The September 1995 quarterly
business meeting of the Pennsylvania Search & Rescue Council (PSARC) was
called to order at 19:30 hours by President Peter McCabe at the R.B. Winter
State Park McCall's Dam area in Mifflinburg, Pennsylvania. (The meeting was
held in conjunction with the PSARC two day training drill taking place at the
park.)
Nine organizations represented by
delegates were present, minimum quorum to conduct business is 7 organizations.
Attendance: See Attachment #1.
The official business meeting was
called to order around a blazing campfire under large white pines and a starry
sky. A new applicant group Northeast Search and Tactical Rescue from Oley,
Pennsylvania was welcomed to the meeting.
Roger Tobias moved that the minutes
from the May 20, 1995 General Meeting be accepted as published, second by Bryce
Boyer, no discussion, all in favor, none opposed.
$Treasurer's Report:
Treasurer Greg Sassaman was unable
to attend the drill and meeting. However, he FAXed the treasures report to Irv
Lichtenstein which was distributed at the meeting. There was no motion made on
accepting the report which will be distributed with the minutes, see attachment
#2.
President McCabe distributed a list
of Council and committee achievements in PSARC since 1991. He indicated he
hopes that the new leadership coming in to office in December 1995 will continue
to move forward in the same direction, see attachment #3.
East: No report
Central: Regional rep Ken Snyder is no longer planning to move to Florida.
Welcome back Ken!
West: No report
North: No report
Jim Hill, Chair Chair not present,
no report.
Steve Houck, Chair No report given.
Don Scleza, Chair Chair not present
at meeting, no report.
Vicki Coup, Chair No report given.
(See New Business)
Ken Boyles, Chair
Peter McCabe reported that Ken
Boyles has recently resigned as Committee Chair but will remain active in
working with the development of the EPLO program with PEMA and PSARC. McCabe
suggested a motion be made to recognize Ken for all his hard work in SAR with
some type of citation. Motion was made by Carol Prosseda to issue Ken a
certificate of recognition for his achievements and dedication in search and
rescue. Seconded by Jim Howley, no discussion, all in favor, none opposed.
Peter McCabe indicated that with the resignation of Ken Boyles, he will work
with the operations committee.
Carol Prosseda indicated she and
Pat Hawn both agree that future PSARC Mission Resource Coordinators (MRCs) can
not appropriately recommend dog teams for call outs unless Training Standards
are in place and the (dog)team is rated qualified. They feel that the MRC could
possibly be responsible for deploying a team which is not qualified to be in
the field since we currently have no training and testing in place.
Carol Prosseda reported she has not
received any Mission Reports from any teams. A simple form will be distributed
with the next SAR net for teams to complete and send to Carol. Ken Boyles has
also requested this information in the past and does not routinely receive it.
It was suggested that Marion Hardy who receives the NASAR reports may be able
to provide some back up information. This information should be sent to:
Carol Prosseda RR #4 box 4350
Milton, PA 17847.
Ron Wisbith, Chair
Chair not present at meeting, no
report given. Carol Prosseda relayed a message from Pat Hawn that Pat would
like to be removed from the committee due to commitments in other areas.
Tom Hirchak, Chair
Tom Hirchak distributed the Rescue
Specialist 2nd draft to the body for review. The draft will be considered at
the December meeting.
Equine Standards SubCommittee: Irv
Lichtenstein, Chair
Irv Lichtenstein reported the
committee has not met, and no changes have been made yet on the most recent
draft.
Canine Standards Sub Committee: Pat
Hawn, Chair Chair not present at meeting. However, Carol Prosseda reported on
discussion with Pat Hawn regarding how K-9 training and later testing could be
developed. (Note: Additional information was to be forwarded for inclusion in
these Minutes with further information reported in the next SAR Net.
Information has not been received.)
Jim Howley, Chair
Here we are!! Jim Howley expressed
a special thanks to Roy Keiser and STRIKE K-9 for all their help in setting up
the drill. There were 58 people participating in the drill and 17 groups
attending as of the meeting Saturday night. The drill was designed to be a
"choose your area of interest" style with sessions being offered in:
compass, mantracking, high angle, grid/hasty, flag line/compass line, command
post, map work, air scent, trailing, puppy training and much more.
Communications were managed on all the assignments and every exercise had a
subject or clues to find so it was a very rewarding experience to be in the
field. Other suggestions from the floor were to have; call out style drills, a
drill that addresses all the areas of our standards, attendance certificates
made up for participants, charge a small fee to participants and have
donuts/coffee provided or a meal. This
is the third drill offered in two years which has been open to all PSARC teams.
Jim would like to suggest that any teams which are interested in hosting a
drill like this should volunteer. Special thanks to Jim Howley for a wonderful
job!
Managing Search Operation October
7,8 November 11, 12 Mountain Valley Search & Rescue, Call Bryce Boyer (814)
692-1060 for more info
Mt. Valley reported a search in
Centre County for a 75 year old male with Alzheimers disease. They had trouble
getting manpower. After two days Centre Co wanted to suspend and as the search
was winding down the subject walked in.
East Penn Mountaineers reported of
a search involving approximately 300 volunteers at Mt. Pocono involving a 33
year old man. He was later found at another lake. Martha Geary told of a search
for a 3 yr old where 67 fire company people gathered on the point last seen.
This is an example of the need for education among searchers. The child was
found in good condition a short distance away.
Carol Prosseda, STRIKE K-9,
discussed a search in Shamokin (Ken Snyder's home town). The subject was found
by Ken before many searchers got on scene.
Irv Lichtenstein, GPSR, told of a
search at Valley Forge National Park where the body of a 19 month old and the
mother were found deceased.
Jim Howley told of a search for a
four year old autistic child that was found three miles away!
Rose Keller, told of a search with
Keystone Search and Rescue, Blair County involving a five year old Amish girl
at the family's farm in Sinking Valley. The find was made by infrared and a
very happy father carried his little girl out of the fields.
CAP and Keystone also were involved
in a downed aircraft incident in Sinking Valley.
Huntington County Sheriffs Posse
also had a search for a lost pipeline worker in Black Log Valley area who was
able to walk out.
MSAR, reported of several searches;
one for a downed aircraft in Maryland, and searches in Virginia for a 22 year
old student from James Madison University, a 63 year old man with Alzheimers
Disease, and a 45 year old male berry picker.
Note: It was concluded these
reported searches substantiate the need for organizing SAR mission reports.
Peter McCabe suggested compiling information statistics on searches for persons
with Alzheimers Disease which can be presented to law enforcement officials to
help them understand the need for aggressive action in initial stages of
mounting a search effort.
Please make the following changes
to your resource information files:
The telephone number for White Deer
SAR is incorrect on the resource map. The correct emergency number is:
717-523-1113 or page: 800-812-7671 or 7670. Their information number is
717-568-0567.
Address change for East Penn
Mountaineers. The address is: Wallace Street, PA BOX 1026, Stroudsburg, PA
18360 Emergency number: 717-420-1453.
The new address for Mt. Valley SAR
is 261 Kelly Road, Port Matilda, PA 16870.
The following is the correct
spelling of Palisades Search & Rescue Dogs and the correct town is
Millburn, NJ.
Nominating Committee: Vicky Coup,
Chair Vicki Coup read the slate of candidates:
President Nelson Haas, Mountaineer SAR
Irv Lichtenstein, Greater Philadelphia SAR
Vice President Jay Cooke, Greater Philadelphia SAR
Martha Geary, Somerset County SAR
Roy Keiser, STRIKE K-9
Secretary Rose Keller, Huntington Cty Sheriffs Posse SAR
Director Jay
Cooke, Greater Philadelphia SAR
Tom Hirchak, Keystone Search & Rescue
Keith Conover, M.D. Allegheny Mtn Rescue Group
Vicki made a call for additional
nominations from the floor; none were received. There were also no corrections
made to the list (slate) of written candidates. Vicki made a motion to accept
the list of candidates as listed above, seconded by Jose Prewitt, no
discussion, all in favor, none opposed. All nominees have submitted a short
search and rescue biography to accompany the ballot.
Irv Lichtenstein raised a question
if we had a nominee for the Treasurer's office. Carol Prosseda suggested the
name of Jane Howley for the position of treasurer, Jane declined and it was determined
she was not eligible since her husband Jim is a member of the Board of
Directors. Rose Keller made a motion to add the name of Steve Houck, SMRG, to
the ballot for the treasurer position. Steve accepts the nomination, seconded
by Jose Prewitt, no discussion, all in favor, none opposed.
Vicki Coup made a motion to amend
the previously approved slate to include the name of Steve Houck as a nominee
for the position of Treasurer, seconded by Roger Tobias, no discussion all in
favor, none opposed.
Recognitions: Terry Prewitt made a
motion to recognize Greg Sassaman in the form of a certificate of appreciation
(to be included in frame) to thank him for his years of service as treasurer
for PSARC, seconded by Nelson Haas, no discussion, all in favor, none opposed.
(Note: Jim Howley has offered to take care of having the certificates done for
both Greg Sassaman and Ken Boyles.)
New Council Members: A motion was
made by Irv Lichtenstein to accept two new member teams, Elkland SAR
Association, St. Mary's, PA and Northeast Search and Tactical Inc., Oley, PA,
seconded by Roger Tobias, no discussion, all in favor, none opposed.
Reinstatement of Former Council Members: A motion was made by Irv Lichtenstein
to reinstate the units paying dues after May 30 (as listed in attachment #4),
seconded by Roger Tobias, no discussion, all in favor, none opposed.
Changing Council Resource Forms:
Kevin Sheirer, East Penn Mountaineers, made a suggestion that the resource
forms be changed in some way to show names and proof of training, level of
certification, and by whom the certification was issued. He reported they have
had experiences where SAR teams did not have the level of experience or
quantity of members as stated on their SAR resource form.
Carol Prosseda made a motion that
the PSARC resource forms be amended to include team resources, seconded by
Bryce Boyer. Much discussion followed:
Peter McCabe: Do we want to have an
itemized roster by name for all the team members and their level of training?
Irv Lichtenstein: the motion on the
floor violates PA statute, you can not have training personnel records released
to a third party
Vicki Coup: I think what we are
asking for is a list of team break down such as 11 people certified as FTL,
etc. not necessarily to list names.
Kim Carr (White Deer SAR): I would
like to make a motion that the PSARC forms be amended so that the SAR council
can police the accuracy of the information on resource forms, and have a
signature. (Note: Motion not accepted, there already was a motion on the
floor.)
Jim Howley: Who would police this?
We are not a police organization.
Martha Geary: My ambulance company
requests copies of training records which are kept in a locked cabinet in the
fire department. Can my search team do that too if the search team keeps the
hard copy and sends a summary to the council without a name? When a team
requests to join PSARC, they send a cover letter, a copy of
constitution/By-Laws, operating documents, and a $25.00 check. This information
is currently held by Keith Conover, our former secretary.
Peter McCabe: It does not contain
the names of people or their training.
Jim Howley: That only covers teams
that belong to PSARC, not all teams which are requested for searches are PSARC
members.
Irv Lichtenstein: This is like
protecting your army 201 file.
Steve Houck: This type of
information is routinely shared among the eight teams of the Appalachian Search
and Rescue Conference (ASRC) so at any time an ASRC unit can provide
information on other teams or people. Like a phone book. If you consistently
have problems with the quality and/or quantity of people you get from any team,
don't call them. If you hide behind the law you are not helping yourself or
your team or the people you are looking for.
The first motion did not carry. A
second motion was made including part of Kim Carr's suggestion. The second
motion read: The PSARC resource forms should be amended to show team resources
and that the form should include a statement by the signature line that states
that "I understand and attest that the information provided is true and
correct, and may be audited by the SAR Council should any question arise."
Seconded by Bryce Boyer, no discussion, all in favor, none opposed. Training
Standards: Peter McCabe suggested it was appropriate to suggest that thirty
days from now, or with the next SAR Net mailing that the Council activate the
PSARC Training Standards. Carol Prosseda made a motion to activate the
standards in 30 days with the mailing of the next newsletter, seconded by Rose
Keller with significant discussion following:
Martha Geary: Can we send this out
with the next SAR Net to be fair to the teams which aren't here at the meeting.
Irv Lichtenstein: Question on the
motion? Under the By-Laws, this should be considered a major decision, and
suggest that it be included with the ballot, especially in light of the fact
that we have no training, no evaluation plan in effect at this time, no
evaluators and no schedule. If we turn voluntary standards into mandatory
standards that we should have a program in place to do so. We also should check
with our insurance to advise them that we plan to start certifying people. The
phrase "activate the standards" changes them from voluntary to mandatory.
If teams want to comply with the standards, we don't have to pass this motion. On
the back of the resource form you can fill in which standards you comply to.
Carol Prosseda: We can't make the
standards mandatory until we have some type of testing, evaluations in place. I
will make an offer to table the motion until it can be reviewed by a committee
to be worded to suit everyone in a manner that is proper and legal. Seconded by
Rose Keller, no further discussion, all in favor, none opposed, motion is
tabled.
Roy Keiser suggested that the
committee consist of Irv, Carol and Andy Appel. Peter
McCabe will appoint a committee to review this motion.
Dues Statement: A suggestion was made to put the dollar amount
of the dues on the late due information when it is sent to the teams. (Note: This is already routinely
done.)
Peter McCabe announced he will be
appointing Jay Cooke, GPSR and Jose Prewitt, CAP to join the operations
committee efforts.
Roy Keiser made a motion to adjourn
the meeting at 21:33 hours, seconded by everyone, no discussion, all in favor,
none opposed.
Respectfully submitted, Roseann L.
Keller Secretary