News Leader Article

The Springfield News Leader published an article on Christian County CERT.

Enjoy.

Outdoor Search and Rescue Class

March 13th
Classroom / Lecture 6PM to 10PM
Christian County Courthouse, 2nd floor courtroom

March 14th
Practical Part of the Class 8AM to 4PM
Busiek State Park, Highlandville
Complete instructions on attendance, dress and directions will be address in the lecture on Friday Night. Must attend both sessions

Instructor: Jon Trent, University of Mo Extension, Fire and Rescue Training Insitute Instructor

Lunch will be provided on Saturday.

MUST RSVP
Class size is limited!!
We will only accept the first 50 Students.
Call the EMA office to register: 417-581-2126

Christian County CERT Training at JRA

This weekend Christian County CERT conducted the first half of a CERT training at James River Assembly church. There were 46 participants and 6 different trainers.

We will meet next week for the second half of this class at Brickstone Ace Hardware in Ozark. With an exercise following at the old Ozark air field around 2 pm.

Our training was talked about on KY3 and KOLR 10 news.

February C.E.R.T. Training

C.E.R.T. training dates have been posted to the right menu. See the "Training" section for more information.

Ice Storm Preparation

The below link is for a press release issued by the office of Phil Amtower, Director of Christian County Emergency Management. Included are safety tips, preparation ideas and SEMA/FEMA information.

Ice Storm Press Release

Citizen Corps Meetings - 2009

January 13th
Topic: Disaster Psychology
Location: Ozark, Old Court House-2nd Floor
Time: 6:30 PM
Presenter: Steve Martin, Nixa Fire Department

February 10th
Topic: Suicide Bomber 2
Location: Ozark, Old Court House-2nd Floor
Time: 6:30 PM
Presenter: Brent Forgey, Nixa Police Department

March 13th and 14th
Topic: Search and Rescue Class
Location: To Be Announced
Presenter: John Trent, Nixa Fire Department

April 14th
Topic: Weather Spotters Class
Location: Nixa Community Center
Time: 6:30 PM
Presenter: Steve Runnels, National Weather Service

May 12th
Topic: Pandemic Influenza
Location: Ozark, Old Court House-2nd Floor
Time: 6:30 PM
Presenter: Karen Potter, Christian County Health Department

Flood Recovery Volunteers Needed

These are needs that have been identified by the Christian County Long Term Recovery Committee. All of these needs are from recent flooding. These people did not have insurance and did not receive any FEMA assistance. Anyone that may be able to assist with these needs, please let the EMA office know. 417.581.2126

• 945 sq feet of ceramic tile for family whose basement was flooded.
• Volunteer to replace flat stone retaining wall. (must be skilled).
• Volunteer to replace retaining wall. Approximately 15 feet of wall has been washed away. The family is in need of help with supplies of landscape timber, cinderblocks. The wall is now landscape timber, family does not care what product is used to replace wall. Needs whistle in driveway dug out, cleaned and repositioned
• Older couple needs help with replacing sheet rock in basement. Would like help installing and donations of sheet rock are needed.
• Need someone with trackhoe that would be willing to donate time to help a family, fill wire baskets with rock and place in river to stop erosion.

Thank you,
Phil Amtower, Director
Christian County Emergency Management

C.E.R.T. Training Exercise

On Saturday, November 1st, a large training exercise will commence for the newest C.E.R.T. team members. As usual, this will take place at our luxurious training facility at the airport in Ozark. We're expecting 50 participants, so much help will be needed.

Makeup will take place at 1230, with the exercise beginning at 1400. For those of you going out Trick or Treating as zombies on Friday night, feel free to leave your makeup on overnight.

C.C. C.E.R.T. Members - Train The Trainer Course.

Several of your Christian County C.E.R.T. team members are going through SEMA's Community Emergency Response Team Train The Trainer course in Springfield, MO this weekend. This 24 hour course over 3 days will prepare these folks to help train new C.E.R.T. teams

Pictured from left to right are: Lloyd Divine, Jeff Morrissey, Brent Hurt, Alan Suiter, Kristina Henson

This Train-the-Trainer will give them skills to train citizens in the community to perform essential life-saving functions while waiting for the professional responders to arrive following a disaster. Course topics include disaster fire suppression, disaster medical operations, light search and rescue, disaster psychology and team organization.

Final C.E.R.T. Training of 2008

The final C.E.R.T. training of 2008 will take place at the end of October and beginning of November. Please remember, you do not have to take the courses in order, so join in at any time. It will be held at James River Assembly of God on Oct 24, 25 and Nov 1. With an Exercise to follow at the Air Field in Ozark.

The schedule will be as follows:

Fri 10/24 Units 1 & 2 from 1800 hrs to 2130 hrs. Yes it’s military time, you should use it and write it when documenting Emergency Management Incidents. If you’re really confused just subtract 12.

Unit 2 is Fire Suppression so wear clothes that you can get dirty. No open toed footwear. Bring your own goggles if you have them.

Sat 10/25Units 6,7, & 8 + Health Dept P.O.D. PPT; if we get through those units early, we’ll start unit 3. The instructors are very respectful of your time and want to make good use of it while you’re there.

Sat Nov /1 We’ll be doing Units 3,4 & 5. at 0900 hrs. Lots of practicum’s, laying on the floor, moving wood, bandaging, victim transport etc. And then we’ll go to the air field in the early afternoon for a big exercise. I’ll need those from the Ozark First Baptist class to be at the air field with us for your exercise as well. It’s not required but it’s very helpful. Those from the Hope church class we need you for victims so please RSVP me and let me know if you can be there (airfield) around 1400 hrs.

James River Assembly will have snacks and drinks at the church for those taking this class as well as Lunch on both Saturday. This class is limited to 50 participants. If you have any Q’s You can call Phil at 0300 hrs, here’s his home number-….. Not really, that would be funny though. Email me with Q’s

Directions to the Air field are as Follows:

From Lambert's Restaurant, head West over Hwy 65 to the first left Rd, N.22^nd turn Left at the Rapid Roberts Gas station. Go south for 0.7 mi the drive way will be on your left, I’ll have a CERT sign out there. Park in the designated area and we’ll deploy you from there.

Everyone who has CERT gear, Helmets, vests, packs etc. bring them. We’re going to get a big picture for the National Cert Newsletter so trim your eye brows.

When this next class at James River Church is completed, we will have trained over 150 people in Region D since May 1^st of ’08. Thank you to all who made that possible.

Citizen's Corps Meeting Reminder

Citizen Corps

Meeting Reminder

We have a Special Guest Speaker for this meeting!!!

Presentation:

Prevention & Response to Suicide Bombing Incidents.

Participants will be trained in Defining the Suicide Bombing threat, Infrastructure Protection, Risk Management, Critical Asset Assessment, and several other topics.

October 14th

6:30PM

2nd Floor Courtroom

Courthouse on the Square

enter thru the east door

CERT Classes

We are having a blast in our trainings. Last Friday night we had our Fire Suppression Portion in the parking lot at Nixa First Assembly. It catches people's attention when you light fires after dark in the middle of town. Thank you to the Fire Fighters from Nixa who came out to help us. Thanks also to all who came and participated in both Fri night and Saturday's classes. Part two of Nixa Assembly's Class will be held on Sat October 18th at 900 Am.
We'll cover units 3, 4, & 5 which are Disaster Medical and Search and Rescue. If you're interested in these courses, come on by and check them out.

Our other Class will be in Ozark at the First Baptist Church 1400 Jackson St. Beginning @ 600 pm on Fri Sep 19th and again the following morning @ 900. We'll finish up on the following weekend, same times. Let me know If you can come to any or all of this training. Click on my name at the bottom and email me.

Thanks a bunch, Ed Hultgren Christian county CERT coordinator

C.E.R.T. Assistance - Red Cross Shelter

EDIT: As of 12:30 p.m. Sunday 8/31, CC C.E.R.T. is on stand down. The clients expected to arrive by plane are not expected now. Occupation of up to 100 is possible, limited to those who self-evacuated to this area. Thank you to all CC C.E.R.T. folks who came out to assist, and all of the other volunteers. If you would like to check on the need for C.E.R.T. assistance at the shelter, please contact the Red Cross at 417-832-9500. Please monitor amateur radio, e-mail and this site case C.E.R.T. is needed for anything else.

With the track of Hurricane Gustav still pushing over the gulf states, operations have started at The Red Cross. We are preparing for clients to arrive from the affected areas. The Red Cross has set up a shelter at Remington's. The address is 1655 West Republic Road, Springfield MO.

Christian County C.E.R.T. volunteers are needed to assist with shelter operations. Currently the shelter is ready to receive clients.

CC C.E.R.T. will remain in stand-by mode, however shelter assistance is needed. Some duties will be handled by those certified by the Red Cross in Shelter Operations, however, please keep in mind that clients may be here for an extended stay, and C.E.R.T. can assist with some duties without certification.

If you can help please contact the Red Cross at 417-832-9500. Please identify yourself as Christian County C.E.R.T. and bring your credentials with you to the shelter. If you have any questions, please contact Ed Hultgren on his cell phone (listed in e-mails he sends out).

If you would like to certify in Shelter Operations, there will be training on Tuesday. If interested, contact the Red Cross at the above phone number. The training is free and lasts approximately 6 hours.

Stay tuned to http://www.cccert.org and e-mail for further details.

CC C.E.R.T. Help Needed - Sun. 8/31/08

With the track of Hurricane Gustav still pushing over the gulf states, operations have started at The Red Cross. We are preparing for clients to arrive from the affected areas. The Red Cross has set up a shelter at Remington's. The address is 1655 West Republic Road, Springfield MO.

Christian County C.E.R.T. volunteers are needed at 10a.m. Sunday 8/31 to assist with setup. Currently the shelter is being prepared for 500-600 clients, with the anticipation that the area could receive up to 5000.

Once setup is complete, CC C.E.R.T. will remain in stand-by mode. The shelter is scheduled to open at noon on Sunday. Once occupied, shelter assistance will be handled by those certified by the Red Cross in Shelter Operations. However, please keep in mind that clients may be here for an extended stay, and C.E.R.T. should remain ready to assist if it is requested. There will be quite a bit to do should Hurricane Gustav reach maximum potential.

If you can help Sunday, please be at Remington's by 10 a.m. Sunday 8/31. Please identify yourself as Christian County C.E.R.T. If you have any questions, please contact Ed Hultgren on his cell phone (listed in e-mails he sends out).

Stay tuned to http://www.cccert.org and e-mail for further details.

CC C.E.R.T. Assistance Needed - Sat. 8/30/08

With the track of Hurricane Gustav still pushing over the gulf states, operations have started at The Red Cross. We are preparing for clients to arrive from the areas expected to be affected. The Red Cross is currently in the process of loading cots and blankets in a trailer to be delivered to a single shelter located at Remington's. The address is 1655 West Republic Road, Springfield MO.

Christian County C.E.R.T. volunteers are needed at 3p.m. today (Saturday 8/30) to set up the cots and the shelter. Currently the shelter is being prepared for 500-600 clients.

Once setup is complete, CC C.E.R.T. will remain in stand-by mode. The shelter is scheduled to open at noon on Sunday. The Red Cross currently has the manpower for shelter operations. However, please keep in mind that if a shelter is needed, clients may be here for an extended stay, and it's likely further assistance from Christian County C.E.R.T. will be requested.

If you can help today at 3pm, contact Perry at 417-839-3990. He is the lead volunteer coordinator for the shelter. Identify yourself as Christian County C.E.R.T. with Perry, and he will check you in as a volunteer so that you can assist at Remington's. This is mandatory for C.E.R.T. volunteers who will be assisting.

If you can, please give Ed Hultgren a call on his cell phone (listed in e-mails he sends out) and let him know you've checked in with Perry.

Stay tuned to http://www.cccert.org and e-mail for further details.

Local C.E.R.T. and Hurricane Gustav

Christian County EMA and our contacts at the Red Cross and Dept Homeland Security have contacted me and asked if I would pass the word to you so here’s the latest.

With TS Gustav heading toward the gulf states and looking like it will become a major Hurricane, Evacuation plans are being put into effect. Part of that plan includes the State of Missouri and specifically South Western MO.

The Springfield area including Christian co, may receive between 1000 and 5000 evacuees from the New Orleans area. They may start moving as soon as Saturday evening or Sunday. FEMA told us that we’ll have 12 hours notice to get ready. Most likely, if they come they will start showing up late Sunday and Monday.

CERT members, and those who’ve not yet been through the training, have expressed a desire to help in times of emergencies and I’d say this qualifies.

Because so many Red Cross people have been deployed to the Gulf, Our role as CERT members will be to assist in Shelter Operations and Logistics in this area.

What does this mean? If and or when these shelters are opened, they need to be manned 24 hrs a day. We need many of you to volunteer, if deployed, for some of these shifts.

We’ll know details later, this is a call to prepare for possible deployment in our area.

Other tasks that will need to be covered will be, helping in the Red Cross ware house in Springfield, Distribution and transportation of food, water, cots and other necessities to shelters etc. P/Us & Trailers

Please email me if you can help us, if we’re activated, to cover some of these needs. It will be part time because you’re still volunteers but we’ll need you if all these folks show up here. Please help me keep track of your hours if we’re Deployed. This helps the county out in a big way when all the paper work is being done through FEMA later.

I especially need Shelter Ops trained folks to let me know what they can do.

Thanks ahead of time for stepping up, Looking forward to hearing from you.

Ed Hultgren
Christian County CERT Coordinator

Click HERE to contact Ed.

First Responder Course

For those interested, we are putting together another First Responder Course. If you do not have a current CPR card, that is offered in a separate time frame, at the same place by the same trainers, thanks again Mae. I believe that the length of this free course is 40 hrs. and will be held at the ambulance barn in Ozark, east on 14 towards Sparta about 1 mile on the right behind the funeral home- no connection.

Normally it’s done on Tue and Thur evenings from 6 till 10. Included are things like, basic anatomy, oxygen bottle use, circulatory system, trauma of various kinds, emergency medicine, etc.

You must have CERT training before you can take this course. During this course, you will see how CERT training built a foundation for First Responder course. First Responder course is much more involved than CERT and is all medical, no repelling from helicopters, no chainsaws, no fire suppression- that I can remember. Please let me know if you are interested and we’ll set one up for late Oct or early Nov.

September C.E.R.T. Training - Ozark, MO

There is a C.E.R.T. training coming up in September in Ozark, MO. This will take place at the Ozark First Baptist Church at 1400 West Jackson St. Here is the schedule:

Sept 19 Fri:
6pm - 9pm Unit 1

Sept 20 Sat:
9 - 1130 Unit 2
1130 – 1230 Lunch
1230 - 215 Unit 6
300 – 400 Unit 7

Sept 26 Fri:
600 – 900 Unit 8

Sept 27 Sat:
9 - 1130 Unit 3
1130 – 1230 Lunch
1230 – 300 Unit 4
300 – 530 Unit 5

Contact Ed Hultgren for any questions or to sign up for this training.

Train The Trainer Course - October 2008

For all of those interested in becoming a CERT trainer, please check out this web site and register. If that’s too much just put in FY2008 Training schedule and go to Oct 26 click on it, read it and REGISTER! It’s right here in Springfield. We need more trainers! The class size is usually limited to around 30 so hurry. There are more and more folks wanting to take the CERT course and we’ll have to turn some away soon.

Thank you so much.

Advanced C.E.R.T. Levels

CERT Level	Hours	Course	Total Hours
I (Basic)	20.0	Initial CERT Course (Sessions 1 through 8)	20.0
II (Intermediate)	20.0	Initial CERT Course (Sessions 1 through 8)	32.0
	3.0	Introduction To Disaster Services (Course #3066) - American Red Cross
	3.0	Mass Care (Course #3068-1) - American Red Cross
	6.0	Shelter Operations (Course #3068-11) & Shelter Simulation (Course #3068-12) - American Red Cross
III (Advanced)	20.0	Initial CERT Course (Sessions 1 through 8)	72.0
	3.0	Introduction To Disaster Services (Course #3066) - American Red Cross
	3.0	Mass Care (Course #3068-1) - American Red Cross
	6.0	Shelter Operations (Course #3068-11) & Shelter Simulation (Course #3068-12) - American Red Cross
	40.0	First Responder Division of Fire Safety