SAR Coordinates - September 2002
SAR
COORDINATES
September 2002
TONTO RIM SEARCH AND RESCUE SQUAD
P.O. BOX 357
STRAWBERRY AZ 85544
A self-supporting not-for-profit group of volunteer citizens
dedicated to improving safety in the Arizona wilderness.
Operating under the authority of the Gila County Sheriff's Office
John Armer; Sheriff
Commander’s Corner
August is about over as I write this for the
Newsletter. It was a pretty good month personally as Janet and I
celebrated 37 good years of marriage on the 21st. The
nights have cooled down and the mornings are very conducive to
hiking. Maybe I’ll get back in shape for a long search by the time
one comes up.
Now that the forest is open, the pace of
training has picked up although the attendance at the tracking class
on the 24th was disappointing. Tonto Rim was well
represented (17 members responded) at the mission for the lost biker
youth in Coconino County. Coco Deputy Kevin Jacobson, Division A
Supervisor on that search, complimented our group on our discipline
and techniques and felt that our assigned area was covered better
than he expected! We nearly had a call-out for a lost 67 YOM in
Round Valley, but Sgt. Hudgens found the subject (code 666) before I
could get the page out. A call for a carry-out of a 14 YOM at Tonto
Bridge was easy as the PSFD personnel decided to walk him out.
September is upon us and we can expect more
training opportunities as the weather is cooling down and folks are
not traveling as much. I hope the attendance at the training
exercises improves. As a Search and Rescue Squad, we are only as
good as we are trained to be. If there is some training that you as
a member feel would be beneficial to the Squad, please let Les or
any Board Member know; if we can’t provide it from within the Squad,
we have access to many outside sources. SAR City is on Oct. 11,12,13
this year and is a full weekend of training in many areas of SAR. I
urge each of you to visit their website at
www.bcconline.com/sarcity for course descriptions and
registration form.
Jim
Don’t
forget; the meetings this month are Sept. 10th for the Board
and Sept. 12th for
the General Meeting.
Leaders and Legends in SAR
Jane Boyles
DARYL SCHENDEL, Coordinator
Desert Search Unit
San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department
Barstow, California
I first met Daryl at SARCITY at Barstow College
twelve years ago. He has been the coordinator for SARCITY for many
years. SARCITY is the largest training school for SEARCH and RESCUE
on the west coast.
Daryl is the most organized man I have ever met.
He will tell you it is because he has a good team. Like all search
and rescue work it is true that everyone needs to be trained,
organized and willing to serve. His unit ranges across the barren
desert. One would think there would be no reason for a search as no
one in their right mind would venture out there. But they do. There
are also mountains and lakes to attract people from the city. Some
of the biggest problems in that search area are drug labs and large
RAVE parties.
My purpose for spending time interviewing Daryl
was to bring back information to Arizona on the creation of a
SARCITY-like training here in the state. This turned out to be an
all day adventure as we checked on all the functions going on. There
was a helo demonstration, a man tracking class, mounted training and
a rope rescue class. There were over 600 people in attendance that
year from several states and Canada. Every classroom at the college
was filled with classes ranging from clandestine drug labs to bone
identification. I was totally impressed with the quality of the
instructors as we talked with each one. Several of them have taught
classes at SARCITY for years and I have sat in those classes. The
deputies of San Bernardino County are a top rate class. They
instruct incident command, tracking, desert survival, canine and
other factions of search and rescue.
Daryl starts his planning in October for the next
year. It is run just like any other organized incident command
operation. The professionalism of this group will impress any one
who attends. Believe it or not, this is their only fund raiser. He
would not divulge the amount raised each year, but they operate
quite well on the amount. The cost is cheap for what you get. You
don’t have to stay in a high priced motel. Camping is provided.
Meals are included. Snacks are available. There is time for just
hanging out and visiting. Most classes are offered more than once so
you can schedule in the special ones you’d like to take. So go and
learn and enjoy and meet the leaders from the west. It will be worth
your time and say “HI” to Daryl.
SGT. TERRY HUDGENS
SAR COORDINATOR
NORTHERN GILA COUNTY
Most of Terry's adult life has been spent in law
enforcement. Certainly not a boring one, as he was part of a bomb
squad in the valley. He has been Search and Rescue Coordinator for
many years. Quiet and unassuming, Sgt. Hudgens is as reliable as
the Rock. His endurance would put many of the “young lions” to
shame. After working all day at regular duty, he would often be up
all night directing a search.
There is no mistaking the quiet Arkansas accent
on the radio. You know who he is even when they change the radio
identification numbers! Terry is an avid outdoorsman and strong
hiker. He would rather be hiking the back country looking for the
lost subject then orchestrating the Incident Command System. He
gets so excited about a new piece of equipment. I remember one
all-night incident down at Cypress Thicket when the GPS had just
been made available to civilians. Of course Terry had the newest
one out and I got my first lesson in trail waypoint markings. It
was probably 2 AM and that has never been my most alert time of day
or night. Terry loves to teach.
One of the most exciting things about working
with Terry was resource procurement. If we needed something small
to make things work, it was usually in the back of his patrol
Blazer. If it was big, he knew where it could be located and we had
it in short order.
Well, Terry feels he should retire now. I
thought retirement meant you no longer worked at your regular job.
Well, that is only half true as Terry Hudgens will continue on with
Gila County as Search and Rescue Coordinator. For that we all can
be thankful.
And thanks to Mrs. Hudgens for sharing her very
civic minded husband with the rest of the world. Terry goes out of
active patrol duty with a bang as the area struggles with the worst
fire season ever and he is right in the middle of the action
supplying knowledge and direction to his volunteers.
Guest Profile
By
Dave Pirtle
Sgt. Terry
Hudgens 3038
Terry was born in Waldo Arkansas where he lived
for 24 years. He headed for Arizona after taking a two-week
vacation in Phoenix. Terry took a job with the Phoenix Police
Department as a Patrol Officer. After 4 years he moved into
Selective Enforcement doing stakeouts in high crime areas. Terry
then left the Police Force for 5 months to tour Europe on a
motorcycle. When he returned to Phoenix he started up again with
the Police Force in Motors. (Motorcycle Patrol) In 1970 Terry
became a Detective where he eventually ended up in the Bomb Squad
where he stayed until Retirement December 31st of 1981.
Terry and Retha married in 1969 and have two
children. After retirement from the Phoenix Police Force they
traveled for a year and settled down in Payson where Terry’s wife
has family.
Terry started with the Gila County Sheriffs
office in Sept. of ’86 where he again retired in Sept. of 2002.
Among other things, Terry is very well known for his abilities as
Search and Rescue Coordinator. He has led MANY search and rescue
efforts in Gila County and through out the State during his tour of
duty with the Sheriffs office.
When Terry has spare time he enjoys custom
building knives, camping, hiking, and is a HAM Radio operator.
(WB7ERO) Retirement should offer time to travel and get more
involved with Photography.
The Sheriffs Office will continue to utilize
Terry’s skills on a part time basis to lead Tonto Rim Search and
Rescue on future missions. Tonto Rim is certainly looking forward
to this. See you on the Trail Terry.
Database
What Is Happening with the SAR
Mapping Database?
Since the release of the SAR database to any squad member, there
have been many additions to the system -- mainly in the mapping
area.
The location finding option allows any user to find locations in the
north part of Gila county. If the callout page says to "report to
command center 1 mile in on FR 29 road", you can look up "FR 29" in
the list of keywords. It will tell you that access is from the
Control Road, will give the mileages from both SH 260 and SH 87
intersections with the Control Road, and allow you to look at (and
print) overview and detail maps of the intersection. The system
will get you to the intersection -- it is your job to navigate from
that point to the command center.
The current system lists keywords in different categories: road
junctions, ranches, communities, camping and recreational areas,
trail heads, etc. There are currently over 550 keywords in the
system with corresponding location maps. New information and
keywords are being added as users let me know of locations and names
that should be included.
The system is also being used by the GCSO and has been placed on a
number of laptop computers being used by deputies. It is also
installed in dispatch.
There are now plans underway to add the remainder of the county. I
met with the Globe area SAR coordinator last week and found out that
most of the info has already been gathered and is available in
computer files. This info will be added to the mapping system as it
is verified by our "south county" counterparts. In a few months (if
all goes well) we will have the entire Gila County in the mapping
system. If we get a callout to the south county area, we will be
able to get the necessary location details before we leave Payson.
This system is not meant to replace any mapping programs used on
site at searches -- it is meant to give you the necessary
information on how to get to command post without getting lost.
There are no UTM or Lat/Long coordinates noted in the system (this
is still under review as a possible future addition).
If you have a Windows computer system, you can get the mapping
system by just requesting it. No passwords are required. If you
want the full system including all SAR data, you must be a SAR
member and a password-protected system must be installed on your
computer.
In the next few months, we will be looking at the possibility of
installing the system on Mac PCs.
... Les Hulse, 527
Fund-Raiser
Last year we had $28,213 in raffle ticket sales with $8,593 in
expense. We had a profit of $19,620 which was a great year. In
contrast, as of today, we have $16,090 in raffle ticket sales with
$8,565.45 in expense. To date we have made a profit of $7,524. We
have a negative difference of $12,096 from last year to this year to
date.
We
still have two craft shows, Labor Day week-end & Northern Gila
County Fair which are both held in Pine. The drawing will be held at
the conclusion of the Northern Gila County Fair on Sept. on 22.
Many
of our squad members have raffle tickets that have not been sold.
We need our members to make a real effort to sell their tickets in
an effort to make this a successful fundraiser.
Ron Crimmins
526
Member Profiles
558 Ed Spicer
Ed was born in San Mateo California January 15th
1940. He lived in Phoenix from 1944 to 1958 and is a graduate of
Camelback High School. Ed is also a graduate of the Air Force
Academy. From 1962 through 1971 he was an instructor and fighter
pilot. Ed flew T-37s and F4Ds (Phantom II). He spent one year
flying in Vietnam as a Phantom II Pilot and is hear to talk about
it.
Ed then left the Air Force to return to Graduate
School at the University of Utah. From ’83 to ’89 Ed worked as a
Structural Engineer in Salt Lake and Phoenix. He ran his own
business called Spicer-Hale Consulting Engineers Inc. From ’89 to
’02 Ed was Project Manager for the City of San Diego, California.
One large project he had during this time was the historic
preservation of Balboa Park.
Ed retired in 2002 and settled in Pine Arizona.
There are four things Ed wants to do while retired.
1.
Continue with Tonto Rim and Civil Air Patrol.
2.
Guide Wilderness and Cultural trips in the Southwest.
3.
Study Anthropology and Archaeology.
4.
Work with local Native American tribes in Rock Art
Recording and Burial Repatriation.
We are fortunate to have Ed on our team and look
forward to seeing him on the trail.
Announcement
Dacey Taylor has
informed us that he is getting married in early October and there
will be a reception held for them after their return from the
Honeymoon. More details in next month’s newsletter.
FOR SALE
1994 Jeep Wrangler 4X4, low miles
4 cyl, 5 spd, lift
kit, 31” BFG tires with American Racing wheels. 2 tops, 2 lock boxes
and alarm system. Nerf bars, receiver hitch and rear rack. Alpine
radio/cassette with sound bar & dual speakers. Warn 8000 winch, high
lift jack and rear cargo rack. Will throw in trailer to carry a
Quad. All this for only $9500 OBO. Call Don Peters; 472-7457
New Members
Last month we
voted in 4 new members. They are;
562 Don Johnson,
564 Tim Somsen, 565 Carl Hacker and 566 Bill Pitterle
Welcome aboard,
gentlemen! Thanks for sharing your time with us.
Training Schedule
Scheduled Training Sessions
(current)
19-Sep (Thu) Indoctrination – 1900 hrs –
Squad Building (in charge: Les Hulse)
20-Sep
(Fri) ATV/ Trailbike Training – 0800 hrs – Pumpkin Center Store
(in charge: John Avery)
Destination: Buzzard
Roost Mesa, Copper Mountain, Picture Mountain – bring water, lunch,
GPS,
warm clothes, etc. – squad ATV and bikes available for use (contact
J. Avery in advance)
–
full 8-hour day *
21-Sep
(Sat) Ropes Training – time and location TBA (in charge: Chris
Christy)
25-Sep
(Wed) Night Tracking – FS 428 Road – 1900 hrs (in charge: Les
Hulse)
Planned Training Sessions (after
next general meeting)
26-Oct (Sat) Line Search Tracking Practice
– time and location TBA (in charge: Les Hulse)
11-13
Oct. (F-Su) SAR City, Barstow CA, sign up on-line
www.bcconline.com/sarcity
Sign-up required to
attend this training
* See following notes:
·
To reserve use of squad ATV or trailbike, contact John
Avery at 928-476-2106 or 480-892-4424
·
To use trailbikes: gloves, boots, helmet, and eye
protection required. Denim jacket on ATV required.
·
Forest closure may cancel this training.
Guest Comments
This past January
we assisted Coconino County SAR in searching for two brothers lost
hiking. The first part of August we again assisted Coconino County
SAR in searching for a lost dirt biker. The subject ran out of gas,
abandoned his bike & started hiking. We were not involved in the
MCSO search in mid August for an experienced {?} hiker lost in the
Superstition Mountains. In all three situations, the hikers were
found 8-10 miles from their starting point as all of them hiked in
the wrong direction.
All three of these searches (and too many of
others we go on) had two things in common:
1. Subjects carried little or no water.
2. Did not stop when they realized they were
lost.
There is no doubt in my mind that if these
hikers would have stopped when they realized they were lost, the
search time would have been minimal. Instead, they all spent 2-3
days in the wilderness before they were found. All of them were out
of water, dehydrated & confused. They had no idea where they were.
It is not uncommon for lost hikers to continue
hiking when they know they are lost. I believe it is due to pride.
One definition of pride is "Proper respect for oneself; sense of
one's own dignity or worth" These hikers are embarrassed & don't
want others to know that they are lost & sincerely believe that they
can get back to where they started. Too many hikers have died or
came close to it because of their pride. If these 4 hikers had been
lost another 24 hours, the conclusion may have been different.
Most of our searches involve subjects that
continue to hike knowing they are lost. It is only common sense
that the longer they hike, the longer it will take for them to be
found. We need to get the word out to the public about what to do
in the event they are lost in the wilderness.
We have two programs, YES (Youth Education for
Survival) & SAFE (Survivable Adult Fundamental Education). One is
designed for youth & one for adults. The fundamentals are basically
the same but are upgraded for the adults. These presentations are
conducted at schools, youth & adult organizations& anyone else
interested. These programs stress (among many other topics)
carrying adequate water and stopping when lost.
For our members that are interested, it would be
my recommendation for you to sit in on one of these presentations.
Get the word out to your family & circle of friends about the
importance of carrying adequate water & stopping when lost.
Who knows, it may save a life.
Ron Crimmins 526
Changes
Four
members have upgraded to Active Status. They are;
513
Martin Szekeresh, 515 Bruce Brammer, 523 Scott Davidson and 528 Bill
Martin
Congratulations to these members for their dedication and effort.
Thanks to all who
contributed to this issue of the newsletter.
Although I cannot be
involved in all activities, I can at least continue doing this as my
contribution to TRSAR.
But I do need info from
each of you to make it happen. Please continue to share for the
enlightenment of all.
Mike
