CASART News

On this page:
Waterville Search report (1st news item below)
Jan. 08 Newsletter
10/7/07 - Mock Search Report
Utilizing the internet during CASART activations
August 07 - CASART Newsletter Highlights
12/18/06 - Press Release: SEARCH AND RESCUE TEAM LOOKING FOR NEW MEMBERS
Personal income tax credits for volunteer firefighters apply to SAR volunteers

Waterville Search report

CASART was activated for a search and rescue operation in the vicinity of the Village of Waterville in Oneida County on Sunday 01/06/08 by the NYSFEDSAR. The subject, a 47 year old man, was last seen on 12/31/07 at 9:00pm. He was reported missing on Wednesday 01/02/08 at 2:30pm. He left a note at home, dated Tuesday 01/01/08, saying he was going coyote hunting and walked from home. It snowed about six (6) inches on 01/01/08. His family reported he was dressed for the sub zero weather carrying a pack, 7mm rifle and snow shoes. State Police and Rangers started the search on Wednesday afternoon. Temperature was -10 F Wednesday evening and the ground was snow covered. The Incident Command Post (ICP) was set up at the Waterville Fire Station on Rt.12.
Fifteen (15) CASART members reported to the ICP at 8:00a.m on Sunday 01/06/08, Bryan Davies, Ron Dearlove, Todd Golem, Tom Grenier, Bruce Knudson, Michael Krumme, Amanda McGill, Jim Murphy, Greg O’Hara, Roy Reehil, Kevin Stimson, Tom Stimson, Charles Taylor, Eileen Tobin and Don Unsworth. Crews were formed mixing local volunteers with CASART personnel and Type II searches were run all day with no clues uncovered.
The search continued on Monday 01/07/08 at 8:00am with five (5) CASART members, Ron Dearlove, Jim Murphy, Charles Taylor, Eileen Tobin and Rob Winter. Type II searches were run in the Tassel Hill State Forest with no clues uncovered.
The search had been suspended, but was reactivated on Saturday 01/12/08 because much of the snow had melted and it was thought clues might be uncovered. One (1) CASART member Ron Dearlove and two volunteers searched previously snow drifted field edges. Approximately 65 searchers were out on Saturday. No clues were found, no new leads were uncovered and the search was suspended.
Weather was clear to cloudy all three days, with temperatures in the high 30’s. The terrain went from gentle with rolling hills to rugged and had a mix of open fields and woods to dense woods and included some residential areas. Some swamp land was encountered along with ponds, a beaver pond and a stream.

Jan. 08 Newsletter Highlights

It is tax time and CASART Field & Administrative members who are in good standing (2008 dues paid) can take advantage of a NYS Tax Law that is now in effect that allows Search and Rescue volunteers to claim a $200 (1 person) or $400 (2 people) tax credit on their 2007 NYS Income Tax Return using Form IT-245. Check with your accountant for details. Local property tax exemptions may also be in effect in your town. Check with your local assessors office to see if they are aware of any such tax credits and if so, how they can be applied to you (equivalent to volunteer fire dept. personnel. If anyone gets more information on this we'll post the findings here.

As a reminder to those who have not yet paid their 2008 $10.00 dues, they are due and payable now to CASART at P.O. Box 143, Inlet, NY 13360. THANKS

Also, please review the CASART Rosters that were emailed to you and send in any corrections and additions so we can keep the Rosters and Callout Lists up to date and accurate. We missed a few member contacts on the last search activation. Sorry!

We received a letter from the Internal Revenue Service, dated January 19, 2008 stating that “…you will continue to be classified as an organization exempt from Federal income tax under section 501(c)(3) of the Code.”. This determination was based on the information we were required to file at the end of our five year advance ruling period granting CASART temporary Public Charity Status. This is great news. YEA!

NEW - The trailer will be set up next to the Ole Barn on the Lime Kiln Lake Rd. for the Dog Sled Races Saturday & Sunday February 23 & 24, 2008. We are looking for members to volunteer to man the trailer in two hour shifts from 8:00a.m. through 4:00p.m. Please contact Greg O’Hara at 315-357-4381 or at araho@frontiernet.net to sign up. For those who can help out, this will provide an opportunity to practice Trailer set-up, Radio Operation, Computer & Printer Operation, Map Creation & Map Reading, GPS download to Computer, Radio Frequency Programming, Equipment Sign-Out & Sign-In and NYSFEDSAR Report preparation during the day on Saturday and Sunday. This is especially important for Administrative Members, but everyone is welcome to come.
ALSO, we have been asked if CASART members would volunteer to man gates at intersections along the dog sled race course in two hour shifts from 8:00am to 4:00pm Saturday and Sunday. If you can help out, please contact the Inlet Information Office at 315-357-5501 or at inletny@eagle.wireless.com to sign up for a time slot. This might be fun but a little cold.

PLEASE MARK YOUR CALENDARS:
Here's the CASART - Preliminary Training Schedule for 2008

Oct. 6, 2007, Mock Search Report

About 16 CASART members turned out for Saturday's Mock Search at Fern Park, first reviewing all aspects of setting up the trailer, generator and computer, and then implementing a sign-in and distribution of equipment; packs, radios, GPS, and team vests. Paul Littman provided a realistic pre-assignment briefing before the members were broken up into 3 teams to perform Type I, Type II and Type III search assignments. At the conclusion of the search assignments our subject, a young man who volunteered to help out, was found on the last type III grid search. Several members retrieved the stokes litter and a training session was held afield to review patient care, packaging & transport. Three members who are EMTs participated in the training and fielded questions. A round table debriefing was held to review the teams performance and the lessons learned from the day. We encourage all members to attend future mock searches as they are the best way for inexperienced team members to learn about and drill for the real thing and for experienced members to hone their skills and share their knowledge.

Utilizing the internet during CASART activations: The board decided to test the use of the CASART web site as a clearing house for information and to employ email during team activations. Implementation: At the time of an activation, the webmaster will be high on the callout list. As soon as is possible, the webmaster will post all of the relevant dispatch information on the member area* of the web site. This will include meeting locations and times of departure, command post or staging locations, directions and phone numbers when possible, and as much information about the victim(s) as is available. Maps of both directions to the command center and when possible, topo maps of the search location will be available for download or printing out on your printer at home. Once the information is on the web site the webmaster will send a broadcast email to active CASART members to announce the activation and the availability of the relevant search information. This will be in addition to CASART Dispatchers calling active members. Members who intend to respond to the search must still call dispatch to confirm that they will attend the search. The hope is that by not having to provide as much information over the phone that dispatchers will be able to reach more members quicker and that members with internet access will get more information than can be related over the phone quickly, thus freeing up the phone lines for members returning calls to dispatch to confirm their ability to attend the search.

*The Member Area is password protected. If you do not have a username and password set up yet please email from the email address that you have on file with CASART with your name and password request. You must be a member in good standing (membership dues up to date) in order to get an account.

New Ranger in the Region: Ranger Jason Scott is the new ranger in Region five. He is very interested in getting to know the team and the board will be working with him to set up a Basic Wildland Search Skills (BWSS) certification course for our new members ASAP.

CASART NEWSLETTER AUGUST 2007 HIGHLIGHTS

RECENT ACTIVITIES:

We were activated for three searches so far this year as follows:

· Eighteenth activation 05/17/07 – Simmons, 87 year old male, Search & Rescue, DeKalb Junction, NY, St. Lawrence County, 4 members searched one (1) morning, subject found deceased from hypothermia.

· A continuation of our fifteenth activation on 05/19/07 – Coloney, 45 year old male, Search & Rescue Moose River Plains, NY, Hamilton County, 8 members searched one (1) day, subject not found.

· Nineteenth activation 06/06/07 – Libert, 57 year old female, Search & Rescue, Raquette Lake, NY, Hamilton County, 20 members searched for one day and 5 members searched for two days, subject found deceased from drowning.

About 15 CASART members attended a very interesting demonstration on the use of helicopters in search and rescue operations and in other emergency situations. This was conducted on the grounds of the Raquette Lake School in Raquette Lake, NY on Saturday July 14, 2007.

The CASART Board recently authorized the purchase of a Stokes litter, four pack frames and custom rigging to connect the pack frames to the Stokes litter. This augments the inventory of team equipment and is now ready for use in rescue operations when we locate a subject who is not ambulatory.

(UPDATE: The Stokes Litter and Pack Frames have been purchased.)

On Thursday August 2, 2007, a crew of three went into the Moose River Plains Recreation Area to scout out the search area and set up blocks for the drill; this was a missed opportunity for Field Members to get experience in advanced land navigation.

This was followed by the Drill on Saturday August 4, 2007 with 15 of our 83 members attending. The drill consisted of a full blown mock search with Type I, Type II and Type III searches. The trailer was deployed serving as the Incident Command Post (ICP) and Communications Center where crews signed in, vests and other equipment were issued, instruction on the trailer set up and equipment operation in the trailer was given, crews received a briefing on the incident and were given their assignments. A real live subject was located by one of the crews, was given first aid, packaged in a Stokes litter and transported out of the woods using our four new pack frames and rigging for the carry. At the end of the drill, participants expressed enthusiasm about the experience; unfortunately this was another missed opportunity for those who could not attend the drill. Suggestions for improvements in scheduling and notification of training and drills to make them more convenient for members to attend in the future should be sent to Ron Dearlove, Training committee chairman (password required to get his email and phone number. or email:

Three members represented CASART at the New York State Federation of Search & Rescue Teams meeting on Saturday August 18, 2007 in Clay, NY. After the meeting we finally got some special software downloaded into the CASART computer that will enable us to add and change frequencies programmed into our radios. We discovered on two previous search and rescue missions that the Forest Rangers were using a radio frequency we did not have pre-programmed into our radios, making them useless for communications, so if we encounter a problem again, this software will enable us to rectify the problem on site at future searches.

CASART PRESS RELEASE 12/18/06

SEARCH AND RESCUE TEAM LOOKING FOR NEW MEMBERS

The Central Adirondack Search And Rescue Team, Inc. (CASART) based in Inlet, NY, is looking to expand its membership. Experience is not required but dedication is.

CASART is a not-for-profit organization and its members are all volunteers. Training is free of charge to members and is provided by a variety of instructors, including experienced search and rescue volunteers and NYS Forest Rangers.

The mission of CASART is to provide a search and rescue team to assist and aid New York State (NYS) Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) Forest Rangers in search and rescue operations. The primary area that CASART covers includes Herkimer County, most of Hamilton County and southern St. Lawrence County, but we respond to emergencies throughout the Northeast as required.

Members will be expected to attend as many training sessions as possible and must become certified by the NYS Forest Rangers in Basic Wildland Search Skills. This is an opportune time to join CASART because the Forest Rangers will be conducting a Basic Wildland Search Skills certification class in Inlet, on Saturday and Sunday, January 20 and 21, 2007, a class that may only be offered once during 2007 in this region. Members will also be expected to participate in at least one Mock Search & Rescue Drill each year and CASART has scheduled three for 2007, in April, July and October.

CASART is not only looking for field members. Administrative members help with communications and logistics when CASART is activated and their contributions are vital to CASART’s performance. As with field members, training is also provided for administrative members at not charge. Team members must be at least 18 years old and pay a one time $15 initiation fee and $10 annual dues.

To find out more about the team or to get a membership application write to CASART at P.O. Box 143, Inlet, NY 13360, call us at 315-357-4381, visit our web site at www.casart.org, or send email to webmaster@casart.org.

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Note to Editors: Feel free to contact us for interviews or for further information. Thank you!