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By Cal & Denise Crowe
WEB ADDRESS
http://florencecert.tripod.com
Board Members:
Chair - Cal Crowe
Vice Chair - Dayna Devlin
Secretary - Paul Cornett
Publicity - Denise Crowe
Treasurer - Ray Erickson
Planning - Jean Busby
Communication - Lon Bradley
Continuing Education - Anne Machalek
Advisor I - John Buchanan
Advisor II - Dave Davis
ATTENTION
MEETING CHANGE:
The next CERT Board Meeting (primarily Board Members) will be held Wednesday, February 8, 2006 at 7 p.m. at Firestation
TWO in Old Town Florence.
TROUBLE IN THE SOUTH
CERT members Mike and Cathe Farrell are back in Florence after having spent two months working for FEMA in the hurricane
stricken south land. Mike spoke at the January CERT general meeting about their adventure. Cathe was stationed in Atlanta,
and he was sent to Florida. While in Florida, Mike worked at the Disaster Recovery Center in Dade County (Miami area). His
job was to check the status of getting trailers/mobile homes for those who lost their homes during hurricane Wilma. Some 35,000
trailers were requested. At that time some 3-million people were without power in Florida. Cathe Farrell worked at getting
aid for the people of Kentucky who were devastated by tornadoes, an aftermath following the bad weather in Louisiana, Mississippi
and elsewhere. CERT would like to thank the Farrells for their dedication and hard work to help those in need. It is so neat
to see how CERT members can make a difference. Back in November, CERT did an article on Frank and Karen Souza who also worked
for FEMA to help those affected by this seasons hurricanes. CERT thanks them as well.
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GERT IS ACTIVE
GERT is the nickname for CERT at Greentrees in Florence. Ken Stone with the Florence CERT, seems to be the main force
behind CERT at that gated community. According to Ken, they were given a $6,000 grant from the Greentrees Association Board
plus $1,000 from a generous donor and $500 from one of their clubs. With the money, they have purchased three 6 KW generators,
a defibrillator and a 24 foot cargo container being converted into an operation base complete with emergency lights and supplies
given to them by members of Greentrees. Also an emergency plan of action has been approved by the Greentrees Board as well.
Ken says about 30 people are involved with CERT at Greentrees even though only four or five are actually CERT members. He
said Barbara Melton who has become a CERT instructor will soon be setting up an Are You Ready Class there. More work needs
to be accomplished, but Ken says great progress is being made. Keep up the great work Greentrees!
Articles by Cal Crowe
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CERT SPRING CLASS 2006:
Dave & Rochelle Davis
April 7th & 8th (2-Days)
Friday April 7th - 6:00pm-8:30pm 21/2 Hr. Preparedness; Instructor: Jean Busby
Sat. April 8th -8:00am-10:30am 21/2 Hr. Fire Safety; Instructors: Liz Iabichello & David Davis
Sat. April 8th -10:30am-12:00pm 11/2 Hr. Medical
Part I; Instructors: Jeff Pickell & Phil Koch
Sat. April 8th -1:00pm-2:00pm 1 Hr. Medical ; Instructors: Jeff Pickell & Phil Koch
Sat. April 8th -2:00pm-4:30pm 21/2 Hr. Medical Part II; Instructors: Jeff Pickell & Phil Koch
Friday April 14th - 6:00pm-8:30pm 21/2 Hrs. Search & Rescue; Instructors: David Davis & Liz Iabichello
Sat. April 15th - 8:00am-9:45am 1 3/4 Hr. Organization; Instructor: David Davis
Sat. April 15th -9:45am-10:30am 45 minutes. Psychology; Instructor: Phil Koch
Sat. April 15th -10:30am-12:00pm 1-1/2 Hr. Terrorism; Instructor: David Davis
Sat. April 15th -1:00pm-4:30pm 3.5 Hrs. Review and Simulation; Instructors: Davis, Koch, Pickell, Iabichello, & Busby.
Please register at Lane Community College, they will begin taking registration on March 9th. Cost of class is $25.00.
All classes will be held at Siuslaw Valley Fire & Rescue corner of Hwy 101 and 26th St. (Class is a total of 20 hours)
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ARE YOU READY BY ANNE MACHALEK
There were four (4) Are You Ready classes conducted between 9/25/05 and 12/2/05. Approximately 180 people, including todays
graduating members of the latest CERT class, were trained by Anne Machalek, Jean Busy, and Dave Davis.
On 12/15/05, Anne Machalek and Jean Busby were guests on the KCST Community Forum program discussing the Are You Ready
program. They were interviewed as to the history and purpose of the program as well as the short and long term goals. The
short term goal is to train all Florence households to prepare both a 72-hour grab-n-go kit as well as a two-week shelter-in-place
kit that will serve them during any disaster. The long term goal is to formally organize the neighborhoods to take care of
themselves during a major disaster. An extension of both goals is to have people take the next step and join community organizations
such as CERT to learn the skills necessary to save lives and organize neighborhood disaster response teams. The interview
went extremely well and the hour flew by. There was so much more to talk about, but time was up. Overall, the response of
listeners to the Community Forum program was very positive.
The focus of the program for 2006 has changed slightly. Rather than presenting the program to the general public, we will
be concentrating on training neighborhoods as a unit. That includes organizations and groups such as churches, businesses,
civic entities, etc. The groups scheduled for January are: Jean Busby will train The LDS Church on 1/14/06; Anne Machalek
will train the North Siuslaw Village neighborhood on 1/21/06; Dave Davis and Anne Machalek will train the SVFR firefighters
on 1/31/06. Florentine estates will be holding a second class on 2/17/06. Luke Hewes and Anne Machalek will be conducting
that training session. Coast Village will be hosting two Are You Ready programs, one in March and another one in June. Dates
have not yet been selected. Jacquie Beveridge will be teaching both sessions.
Luke Hewes is one of 10 people who attended the Train-the-Trainer orientation session held on 1/7/06. Many were CERT members,
but some were ordinary citizens who took an Are You Ready course and felt they wanted to empower their neighborhoods and organizations.
There are approximately 8,000 people in Florence and it would be impossible for a few people to get them all trained. Therefore,
we are looking for more CERT members to take up the banner and become Are You Ready trainers. We need everyones help to us
prepare Florence neighborhoods to survive major disasters. Can you help? The actual training session for the new Trainers
will be conducted by Jean Busby and Anne Machalek on 1/28/06 from 9-11. There will be another session scheduled by the class
to learn how to organize their particular communities. Think how much easier your job will be in your neighborhood if the
majority of your neighbors know what to do before, during, and after a disaster strikes.
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FLORENCE GENERAL CERT MEETING
JANUARY 11, 2006/Cal Crowe
Open: The meeting was called to order at 7 p.m.
Attendance: 29 CERT members signed the roster sheet.
CERT 2005 Graduation Ceremony: Fire Chief, John Buchanan gave a few remarks
about the new CERT class that was just completed (December, 2005). He said they were put to the test during their field
exercise by becoming part of a search for a missing Florence man, Jack Little. Buchanan then talked a little bit about that
search. There were 19 CERT grads in this class. Dave Davis handed out the CERT graduation certificates to those who were in
attendance.
Documentation Presentation: Anne Machalek & Dave Davis led the group on a documentation exercise. The participants
broke off into groups after being given a scenario and the appropriate paper work to fill out. After about an hour, Anne proceded
to show via a projector the best way to fill out the paper work and for all to check their work. It was very informative.
November Minutes: A motion was made by Anne Machalek to approve the November
2005 General CERT meeting minutes. Jean Busby 2nd. It passsed unanimously.
Treasurers Report: Ray Erickson, Treasurer reported CERT has $1,078.52 in the bank account. During December, CERT spent
$46.74 on educational
related material.
Announcements:
Cal Crowe announced a Ham Radio Technicians class open to all CERT volunteers being held at the Florence Fire Station
(Siuslaw Fire & Rescue) on Sundays starting at 1 p.m. The class is being taught by Instructor, Larry Bloomfield. Several
CERT volunteers are taking the class.
A sign-up sheet was passed around for those wanting to order the 4-in-1 emergency tool/wrench for $10.50. Ray Erickson
& Cal Crowe will be sending in the order form by the February 8, 2006 CERT Board meeting.
Jean Busby spoke briefly on a CERT family medical form for family members to be kept in a plastic baggie for emergencies.
Mike Farrell gave a brief talk about he and his wife going to the south to help the people devestated by recent hurricanes
for FEMA. He was stationed in Miami, Florida. His wife Cathe was stationed in Atlanta, Georgia. They were there for a couple
of months.
Anne Machalek talked about upcoming Are You Ready classes in the Florence area. She said at the March 8, 2006 General
Meeting, the main agenda item will be a shortened version of Are You Ready.
Denise Crowe breifly discussed plans for CERT to participate in the Rhody Days Parade in May.
Liz Iabichello handed out to board members the recent CERT roster and talked about the various fire station locations
throughout Florence as places to meet in emergencies.
Adjournment: 9:30 p.m.
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