Hi
Gang,
Wow...
This has really been a year of traveling, having FUN, but most of all enjoying immensely
“serving” all of you. There’s so much to report on this time around that this
review is very lengthy, so I do apologize for that in advance. Because of its length,
if I have missed something in this report that should have been mentioned, I again
apologize. The Ohio Section is a very busy Section indeed. I should know, I’ve
traveled over 20,000 miles this year to be with YOU... In fact, I would say it’s
the busiest Section in the country!!
Before
I go into the 2015 year of review I would like to mention that 2014 ended with
the Amateurs “serving” in a really hot situation in southeastern Ohio. I wasn’t
able to report fully on this last year, as it was still going on at the time I
had written last year’s “Year in Review...” So, as Paul Harvey would say... “Here’s the rest of the story”.
It
was just after Thanksgiving and a gas well exploded. No, this is not a warped
version of the “Night Before Christmas”... This is for real. We had a methane
gas well explode the first full weekend of December 2014. Now, if you’ve never
seen a gas well fire, you’re really missing out on some wild and crazy
happenings. This well was situated in the hills of Monroe County on the border
of Ohio and West Virginia. Luckily it
was just one well, but even though it was only one well, it was a very
dangerous situation none the less. Our ARES Teams, local EMA and most of the
surrounding county fire, police and rescue teams were also at the scene as you
would expect. Even the Ohio EPA was involved and present. Well fire experts
were called in, and evacuations quickly began. Since this area was not heavily
populated it didn’t require much more than a motel for sheltering, but because
it is in a very rural area, folks were scattered all about and not in a
centralized location. What makes this so noteworthy is that our ARES teams were
alerted almost immediately after the well exploded. Our Ohio Section Emergency
Response Plan (OSERP) was put into action. Since this location was so close to
the West Virginia border, we advised our counterparts in West Virginia to be on
standby as well. So, not only was our local ARES involved, but we also had
another ARRL Section involved too. Like I said earlier, this was all around
Christmas time. Now as gas well fires go, this one was more severe than most.
Methane gas is very volatile. It’s also lighter than air and has no smell.
Therefore you don’t know where it is, or where it isn’t. But if it exists in
enough quantity and a spark is generated, you will very quickly know where it is.
So we had quarantine areas that only the experts were allowed to go into. Since
this was winter time, much of the gas just escaped upward and dissipated into
the atmosphere without any further incident. But winds could have easily
changed, and that would have brought on an entirely different situation for all
involved. I can happily report that on December 24th all of the
effected citizens of Monroe County were allowed to go back to their homes and
enjoy Christmas. The well fire had been extinguished and contained. No toxic
fumes were exhausted above allowable limits and there were no toxic wastes
entering into any streams or waterways. All was good. This was only possible
because of the quick action and planning that EVERYONE had practiced, and when
the time came, the plans were put into action with great success.
2015
started out with a real surprise. Last year (2014) our annual S.E.T. was
designed to find out what would we do if our 911 / MARCS systems became
inhibited or just plain failed. Guess what, it became this years’ reality. Yes
folks, we really did have some 911 / MARCS systems that went down for real in 5
northeastern counties one very cold evening in late January. The outage was not
easily brought back up either. It took several days to get things somewhat back
to normal again. This is where we got the call. We filled in where the MARCS System
didn’t exist anymore. This outage was due to a very small pin hole in a steam line
at an Akron office. The escaping steam was in direct line with an electronic
switching board used for the 911 and MARCS system. When the steam hit the
board, it was instant outage. Our Section Emergency Coordinator, Stan, N8BHL,
was called and immediately got the affected counties ARES systems up and
running, including having the state EOC up and ready to go, just in case. There
was not one loss of life or threatening situation created, because we were up
and running quickly. Our ARES program (OSERP) once again demonstrated that it works!
January
also saw some changes in one of the Assistant Section Managers, Connie
Hamilton, N8IO, who retired in December 2014. We quickly found a great person
to take over with Lyn Alfman, N8IMW taking the reins the first of January.
The
Ohio Section Journal is also getting better with more stories from not only the
Ohio Section Cabinet, but also from the “Sarge” who is none other than the
folks at W8SGT (the Ohio EOC), and other guest writers. These additional
reporters give all of us a much greater vision to what’s really happening
around the Ohio Section. Utilizing the latest technology available, we also are
able to archive the past editions so that everyone has the opportunity to look
up past articles if they wish. They are also searchable, so that if you just
can’t remember when the article was published, you can search for it.
January
also found Stan, N8BHL and myself now members of and regularly attending the
Ohio Volunteer Organizations Active in Disasters (Ohio VOAD).
The
Affiliated Clubs Coordinator John, KD8MQ and I created a goal to get as many
clubs in Ohio to update their annual reports as possible. This will make sure
that our 99 clubs in Ohio don’t fall behind and have our Affiliated Clubs fall
on the “inactive” list. We also had a goal to try to get those clubs in Ohio
that are not Affiliated to do just that, Affiliate.
January
also found a lot of Ohio Amateurs now scrambling for a copy of our Amateur
licenses to renew their vehicle plates. The Bureau of Motor Vehicles in Ohio is
now requiring anyone with an Amateur Call Plate to show a copy of their current
license before they can renew their vehicle plates. This is a first for
Amateurs in this state. The policy before was that we only had to show a copy
of our license at the time we requested our original license plate. From that
point on we could renew by going to the BMV, mailing or even go on-line and
renew. Now it is being required that we either mail a copy of the license in,
or appear in person at the BMV. This is quite a change from the past for sure.
Happening
at the national level at this time was the Amateur Radio
Parity Act of 2015 --
H.R.1301 in the US House of Representative and S 1685 in the US Senate - . This
is the Amateur Radio Parity Act of 2015. If the measure would pass, it would
require the FCC, within 120 days of the Bill’s passage, to amend the Part 97
Amateur Service rules to apply PRB-1 coverage to include homeowners’
association regulations and deed restrictions, often referred to as “covenants,
conditions, and restrictions” (CC&Rs). This Bill would give the Amateur
equal rights afforded us by PRB-1, that is to say “Reasonable Accommodations”
would have to be granted the Amateur to be able to use his/her Amateur Radio
station.
February
found the Section Manager (me) out and about in the extreme cold going to
hamfests and club meetings, and oh yes, the annual “Freeze Your Acorns Off” HF
contest, sponsored by the Portage County Amateur Radio Service (PCARS), and
believe you me, anyone that participated in this event did just that!! It was
cold outside. The Mansfield Hamfest had a record cold of -15 degrees and snowy.
February also was a great month for one very special fellow in Marion County. Bill
Finnegan, NR8I who was the recipient of the 2014 Herb S. Brier Award from ARRL Headquarters. The Great Lakes Director, Dale
and I attended the February meeting of the Marion County Amateur Radio Club to
personally present this award to Bill.
February
was also the month that the Ohio Section Journal started regularly publishing
reports from the Ohio Official Observer Coordinator. The reports show the
number of hours the OO’s in Ohio spend monitoring, as well as how many reports
were turned in and some commentary from the OOC, John Perone, W8RXX as well.
Ohio is the only Section in the country actually giving a monthly report from
the OOC in their Section News.
February
also found Stan, N8BHL, our SEC very active in getting the Ohio ARESMAT up and really
going. We now have the basis for operation and several members. We could
implement them if needed right now, but will hold back for another few months
to get their training and Modus Operandi more defined.
And,
of course February 17th can be marked on everyone’s calendar for the
day that will go down in infamy. Yes, this is the day that the FCC stopped printing
hard copies of your licenses, unless specifically requested.
I
was extremely privileged to be able to present to two of our outstanding Boy
Scout Leaders with a brand new award from the ARRL. It’s the Community
Organization (Square Knot) award. The ARRL and Boy Scouts of America had
introduced this new award just last December and I’m very proud to say that I
gave out just the 9th and 10th of these awards presented in the entire country.
Needless to say, they were the FIRST and Second persons in the Great Lakes
Division and Ohio Section to receive it. The recipients were both from the
Muskingum Valley Council #467. Please congratulate Billie Dickson, WB8TRK and
Matthew Murphy, KC8BEW on receiving this newest award. I’m very happy and proud
of both of these recipients.
The
month of March began our planning for the Dayton Hamvention, the first ever National
Section Managers face to face meeting/webinar and the Great Lakes Convention.
It was a very busy month indeed. Planning was on everyone’s mind, including the
National Weather Service. We had our annual Tornado drill day moved out a few
days due to the extreme cold weather, now that was something that the NWS
didn’t plan for!
Probably
the biggest news for all Ohio’s Amateurs was the final decision from the Ohio
Supreme Court. On March 11th the Ohio Supreme Court issued an entry
denying the request of the Village of Swanton to hear an appeal from the order
of the Sixth Appellate District dismissing the Village’s appeal in the Gary
Wodtke antenna case. As is normally the case, there was no opinion with the order.
But, the Court’s website contained a notation that only one Justice, Chief
Justice Maureen O’Connor would have supported the appeal. With this win under
our belt, Ohio now has an antenna law that is sustainable in the court system.
One
of our DEC’s in the southern part of the state was awarded a “Hero’s Award”. Jeff
Slattery, N8SUZ, was awarded the Red Cross 2015 Senior Hero award in Athens, Ohio.
Jeff is a member of the Red Cross Emergency Communication team and has been
instrumental in organizing communication efforts for many events including the
Lake Hope Bicycle Race, Athens MS Walk and the Bobcat Trail Marathon. He’s also
the DEC for District 8 here in Ohio.
And
finally for March, we had FEMA test our alert systems within Kentucky,
Michigan, Ohio, and Tennessee. This was the first time that this type of test
had been implemented by FEMA. It was a success.
The
month of April found us attending the All-Ohio Section ARES Conference at the
State Fire Marshall’s Training Center. The day was long with many guest
speakers, but the attendance was Standing Room Only (SRO) for the entire day.
April
also found Ohio in the national spotlight with the NVIS Day held near the end
of the month. It was a huge success. Everyone learned not only what a NVIS
antenna is, but how to make and install it as well. The weather was lousy, but
I have to tell ya’, it was a learning experience for everyone that participated,
but most of all, it was FUN for everyone that participated! We have to
personally thank Assistant Section Emergency Coordinator, Tim Price, K8WFL for
not only thinking up this event, but also making it happen as well... Tim, my
hat is off to you sir... Next year will be even bigger and better!!
The
month of May started with drills and more drills, from a full scale FEMA
exercise at the Davis-Besse Nuclear plant, to a number of multi-county hospital
exercises around the state. Then there’s the Dayton Hamvention. As in past
years, the Ohio Section had a booth prominently displayed within the ARRL Field
Services area. What more could be said. SEC Stan, N8BHL did his ARES
presentation on Sunday morning as well. We also hosted the National Section
Managers face to face meeting/webinar that was held off site. There were more
than 20 of the Section Managers present and we had around 15 more on the live
webinar. The Ohio Section shined bright at the Hamvention once again this year
for sure.
June
for the Ohio Section was very busy with our Cabinet members traveling well over
2,000 miles to visit as many Field Day sites as all of us could get to in that
24 hour time frame. I know personally I checked in to 14 sites that weekend with
more than 565 miles traveled. I passed several of our Section Cabinet members
as we crisscrossed the state visiting with all of you.
Stan
and I were invited to join the Ohio Public and Private Partnership (OP3) through
our involvement with the Ohio VOAD. OP3 is a partnership between the public and
private sectors. The Ohio Department of Public Safety (ODPS) is dedicated to
increasingly serve Ohioans before, during and after a disaster. As a part of that
effort, the Ohio Homeland Security (OHS), a division of ODPS, is strengthening
the Ohio Public Private Partnership (OP3) program, which fosters collaborative
relationships between government agencies, private sector businesses, colleges,
universities and service organizations. And yes, we ARE a service organization.
July
started off with a bang with the 4th of July being celebrated all
over Ohio. Ashland City had a really big party that first week becoming 200
years old this year. There were 5 days of celebrations with hot air balloons,
large crowds and a very large parade (over 2 hours) with the conclusion being a
gigantic fireworks display at the end. The Amateurs in Ashland and several surrounding
counties were directly involved with communications for most of those 5 days.
Stan
and I participated with the Cuyahoga County ARES in a National Disaster Medical
System (NDMS) drill held at the Burke Lakefront Airport in Cleveland. This
drill involved the major hospitals in Cleveland area as well as the National
Air Guard and a number of police and fire departments from around the Cleveland
area. It was a great drill and a very good learning system for everyone
involved. A number of “lessons learned” were taken away with this exercise.
Unfortunately
we did have some very bad weather hit Gallia / Brown / Jackson counties in
mid-July where flash flooding took place. This incident was severe enough to
cause 3 deaths, and a lot of property damage with homes damaged or destroyed.
Yes, our ARES teams were there.
In
August the Ohio Section and the Aladdin Shrine Amateur Radio Club/Columbus
Hamfest hosted the Great Lakes Division Convention. Debra Johnson, K1DMJ was
our guest ARRL speaker. Debra is the Manager of the Education Department of the
ARRL. It was a great day and attendance broke records for this Hamfest. A Wouff
Hong was held at the conclusion of the Convention with more than 40 people
becoming part of that secret society. The winners from the 23rd Annual
ARRL Ohio Section Newsletter Contest were announced - 1st Place....DELARA NEWS.
2nd Place....The TM&K. 3rd Place....a three way tie!!! The MVARA Voice
Coil, the Mount Vernon Radio Club and the PCARS Radiogram. Honorable Mention
went to ....The CARA Communicator.
Since
this was the Great Lakes Division Convention there was also a Divisional
Newsletter Contest as well. The winner of the 7th Divisional Newsletter
Contest was none other than the DELARA NEWS from Delaware Ohio.
The
Ohio Section also celebrated the newest inductee of the Allan Severson Award
when I presented it to Robert Dixon, W8ERD.
As
August nears the end we also bid a sad farewell for one of our longer standing
Section Cabinet members, Technical Coordinator (TC) Jim Yoder, W8ERW. Jim
decided to get married and move to Texas. Jim brought a lot of technical
knowledge to the table. He will be missed for sure. We sincerely wish Jim and
his new bride only the very best for their future.
Finally
for August, Stan and I were asked to join the Emergency Management Association
of Ohio (EMAO). This is the professional organization for all of the EMA
Directors in the state of Ohio.
September
came in with a new excitement with the appointment of a new Technical
Coordinator, Jeffrey Kopcak, K8JTK. Jeff comes with a lot of expertise in
Digital Communications, and we are sure Jeff will do a great job for all of us
here in Ohio.
September
3rd is a very memorable date indeed, as this was the day that it
became official that the FCC would no longer charge for Vanity Call signs.
September
also came in with an eye opening alert as well. Yes, algae blooms do exist on
the Ohio River. As the Greater Cincinnati “River Fest” was going to have some
events taking place on the Ohio River, there was great concern about the
possibility of algae blooms in the less active areas of the Ohio River, and
what effects this could have with human contact. So, our ARES group in Hamilton
County was alerted. Stan, N8BHL also alerted our counter parts in Kentucky as
well. Both groups were active during these river events throughout the Labor
Day weekend. This meant another multi-state event for Ohio.
Now
on the lighter side of things, even though there was no wager this year between
ARRL President Kay Craige and myself, we (Ohioans) had a challenge to overcome.
The Ohio State vs Virginia Tech football game. If you remember from last year,
Virginia Tech wiped the field with Ohio State. This year we did get revenge.
Yes, we soundly beat Virginia Tech.
The
middle of the month we all had fun with the Ohio Parks on the Air event
(OSPATA). It’s sponsored by the Portage County Amateur Radio Service (PCARS)
and has had a huge impact on having fun with Amateur Radio, and since it’s
being done in Ohio’s parks, it’s a great PR event too... In fact, it’s become
so popular that ARRL Headquarters has decided to copy it for the upcoming
National Parks on the Air event in 2016!
September
found Stan and I attending the fall conference of the Emergency Management Association
of Ohio (EMAO) at the Ohio State Highway Patrol Academy. This gave Stan and I a
greater exposure to all of the EMA Directors in the state, as they are all a
direct part of the EMAO. As such, we both did a lot of networking and I was
even able to get some invites to several EMA Director’s offices to talk more in
depth to them about what Amateur Radio can do for them.
October
started off with a new program for better capturing the hours served by all of
our active Official Emergency Stations (OES) around the state. After coming
back from the Section Managers Training Session in Newington, I discovered
after talking with my counterparts that this is of concern for all of them as
well. So, with that in mind, I decided Ohio would capture that information and
make sure that it got reported on a regular basis. The information being
captured by this new reporting form is tailored specifically to the OES
position as an integral part of the ARES structure. The Section Emergency
Coordinator (SEC) will gather the reports and add them to his monthly report to
me and Headquarters each month.
October
was also met with another fantastic Simulated Emergency Test (SET) around the
state. FUN was had by everyone that participated even though the weather was
once again lousy. We only hope that this SET doesn’t turn out to be one of
reality like last year’s exercise did. I personally visited 14 different sites and drove over 560 miles.. I played tag with several of the Section Cabinet members as we crisscrossed each other in our travels that weekend.
I
attended the Fall Ohio Public and Private Partnership Conference (OP3) which
was held at the Department of Public Safety in Columbus. There was a great deal
of information that came from that conference, including a new statewide
credentialing system that will be introduced in 2016.
October
was also time for Jamboree On The Air (JOTA.) It was a huge success around the
state. There were a number of Scouts on the air because of the extra efforts
from our Ohio Cabinet members... I was directly involved with the Richland
County JOTA this year. We had a huge success and have gotten a number of
requests for classes.
November
came in like a lamb this year. In fact it was the warmest November in Ohio’s
history. This is the exact opposite from last year where we had cold, snow and
just a very blustery November indeed. There was also no wager on a very special
football game this November. This time it was between Ohio State and that state
up north... You know, Michigan. This was also a do or die situation for Ohio
State as that they had lost to Michigan State the week before. We won! Now I am
3 for 3 on the OSU/Michigan games with my counterpart! I only wish I had bet
Larry on that game. Who knows what the stakes would have been!
December
is now upon us with the warmest weather that I can ever remember. I have to
tell ya’, it’s been amazing to have 50 - 60 degree weather throughout December.
Yes, our snow-belt sections in Ohio have had some trackable snow this month,
but it’s been an unusually warm December regardless.
I
attended the Emergency Management Association of Ohio Winter Conference. This
was 2 days of intense meetings and seminars with all of Ohio’s EMA Directors. It
was very enlightening and informative. I also got to introduce Amateur Radio to
a number of EMA Directors that didn’t really know much about what we do, or our
capabilities during disasters while I was there. And, since this was an
overnight conference, I got to get to know a lot of them on a more personal
basis during our after hours sessions. I was also asked, and accepted, to be on
a committee for the EMAO... More on that, at a different time.
Stan
and I attended training just before Christmas, and we are now both registered
as part of the Ohio Public and Private Partnership (OP3). As such, we are
trained and certified to do our portion of the statewide credentialing that I mentioned
earlier. So, what that means to YOU, is either one of us will be able to
approve our volunteers, and provide them with state accepted credentials when
we are called out. The program will roll out January 1st. I’m sure
there will be some snags in this new system at first, but as time goes on, I’m
sure that it will work very smoothly, and this will definitely give us much faster
access to disaster scenes than before.
Now
speaking of Christmas, we did have some action in the southwest portion of the
state just before Christmas... December 23rd to be exact. The National Weather Service has that
confirmed a rare December tornado touched down in western Ohio. The EF-0
tornado touched down in a small town near Dayton (Arcanum). The tornado had an
estimated maximum wind speed of 65 mph and luckily did not cause any injuries. Utility
poles and power lines were down, and an area barn containing a truck and
construction supplies collapsed.
This
was only the 6th tornado in the state this entire year! But, what
makes this one so special was the fact that it was only the 5th
tornado to be reported in December in Ohio since 1940!
Finally,
the Section Cabinet has been very busy this year attending club meetings,
public service events and hamfests all over the state. I congratulate them all
for their dedication and service to not only me, but to the Ohio Section as a
whole.
We
have a very PRO-active ARES program, and our Section Emergency Coordinator –
Stan, N8BHL has really gotten our ARES programs into high gear. He encourages
everyone to have “fun” while providing a very valuable “service” to the
community and our served agencies.
Our
Technical Coordinator – Jeffery Kopcak, K8JTK has been busy with programs and working
with a number of folks around the state with technical problems and teaching us
old dogs some new tricks with the Digital Modes (me included).
Our
Official Observer Coordinator – John Perone, W8RXX has been working hard at
enhancing the Amateur Auxiliary with our OO’s, including me, out there listening
and encouraging proper operator techniques.
Our
Affiliated Clubs Coordinator – John Myers, KD8MQ has been extremely busy
encouraging new clubs to “affiliate” with the ARRL and not stopping there we
have also seen an increase in Special Services Clubs as well. We aren’t where
we want to be, but we are growing and that’s what counts.
Our
Section Traffic Manager – David Maynard, WA3EZN has been very active on the
various nets and recording and reporting the hours we spend passing important
messages in and out of the state.
Our
Public Information Coordinator – John Ross, KD8IDJ has been busy with the newsletter
contest and promoting Amateur Radio around the state.
Our
Section Government Liaison – Nick Pittner, K8NAP is busy with making sure all
of us know and understand our Ohio antenna law.
And
then there are our Assistant Section Managers – Lyn Alfman, N8IMW; Kitty
Hevener, W8TDA; Fritz Tender, WD8E; Bob Johnson, K3RC and Bob Winston, W2THU.
They are strategically located around the state to assure everyone is
represented. They are all hard working and ready to help you with your
concerns.
We
also have 2 very special Assistant Section Managers that take care of our
Education and Scouting – Anthony Luscre, K8ZT and Scott Hixon, KC8ITN. Both of
them have been very active this year with their individual programs as well. We
are starting to see the fruits of their labors with more activity starting in
classrooms and in the scouting programs.
As
you can see, we have a lot going on in the state of Ohio at any given time. I
hope this little snapshot gives you some idea of just how much activity is
really happening in Ohio. I’m very proud of our people and the programs that we
have.
As
many of you have noted in your newsletters, I’m making a very conscience effort
to get to as many club functions and meetings as I can around the state. A couple
of you have commented that I’m like ants at a picnic, I’m everywhere. Being fortunate
to be retired from my professional career, I am able to do what most folks can’t,
freely travel around the state. As you know, the Ohio Section is the largest Section
in the country. It’s even bigger than a Division or two. So, with that in mind,
it’s only fair to say that Ohio also deserves to have a full time Section
Manager, and being an active member of the Ohio VOAD, OP3 and EMAO along with
being a member of several Local Emergency Planning Committees (LEPC), allows me
to have access to government agencies and people that we’ve never had before.
In
closing, I want to wish each and every one of you a very prosperous New Year. We
are ALL very blessed to have a great core of folks who are willing and able to
step up to the challenges, and make things even better than before. 2016 has
the promise of being another fantastic year for Amateur Radio here in Ohio, and
I will do my very best to make this the best year ever for the Ohio Section!
73,
Scott, N8SY
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