Director's Dialogue September 2011

Dan Whitten:

At this time the Board Members of the IESARC would like to on behalf of all of our SAR members thank Dan for a job well done. As our SAR Coordinator for almost 3 years he has done a terrific job. He has been a valuable mentor and friend to many of us in our SAR community. He will greatly be missed by the Cave Team, who is his assigned Unit and by all our other SAR Units as well who have had the pleasure of working with Dan over the years. We all would like to wish Dan the very best with his new assignment at the Yucaipa Station.

As the Director of the SAR Council during his entire stay at VF, I would personally like to thank Dan for all of his help, assistance and knowledge that he has shared with me over these last 3 years. Thank you Dan!

ICS TEAM:

The SAR Council and Volunteer Forces are happy to announce that the new countywide ICS Team is now fully operational. Twenty-one of our SAR members have taken on the task of being ICS responders when our various stations request, through VF, the need for overhead management staffing for SAR and disaster operations.

Our ICS Team members have responded to numerous missions during the last several months and we are happy to report that all has gone extremely well. The coordination between the ICS Team and the various station personnel has been well received and our SAR searchers are seeing less time it the CP.. The assignments are being made quicker and responders are being deployed into the field in a timely manner. This has been a huge asset to our SAR operations

IESARC PR TRAILER:

After a long period of time we are happy to say that the PR Trailer, that many of our SAR Units donated to for its construction and outfitting , is nearing completion. Thank you’s go out to several of the members of Victor Valley SAR, Lt. Paterson of Volunteer Forces, Ron Pesch of the SAR Council and Mike Cimmmaruti of VV SAR. The trailer now has been refurbished, essential welding has been completed and its new siding has been installed. It is our goal to display the new trailer at the Sheriff’s Rodeo on the weekend of September 23^rd, 24^th and 25^th

However, that’s if all goes to according to plan, so there could be a few delays yet in the future. If this does happen the trailer will be finished and ready for viewing at the November SAR Council Meeting for sure. Remember, this trailer is for all units to use for display at their various events in their communities during the year.

SHERIFF’S RODEO:

As mentioned above, hopefully the PR Trailer will be ready for this event. In case it is not, the SAR Council will still have a booth. If your unit is wanting to sale any items or display there SAR equipment they may do so. Also, we will be looking for personnel to help us to man the booth. The chairperson for this event, SAR Council Secretary Diana Poe, will be contacting all SAR Units shortly.

BSAR:

If you have members who need to attend BSAR, make sure they have their I.D. Cards and Orders before you contact Stella at Volunteer Forces. Please make your reservations ASAP because the class is filling up fast. Dates for BSAR are as follows:

October 1^st and 2^nd, October 15^th and 16^th and October 29^th and 30^th.

Mentors will be need for the overnight exercise on the 29^th. The SAR Council will be contacting our Mentors from last March‘s class to see if they can fill these roles again. However, if you are interested in becoming a Mentor please contact me ASAP at: dnicolet@sbsar.org

BOTTLED WATER:

Mike Ward has once again found us a water sponsor. Niagara Water out of Ontario has donated a number of cases of water to your SAR Units. At the next SAR Council Meeting please bring a vehicle so that you can carry 10 to 12 cases. These case of water will be handed out after the meeting. Thanks to Mike and a big thank you to Niagara for their generous donation.

SAR COUNCIL MEETING:

The next meeting of the SAR Council will take place on September 21, 2011. Please send your Unit Representatives and once again this meeting is open to all SAR personnel as well. The meeting with start at 7 p.m. and of course will be at Headquarters. We hope to see many of you there. At this meeting you will meet our new SAR Coordinator Dave Alexander. Dave comes to us from Barstow and we are all looking forward to working with him in the future.

BASIC SAR SKILLS, OVHSAR AND MSAR:

Volunteer forces has asked the SAR Council to remind you that all of these certifications and resumes are due to Volunteer Forces as you certify your members. Basic SAR Skills are due on November 1^st, while the other certifications should be sent in when they are completed by your members.

BMC CLASS:

The Basic Mountaineering Course is going to be offered to your SAR members again this year. The classroom portion of the course will be held at the SBDO Mountain SAR units Rescue Shack in San Bernardino. This course will be held on November 19 and 20, 2011. If you are interested please contact Sonny Lawrence ASAP at 909-255-6036 or email him at slawrence@sbsar.org

MSAR COUNTYWIDE TRAINING:

The date of the 6^th Annual Countywide Mounted Search and Rescue Training is: October 22^nd and is being hosted by the Apple Valley Posse. More information will be made available from the IESARC’s MSAR Chairman Hap Hatch. There will also be a meeting of the MSAR Committee at 6 p.m. prior to the SAR Council Meeting on September 21^st at Headquarters.

SAR CITY:

This annual event will be held this year on October 7, 8 and 9, 2011. Once again it will be hosted by the Barstow Desert Rescue Squad and it will be held at the Barstow Community College. For more details go to the their website at: www.sarcityusa.org

CALENDAR OF EVENTS:

Sept. 21 - MSAR Committee Meeting - 6 p.m. - Headquarters.

Sept. 21 - SAR Council Meeting - 7 p.m. - Headquarters.

Sept. 23, 24 and 25 - Sheriffs Rodeo - Glen Helen.

Oct. 1 and 2 - BSAR

Oct. 7,8 and 9 - SAR City - Barstow Community College.

Oct. 15 and 16 - BSAR

Oct. 22 - The 6^th Annual Countywide MSAR Training. - Apple Valley.

Oct. 29 and 30 - BSAR

Nov. 19 and 20 - Classroom BMC - SBDO Mountain SAR Rescue Shack, SBDO.

As you can see we have a very busy schedule coming up. I hope to see a lot of you at these various events….until then remember to………

BE SAFE

Dave Nicolet, Director
Inland Empire Search and Rescue Council
dnicolet@sbsar.org