Newspaper Page Text
THURSDAY. APRIL 8. 2021 PICKENS COUNTY PROGRESS PAGE 3B
“This is a drill”
Ham operators and supporters
conduct countywide emergency test
By Richard A. Hillstead
Pickens County ARES
On April 3, Pickens
County Amateur Radio
Emergency Services in con
cert with facilities and agen
cies in neighboring counties
conducted a countywide
training exercise utilizing
trained Amateur Radio Oper
ators at multiple locations.
This Simulated Emer
gency Training (SET) exer
cise assumed a widespread
weather emergency which
knocked out all normal com
munication channels includ
ing cell phones and internet.
Amateur Radio Emergency
Services (ARES) were de
ployed to predetermined lo
cations per the disaster
response plan of Pickens
County ARES.
The most important pri
mary goal of this exercise
was to prove our capability to
pass radio messages (known
as traffic) between hospital
locations in Pickens and Fan
nin counties during a wide
spread major emergency
situation.
More specifically, be
tween the Piedmont Moun
tainside Hospital in Jasper
and the Fannin County Hos
pital in Blue Ridge. The sec
ond primary goal was to test
our ability to muster and de
ploy trained communication
teams composed of Amateur
Radio operators to strategic
locations throughout Pickens
county to create a network of
functional radio stations ca
pable of passing traffic to
first responder and support
facilities not only in Pickens
county, but also neighboring
counties.
These facilities included
Fire Stations, Red Cross
Shelters, Sheriff’s Office,
Hospitals, Emergency Oper
ations Center, and our Com
mand Center at Cornerstone
Church on Camp Road, (see
attached documents for de
tails) Due to the fact that the
exercise was designed to
simulate actual emergency
conditions, most of the loca
Rick Hillstead monitoring traffic as part of a team offive inside the mobile command
unit parked at the Piedmont Mountainside Hospital. Due to the potential infection dangers
associated with placing volunteers in the hospital during the pandemic, we chose to operate
this training exercise from the mobile communication unit.
Typical ARES operator vehicle. All volunteer teams deployed in their personal vehicles
using their own equipment on the countywide test that simulated a massive weather emer
gency that had knocked out all other forms of communication.
tions operated on emergency
power including generators
and batteries.
Staffing these locations
required deploying approxi
mately 40 of our Pickens
County Amateur Radio
Emergency Services (ARES)
operators as well as support
ing members of our affiliate
organization, the Jasper
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Radio Club (JRC).
Additionally, Gilmer and
Gordon counties sent 4 teams
each to participate on the air.
Officials from the Georgia
State level of ARES were on
hand to help critique the
structure and effectiveness of
the exercise.
Multiple modes of radio
communication were used in
cluding the utilization of
fixed location repeaters atop
towers located mostly on
mountains such as
Oglethorpe.
These repeaters greatly in
crease the footprint of cover
age and allow even a
handheld radio to communi
cate with stations throughout
the North Georgia region.
Radio bands utilized in
cluded 2 meters, 6 meters,
220 MHz, 440 MHz, and
900MHz as well as the Win-
link Global Radio Email
Link.
It should be noted that all
of these volunteer teams de
ployed in their personal vehi
cles and passed traffic using
their own equipment. They
should be recognized for
their commitment and dedi
cation to training and their
willingness to step up when a
widescale emergency does
occur and respond profes
sionally and effectively to
that emergency.
Like many other public
service organizations, Pick
ens County ARES is happy to
be inching its way back to a
more normal state of opera
tions. We are eager to con
tinue honing our skills and
recruiting new members who
have a desire to volunteer and
would like to become effec
tive responders in emergency
situations requiring radio
communication support.
Our monthly meetings are
the second Thursday each
month at Cornerstone Church
on Camp Road and are open
to the public, bearing in mind
that we do adhere to wearing
face masks and social dis
tancing at this time.
If you are already a li
censed HAM and would like
to put your skills to use as a
deployable ARES operator or
just want to come hang out
with others who share your
interest in radio, please con
tact us or come to one of our
monthly meetings. If you are
interested in becoming a li
censed Amateur Radio Oper
ator, we would like to help
you get there through training
and mentoring by dedicated
members of our Jasper Radio
Club and Pickens ARES, or
ganizations.
The Sheriff’s
Beat
From the Pickens
Sheriff’s Office
During this past week, the Pickens Sheriff’s Office responded
to or initiated 1,204 calls for service. These numbers are
taken from the report provided directly from the 911 Center
where all calls are logged as they are performed. Below is a
breakdown of all dispatched calls by the call type for each in-
cident.
Accidents 15
Suicide Threats / Attempts 3
Domestics 14
Theft / Burglary Related 11
Forgery / Fraud 3
Traffic Stops 67
Citations Issued 10
Animal Investigations 10
Suspicious Persons/Activity 14
Alarm Calls 8
Stranded Motorists 7
Street Hazards 7
Vandalism 3
Abandoned Vehicles 2
Extra Patrol - neighborhoods, businesses, residences 796.
In addition to these, other calls include search warrants, civil
service, 911 hang-up calls, assaults, disorderly persons, miss
ing persons, assistance with medical calls, natural death in
vestigations, demented persons, funeral escorts, harassment,
trespassing, and many more.
Breakdown of Charges for those Arrested:
12 individuals were booked into the Adult Detention Center
on charges from the Pickens Sheriff’s Office. Out of these,
the following charges were taken by PSO deputies (note:
some individuals have multiple charges):
Unlawful Conduct During 911 Call
1
Driving on the Wrong Side of the Roadway
1
Arson
1
Insurance Fraud
1
Carrying without a License
1
Bond Violation
2
Public Drunk
1
Battery
1
Failure to Appear
1
Obstruction of Law Enforcement
1
DUI-Alcohol
1
Failure to Maintain Lane
2
Possession of a Controlled Substance
4
Possession of Drug Related Object
1
Drive with Suspended License
1
Probation Violation
1
In addition to the above
activity from the Uniform
Patrol Division, Court
Service Deputies reported
the following statistics for
the past week:
Persons Scanned at
Front Door: 594
Weapons Found: 1
Courts Held: 6
Arrest Made in the
Courthouse: 0
Civil Papers Received : 28
Civil Papers Served: 6
In the Adult Detention
Center:
Total Jail population: 72
Total male inmates: 57
Total female inmates: 15
Sex Offenders:
There are currently 68 sex
offenders registered with
the Pickens Sheriff’s Office.
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& CARLILE, PC
Criminal Defense I Family Law
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