Ohio ARES Year-End Report 2017
(December
24, 2017)
The Amateur Radio Emergency Service (ARES) program was alive
and well for 2017! Several important
steps were taken to help us certify to our agencies that we are trained and
capable.
Here are the calculated
results for our activity.
Please note that we for 2017 are including net sessions and
net operating hours in with training/drills in order to give volunteers credit
for their time spent in ARES activity. This is increased our hours and events significantly.
Our emergency events were significantly down from last year,
yet the number of hours was much higher.
Public service events and the hours required to cover them
were about the same as last year.
2017 2016 Inc/Dec
|
Training/Drill events
|
7068
|
1566
|
(See note above)
|
|
Training hours
|
47619
|
19530
|
|
|
Public Service events
|
1076
|
1133
|
(-57)
|
|
Public Service hours
|
21275
|
18202
|
3073
|
|
Emergency events
|
380
|
1668
|
( - 1288)
|
|
Emergency hours
|
4395
|
1923
|
( -2472)
|
Here are some highlights:
January: Hamilton
launched an informal Winlink net. Many counties participated in the ARES VHF
Simplex contest. Knox distributed a new training manual. In Marion, the ARES mobile tower was again
erected downtown to support the New Year’s ball drop. There were tabletops, WebEOC and NIMS
training events all around.
February: Work
continued in Northwest Ohio where over 50 amateur rigs were purchased to place
in regional hospitals. There were
actually thunderstorm related Skywarn activities. Coshocton operating manuals
were updated.
March: The month entered with a bout of severe weather,
several nets were active. There were many EMA drills and tabletops. Amateur
radio shone again as a part of the medical team for the Arnold Classic in
Columbus.
April: Our state conference was well attended. Severe weather continued to present some
spotty problems. Public service coverage started in northeast Ohio. NVIS Day was a success!
May: ARES covered the
Flying Pig marathon. ARES was in the background to assist with MDT system
failure in Cincinnati, as well as a high-profile retrial. Most counties ramped up into a busy month of
events.
June: Runs, rides,
GOBA, thunderstorms, and the Mohican 100-mile run were all parts of a very busy
month. Crawford County hams got to watch some hot metal on a hot day for
“Cruisin with the Cops” car show. Of course the big event was Field Day!
July: More progress
was reported on placing amateur radios in Northwest Ohio hospitals- permission
was granted for the installation. Hamilton
County was activated for a search along the Ohio River. Tornadoes were reported
in several Ohio counties. In Hocking County, ARES was called with their trailer
after severe thunderstorm and winds severely damaged Murray City. Comms were established and held until the
state could put a portable MARCS truck in position. Terrain is everything! Coshocton was activated for a threat.
August: Several were up and running for the eclipse; there
was the typical array of storms and events. Summit was busy with the Goodyear
marathon. The annual Pro Football Hall of Fame parade was one of our events.
September: Susan G Komen in Hancock County; Green and others worked the US Air Force
Marathon. The Akron marathon had 4500 runners.
Several groups operated Ohio Parks on the Air. Throughout fair season
many groups provided comms and weather observations.
October: “Black Swan
2017” was staged with many counties participating. Those which did activate
were very busy, and operated longer periods than before. Preble staged units for antique cars passed
through the county’s many covered bridges.
Lake County dealt with 900 runners in the Northern Ohio Health marathon.
Medina worked a “Home Depot Safety Day” setting up portable stations.
November: Skywarn
activities continued into November. Fairfield worked an “active shooter”
session. Coshocton participated with the Board of Elections to monitor voting
sites. Lorain County worked elections as
well.
December: (Reports are not filed yet)
Major developments in
ARES for 2017
Overshadowing our year is the restructuring of Ohio ARES
into a two-tiered system. With
continuing pressure from leadership for all members to complete the four NIMS
courses (100. 200. 700. 800) our changes continue to welcome non-trained
members yet provide an incentive for them to complete the courses. Tier One
members (with NIMS) will be on the activation lists for working with served
agencies. Tier Two (without the training) are welcomed to participate in public
service events and training. So far,
well over 600 members have completed the four courses, according to our Ohio
training database. Many thanks to Jim, W8ERW, for his hard work to keep this
thing updated and under control!
We will be working over the winter season to create more
training events and other opportunities for ARES members to successfully take
these courses.
One important service of ARES is the state’s RACES amateur
radio station at the Ohio EOC. “The Sarge” (W8SGT) has been installed in new
space directly off the main EOC, with all new HF rigs and full power
amplifiers! Another addition is a DMR radio, so we can make use of the Ohio
Channel and regional clusters as emergencies dictate.
We made a few changes to the Ohio Section Emergency Response
Plan to include the use of DMR radio if the conditions warrant. We also confirmed the HF 75 meter frequency
at 3902 +/-.
Ohio ARES has been an active participant in FEMA Region 5
preparations, participating as we can in a 60-meter net and numerous conference
call meetings. This promotes a good regional operating environment and good
communication with FEMA.