Thanks very much to the 17 Team members who attended the October meeting.

November 12^th meeting will be at the Water Treatment plant here in Spruce Creek (on Lindy Loop near runway 5 intersection). They will be giving us a tour of this complex and fill us in on their emergency procedures, chemicals on site and other helpful information. Please meet there at 2PM on November 12^th.

o Fund Raising for CERT – We’ve been very fortunate to have generous donations from a few of our members and local organizations, however we need to have money coming in on a fairly regular basis to help cover expenses of equipping new members, on-going supply purchases and general maintenance. Ed Hickox said that he would investigate having a golf outing fundraiser at the SC Country Club. However, we need a fundraiser leader who will plan activities and recruit members to make the activities happen.

o Community Relations – A person is needed to interface with Port Orange, Volusia County EOC, SC Middle School, FEMA, etc. to ensure that they understand our organization and its capabilities and that we know what we can expect from them. Also, this person could investigate the availability of grant money from local, state and federal sources.

o Spruce Creek Country Club Interface – The SC Country Club is our largest landowner and they probably have the responsibility for the largest number of people at any time during the day and early evening. We need someone to communicate with the club management to understand their emergency procedures and how we would play a role during an emergency.

If anyone is interested in taking on any of the above, please let me know.

CERT members interested in doing a little PR work by volunteering their time on October 27^th from 4-6:30 pm to help with set up in early afternoon, supervising games, doing tear down after party, or simply handing out CERT pamphlets to the parents and grandparents of the children attending should contact Lynn at 756-0271 or Melanie at 788-9738. If you need CERT literature, please call me.

Halloween Eve Patrol:

Ray Gage, Bonnie Siler, Geri Hudak, and Eleanor Champlain volunteered their services to help Security that evening. Ed especially asked for extra eyes in the neighborhoods that are populated with kids.

People patrolling on cart or bike should wear their CERT vests and radios. Security will be monitoring 911 so, if you see anything (even if you’re not on patrol), please call it in. Contact Ed Hickox at 304-1907 if you plan to help out.

The Team decided that we should participate in some way. It was suggested that we ask to have the Volusia County truck and CERT wagon again like we had last year. (Walking around the truck is not an option as we were not able to keep up with the flow of traffic last year.) Someone suggested a float. We need to finalize in November.

If you’re not already working in the parade in some capacity, please consider joining in the parade to promote our CERT team. Maybe we can get some recruits for the January class.

Spruce Creek Fly-In Mock Disaster:

Jose Fernandez has volunteered to lead our next mock disaster planned for mid to late January of 2003. Ray Gage, Bonnie Siler and Geri Hudak have volunteered to help out with planning and coordination. Jose will need others to help as well as he gets his plans formalized. This drill will be more involved than previous exercises with victims requiring attention, items that will need to be moved (practice our cribbing techniques), perhaps a little search and rescue, and whatever else their creative minds will come up with. Please call Jose at 760-1673 if you would like to work on this fun project.

Wings & Wheels:

Wings and Wheels, scheduled for March 15^th , 2003, will once again need volunteers to help with traffic control and to shuttle people from their cars to the event area. Assisting Veterans may be needed as well. Last year we had about five CERT people who were a tremendous help. This year W&W would like even more CERT volunteers and they are willing to offer a nice donation to our treasury besides the free food and drinks to volunteers. Details will be worked out, as the time for this event grows closer.

Medical Bags:

Geri Hudak showed off the tow-around duffle bags she picked out for our CERT medical supplies. The team thought one bag should go to the back gate. Geri or I will contact the DeBary CERT to see how they handle storage of their supplies.

Jose Fernandez showed off his handy work on two wooden stretchers/back boards. He will purchase the safety belts required to strap people down. He did a terrific job on these and everyone appreciated his time and effort. If you have a chance, stop by the POA hangar to see the boards.

If anyone else in the group would like to attend a CPR class before the holidays, please let me know ASAP. I will contact the four people who were interested in CERT training and see if they would like to attend a CPR class.

CERT Training Classes:

Unfortunately we were unable to get the minimum number required to hold the October session. Hopefully, January will be better timing for our next effort. This is one reason why it’s important that we continue to make ourselves known at community activities. Ed Hickox asked that we wear our CERT tee shirts and new hats (if you ordered one) to community activities so we’re visible to our neighbors.

Security Update:

Capt. Ed Hickox gave the group an update on the challenges Security is facing as well as some future plans they hope will be implemented over the next few years.

He talked to the group about moving CERT command to the back gate. He hopes to have the CERT radio tower moved there soon, and then he will test it to ensure adequate coverage. The back gate has a generator, computer access, plenty of room and a safe environment for those manning the command center.

Ed discussed the difference between monitoring (which is the current mode of operation for security because of limited staffing) vs. securing our community. He is looking into various forms of automation to keep better track of visitors/contractors.

Ed also said that the teens that have been causing problems are being addressed by the POA, and this has helped quiet things down. The group was glad to hear the POA was addressing some of the problem children.

Ed asked for suggestions for developing a Community Watch program. The CERT Volunteer and Community Patrol he tried to kick off have fizzled.

This was not mentioned in our meeting, but Dick Russell, Chairman of the Airport Committee, pointed out in the latest Update Newsletter that the CERT group would be called in the event of an aircraft incident to render assistance until a transport arrives. We would most likely be asked to assist with airplane traffic if the runway is closed. John and I will make sure they have the latest call tree to initiate this.

Hats are in!

Ann and Les Lowman, Brenda Lear, Petra Van Zandt, Bonnie Siler, Jose Fernandez ordered these. You can pick them up at our home, 3197 Royal Birkdale Way in Wedgewood. Call before you come by to make sure we’re home (we’ll be out of town from 10/17 thru 10/22.) They are a nice buy at $9.00. There are two extras for anyone who would like one – first to call 304-6128 can get them. If we get more interest, Ed Hickox will place another order.

Ed got over 30 T-shirts for us. They too are $9.00. If you want one, give him a call at 304-1907 or wait for the next meeting.

See you at the November 12 th meeting… Water Plant at 2 pm.

Susan