Director's Dialogue December 2015

The new Board of the SAR Council was voted on and named at the last meeting that was held on November 19th. Sheriff’s appointee Frank Kams from West Valley SAR will be our new Council Director starting on January 1, 2015. I wish Frank the best of luck and success and I know myself and all of you will support his efforts.

Wes Podboy, our BSAR Headmaster was elected as the new Assistant Director and Diana Poe from Rim SAR was elect to another term as Treasurer. Joining them, also from Rim SAR, will be Robert Turner as Secretary. He as served the last 2 years as our Bullet Points Chairman and will be a great addition to the team. The last position, Member at Large, will be automatically filled by the outgoing Director… which just happens to be Dave Nicolet from Morongo Basin SAR.

 

This will be my last Directors Dialogue that I will be sending out, so I would like to thank all of you for your continued support over the last 8 years. Its been fun, productive and an honor to have served in this capacity.

 

I would like to thank Frank, Diana and Wes for being board members during my terms. Also, to the other members who have served during this time. Ron Pesch, 2 years as Treasurer and 2 years as Secretary. Rich Dexter, 2 years as Assistant Director and Mike Ward as the Member at Large for 6 and a half years. Also serving on the board were Donna Newlin, 2 years as secretary and Christine Stuehrman for the same period of time in that position as well.

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Director's Dialogue September 2014

It has been busy since my last Directors Dialogue. We had the large countywide callout to Needles and mutual aid call outs to Mt. Whitney and San Diego County. The Annual Training Facility clean up was held, the first BSAR class from Heart Bar graduated and the Camp No Limits project in Big Bear (Chairman Dennis McWhinney of the Big Bear Posse) was conducted for our amputee kids. The AMET program is up and running thanks to Dr. Debbie Bervel and Marie Podboy and the new SAR Standards had their annual review by our SAR Standards Committee.

To top all of this off, we had the very long lasting search in 29 Palms that started in July. For days and weeks of braving the heat and flash floods our SAR folks searched for our missing subject. Finally after numerous callouts our subject was found. It was a huge success for the department and showed the dedication of our SAR Volunteers to complete the tasks put before them. The ICS Team was at its best considering some very difficult conditions and my hat goes off to those members of that team. I am still amazed by the teamwork and dedication of our SAR Volunteers when it comes to finding our lost subjects in San Bernardino County.

The Sheriff, John McMahon, to show his appreciation for all of your hard work with this callout has scheduled a SAR Appreciation Picnic that is to be held tomorrow… Sept 13th. You have been notified by your Unit Commanders and Coordinators and have received flyers from Volunteer Forces. We are now hoping for a tremendous turn out by our SAR members and their families. The Department, Volunteer Forces and the SAR Council Board of Directors are looking forward to seeing you tomorrow at Covington Park in Morongo Valley.
On a personal note, I would like to thank all of our Unit Commanders for their quick responses to a number of events that we are having this month. Headcounts were imperative for the 29 Palms Debrief, the Sheriffs Picnic and for the upcoming SAR Council Meeting. Each Commander supplied that information in a very timely manner and it was deeply appreciated. Thank you!

UPCOMING EVENTS AND TRAININGS

SHERIFF’S SAR APPRECIATION PICNIC: As mentioned above, this event hosted by Sheriff McMahon, will be tomorrow. Activities will start at 10 a.m. and food and drinks will be provided to all who attend. Hope to see you all there.

SAR COUNCIL MEETING: The next meeting will be on September 17th at Headquarters. The meeting will be called to order at 7 p.m. Please plan on attending and sending at least two members from your unit…..if not more. Please attend. The Sheriff and the entire Executive Staff will be attending this meeting. Volunteer Forces, and the SAR Council would appreciate a good turnout by your SAR Members. Refreshments will be provided.

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Director's Dialogue March 2014

p>We had a great turn out at the last SAR Council Meeting in January. We would like to thank you for taking the time to attend. With this turn out, it was a perfect time to present our SAR Council’s SAR Member and SAR Commander of the Year Awards for 2013. Paul Butler, our Member of the Year, was recognized for his outstanding contributions and dedication for 2013. He was the unit commander of San G SAR, a member of the ICS Team, who responded to numerous callouts and is an instructor at the BSAR Academy. Paul is also a reserve deputy with the department and has been a member of the department and SAR for over 35 years.

Our SAR Commander of the Year was none other than Larry Ford of the Colorado River Station; more commonly known as Needles SAR, for his efforts in 2013. He had 100 percent attendance to all of the department functions during the year, never missed a SAR Council Meeting or any other event put on or hosted by the Council and Volunteer Forces. He headed up numerous callouts in his area and was responsible for the upgrading of his unit’s equipment and completion of their command post. We would all like to thank these two individuals for their time and outstanding efforts. Thank you and congratulations Paul and Larry!

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Director's Dialogue January 2014

Reflecting back on 2013, it was a great year for all of us in SAR. The new SAR Standards were finished, printed and handed out. Funding was made available for the AEMT program for the necessary equipment with no cost to the participating units. The new Heart Bar Training Facility was opened for trainings and events. This is a facility that we all should be proud of. Funds were raised to purchase an arena and corrals for the training facility and were installed. The Hiplink Callout System was uploaded and is being worked on to provide a better system for our callouts. The PR Trailer was completed and used on many occasions during the last part of the year. BSAR was moved successfully from the old site at Glen Helen and was opened for the fall class with great reviews. Funds were also raised to purchase GPS’s and Compasses to be used on loan by the BSAR students.

Personal Vertical Skills (PVS) Class

Hosted by:

San Bernardino Mountain Search & Rescue Team

To sign-up for the class you must have completed your BSAR Certification.

Class Dates:

August 20, 22, 27 & 29 from 1800-2200 hrs.

Test:

September 8 @ 0700 hrs. Mojave Narrows

Location:

Classroom location will be emailed to students who sign up. Test location is still to be determined and will be emailed out to those who are signed up.

Attendance:

This will be a large class, therefore ask your team to have their Basic Rope Technicians (BRT) and Intermediate Rope Technicians (IRT) sign up to help assist. Note in the sign-up if you are a new student, re-cert, BRT or IRT helper (helpers also note all the sessions with which you will be helping.)

To sign-up for the class you must have completed your BSAR Certification.

Sign Up

Click the link below to send an email to Jack Nelson at his SBSAR.ORG account.

Include:

• First and last name
• Team affiliation
• contact phone #.

You will know you are in the class when you get a reply email back saying you are signed-up.

CLICK TO SIGN UP

Director's Dialogue (May 2013)

HELITAC TRAINING:

was held on Saturday, April 6th , hosted by the SAR Council. It is amazing, we had 26 sign up, 4 cancelled and we ended up with 31.… Lol. Go figure!It was a great turnout and we would like to thank Mike Ells for a very informative class.

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SHERIFF’S 10K RUN

March the 6th was the date of this run and we would like to thank all of our SAR personnel for their help. Most of the proceeds were going to go to the SAR Council, however at the meeting on the 20th it was determined and voted on by the Unit Reps, that we were going to donate those fund to S.E.A.T. to lend a hand to the deputy wounded in the Dorner shootings. We would like to thank everyone for supporting this worthy cause.

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Director's Dialogue March 2013

There will be a Helitac Training on April 6^th for members who can not make their unit training's. The SAR Council will be hosting it, if you would like to attend please let me know. Dnicolet@sbsar.org or contact Dep. John Woods of VF at dwoods@sbcsd.org. There are currently 9 slots still open.

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BSAR

is returning to Glen Helen for the May/June school. This is due to a few logistical problems at the Heart Bar Training Facility, so it was determined Glen Helen would be the best choice for this class. The September/October academy site has yet to be determined. Make sure your reserve your members with Stella at Volunteer Forces prior to the class who wish and need to attend. Only members who have received their I.D.’s and Orders are eligible to participate.

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Director's Dialogue February 2013

The funeral services for Detective Jeremiah Mackay will be held this Thursday, February 21, 2013. The services will be at the San Manuel Amphitheater, 2575 Glen Helen Parkway, San Bernardino, Calif. Services will start at 11 a.m.

 

I have been asked to remind our SAR personnel that we will be required to wear our Class A Uniform which will consist of the long sleeved orange shirt, white crew neck t-shirt, green BDU pants, black boots or shoes and a black belt. However, we do know that not everyone has purchased the new Class A Uniform, so short sleeve orange shirts and a different color pant will be allowed if that is all that you have. Remember to have neatly trimmed hair, mustaches and beards. Please make sure your shirts and pants are ironed, shirts patched correctly and that they are not torn or faded.

 

On behalf of the SAR Council and all of our SAR members of San Bernardino County, I would like to send our condolences and prayers to Detective Mackay and his entire family. May he rest in peace.

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Director's Dialogue August 2012

If your haven’t heard, we now have a new lieutenant assigned to Volunteer Forces, replacing now Captain Todd Paterson, Lieutenant Mitch Dattilo. The Lieutenant has been with the department since April 1988. He is a former Explorer Scout from the Fontana Station before becoming a Reserve, than attending and graduating with the 92nd Sheriff’s Academy Class.

The Lieutenant has served in a variety of assignments. He has been assigned to the Glen Helen Rehab Center, the Yucaipa Station twice and the Employee Resources and Homicide Divisions. Most notably he has been assigned to Aviation twice where he was a fight officer and rescue crew chief. When promoted to Sergeant he then went back to Aviation, after a number of other assignments, to be their Watch Commander and Crew Chief Trainer. While serving in this capacity he then had the opportunity to work hand in hand with our Air Medic Team. During this time, with that assignment, he was also able to obtain his commercial helicopter pilots rating. He then was promoted to Lieutenant, served for a very short time with another division and then was sent to Volunteer Forces. We wish the Lieutenant the best with his new duties. All of us from the SAR community are looking forward to working closely with him in the future.

Speaking of work, thanks to all of the SAR members who showed up at your new Heart Bar Training Facility for the Cleanup Day. What a great turn out from our SAR personnel. There were many things accomplished by our 40 odd members who attended, from raking pine needles to electrical repairs, and don’t forget tractor driving…..lol.

However, even with all of the hard work that was put in, we still need to ask you again for your services for the 2nd Cleanup that is going to be held on August 25th. Starting time is at 0800 and we should be finishing up by 1500. Not sure about lunch yet, so please bring enough food and drinks for the entire day. We do need some experienced electricians, plumbers and a tractor with a Bush-Hog attachment. For more information, directions andthe type of work needed, refer to our www.sbsar.org web page. Please RSVP to me at dnicolet@sbsar.org or to John Amrhein at jamrhein@sbcsd.org if you can attend. We hope to see many of you there.

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Director's Dialogue June 2012

I would like to start off by thanking our SAR members who provided for and who participated in last months OHVSAR and MSAR Countywide trainings. From all reports and critiques, the 2nd Annual OHVSAR and the 6th Annual MSAR Trainings were the best that we have ever held.

Mike Westover, the Council's OHVSAR chairman, Summer Jones the event chairperson and all of the members of Bear Valley SAR hosted an outstanding weekend training. All of those members who attended, raved about the hospitality, organization and training scenarios. It was a weekend of fun, learning and shared OHVSAR skills.

On the MSAR side, I would like to thank Hap Hatch, the Council's MSAR chairman and Dean Mott the events chairman from the Apple Valley Posse. What a great day of outstanding training, new SAR techniques and a great victim type scenario. Hats off to Commander Diane Nukols and all of the members from Apple Valley for providing the best of trainings for our equine SAR personnel. Again, the members who attended walked away with a greater knowledge of our use of our four-legged friends for SAR missions. Once again, to all who were involved…with both trainings…Thank you for your time, support and dedication.

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