The March 1995 quarterly business
meeting of the Pennsylvania Search & Rescue Council (PSARC) was called to
order at 12:00 by President Peter McCabe.
13 organizations represented by
delegates were present. A minimum quorum to conduct business is 7
organizations. Attendance: See Attachment #1
There were no changes or additions
to the previous meetings minutes. Motion to accept was made, seconded, and
carried unanimously.
The Treasurer's Report was given by
Greg Sassaman and a written report was handed out. See attachment #2. Several
teams were identified as not paying 1995 dues: Chester County Office of
Emergency Services; Pennsylvania DER Bureau of Forestry; Endless Mountain SAR;
Mon Valley Dive SAR Recovery, Pennsylvania Tactical K-9; Search, Rescue &
Recovery Services of Southwestern Pennsylvania; and White Deer Search &
Rescue. Evergreen SAR was added to the list of paid 1995 teams. The balance in
checking and savings as of March 24, 1995 was: $2,016.26. A Motion to accept
the Treasurer's Report was made, seconded, and carried unanimously. President
and Director's Report: President spoke of the revised order of the general
PSARC meeting. He emphasized that the rough spots encountered today will work
out over time and enable the committees to have a clearer understanding of what
their responsibilities are, and to proceed with their important work.
EAST: Nothing to report.
CENTRAL: Ken Snyder, the New
Central Regional Representative, was introduced. No activities were reported.
WEST: Mike Yee not in attendance;
no report given. NORTH: McCabe stated the Council is in the process of
recruiting a northern regional representative which will be appointed by the
next meeting.
Note: Individual committee meetings
began at 09:15. This was the first venture in having the committee meetings
prior to the general quarterly meeting. Attendance at 09:00 was sporadic and
discussion began and continued in the main meeting room. Gradually more people
arrived and each Committee chairperson held their meeting in the main room.
Gradually more people arrived and each chairperson present held their meeting.
The new format for the committee meetings will continue and continue to improve
at future PSARC meetings. Each committee will meet individually, in an area of
their choice at HACC, between the hours of 09:00 and 11:00 with a committee
report given between 11:00 and 12:00. We are very encouraged that holding
committee meetings prior to the regular quarterly meeting will promote
participation from all PSARC units in the committee process. It is emphasized
that the major business of the Council should be conducted through Committees.
It is requested that each committee provide the PSARC Secretary with a brief
informal written report of their activities for inclusion in the minutes.
The following presents a narrative
brief of each Committee.
Jim Hill, Chair
Chair not present. No report
Steve Houck, Chair
There are no pressing issues
regarding radio communications. The communications committee will also look
into coordinating a team wide computer communications network that will enable
teams to share data via disk in a word processing program. This system should
also look toward eventual computer archiving of PSARC records. Each team was
asked to list their computer capabilities to find a common denominator. The
committee will be responsible for developing the "mechanics" for this
system not for the dissemination of the information. It was also mentioned that
getting a plastic card to attach to radios or with radio frequencies and call
signs would be helpful. The committee was additionally requested to do further
research on the capabilities of a PSARC 800 number. Since the committee will
need to be expanded to address these new issues anyone interested in being part
of the committee should contact Mr. Houck at (703) 257-7659.
Don Scelza, Chair
Chair not Present. No Report
Vicki Coup, Chair
Anyone interested in running as a
candidate for the vacant Director position should send a biography to the
committee. One resume has been received by Ms. Geary and forwarded to the
committee.
Ken Boyles, Chair
The Operations Committee report is
reported in the March 1995 SAR Net. The EPLO's (Emergency Preparedness Liaison
Officers) named were: Sharon Feree, Eric Horner and Ken Boyles. These people
all live in close proximity to Harrisburg.
Ron Wisbith, Chair
There are two very old Pre-plans
currently in existence with Pennsylvania DER and the ASRC. These plans will
need to be totally reworked to include changes and developments over the years
in the SAR council and issues being worked on by the committees.
Tom Hirchak, Chair
Participation in attending
committee meetings is crucial in getting the remaining standards finalized.
Anyone interested in any aspect of developing standards should contact Mr.
Hirchak. Rescue Specialist and Medical Specialist are still in the rough draft
stages.
Equine Standards Subcommittee Irv
Lichtenstein, Chair. Standards are in the developmental stages. There are several
formats which have been presented for consideration by the committee. Standards
have been received from various agencies and will be used as guidelines for
finalizing the PSARC equine standards.
Canine Standards Subcommittee, Pat
Hahn, Chair Chair not present. No report.
Discussion indicated that K-9
standards have been previously adopted by PSARC. The K-9 standards sub
committee should meet to review the current standards for any updates and well
as looking towards pilot test procedures for dogs and handlers.
Mr. McCabe indicated at this time
the SAR council has not adopted or instituted a policy whereby we are in a
position to activate any standards. We understand that some individual teams
have opted to train to standards that meet or exceed the ones currently set by
PSARC. He said this is certainly encouraged since PSARC standards are minimal
standards. Mr. Hirchak suggested that the standards gradually be activated when
the testing mechanisms are in place.
Jim Howley, Chair with Terry Dewitt
and Dan Geary
Jim Howley and Martha Geary
addressed the possibility of developing a test for certification for the
different areas of training to meet the PSARC goals in conjunction with the
Fire Academy SAR courses. It was discussed whether to use the test as a
training instrument, or to make it available to instructors for testing only. A
suggestion was made to create a "test bank" of 300 questions to cover
the different levels from Call Out Qualified to Field Team Leader. The test
administrator would then pull from this "bank" questions appropriate
for the group being tested. It was also considered that each team's training
officer might be responsible for controlling and safeguarding test questions
and conducting testing of individual team members.
1995 goals for the Training
Committee are to: complete pilot testing programs; and develop a large testing
question inventory or bank. Anyone interested in helping with the training
committee should contact one of the participants listed above.
President requested that all teams
list their software program capabilities and forward them to Martha Geary. This
will enable a software package that is relatively common to all teams to be
identified. This will enable the PSARC to begin distributing disks instead of
reams of paper.
There was consideration as to
assigning specific job responsibilities to the three newly appointed directors;
Mr. Appel, Mr. Haas and Mr. Keiser. However, a point was brought out that the
original intent in expanding the board into specific geographic regions was
that membership would have a direct regional voice through the director in
their area.
Also discussed was the possibility
of having a state-wide training simulation tentatively scheduled for fall 1995
cohosted by Strike, Northeast and Thornhurst.
Elections are in December
nominations are to be completed in September. Please contact the nominating
committee with your suggestions.
Ken Boyles will keep the council
advised as people are recruited as Mission Resource Coordinators. There were
brief discussions regarding the following incidents: (1) Pike County cross
country skiers search and possible civil law suits; (2) The Lehigh Gorge
recovery for the two drowned Cambodian girls; (3) a delayed response by
responsible authorities in beginning a search for an elderly person near
Embreeville in southeastern Pennsylvania; and (4) US Army Ranger training
accidental deaths at Elgin Air Force Base, Florida.
A point was brought up regarding
the importance of properly documented paperwork, and the difference between a
person who is "unaccounted" for, and a "missing" person.
Comments were also made regarding the issues associated with teams responding
to searches at the personal request of individuals or programs which are not
designated local, county or state government personnel acting on behalf of
responsible government agencies. It was noted that at this time Council does
not have a specific policy regarding this, but that it may be an issue for
future consideration.
There being no further New
Business, a motion was made, seconded and carried unanimously to adjourn. The
meeting adjourned at 13:25 hours.
Respectively submitted, Roseann L.
Keller Secretary