Friday, August 24, 2007

NewsGator Online

NewsGator Online: "'If your parents never had children, chances are you won't, either.'"

.: Corvallis Gazette-Times: Community News

.: Corvallis Gazette-Times: Community News: "With the project, a string of moorings with scientific sensors will be placed off the coast near Newport. A network of undersea gliders will be programmed to patrol the near-shore waters from Washington to Southern Oregon, collecting a wide variety of data. "

Thursday, August 23, 2007


Why We need your help...

The LVH Cert team is composed mostly of senior citizens.. How could it be otherwise? When you see the rescue teams on TV you see big strapping men and paragons of strength hoisting people from the rubble of a disaster. That is not a choice in our community.

We are remote and should the highways in and out of the area be severed from a large storm or earthquake then our little community is likely to be left to fend for itself. We don't know how long we will be on our own but our local Fire and Police and governmental emergency services say at least 3 days with no help, no power, no water, no gasoline, no food, no medicine, sporadic services from Police, Fire, Ambulance, Coast Guard and Red Cross. The Federal Government? Get that idea out of your head right now... You need only to look at the ongoing debacle of Katrina and the current flood disaster which has been going on for 6 days and they still haven't seen the government.

The LVH CERT team is composed of about 10 individuals of which about 5 show up for regular weekly meeting to plan and train for disaster.... Do the math! There are about 176 homes in our community. 5 maybe 10 trained people (Senior Citizens) are going to try and save our community. I can't tell you how proud I am to be a member of the team that is willing to take on this awesome task. But reality rears its ugly head and suggests how so few can protect so many?

There are ways MacGee, but they count on each and everyone of you to do your part. Didn't know you had a role in the coming disaster? Well you do. From the most ambulatory to the most fit in the park there are things you can do. Some only require you to form new habits. Habits take about 30 days to form.. So you do a thing for 30 days and then you will feel uncomfortable if you don't do it... Sure you have to work on it but once it becomes a habit then it's a breeze.

Good habits that make sense for you to form:

  1. Always keep at least 1/2 a tank of gas in your vehicles. The Why.... We expect to be without power.. With no power gas cannot be pumped from a gas station. Even if there is a way out will you have enough gas to get out? We have residents that are going to let us use the portable generators they have. (If you have one let us know so we can get it on our equipment list.) We will have limited power available for those with critical life saving equipment such as oxygen generators and other equipment. If we have enough gas and generators we will be having hot meals and lights.. We encourage you to keep up with your gasoline. That will buy all of us some time.
  2. For goodness sake get an FRS radio and learn to use it. Do radio checks often. No power... Cell phones won't work. Probably, after a time, regular landlines won't work... maybe right off the bat all communications that you are used to will be gone. With an FRS radio you will be tied into the park wide Neighborhood Watch Network on Ch 6 16. What does that do for you? In the disaster you will be able to talk to the net and to CERT. You can inform us of your status and your Neighborhood Watch Block Captain can check to see if you need help and let the CERT team know. Emergency announcements from NOAA will be relayed to you from CERT. CERT is connected to the outside world by HAM radio so if you need to contact relatives or if you need to be airlifted out because of injury or illness our hams are going to call for help from the COAST GUARD. CERT will also relay message of rescue progress because their communications section monitors all the major agencies under emergency services on scanners. You will know what is going on by listening to the Neighborhood Watch Network.
There are more things you can do but we will talk about that later on.. Try to get these two habits in place... Make it just like wearing seat belts in your car. It is not too much to ask. It will help the CERT team because we won't have to waste time trying to figure out what to do for you. Remember our numbers are small won't you do what you can to help with these two habits? It will help a lot..really!

AHH... just in case you feel touched by the "giving fairy" notice that a new CERT training class is beginning in September... Come aboard. No matter what your physical condition we have a job for you on our CERT team. Don't want to go to school again? But willing to help? Come to a CERT meeting every Wednesday at 11:00 AM at the clubhouse.. We need helpers and will train you for a job in an emergency.

Devices Aim To Stop Drunken Drivers, Automakers Are Developing Ignition-Interlock Systems That Could Help Keep Drunken Drivers Off The Road - CBS News

Devices Aim To Stop Drunken Drivers, Automakers Are Developing Ignition-Interlock Systems That Could Help Keep Drunken Drivers Off The Road - CBS News: "(CBS) If friends don't let friends drive drunk, there's one car that's a driver's best friend. It's equipped with a breathalyzer linked to the ignition, and it won't start if the driver is intoxicated. "

NewsGator Online

NewsGator Online: "'Love thy neighbour as yourself, but choose your neighbourhood.'"

NewsGator Online

NewsGator Online: "'With most men, unbelief in one thing springs from blind belief in another.'"

Asian seafarers may have been North America's first inhabitants

Asian seafarers may have been North America's first inhabitants: "Asian seafarers may have been North America's first inhabitants Randy Boswell, CanWest News Service Published: Monday, August 20, 2007 In a Canadian archeological project that could revolutionize understanding of when and how humans first reached the New World, federal researchers in B.C. have begun probing an underwater site off the Queen Charlotte Islands for traces of a possible prehistoric camp on the shores of an ancient lake long since submerged by the Pacific Ocean. "

Wednesday, August 22, 2007

NewsGator Online

NewsGator Online: "JOURNEY OF MANKIND - The Peopling of the World 8/21/2007 6:27:49 AM [gringoviejo49] Tracing the origins of Mankind, fantastic. bookmarkthisondel.icio.us - posted by gringoviejo49 to Man Bradshaw journey origins ..."

BBC NEWS | Technology | Google Earth given celestial view


BBC NEWS | Technology | Google Earth given celestial view: "The constellations of Andromeda, Hydra and Vulpecula are now just a mouse click away for amateur star-gazers, following the launch of Google Sky. The tool is an add-on to Google Earth, a program that allows users to search a 3D rendition of our planet's surface. Sky will allow astronomers a chance to glide through images of more than one million stars and 200 million galaxies. Optional layers allow users to explore images from the Hubble Space Telescope as well as animations of lunar cycles. 'The basic idea is to take Google Earth and turn it on its head,' Ed Parsons, Geospatial technologist at Google told the BBC News website. 'So rather than using it to view imagery of the Earth, use it to view imagery of space.'"

News::Growing Impatient With FEMA

This is why we train every week .. the LVH CERT Team.. come join us.

News::Growing Impatient With FEMA: "Like the children's book Where's Waldo, people here are wondering where's FEMA? One man says, 'quick to talk slow to action' Another man says, '3 or 4 fours houses, caved in probably condemned.' Dixie Brown says, 'You don't have no electricity, they want you to call but we have no phones. Where are all the trucks? The help where is everybody? From muggy basements to sloppy streets, the mud the wreckage and the frustration are filling these devastated towns like Stockton. It's been more than 60 hours since the floods killed people destroyed homes and ruined lives and not until late this afternoon did our newsroom receive a single fax email or phone call from FEMA. An emergency supply and donation center has been set up by the the Chamber of Commerce in the Winona mall, but people want to know 'why are they are not bringing the needed supplies across the county?' "

Tuesday, August 21, 2007

Some folks ask how many people actually read our website? Below is the daily tracking service we use show how many times the website has been accessed from July 22nd to Aug 20. The #'s on the left indicate the number of hits and the days of the week are across the bottom. For instance you can see that on the 20th we had 180 page loads. While today so far we have had about 108 page loads.

Since the beginning of the website we have had 165,365 page loads. The counter at the bottom of the links on the left side keeps an up to the minute count on that figure.


Newport CERT Training Fall 2007

The following report outlines the training plan and schedule for the CERT training for Fall 2007 for the Newport CERT team. Although the training follows the basic information and framework developed by FEMA, the Office of Emergency Management has modified various aspects of the training in order to adapt it to the unique requirements of the Newport community.

Unit 1: Disaster Preparedness

Date: Tuesday, September 18, 2007 1730-2000

Trainer: Dean Sawyer

Objectives:

  • Type of disasters and role of disaster workers
  • The impact on the Community Infrastructure
  • Structural and Nonstructural Hazards

  • Hazard Mitigation

  • Home and workplace preparedness
  • Community Preparedness
  • Protection for Disaster Workers

Unit 2: Fire Safety

Date: Tuesday, September 25, 2007 1730-2000

Location: South Beach Fire station

Trainer: Toby Cole

Objectives:

  • Fire Chemistry
  • Fire Hazards
  • Fire Safety
  • Use of Portable Fire Extinguishers
  • Fire Suppression Safety
  • Teamwork
  • Hazardous Materials

Units 3: Disaster Medical 1

Date: Tuesday, October 2, 2007 1730-2000

Location: Newport Fire Station

Trainers: Toby Cole, Pac West

Objectives:

  • Life threatening conditions
  • Triage

Unit 4: Disaster Medical 2

Date: Tuesday, October 9, 2007 1730-2000

Location: Newport Fire station

Trainers: Red Cross, Lynn Alexanderson, Tom McAdams,

  • Public Health Considerations
  • Functions of Disaster Medical Operations
  • Disaster Medical Treatment Areas
  • Patient Evaluation
  • Basic Medical Treatment
Unit 5: Light Urban Search and Rescue

Date: Tuesday, October 16, 2007 1730-2000

Location: Newport Fire station

Trainer: Todd Butterfield

  • Search and Rescue Sizeup
  • Conducting Search Operations
  • Conducting Rescue Operations

Unit 6: CERT Organization

Unit 8: Disaster Psychology

Date: Tuesday, October 23, 2007 1730-2000

Location: Newport Fire station

Trainer: Dean Sawyer, Gary Wenell

Objectives:

  • CERT Organization

  • Rescuer Safety
  • Documentation (what kind)?
  • Team Organization
  • Disaster psychology
  • Caring for Yourself, your teammates and victims


Unit 7: Terrorism and CERT

Date: Tuesday, October 30, 2007 1730-2000

Location: Newport Fire station

Trainer: Dean Sawyer

Objectives:

  • What terrorism is
  • Terrorist weapons
  • B-NICE Indicators
  • CERT’s and Terrorist Incidents
Unit 9: final Review/Disaster Simulation

Date: Saturday, November 10, 2007 0800-1200

Location: Newport Fire Station

Trainers: Toby Cole, Dean Sawyer

Observers:

Objectives:

  • A review of key points from the course
  • A final exercise simulating a disaster with real victims wearing make-up to

introduce as much realism as possible.

Disaster Exercise Format

The exercise will simulate the aftermath of a catastrophic 7.0 or greater earthquake. As

much realism in the form of non-structural damage and debris will be provided. There

will be 4 stations where students will practice hands-on response:

1- Fire Suppression

2- Urban Search and Rescue

3- Triage

4- Medical treatment

Graduation and Certificate issuance

Date: Monday, November 19, 2007 1900

Location: City Council Chambers


Does your primary vehicle always have at least a half tank of fuel?

NewsGator Online

NewsGator Online: "'If you would be known, and not know, vegetate in a village; If you would know, and not be known, live in a city.'"

Monday, August 20, 2007

Result of latest poll... 6 people are interested in having a real social club where everyone shares the work... The rest are willing for them to do all the work on their behalf... A broad majority don't even think the poll is worth voting on... Apathy wins hands down.

Would you consider joining a new club that promoted activities, fun, trips, whale watching, birding, hiking,social hours at local restaurants, and all manner of fun stuff while knowing that your membership would absolutely require you to serve in some cap

Answers Votes Percent
1.
YES 6 40%
2.
NO 9 60%

Total Votes: 15

NewsGator Online

NewsGator Online: "'Politics is the art of preventing people from taking part in affairs which properly concern them.'"

NewsGator Online

NewsGator Online: "Wernher von Braun 8/19/2007 6:00:00 PM [rss@quotationspage.com (Quotes of the Day)] 'I have learned to use the word 'impossible' with the greatest caution.'"

Of Geology and of Ghosts: Scary Tales of the Oregon Coast: "Picture this: a massive river of lava erupts in Idaho, so big it covers miles at a time as it marches along at around 4 mph. It sears entire forests into ashes and fumes. It builds gigantic damns of molten rock that are perhaps miles long, sometime bulging up to 20 feet high. It marches its way through riverbeds and canyons, snaking its way around mountains, until it slithers its sinister, scorching heat into the ocean – having traveled some 300 miles, about seven days later. It’s hundreds of miles long, spewing out continuously and fiercely so that when it reaches the ocean it fills crevices and muddy areas thousands of feet deep."

Pore Me - New York Times

Pore Me - New York Times: "I sweat. I am a sweater. I sweat in T-shirts, I sweat in shorts, I sweat in the shower. It is not a certain dampness. It is not a masculine bit of moist. Sweat spurts out the top of my head like I’m a lawn sprinkler. I sit down on the curb at lunchtime and a little girl leaps over my head. When I was young, the first thing my teachers told me about hell was that it was hot; after that, the punishments seemed redundant. “Yes, yes, hung by my tongue, eyes gouged out, boiled alive. How hot is hot, exactly? How about fans, do they have any fans?”"

Sunday, August 19, 2007

At this very moment, can you readily find a flashlight and a portable broadcast radio in your home?

NewsGator Online

NewsGator Online: "'Everything is in a state of flux, including the status quo.'"

NewsGator Online

NewsGator Online: "'You probably wouldn't worry about what people think of you if you could know how seldom they do.'"

NewsGator Online

NewsGator Online: "'The test of courage comes when we are in the minority. The test of tolerance comes when we are in the majority.'"

The War as We Saw It - New York Times

The War as We Saw It - New York Times: "Op-Ed Contributors The War as We Saw It By BUDDHIKA JAYAMAHA, WESLEY D. SMITH, JEREMY ROEBUCK, OMAR MORA, EDWARD SANDMEIER, YANCE T. GRAY and JEREMY A. MURPHY Published: August 19, 2007 Baghdad"

Nation & World | Troops to battle postquake looting in Peru | Seattle Times Newspaper


Editor: Here is what a real earthquake is like

Nation & World | Troops to battle postquake looting in Peru | Seattle Times Newspaper: "In a soccer stadium in the port city of Pisco, more than 500 people rushed a lone truck that ran out of packets of crackers, candy and toilet paper, screaming that they had not eaten and accusing rescue workers of keeping supplies for themselves. As many as 80 percent of the people in quake-hit urban areas may not have access to clean water and many rural communities still have not been reached to assess the damage, said Dominic Nutt, of the relief agency Save the Children. President Alan Garcia sent 1,000 troops to stop the looting. 'We're going to establish order, regardless of what it costs,' he said."