senator about Hr 462, either. This billis in the House, only. Generally, Senators are not even aware of billsthat are in the house.

++ One of the many ARRL services to members ++

George A. Guerin, K8GG, of Ceresco, MI, reminded me of one of the fineservices ARRL offers to members. Members are eligible to receivenotices when it is time to renew their ham licenses. The notice alsogive direction on a quick and easy way to renew them online.George said it took only 12 minutes for him to renew, even though heuses dial up. George is all set for 10 more years.If you haven't signed up for this free ARRL member service, go to theMembership Modification Form (Member Data Page) in Members Only onwww.ARRL.org. Make certain the box in front of "Notification oflicense expiration" is checked. Just as George received an e-mailreminding of his pending license expiration, HQ will e-mail a reminderof this to you.Thanks for the fine comment, George.

++ Got a Patch? ++

A police department shoulder patch is the type being discussed. Itseems that the head of the ARRL DX Department, Bill Moore, NC1L was amilitary police officer. In his life-after-the-military he collectspatches from police departments around the US. Retired-but-still-consulting Blue Ash, OH detective Rick Burdick, K8WWArecently learned this and sent a Blue Ash patch to Bill for hiscollection.I am fairly certain we have still additional police officers among theGLD membership. I am more certain that Bill would appreciate receivinga patch from each of your departments. If you can come up with apatch, please mail it to Bill Moore, NC1L, ARRL, 225 Main St.,Newington, CT 06111. Bill is a great guy, a top-notch ham; anexcellent worker devoted to Amateur Radio and fires-up a mean grill atcook outs.

++ Our Letter Writing Campaign is Showing Success ++

We haven't won the war, yet, but our letter writing campaign on HR 462is showing success. Success, of course, can be judged in many ways. The ultimate in success in this instance is to have a Congressman/womanpony up and co-sponsor the bill. The next level is to receive a replyto your letter that demonstrates the Congressman read, understood andsupports the basic premise that licensed radio services -- includingAmateur Radio -- must be protected from callous QRM from unlicensedservices (Part 15).I haven't seen that any of our Division's Congressmen have becomeco-signers, yet, but feedback from Janet Worthington of Chwat & Companyis there are a few who are considering becoming co-sponsors. Inaddition to these Representatives, others are replying to Chwat and toDivision members with quite intelligent comments that show they arepro-Amateur Radio. This is all good, of course.Even the Representatives who reply with "bonehead" letters help us. They help when you share their replies with Chwat and me. In thesesituations, Janet Worthington and John Chwat are able to forearmthemselves with the knowledge they need in making calls toCongressional offices on Capitol Hill most effectively. They knowbefore they walk into the offices just what form of information willlikely be most effective in bringing our legislators on board with us. In terms of tennis scoring, this means -- advantage, Amateur Radio.To the many of you who haven't yet written to your US Representative onbehalf of HR 462 . . . why not? Even if you take a pessimistic pointof view, there is nothing to lose by writing and their certainly ispotentially a lot to gain.

++ FCC Dismisses RM 11306 without Prejudice ++

The FCC announced it was dismissing ARRL's RM 11306 petition as weDirectors had requested. This was done "without prejudice," whichmeans someone could review the petition and re-file all or part of itat some future time.Interestingly enough, before ARRL requested the Commission to dismissRM 11306, nearly everyone who commented on it expressed strongopposition. However, just as soon as we requested the dismissal, webegan to hear from significant numbers of members who strongly favoredit.This raises the question, "Where were these "fors" when they may havemade a difference?

++ Tentative Travel Schedule ++

Jul 12: Mahoning Valley ARA, Youngstown, OH - Gary
Jul 19: Programs & Services Committee Meeting, Newington, CT - Jim
Jul 20-21: Board of Directors Meeting, Newington, CT - Gary & Jim
Jul 28: UP Hamfest, Escanaba, MI - Jim
Sep 8: GRAHamfest, Grand Rapids, MI - Jim
Sep 9: Findlay Hamfest, Findlay, OH - Jim
Sep 22: Great Lakes Division Convention, Cleveland, OH - Gary & Jim
Sep 23: Cleveland Hamfest, Cleveland, OH - Jim
Oct 2: OH-KY-IN ARRL Night, Cincinnati, OH - Jim
Oct 8: Portage County ARS, Kent, OH - Jim
Oct 16: Branch Co. ARC, Coldwater, MI - Jim
Nov 14: Hazel Park ARC, Hazel Park, MI - Jim
Nov 19: Southern Ohio ARA Christmas Dinner, Russell, KY - Jim
Dec 1: Motor City RC 75th Ann., Wyandotte, MI - Jim

2008
Jan 17: Programs & Services Committee Meeting, Newington, CT - Jim
Jan 18-20: Board of Directors Meeting, Newington, CT - Gary & Jim

Jim Weaver, K8JE,
DirectorARRL Great Lakes Division
5065 Bethany Rd.
Mason, OH 45040
E-mail: k8je@arrl.org;
Tel.: 513-459-0142

ARRL - The Reason Amateur Radio Is!Members - The Reason ARRL Is!

MI Ham Call Letter Plates Available in Lansing

Hams are still having trouble getting amateur radio plates in Michigan. We have been told to go to the Secretary of State offices. However sometimes when we go there, the clerk does not know what amateur radio plates are and cannot service us. For example:
Rick NE8Z went to the Secretary of State to get ham call letter plates. They looked at the sample plate form to try to find what he was asking for. They found the amateur radio plate as a "sample" and told him they would sell him a plate for $10. The plate he would receive would say "AMATEUR RADIO" down the left side, his call sign and "MICHIGAN" in the blue stripe across the top just like the sample plate on the form at this link: Sample Plate . They emphasized what it said on the form "These plates are for display purposes only - not for vehicle registration" and that it would say N8EZ instead of "SAMPLE" . They added that if he was caught driving with that on his car he would be arrested.
They told him that it was illegal to drive a car with the call letter plate that says AMATEUR RADIO down the side. They offered to sell him a regular vanity plate for $30 extra that would say NE8Z. It would not say "AMATEUR RADIO". They said that was all that was available. He then sent out an email to the amateur radio community saying that he was informed by the Secretary of State office that if you have a plate that says "AMATEUR RADIO" and your call, it is an illegal plate and a sample and if you are caught driving with that on your car, you would be arrested.
Amateur radio call letter plates are issued by the Distributed Services Unit of the Secretary of State office - a special division located in Lansing. This unit issues specialized plates like: amateur radio,clergy, physicians, etc. To get an amateur radio plate you must fill out a form. This form should be available at the local Secretary of State office or online at ARO Plate Form .
Only 2 types of amateur radio plates are available: MICHIGAN blue stripe or Spectacular Peninsula. You must indicate on the form your choice. They both will say "AMATEUR RADIO" on the left side with your call letters.
To complete the process you must:
Fill out the form
include a copy of your amateur radio license
include either $2 for the regular MICHIGAN plateor $7 for Spectacular Peninsula plate [ABOVE THE NORMAL REGISTRATION FEE (if you don't know then contact your local Secretary of State office )
Send all documents and money to the address shown on the form
You will receive a license plate in the mail with your call letters on it, "AMATEUR RADIO" down the left side and either "MICHIGAN" blue stripe or Spectacular Peninsula design (depending on what you ordered) with a current Tab.
All plates with "AMATEUR RADIO" on the left side and your call sign with current Tab and "MICHIGAN" the across the top or the Spectacular Peninsula design ARE LEGAL. These are white background with blue letters.
Should you have any trouble you can call the Distributed Services Unit directly at 517-322-6274. I find they are most helpful in resolving issues like Rick had. They also will fix it if you do end up ordering a vanity plate my mistake and need to get a refund and order your regular amateur call letter plates.
NOTE: the number on the bottom of the form is for the general Secretary of State's office in Lansing and not the direct line to the Distributed Services Unit as shown above.
Also, to clear up some more license plate confusion, as of January 1, 2007 the Secretary of State is issuing new plates. These new plates will replace your old blue background with white letter plates and also any plate issued before January 1, 2007 even if it has a white background. These new plates have a new special reflective paint applied to them that makes the license plates completely reflective and are supposed to be better for safety and that is why the state is offering them. When you apply for any new tabs, you will receive this new plate. It will say www.michigan.gov and only pay for a license Tabs at no extra charge.
If you are an amateur radio operator and want to be recognized by state officials in time of emergencies while driving your car, then you need an amateur call letter plate. That is what identifies you as an amateur radio operator. We lobbied hard to get these plates at a reduced cost from the vanity plates.
Vy 73,John Fleming K8UP

ARRL, DoD, FCC Try to Come to Terms with Pave Paws

The ARRL has sent out more than 100 letters to repeater owners/trustees who have repeaters affected by the "Pave Paws" radars (PPR). Citing an increasing number of interference complaints, the US Air Force has asked the FCC to order dozens of repeater systems to either mitigate interference to the Pave Paws radars or shut down. The ARRL is working with the US Department of Defense (DoD) to develop a plan to mitigate alleged interference from 70 cm ham radio repeaters to this military radar system on both coasts.

The situation affects 15 repeaters within less than 100 miles of Otis Air Force Base on Cape Cod, Massachusetts, and more than 100 repeaters within some 140 miles of Beale Air Force Base near Sacramento, California.

ARRL Regulatory Information Specialist Dan Henderson, N1ND, stresses that the Defense Department acknowledges Amateur Radio's value in disasters and emergencies and is being extremely cooperative -- and a wholesale shutdown of US 70 cm Amateur Radio activity is not on the table.

The Amateur Radio Service is a secondary user in the 420-450 MHz band, both by the Table of Frequency Allocations and the FCC Part 97 regulations. As such, Amateur Radio licensees, jointly and individually, bear the responsibility of mitigating or eliminating any harmful interference to the primary user, which in this case is the Government Radiolocation Service that includes the DoD Pave Paws systems.

The letters sent to affected repeater owners/trustees give them an up-to-date briefing on the ongoing negotiations with the US Air Force, as well as outlines the DoD's plan. The DoD has indicated a willingness to try a mitigation proposal, but they have also indicated their need is for these issues to be resolved sooner rather than later. With that expediency in mind, the proposed mitigation strategy is as follows:

• All repeaters on the DoD list in the affected areas will immediately reduce power to 5 W transmitter power output (TPO). Each repeater licensee/trustee should contact Henderson to confirm this once this has been done for their system. Confirmation of this being done is needed from each repeater owner by Friday, June 15, 2007.

• The ARRL will provide the Longley-Rice calculations for each repeater to the DoD by June 15, 2007. The DoD will provide engineering data to the ARRL and FCC by June 15, 2007. These studies will be reviewed by the DoD, the ARRL Lab and the FCC to determine the amount of mitigation necessary for each repeater. Based on this review by the DoD, additional mitigation proposals for individual repeaters (including further power reductions, lowering of antenna heights, use of more directive antennas and other possible mitigation techniques) will be provided by the ARRL as needed to individual repeater owners. If there is a disagreement on the conclusions, a conference call will be held to resolve any outstanding issues.

• All interference must be resolved no later than August 1, 2007.

• Beginning in August 2007 (and continuing on a periodic basis), the DoD will have a follow-up engineers study at each PPR site to ensure corrective actions have been taken and to ensure that successful mitigation continues.

ARRL Working Closely on Plan to Mitigate Interference
According to the DoD, the in-band interference from Amateur Radio fixed FM voice repeaters has increased to an unacceptable level. Pave Paws radars are used for national security functions, including early detection of water-launched missiles. They are critical to our national defense and are in use 24 hours per day, seven days per week.
The goal of the ARRL has been to develop and implement a plan that would mitigate the interference, and at the same time to permit the repeaters to continue operation and to operate on as liberal a basis as possible. To do so, the League has offered to work closely with the two involved repeater coordinating groups, as well as the individual repeater owners, sharing information and dealing with this issue on a coordinated basis with all stakeholders.
The League has also been in contact with representatives of the FCC. They have the ultimate responsibility for enforcing any mitigation plan, up to and including ordering specific repeaters to shut down operations. The FCC is aware of the complex nature of this problem and the mitigation strategy being proposed by the DoD.

As secondary users on the band, the ARRL has few options, and all options involve cooperation with the DoD. It is hoped the Longley-Rice calculations from the ARRL and the DoD's engineering studies will provide enough data to allow as many of the repeaters in the affected areas as possible to remain on the air at reasonable power levels.

It is entirely probable that even with extreme mitigation techniques, some repeaters in close proximity to the PPR sites may have to be shut down permanently. If that happens, official notice would come from the FCC. It is also possible that some repeaters might be required to operate permanently at a lower power level in the areas near these Air Force bases. In those cases, the League will be in contact with the individual repeater owners with that information and the FCC will be notified.

Repeater Owners/Trustees Need to Comply
Henderson requests that all repeater owners/trustees affected by this issue immediately implement the 5 W TPO for your repeater/s; please contact his office by June 15 indicating if you have implemented the power reduction. This will allow the ARRL to have voluntary compliance on hand that can be used to show the cooperation of the amateur community.
Henderson stresses that it is to each repeater's long-term advantage to implement the power reduction as soon as possible. The DoD indicated they will be collecting engineering data during June. This presents the opportunity to assess a repeater's actual impact at the lower power level and a more honest determination of its continued potential for harmful interference to the PPR sites. If any repeaters are running at higher power levels, then the determinations can only be based on assumptions rather than on actual data.

Contact Dan Henderson, N1ND (860-594-0236) with specific questions or issues associated with this situation.

Faker Alerts National Weather Service to bogus weather reports

Associated PressPublished June 11, 2007, 12:40 AM CDT

MILWAUKEE -- Someone has been submitting fictional reports of severe weather to the National Weather Service, causing unnecessary alerts and frightening people.The areas affected have included Milwaukee, La Crosse, Chicago, and Lincoln, Ill., said Tom Schwein, chief of the National Weather Service's systems and facilities division for the central region in Kansas City, Mo.

The person started sending reports in mid-April through an online form on the service's Web site."We've been detecting a regular pattern of a person who has been submitting false severe weather reports that are constructed in a way that seem very realistic," Schwein said. "Whoever this person is seems to have knowledge of severe weather reports."Schwein said reporting severe weather is like calling in a bogus bomb threat or unnecessarily pulling a fire alarm."People had to take cover, media interrupted their broadcasting for hours -- we've alerted people unnecessarily and frightened them. This person has really misled us," Schwein said.More than 25 pretend reports were submitted from the same computer over one weekend this month, and the service typically gets 40 to 50 a month from that source, Schwein said. It does not appear that any phony reports were sent during Thursday's severe weather, according to Pat Slattery of the Weather Service.The public can use a form on weather service local Web sites to anonymously report weather. The agency recently added a notice at the top of the form that submitting false statements is a federal crime, with a maximum penalty of up to five years in prison and a $250,000 fine.Schwein said investigators have traced the Internet protocol address of the faker's computer. The FBI is helping subpoena records to figure out who is registered for the computer IP address, he said.On April 25, a report came in stating that a tornado causing damage and injuries had hit Blue Mound, Ill. Local NBC affiliate WAND-TV in Decatur, Ill., interrupted normal broadcasting for approximately three hours, said Lee Davis, chief meteorologist with WAND-TV."We were getting warnings from the National Weather Service which seemed inconsistent with the data I was showing on my radar," Davis said.Severe weather was already present in that county. The county's Emergency Management Agency issued a tornado warning based on spotter reports, said Phil Anello, the emergency agency's coordinator for the county. Nevertheless, the reports of damage and injuries were false.The person usually submits the false reports when severe weather is already present, Schwein said."The time and location of the report will line up very well with our satellite and radar data," Schwein said. "They'll report damage that fits the structure of the storm."Forecasters consider radar, environment and spotter reports before alerting the public of severe weather, said Rusty Kapela, warning coordination meteorologist with the weather service's Sullivan office."We need two out of three in most cases to push the meteorologist past the point where they'll issue a warning," Kapela said.The false reports coming through the public Web site differ from reports from trained spotters who register with the weather service and must log in to sites with a password.
Copyright © 2007, The Associated Press

Make a Disaster Kit and a Family Plan

Release Date: June 8, 2007Release Number: FNF-07-030
WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Now is an excellent time for residents to make sure their home has a disaster supply kit and a family communication plan. FEMA is urging everyone to act now to assemble their family's emergency supplies and develop a plan.
Every home should be stocked with a supply kit. When storing the supplies, keep them easily accessible in case of an evacuation. Keep a full tank of gasoline your car. Gas stations may be closed during emergencies and may be unable to pump gas during power outages. Plan to take one car per family to stay together and reduce highway congestion and delay.

Know your home's vulnerability to storm surge, flooding and wind. Locate the safest areas in your home. In certain circumstances the safest areas may not be your own home but another within your community. Determine escape routes from your home and places to meet. These routes should be measured in tens of miles rather than hundreds of miles. Choose a meeting location. Should your family become separated during a storm, have a pre-determined rendezvous point at which everyone can rejoin the family.

Make sure each member of the family has contact information for family members, work and school, meeting locations and emergency services. Choose an out-of-town contact who family members can call to let them know where they are, especially if the family is separated. Everyone should know this contact's phone numbers. After a disaster, it is often easier to make a long-distance call than a local call from the disaster area.

Visit www.fema.gov and www.ready.gov for a thorough look into disaster preparedness and a more detailed list of emergency supplies. Also, www.ready.gov/kids is an excellent resource for information on how to involve children in the process of assembling the family's disaster supply kit.

A Disaster Supply Kit should contain the following:

Water - at least one gallon per person for three to seven days

Food - at least enough for three to seven days: non-perishable packaged or canned food; juices; foods for infants or the elderly; snack food; non-electric can opener; cooking utensils; fuel; paper plates and plastic utensilsMapsBlankets and pillows

Clothing - seasonal, rain gear, sturdy shoes Medical supplies - first aid kit, medicines, prescription drugs, a spare set of eye glassesSpecial Items - for infants and the elderly

Toiletries - toilet paper, hygiene items and plastic bags for sanitary disposalMoisture wipes and anti-bacterial hand sanitizerFlashlight - extra batteries Radio - battery-operated and NOAA weather radio

Cash - (Banks and ATMs may not be open or available for extended periods.) Important documents - in a waterproof container: insurance, medical records, bank and credit card account numbers, birth certificates, social security cardKeys

Toys, books and games ToolsPet care items: proper identification, immunization records, ample supply of food and water, a carrier or cage, medications, muzzle and leash

FEMA coordinates the federal government's role in preparing for, preventing, mitigating the effects of, responding to, and recovering from all domestic disasters, whether natural or man-made, including acts of terror.

ARRL to FCC: Shut Down "Grossly Noncompliant" Ambient BPL Pilot Project

NEWINGTON, CT, Jun 1, 2007 -- The ARRL has again demanded that the FCC shut down Ambient Corporation's broadband over power line (BPL) pilot project in Briarcliff Manor, New York. On May 21 the FCC called on the BPL equipment maker and system operator to demonstrate it's complying with all terms of the Part 5 Experimental license authorizing the system, or face possible enforcement action. In a May 31 letter to FCC Spectrum Enforcement Division Chief Kathryn S. Berthot, ARRL General Counsel Chris Imlay, W3KD, contended that it's "long past time that the Commission enforce its own rules," and again objected to the Commission's "inexplicable inaction" in the face of evidence the system is noncompliant. Imlay pointed out that the FCC's May 21 letter made no mention of Condition #1 of Ambient's Part 5 Experimental license.
"That condition requires that if any interference occurs, the holder of the authorization will be subject to immediate shutdown," Imlay wrote. "Interference has repeatedly occurred, and it has been witnessed and verified by a member of the Commission's Enforcement Bureau staff. Yet no action has been taken whatsoever to terminate this experimental authorization over a period of more than two and one-half years. This is inexcusable."
Ambient operates the Briarcliff Manor BPL pilot program under Experimental license WD2XEQ. ARRL testing as recent as late May indicated the system is operating outside of the parameters of its FCC authorization.
Too Little, Too Late
The League called the FCC's most recent push to get the company to comply with the terms of its Experimental license "too little, too late and an abdication of the Commission's responsibility to protect its licensees from interference from unlicensed RF devices."
"The Commission's obsessive compulsion to avoid any bad news about BPL has clearly driven its multi-year inaction," the League continued. "Had this been any other experimental authorization dealing with any technology other than BPL, the experimental authorization would have been terminated long ago."
The League's complaints regarding interference to Amateur Radio communication from the Briarcliff Manor system date back to October 2003 and included supportive technical reports and test results.
As it stands, the League maintained, the FCC should have shut down Ambient's BPL system a long time ago. The ARRL further objected to Ambient's "repeated misrepresentations in its six-month reports claiming that its Briarcliff Manor BPL system meets FCC emission limits."
Third Time Not the Charm
New measurements done May 24 by ARRL Laboratory Manager Ed Hare, W1RFI, conclusively establish that the Ambient BPL system, in Hare's words, "continues to operate well above the Part 15 emission limits that are stipulated as a condition of its Experimental license." Hare said his latest excursion marked the third time his emissions testing in Briarcliff Manor showed the system to be operating significantly above Part 15 emissions limits.
"The spectral masks in this system intended to protect some radio services from interference work poorly enough in this generation-1 equipment, but when the system is operated at excessive levels, strong interference is an inevitable outcome," he commented. "By operating this system above the Part 15 emissions limits, Ambient is making it impossible for any electric utility to use results from this experiment to reach any conclusions about the technical and commercial viability of BPL."
Under the Radar
The ARRL further argued that the Ambient BPL system should not be permitted to continue operating under the radar with an Experimental license instead of under the FCC's Part 15 BPL rules, adopted in 2004. The Briarcliff Manor system does not even appear in the FCC's BPL database, the League noted.
"Causing Ambient to operate in accordance with the BPL rules rather than allowing it to hide behind its experimental authorization would at least be consistent with the Commission's regulatory plan for BPL, however inadequate that plan is in terms of interference avoidance," Imlay's letter concluded.

New England Ham Honored

New England Ham Honored for Work with Handiham Program (Jun 6, 2007) -- Phil Temples, K9HI, ARRL New England Assistant Director and Affiliated Club Coordinator for the ARRL Eastern Massachusetts Section, was recognized by Boston College for his work with the Courage Center Handiham program and participation in the Read Aloud program in the Boston school system. Temples, an employee in the Boston College Computer Science Department and a Handiham volunteer instructor, received BC's 2007 Community Service Award at a recognition dinner in May. "You have been recognized for your efforts in recruiting, organizing, teaching and mentoring at the non-profit Courage HandiHam System Camp in Lake George, Minnesota and Cupertino, California," wrote William R. Mills, Jr., Director of Community Affairs at Boston College. "We know you consider yourself a privileged man to be able to serve others because you believe that people should have the right to live, work and learn in a community based on abilities, not disabilities."

FEMA and ARRL Partnering

FEMA And American Radio Relay League Partner In Preparedness Through Citizen Corps
Release Date: June 21, 2003Release Number: HQ-03-138
Washington, DC -- Michael D. Brown, Under Secretary of Homeland Security for Emergency Preparedness and Response, today announced an official affiliation between the American Radio Relay League (ARRL) and President Bush's Citizen Corps initiative. At the ARRL National Conference, sponsored by "Ham-Com," celebrating its 25th anniversary in Arlington, Texas, an affiliate partnership was signed between ARRL and Citizen Corps. The signed partnership will raise public awareness about the use of Amateur Radio as a public safety resource, provide training and accreditation for Amateur Radio Emergency Communications, as well as assist Citizen Corps Councils with public education, training and volunteer service opportunities that support first responders, disaster relief organizations, and community safety efforts.
"The affiliation between Citizen Corps and the American Radio Relay League will help raise public awareness about public safety through the use of Amateur Radio," Brown said. "I look forward to working with the American Radio Relay League to expand the role citizens play within their community to be more secure and better able to respond to disasters of all kinds."
The agreement adds the ARRL as an affiliate to the four charter Citizen Corps programs: Neighborhood Watch, Volunteers in Police Service, Community Emergency Response Teams (CERT), and Medical Reserve Corps. The ARRL joins the National Safety Council, Points of Light Foundation, National Voluntary Organizations Active in Disaster, National Volunteer Fire Council, National Fire Protection Association, Save A Life Foundation, and The U.S. Junior Chamber as Citizen Corps affiliate programs.
Under the direction of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), which is part of the Department of Homeland Security, Citizen Corps is a community-based initiative to engage all citizens in homeland security and community and family preparedness through public education and outreach, training opportunities, and volunteer programs. Programs under the Citizen Corps umbrella include federally sponsored programs and other activities that share the goal of helping communities prevent, prepare for, and respond to all-hazards. Citizen Corps encourages all Americans to take an active role in building safer, stronger, and better-prepared communities.
The ARRL is a non-commercial membership association of radio amateurs organized for the promotion of interest in Amateur Radio communication and experimentation, for the establishment of networks to provide communications in the event of disasters or other emergencies, for the advancement of the public welfare, for the representation of the Radio Amateur in legislative and regulatory matters. ARRL is the principal organization representing the interests of the more than 650,000 U.S. Radio Amateurs. Because of its organized emergency communications capability, ARRL's Amateur Radio Emergency Service (ARES) can be of valuable assistance in providing critical and essential communications during emergencies and disasters when normal lines of communication are disrupted. ARRL conducts emergency communications training and certifies proficiency in emergency communications skills.

Memo of Undestanding between FEMA and ARRL

Memorandum of Understanding
Between
The Federal Emergency Management Agency
The American Radio Relay League, Incorporated
I. Purpose
The purpose of this document is to state the terms of a mutual agreement (Memorandum of Understanding) between the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and the American Radio Relay League, Incorporated (ARRL), that will serve as a framework within which volunteer personnel of the ARRL may coordinate their services, facilities, and equipment with FEMA in support of nationwide Sate and local emergency communications functions. It is intended, through joint coordination and exercise of the resource of ARRL, FEMA, and Federal, State and local government, to enhance the nationwide posture of emergency communications readiness for any conceivable emergency. This agreement shall serve to promote and recognize the potential and capability of Amateur Radio operators to provide local, national and international communications expertise and assistance.
II. Recognition
The American Radio Relay league recognizes FEMA as the Agency chartered as the central point of contact within the Federal Government for a wide range of emergency management activities in both peace and war time. FEMA is dedicated to working closely with all the members of the emergency management community to achieve a realistic state of preparedness and an increased capacity to respond to emergencies of all types.
The Federal Emergency Management Agency recognizes that the ARRL is the principal organization representing the interests of many of the more than 600,000 U.S. Radio Amateurs, and because of its organized emergency communications capability, ARRL's Amateur Radio Emergency Service (ARES), can be of valuable assistance in providing critical and essential communications to state and local governments during emergencies and disasters when normal lines of communication are disrupted.
III. Organization of the American Radio Relay League
The American Radio Relay League is a non-commercial membership association of radio amateurs, organized for the promotion of interest in Amateur Radio communication and experimentation, for the establishment of networks to provide communications in the event of disasters or other emergencies, for the advancement of the radio art and of the public welfare, for the representation of the Radio Amateur in legislative matters, and for the maintenance of fraternalism and a high standard of conduct. A primary responsibility of the Amateur Radio Service, as established by the Federal Communications Commission's Rules and Regulations (47 C.F.R. Part 97), is the rendering of public service communications for the general public, particularly in times of emergency when normal communications are not available. Using Amateur Radio operators in the Amateur frequency bands, the ARRL has been serving the general public, both directly and through government and relief agencies, for more than 50 years. To that end, the ARRL organized the Amateur Radio Emergency Service (ARES), and created the National Traffic System (NTS).
The League's Field Organization covers the United States, including U.S. possessions and Puerto Rico. The Field Organization is administered under an elected Section Manager in each of the 71 ARRL "sections" (a section is a League-created political boundary roughly equivalent to States or portions thereof). The Section Manager appoints a Section Emergency Coordinator, who (along with appointed local and District Emergency Coordinators) directs ARES/emergency communications preparedness activities in each section. The Section Manager also appoints a Section Traffic Manager to supervise NTS/formal-message traffic operations in each section. Many ARRL members are also licensed RACES operators. The League advocates dual membership and cooperative efforts between ARES and Radio Amateur Civil Emergency Service (RACES) Groups whenever and wherever possible.
IV. Organization of the Federal Emergency Management Agency
FEMA's national headquarters is located in Washington, D.C. There are ten Regional Offices throughout the United States, as well as five Mobile Emergency Response Support (MERS) detachments. These offices provide technical assistance to State and local governments to enhance their emergency planning, preparedness, mitigation, response, recovery, and communications capabilities. The Director of FEMA reports directly to the President and works closely in emergency management matters with the National Security Council, the Cabinet and the White House staff, as well as the state and territory governors.
V. Radio Amateur Civil Emergency Service
The Radio Amateur Civil Emergency Service (RACES) is sponsored by FEMA and is a part of the Amateur Radio Service that provides radio communications service to state and local governments during periods of local, regional, or national emergencies. All of the authorized frequencies and emissions allocated to the Amateur Radio Service are also available to RACES on a shared basis. In the event that the President invokes his War Emergency Powers, RACES operators are authorized to use specially authorized frequencies. RACES members are appointed by state or local government officials and may be used to supports all hazards. Many state and local government officials have authorized ARES members to be an integral part of RACES, so as to maximize the communications service and capability available to the public.
VI. FEMA Interface to Amateur Radio Service
In order to facilitate communications with Amateur Radio stations in an emergency, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has issued distinctive Amateur Radio call signs to FEMA. These call signs will be used primarily on the high frequency (HF) bands and will allow more directly with the RACES and ARES resources when required.
VII. Method of Cooperation
In order that communications resources of the ARRL Field organization may be coordinated and utilized to the fullest advantage during disasters and emergencies, and to the extent permitted or required by law and regulation, the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the American Radio Relay League have agreed to the following:
A. For national-level liaison between ARRL and FEMA, the points of contact are:
ARRL HeadquartersNewington, CT 06111
FEMAInformation Technology Services DirectorateRACES Program Manager, IT-EO-DOP.O. Box 129Berryville, VA 22611
B. FEMA, through its Regional Offices, will encourage State and local emergency management officials to interact with ARRL Section Managers and other appropriate ARRL Field Organization officials, in an effort to establish cooperative relationships, and closer ties with ARRL Field Organization volunteers. FEMA recognizes that, when these relationships develop at the local level, effective service to the public is significantly enhanced.
C. FEMA and ARRL will encourage the use of Amateur Radio resources in the development of state and local emergency operating plans and the use of those plans to support exercises.
D. FEMA and ARRL will distribute copies of this agreement through channels to FEMA Regional Offices, state and local emergency management agencies and ARRL Field Organization officials respectively.
VIII. Implementation
This Memorandum of Understanding shall take effect upon signature by authorized officials of the ARRL and FEMA. This memorandum may be amended by mutual agreement of both parties, and will remain in effect until terminated. ARRL and FEMA will periodically review this agreement and coordinate such revisions as may be necessary. Upon 90 days written notice, this memorandum may be terminated by either party.
Ronald E. Miller /s/
2/27/2002
Ronald E. Miller
Date
Chief Information Officer
Office of the Chief Information Officer




Jim D. Haynie /s/
2/27/2002
Jim D. Haynie
Date
President
The American Radio Relay League, Incorporated
Footnote: This version incorporates minor editorial, non-substantive changes. The MOU is in the process of re-execution to reflect these changes.
Page last modified: 11:46 AM, 13 Mar 2003 ETPage author: webmaster@arrl.org Copyright © 2003, American Radio Relay League, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Letter of Affiliation between FEMA and ARRL

Photos of the Linden Fire

Photos taken by Frederick Shannon, GCAFC photographer & technical specialist

ARRL Files Federal Appeals Court Brief in Petition for Review of BPL Rules

NEWINGTON, CT, May 24, 2007 -- The ARRL has filed a federal appeals court brief outlining its case and requesting oral arguments in its petition for review of the FCC's broadband over power line (BPL) rules. The League has petitioned the US Court of Appeals for the DC Circuit to review the FCC's October 2004 Report and Order (R&O) in ET Docket 04-37 and its 2006 Memorandum Opinion and Order. In its brief filed May 17, the ARRL contends, among other things, that the FCC's actions in adopting rules to govern unlicensed BPL systems fundamentally alter the longstanding rights of radio spectrum licensees, including Amateur Radio operators.
"For the first time ever, the FCC has permitted new unlicensed devices to operate in spectrum bands already occupied by licensees, even if the unlicensed operations cause harmful interference to the licensees," the League said in stating its case. "The orders under review reverse nearly seven decades of consistent statutory interpretation and upset the settled expectations of licensees without so much as acknowledging the reversal, let alone justifying it."
The ARRL argues that the FCC's approach to adopting rules to govern BPL flies in the face of Section 301 of the Communications Act, which requires that operators of devices that emit radio frequency energy first obtain an FCC license. "For years, the FCC has consistently read Section 301 to apply to unintentional radiators, such as BPL devices, and has expressly embodied that interpretation in its rules," the League's brief recounts.
The Commission then compounded its error by asserting that BPL devices do not fall within Section 301 at all, the League said. "This hail-Mary attempt at justification is another unexplained departure from prior policy that independently requires invalidation of the orders," the ARRL remarked in its brief.
The ARRL contends that the FCC orders under review "jeopardize the license rights of ARRL's members and other license holders by authorizing providers of a new device -- Access Broadband over Power Lines, or 'BPL' -- to send radio signals across the electric grid in the frequencies the license holders occupy, but without having to obtain an FCC license."
In his "It Seems to Us . . ." editorial, set to appear in July QST, ARRL CEO David Sumner, K1ZZ, says the League's brief "sets out the history of how the FCC has treated unlicensed devices since they were first authorized in 1938 and demonstrates that the new [BPL] rules change the bundle of rights and protections that radio licensees enjoy without a shred of the 'reasoned analysis' that legal precedent requires."
FCC Withholding Crucial Information
The League's brief further asserts that the FCC "has failed to discuss or disclose significant information in the record that potentially contradicts its key interference findings." The Commission not only withheld its internal studies until it was too late to comment, the ARRL alleges, but has yet to release portions of studies that may not support its own conclusions. The FCC has claimed that these are "internal communications" that it did not rely upon in reaching its decision to adopt the BPL rules.
The ARRL wants the appeals court to determine if the Commission acted in an arbitrary and capricious manner for not disclosing "significant information that potentially contradicts its key interference finding," the League said in its brief.
"If the Commission's claim of nonreliance on the redacted material is taken at face value, then its failure to consider the contrary evidence from its own engineers' field tests strongly suggests a willful blindness toward any information not in accord with its preferred outcome," the ARRL's brief contends. "If, as seems more likely, the Commission actually considered and rejected the information contained in the redacted portions of its studies, then it had a duty to disclose the information and reasons for rejecting it. Either way, the FCC acted improperly."
BPL Measurement Standard Also at Issue
The League also has taken issue with what it argues is the FCC's "arbitrary and capricious" adoption of a BPL emission measurement standard that's unsupported by the record in the proceeding and ignores contrary evidence. Additionally, the ARRL says, the FCC rejected a proposed alternative without even considering it.
Said Sumner in his editorial: "The Commission's penchant for ignoring contrary evidence is illustrated even more vividly with regard to how quickly RF emissions are assumed to decay as one moves away from the source. This is important because if the signal is assumed to decay more quickly than it really does, the interference potential of the emissions will be underestimated."
As Sumner notes, the FCC has claimed that "many parties" have presented experimental data supporting a 40 dB per decade (10 times increase in distance) rate.
"In fact, there is no such evidence in the record -- and empirical evidence supporting a lower number was ignored," Sumner asserts.
The League maintains that the Commission failed to consider the ARRL's sliding-scale alternative that would have avoided what Sumner calls "the logically indefensible situation that now exists in the rules: the extrapolation factor is 20 dB/decade at 30.001 MHz and 40 dB/decade at 29.999 MHz."
In addition, the ARRL wants the court to determine if the FCC was arbitrary and capricious in failing to limit BPL providers "to frequencies where interference was less likely to occur without materially harming BPL deployment." The League argues that the FCC ignored evidence that restricting BPL to the 30-50 MHz frequency range would have obviated interference to long-distance HF communications without causing problems for public safety services.
FCC Concedes that BPL Can Cause Interference
The ARRL brief asserts that, for the first time ever, the FCC "has authorized the operation of unlicensed devices that it concedes interfere with licensed devices" and has declared that such devices "may continue operating even where proven to cause interference."
The FCC, ARRL contends, has concluded that BPL's acknowledged interference risks are manageable, but it bases that conclusion -- which ARRL calls "the linchpin of the challenged orders" -- on FCC studies the Commission has declined to make public in unedited form.
"It is clear," the ARRL contends in his brief, "that the withheld pages contain information" that is at odds with the FCC's conclusion to adopt the current rules governing BPL deployments.
League Not Opposed to BPL As Such
"ARRL is not trying to stop the deployment of BPL," the League's brief concludes. ARRL and other commenters have provided the FCC with alternative proposals -- ones that have been demonstrated to work in the real world -- that would have allowed BPL to prosper without harm to licenses or to Congress's licensing regime."
"What is perhaps most unfortunate about the FCC's radical actions in this case is that they were entirely unnecessary."
The FCC's response to the League's brief is due July 2.

FCC Desgnates Heaings on three Amateur Radio Applications

NEWINGTON, CT, May 25, 2007 -- The FCC has issued hearing designation orders (HDOs) to Amateur Radio license applicants in three unrelated cases. All three HDOs released May 24 hinge on licensee "character" issues. The Commission notified David O. Castle, WA9KJI, of Evansville, Indiana, that it was designating his license renewal application for hearing in the wake of alleged misconduct extending back several years and continuing at least until earlier this year.
"Since 1998, Castle has been warned repeatedly to refrain from intentionally interfering with radio communications; broadcasting without communicating with any particular station; causing interference on amateur repeaters; using amateur repeaters without authorization, and using indecent, slanderous or harassing language," the FCC said in the HDO it issued to Castle. "We find that Castle's continuing course of conduct raises questions as to whether he possesses the requisite character qualifications to remain a Commission licensee."
In March, FCC Special Counsel in the Spectrum Enforcement Division Riley Hollingsworth warned Castle to abide by a request to refrain from using repeaters owned by the Tri-State Amateur Radio Society.
The FCC also designated for hearing two applications for new Amateur Radio licenses. In the case of Frank C. Richards of Mooers, New York, the Commission says the applicant apparently had attempted in 1995 to hijack the license of a Frank C. Richards, KB4VU, who lives in Ft Meyers, Florida. The New York Richards was initially successful, and the FCC granted him KG2IC, but after the Florida Richards contacted the FCC to say he'd never moved nor modified his license, the FCC directed the New York Richards to explain. On June 2004, the New York Richards turned in his license. While the FCC did not pursue further enforcement action the, it did tell the New York Richards that the circumstances of the apparent abuse of the license system could become a factor if he ever applied for an Amateur Radio ticket in the future.
The New York Richards applied for a Technician license last June 28, and accompanied his application with a letter. The FCC Enforcement Bureau said it was unable to determine whether the Wireless Telecommunications Bureau should grant the application, however, so it now has been designated for a hearing.
"The Commission and the courts have recognized that 'the FCC relies on the honesty and probity of its licensees in a regulatory system that is largely self-policing,'" the FCC said in the HDO.
"The attempt of Frank Richards (NY) to change the address and other information for call sign KB4VU, and his subsequent cancellation of the license in lieu of responding to EB's inquiries regarding the renewal/modification application raise substantial and material questions of fact as to whether he made false certifications, misrepresented the facts to the Commission, and/or demonstrated a lack of candor in order to claim the identity and operating privileges of Frank Richards (FL)," the FCC said.
In a third case, the FCC has designated for hearing the new Amateur Radio license application of Jack R. Sharples of Florida. In its HDO, the FCC identified Sharples as "a convicted felon and registered sexual predator."
"Sharples's felony conviction for at least one sexual-related offense involving children raises material and substantial questions as to whether he possesses the requisite character qualifications to be a Commission licensee," the FCC said. "Although Sharples's felony adjudications occurred more than seven years ago, the nature of the criminal misconduct and the fact that the Amateur Radio Service is particularly attractive to children call into serious question whether he should be permitted to obtain an Amateur Radio authorization."
Castle, Richards and Sharples have 20 days to file a "written appearance" with the Commission. Failing to do so would lead to dismissal of the pending application.

The Week of 5/14/07

Wednesday May 16th started out as a wet and dreary day. At 10:00 am it started going down from there. The Fire Pager went off announcing that emergency Coordination for Genesee County Fire Departments had been activated for an airplane incident at Bishop International Airport. Two aircraft had been reported to have crashed into one another and there were many dead and injured. Thus began the annual Genesee County Michigan Disaster Drill with ARES operator right in the middle of it.

The Scenario starts with the planes crashing into each other at the end of the southern runway. At that report the Fire Coordination teams of Genesee County are toned out and Genesee County Amateur Radio Emergency Service, Inc. is a major part of that team. This group of ARES Volunteers provides additional communication to all Genesee County Fire Department as well as the Office of Emergency Management/ Department of Homeland Security. Their function at this drill was to do just that. Team members were assigned to the Incident Commander, The Operations Officer, Medical, Genesee County 911 Dispatch, Flint City Dispatch all three Hospitals in the area as well as transportation services, public information officer, staging and more. The newest position to be filled was the Amateur Radio Operator for the new Genesee County Mobile Command Unit which house command communications for all Emergency responders as well as the Office of Emergency management.

During the drill local school students played the roll of dead and injured plane passengers that had to be treated, decontaminated and transported by Bus and or ambulance to the three local Hospitals. All Fire departments from Genesee County participated in the drill which included and actual burning aircraft which had to be extinguished.

Public safety communication in Genesee County is a mix of VHF for the City of Flint and 800MHz for the out county areas. Thus the 30 Amateur radio operators from Genesee, Oakland and Livingston County played a major roll in get information to and from the various contact points.

ATV Amateur Radio Television played an even larger roll then expected. Have set up three camera positions they were able to feed video to the Emergency Operations Center in the basement of the Genesee County Administration building as well as the Mobile Command Unit with Broadcast Quality Video. One of the operators even set up a wireless link from his camera back to his van where he did a DVD recording of the entire scene while transmitting to the ATV repeater on top of McLaren Regional Hospital which retransmitted to the EOC and the MCU.

Another aspect of the drill this year was that Civil Air Patrol had planned to over fly the site and take photos which would be transmitted by Slow Scan Television to a local Amateur Radio Station who would in turn email them to the Emergency Operations Center. However due to the inclement weather CAP was not able to fly. However that did not stop the Hams. The Operator of the SSTV station found some photos from a couple years ago and sent them to the EOC just like they had got them from the Civil Air Patrol.

In the middle of the drill we even had a couple of actual incidents regarding the Students that were being transferred to the Hospital’s. And to Coin a phrase “Amateur Radio was there!” It turned out that because there were ARES Operators on the busses where the unplanned minor injuries occurred. Hams reported the injuries and maintained updates without ever going through the Public Service Radio system.

Following the Drill at the debriefing both Greg Ybarra N8HXQ the EC for Genesee County and Grace Ranger KC8BOE, Director of Emergency Management and Homeland Security for Genesee County were very pleased with the way things went and how the little problems were handled.

Sadly just a few days on Friday May 18th the Fire Coordinators and ARES were once again activated. This time it was not a drill; the Historic City of Linden Michigan was on fire. The “Union Block” which was built more than 100 years ago was on fire. 25 Fire departments from all over Genesee County and from Northern Oakland County fought the blaze for over 9 hours.
Many of the ARES members had gone south to the Dayton Hamvention the day before so operators were thin but available. As in any major incident Ham Operators pulled together. The Genesee Co. EC Greg Ybarra N8HXQ staffed the fire scene with the operators that he had on hand. After 8 hours the call went out to the neighboring counties for assistance through the District 3 EC Greg Allinger. As relief operators were being set up the Fire Coordinators declared the fire under control and start releasing Fire Stations. Shortly after that ARES operators were released to go home in the earlier hours of Saturday May 19th.

Again Amateur Radio operators provided a vital service of communications to the Emergency Service Personnel of Genesee County. The Fire Chief and citizens of the City of Linden have expressed their gratitude to the County Fire Coordination Teams for their quick response and ability to control the fire to only one of the many historic building of Down Town Linden.