The Ohio Section... "Year in Review - 2015"

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 24^th 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 17^th 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 11^th 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 4^th 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 23^rd 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 7^th 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 3^rd 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 1^st. 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 23^rd 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 6^th tornado in the state this entire year! But, what makes this one so special was the fact that it was only the 5^th 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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