Dog days and Doldrums The next CSRB - … · and thereby defrauds the government and ... Dawn Alperti presented the proposal to have a national ... Workers comp—question raised

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The next CSRBmeeting is Sept1st - Alpine

Rescue Shack inEvergreen at1200 hrs.

PMB 424, 7645 North Union Blvd., Colorado Springs, CO 80920

Colorado Search and Rescue

August—September 2007

http://www.coloradosarboard.org/

September CSRB Meeting

09/01/07

Alpine Rescue Team “Shack”

General Membership Meeting starts at 1200

Dog days and DoldrumsHoward Paul, CSRB President

Summer between the July and Septem-ber CSRB meetings are a combination ofthe dog days of summer (named for theperiod surrounding the conjunction ofSirius -- the dog star -- and the sun) andthe Doldrums (a belt of calms and lightwinds between the northern and southerntrade winds which makes sailing shipsdifficult). As most teams are in theirbusy times during our “Falling Season”, it is hard at times to force yourself to sitat the computer and phone and do“admin” SAR work; and, boy, have I got both maladies this year.

Important topics, however, never fall bythe wayside during the summer and wehave two you should know about.

First, the National Association forSearch and Rescue, NASAR, announcedearlier this year that it would hold theNASAR Conference in ColoradoSprings in May, 2008. NASAR hasasked for our opinion on this and wewere honest in stating that of the com-ments received, nearly all were negative.Nevertheless, the conference is comingand this is a good opportunity for Colo-

rado and the CSRB. The perception is, Ibelieve, that more NASAR members are“Eastern” than “Western.” Certainly at NASAR conferences I have attendedthat was apparent. Let’s make 2008 an event when we all come together andlearn from each other. Colorado has ex-cellent SAR instructors, let's showcasethose skills and personalities by offeringto teach. Let's hobnob with the otherstate’s and nation’s attendees and forge those long-term professional relation-ships that keep the SAR profession ontrack.

To help NASAR make the 2008 confer-ence the best it can be, I would like toappoint a CSRB-NASAR ConferenceCommittee liaison. If you know some-one that could superbly do this; let meknow so I can “cajole” them into the job.

The NASAR conference will not pre-clude or supersede SARCON’08 in July. Planning will begin shortly, lead bySARCON/SARMA Coordinator IanVowles of Mounted SAR in PagosaSprings. Ian is also looking for a smallsupport committee of sharp people toassist in 2008. He has it refined to asmooth-running event, but, as always,could use help. What a great way to get

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Special Points

Of Interest

Prez Thoughts

Training,

Training!

CSRB Meeting 1

President Article 1,4

News, Notes, and Stuff 2

CSRB Meeting Minutes 3

ITRS 4

MLSO Class 5,6

I-300 class 7

Calendar of Events 8

Inside this issue:

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Howard Paul [email protected] President/DJoe Ben Slivka [email protected] VP/DDan Remsburg [email protected] Sec/D/NewsletterBruce Fosdick [email protected] Treas/D/MCLeonard Ginther [email protected] D/MCLanny Grant [email protected] DTim Holden [email protected] D/MCGeorge Janson [email protected] D/MC

Mike McDonald [email protected] D

Ian Vowles [email protected] D

Glen Kraatz [email protected] D

Type 3 IMTThe CSRB has developed criteria to recognize individuals qualified to serve as a type 3 SAR Incident Com-mander, Plans Section Chief, Operations Section Chief, Logistics Section Chief or Communications UnitLeader. These are individuals that could be requested by CSRB coordinators to fill roles in mutual-aid inci-dents at the request of the local authority.

These criteria are being released now for comment, giving everyone the chance to make known their opinionof them, before they are implemented. They are available at: www.coloradosarboard.org. Send your com-ments to both the CSRB listserver and to the CSRB at: [email protected].

New IRS Guidelines

The IRS has changed some non-profit reporting requirements fornon-profit organization with yearends after 8/17/06. This covers allyear end reporters.

For those organizations that haveset up separate supporting organiza-tions under IRS Code section509(a)3 - the filing requirementshave changed significantly. Mostnon-profits probably report under509(a)1 or 509(a)2. The new report-ing thresholds for the Section509(a)3 are now $5,000 instead ofthe traditional $25,000.

For more information, I would sug-gest that you consult with your taxadvisor or go to www.irs.gov/eo andclick on New Annual Electronic Fil-ing Requirement.

Bruce Fosdick, CPA

Search and Rescue Imposter's AllegedFraud Case Comes to Light

A man named Scott Shields has been in-dicted this month for fraud, bilking gov-ernment relief agencies of at least $40,000to pay for rent in an upscale New YorkCity apartment after the WTC disaster.Readers may have heard about this man,who claimed that his dog Bear (a 12-year-old golden retriever, untrained and uncer-tified in search and rescue) made “the most live finds” at the World Trade Center when, in fact, no live finds were made byany dog. Several years later, he alsoclaimed that his current dog Theodore(also untrained, and with poor behaviorand no skills as witnessed by legitimatedog handlers) helped save 11,000 livesafter Hurricane Katrina.

This case is especially significant to thesearch and rescue community because ofthe false claims Shields has made regard-ing his and his dogs' search and rescuecredentials and heroic acts. He alsofounded a nonprofit organization called

Bear Search and Rescue Foundation toraise funds for search and rescue efforts,although records show that a mere 6% offunds raised have actually gone to a SARorganization.

Two excellent Web sites present compre-hensive information from reliable sourcesrevealing the falsehood of Mr. Shields'claims, as well as the fraudulent behaviorof a man who continues to tout erroneoussearch and rescue credentials and heroismand thereby defrauds the government andtakes advantage of unsuspecting individu-als.

For the complete history and the mostcurrent updates on this case, check out thelinks below.

http://www.scottshieldsfraud.co.uk/

http://landofpuregold.com/truthiness.htm

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CSRB Meeting Minutes05 May 2007

Alpine Rescue

Meeting Called to Order at 1213.Introduction of all persons present.

RESOURCESSARDOC has 3 dogs in testing.State coordinators–There was a coordinator meetingThursday night. Some changes were made to the resourceslist. There is now a Chinook full time at Eagle for training.A handout was given out by Barry which was covered par-tially, particularly 3d and the last item. Due to safety is-sues, ARP may require an adult member to be with theteam whenever deployed.

STANDARDSASTM met at the end of the NASAR conference. FEMAand ASTM are going back through the SAR credentialingand doing it right.The CO Resource Mobilization Working Group is sort ofon hold. ROSS is funded by DHS grants. A conflict be-tween state and federal funding from grants may exist.ROSS still is not up to where it needs to be. The NatioanlGuard is typing everything and it differs from federal typ-ing. The Public Works folks will start typing snocats.Federal responder credentialing system—work is beingdone and forwarded for comment including a glossary ofterms so everyone is on the same page. Four types of SAR:Air, Maritime, Urban, Land.CSRB IM single resource—The coordinator group does notcare for the last page of the document. They wan tto han-dle these requirements with training, mentoring, and per-formance based review. We need to work on the experi-ence block of the credentialing.

TRAININGSARCON is still going to happen in July in Gunnison.Stay tuned!MLSO—El Paso is being decided upon. Alpine is inter-ested for next year. If teams are interested, they need toplan now even if 2-3 years out. The new text is out.

MRADeveloped a marketing committee. One new officer is in.Legislation has been started for a national SAR week and amemorial. Grants are being sought to raise $100k in seedmoney.

SAR FUNDAll apps are in and funds to be dispersed mid-August.Must be careful to spend only what you asked for. FAQson the DOLA website are being reviewed. They areclamping down on the requests and reviewing tighter. Mis-

sions MUST support your request. PSAs to support COR-SAR cards are being worked on.

NASARMike and Howard attended the conference. There wereless than 300 there with various vendors and 6 tracks.Only 12 states have a paid state SAR coordinator. A lot ofside meetings were held. Conference to be in ColoradoSprings in 2008. We need to help make the conference bet-ter than ever and bring in more folks with interesting ven-ues. A straw poll was held to determine whether to pay forboth member’s attendance which passed. Howard has been nominated to a NASAR board position.

PR/External AffairsAn e-mail printout from George Janson was given out fromhis attendance at CSOC. A language discussion was heldbetween “charging for SAR” and “restitution for a crime”. Howard will follow up w/CSOC on this issue.Joe Ben Slivka did two radio interviews and two phoneinterviews, and on camera referred to the EPCSAR PIO.Discussion on the CSRB press release and why it was sent.It can be a buffer to insulate the local teams in dealing withtheir local government. CSRB needs to act as the spokes-man for the profession in CO. There was a lengthy discus-sion on CSRB’s position with FD/CSOC. Not all local teams have the capability to be more capable than the localFD.Dawn Alperti presented the proposal to have a nationalSAR week, focused on children, tailored for Colorado.Routt is willing to take it on. Have legislative contacts butneed teams to get on board. Propose going into schools,Scouts, etc. to raise public awareness. Similar to Fire Pre-vention Week. Tie in with the national concept to coin-cide.

COMMUNICATIONSThe new interagency naming is out so JB will be sending anew list out of common nomenclatures. National Law willbe going to narrow band in 2007. All BLM and FS is NBalready. JB is reviewing the licensing of SAR teamsaround the state. The statewide resource for infrastructurebuild for incidents will conconsist of 52 folks for all bands.

OTHERAll Hazard—Common credentialing system includes back-ground check and biometric info w/skills, etc.CSRB Survey—Send it in if you have not done so yet.Workers comp—question raised on whether it is rosterbased or numbers based.

Respectfully SubmittedDan Remsburg

CSRB Secretary

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to know your colleagues from across the state!

Next, at the July meeting we discussed at length “Who should perform SAR” in Colorado. This came about after the very-well publicized rescue near Golden afterwhich the responding non-SAR agency reportedlybilled the patient (who suffered an ankle injury andrequired a short evac) $5,000.

The CSRB was very vocal about the mission, decry-ing the entire concept of billing SAR subjects for SARoperations. Our policy statement of 1987, opposingthe practice, was the keystone that allowed the profes-sion to comment without interjecting the CSRB intolocal, mission-specific, politics. We overtly chose tolimit our comments to the public, through the newsmedia, to the issue of billing.

At the July meeting, the CSRB agreed that in the caseof discussing “who is the appropriate emergency ser-vice unit to perform SAR”, a similar position state-

ment is necessary to prevent interjecting the CSRBinto local, mission-specific, politics. It will be usefulin 2010 and 2020 to be able to hold one up and pro-claim, “We have been on record on this since 2007!” I have begun drafting such a policy for presentation tothe CSRB and Board of Directors later this year forextensive discussion. Your perspective is important,so please send to me what you think:[email protected].

Last, I will not run for reelection to the 2008 CSRBBoard of Directors (and subsequent election for presi-dent). I decided this last December. I hope my now 3-1/2 years in those roles have been productive, positiveand progressive. I intend to stay active in many areas;but it’s time for new CSRB leadership to take the helm. Begin now to think about who that new leadershould be.

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ITRS

The International Technical Rescue Symposium (ITRS) issoliciting presentation proposals for the 2007 Program.Gathering persons from across the spectrum of rescue dis-ciplines to share news and views on advances in equipmentand techniques, technical problems and issues of mutualconcern, this event is of interest to technical rigging andrescue professionals from all walks.

The SymposiumPresented jointly by Pigeon Mountain Industries (PMI), Incand CMC Rescue, Inc ITRS 2007 will be held November2-4, 2007 at the Marriott Denver West, Golden, CO

The Technical Rescue Symposium brings together a widevariety of people involved in rescue, including those inmountain rescue, law enforcement, military, park service,water rescue, outdoor recreation, fire service and rescuesquads, along with equipment manufacturers and distribu-tors.

ITRS 2007 is jointly sponsored by the Mountain RescueAssociation, Fire-Rescue Magazine, National Associationfor Search & Rescue, Society of Professional Rope AccessTechnicians, and the National Cave Rescue Commission ofthe National Speleological Society. Registration informa-tion may be found at www.pmirope.com/

From Theoretical Presentations...to those with PracticalApplications

Controversial IssuesNew EquipmentNew Developments in Gear TechnologyResearch and Testing ResultsTechnique and Systems discussionsMedical Considerations in RescueAnalysis of High Angle AccidentsDevelopments in Helicopter RescueEquipment Standards

ITRS 2007 PRESENTATION AWARDS

To encourage and reward excellence in presentation, theco-hosts have inaugurated a "presenter award" program.The program is looking to award and acknowledge presen-tations which reflect excellence in: facts and data (ratherthan opinion or conclusion); choice of topic (applicable tofield work); and state of the art technical rescue. After thefinal presentation, the attendees will vote on the presenta-tions based on seven categories; one award going to eachcategory. Each winner will receive a $ 200.00 honorarium.

Limited Enrollment:In order to encourage the informal free flow of informationinvolving all participants, Enrollment has been limited to150 persons. If necessary, a waiting list will be con-structed.

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Three seats have opened due to withdrawals.State funded I-300 Course, September 8, 9 and 15

I-300: Intermediate ICS8:00 AM, September 8, 9 and 15

Alpine Rescue Team, Evergreen exit of I-70

This $250 course is Colorado Division of Fire Safety funded -- no charge to students.

I-300 is for everyone serving as command staff, section chiefs, strike team and task force leaders, unit (crew, field team) leaders,division/group supervisors, branch directors and multi-agency coordination system/emergency operations center staff. The courseincludes:

* ICS Staffing and organization, including reporting and working relationships and information flow.

* Transfer of Command

* Unified Command functions in a multi-jurisdictional or multi-agency incident

* ICS forms

* Resource Management

* Interagency mission planning and procurement

Multiple-discipline tabletop exercises are an important and substantial portion of this interactive class. Prerequisite is I-200.

I-300 is now a requirement of many organizations, incident management teams and Agencies Having Jurisdiction (AHJ):

It will likely be a prerequisite for CSRB Type 3 -Single Resources (IC, PSC, OSC, LSC).Prerequisite for Colorado type 3 IMT's command and general staff.Requirement for middle management ICS (T/F LDRS, S/T LDRS, DIV/GRP SUPVR, BRANCH DIR.) and command and gen-

eral staff, by September 30, 2007 to comply with FEMA training requirements. Your agency may have to comply with this re-quirement to receive state, federal or federal-to-state funds.

Seating is limited to 30 persons, from a cross section of emergency re-sponse disciplines.

Registration is by e-mail only. A waiting list will be established.

To register, send the following to Howard Paul, at [email protected]:

Name, Agency, Title, Address, Day telephone, Night telephone, E-mail address

Directions:

Eastbound—take exit 251, Westbound—take exit 252 off of I-70:Across US 40 from and north of El Rancho resteraunt.; west, across Hwy 74, from McDonalds & WalMart;On Rainbow Hill Rd immediately North of US 40.Next to Foothills FPD Station

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PMB 424, 7645 North Union BlvdColorado aSprings, CO 80920

Remember to send newsletter articles to: “[email protected]”. Mail to: Dan Remsburg, 1913 County Road 782, Woodland Park, CO 80863. Do you have a great SAR photo? Any photos submitted can be scanned

and returned.

Upcoming Calendar of Events

CSRB Meeting 9/1 ART

I-300 9/8, 9, 15 ART

MLSO 10/20, 21, 27, 28 EPSAR

ITRS 11/2-4 Golden, CO

CSRB Meeting 11/3 TBD