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Autism Awareness 9-1-1 Registration
When: Thursday, October 20th at 5:30 – 7:30
Where: Matthew Thornton School Cafeteria
In partnership with Easter Seals and the Londonderry Police Department, ALERT will be hosting an Autism Safety Registration for all families living in Londonderry who have a member with an Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). The purpose of this event is to register individuals with ASD with local first responders in the event of an emergency. Families will complete a registration form (with photo), receive Autism Awareness 9-1-1 safety information, a vehicle ID decal and glove box sleeve, and have the opportunity to meet with local first responders.
Pre-registration is recommended. To pre-register, please notify Colleen at cmonksalert@gmail.com
Congratulations to Colleen Rutina of Londonderry!
 Colleen and Josh Rutina receive Patriots tickets from Peg Connell, Fundraising Committee Chaiperson Colleen is the winner of the Annual ALERT Raffle for two Opening Day Patriots tickets. The drawing was held at Old Home Day, August 13th. The Opening Day Patriot Tickets Raffle is ALERT’s primary fundraising event for the year. Without the generous donations from the citizens of Londonderry and the surrounding communities we could not provide the services we do.
 - Old Home Day volunteer picks winning raffle ticket
A special thank you goes out to Kim and Bob Drinan for their very generous donation of these tickets, Peg Connell, Raffle Committee Chairperson and the Raffle Team for their hard work and endless hours of fundraising and to Christopher George, owner of Mr. Steer for providing the ‘prime’ selling spot in town!
 Rich Semaski On May 8th, ALERT team members Bill “Remi” Fortin and Rich Semaski completed the 48hr NASAR (National Association for Search And Rescue) SARTECH III and SARTECH II (Search And Rescue Technician) certification program by successfully completing the written and field examinations. This was a culmination of classroom and field training instructed by NASAR president Dan Hourihan.
Mr. Hourihan is a veteran of over 1000 search and rescue operations and is chairman of the Alaska region Mountain Rescue Association. He is also a U.S. delegate to the Terrestrial Rescue Commission of the International Commission for Alpine Rescue.
The classroom portion of the training was conducted at the Hillsboro NH Police department. The class was comprised of Police, Fire, CERT (Civilian Emergency Response Team) and CAST (Canine Alert Search Teams) from around the North East region.
Classroom training covered all aspects of search and rescue including the legalities of conducting a search operation, conditioning and nutrition, basic wilderness survival skills, 24hr back pack necessities, NIMS (National Incident Management System), tracking, compass and GPS usage, proper map usage and search and rescue rope skills. The final exam was a 146 question test which included a demonstration of rope skills and knots.
 Remi Fortin standing beside the donated ALERT comunications trailer The field portion of the program and testing were conducted in Greenfield NH within the Greenfield State Park, and consisted of open search, the search of a defined area, and track search, the search of an area using a compass bearing. Final examination was demonstration of knowledge of field techniques and successful solo completion of a land navigation course within a time constraint.
These certifications give ALERT another set of tools to better serve Police, Fire and NH Fish and Game when we are called upon.
ALERT (A Londonderry Emergency Response Team) is a group of highly trained community volunteers that equip themselves. We offset some costs with private donations and the generosity of the Londonderry Rotary.
ALERT is a 501 (C) (3) organization. You can help support ALERT by visiting our website at www.londonderryalert.org and clicking on our “support” icon.
Please feel free to visit us at a general meeting on the 3rd Thursday of each month at 7 PM. We meet at the Londonderry Police Department Community Room or visit us on line and look around.
 ALERT volunteers organize prior to assisting the NH Fish and Game with the search for a missing teen in Londonderry.
ALERT would like to thank the Londonderry Fire Department for allowing temporary storage of the Communication Trailer at Old North Station.
At the August 23rd Town Council meeting, Paul Margolin, Chairman of the Solid Waste Advisory Committee, and volunteers from the Beautify Londonderry Committee received certificates of appreciation from the Town Council. This was the first year that Beautify Londonderry activities were entirely coordinated through volunteers with minimal assistance from the town.
Paul Margolin contacted Jeff Stone, our Beatify Londonderry Chairperson, prior to the meeting, to inform him that the Beautify Londonderry Committee would be recognizing ALERT for our roll of providing traffic safety for several groups doing clean up along town roads. Jeff invited all ALERT members who participated to attend. Jeff was asked to say a few words on behalf of ALERT. Jeff thanked the Beautify Londonderry Committee for their overall efforts, for working with ALERT in coordinating our resources, and asked that ALERT be invited to the Beautify Londonderry Committee’s 2011 planning so we can better align our planning efforts at an earlier stage. Paul took Jeff’s contact information and will be inviting him to their first meeting in October 2010.
Thanks to Jeff, Chris, Paul Peddle, Doug Jones, and Jim Pratt for your involvement. If you are interested in helping out with Beautify Londonderry next year, please contact Jeff.
Congratulations to Cindy Holton of Hudson! Cindy was the winner of the ALERT Raffle for two Opening Day Patriots tickets. Thank you to the Fundraising Committee and to all who assisted in the sale and purchase of the raffle tickets. This raffle was a very successful fundraiser for ALERT. Thank you to Kim and Bob Drinan for their very generous donation of these tickets.
A special thanks goes out to Doug Jones for his dedicated efforts and endless hours of fundraising!
 The winner of the ALERT Raffle, Cindy Holton of Hudson receives Opening Day Patriot tickets from Doug Jones.
ALERT was activated on June 2, 2010 by Londonderry Police to participate in a search and rescue mission to locate a Londonderry resident who had been missing for two days. On June 3, 2010 twenty ALERT members assembled at Sara Beth Lane at 0800 along with approximately 50 searchers from Londonderry Police Department, Londonderry Fire Department, N.H. Fish and Game Conservation Officers, Southern N.H. Special Operations Unit, Upper Valley Wilderness Response Team, Litchfield Police Department, and the American Red Cross.
ALERT was divided into five groups, four Line Search Teams and one group for Automobile Street Search with each team being assigned to a NHF&G Team Leader. The teams performed thorough searches of the Musquash Conservation Area bordering near the Londonderry Country Club and the Sara Beth Lane surrounding area. All groups were under the direction of Lt. John Wimsett, N.H. Fish and Game.
As the day progressed, more ALERT members reported into the Command Center offering any assistance requested. In all twenty-eight ALERT volunteers were able to contribute to the day’s efforts in finding the missing person.
As the groups were finishing up their morning search grids, the call went out to return to the Command Center. The missing person was found at 1245.
ALERT would like to extend our thanks to Papa Gino’s and Giovanni’s Roast Beef and Pizza for their donation of pizzas for all the participants of the search.
This mission was a real test of ALERT’s capabilities to assemble, perform, and communicate as a team. We look forward to our debriefing by N.H. Fish and Game to learn what we did right and what needs to be improved on. From all accounts, ALERT can be proud of how we responded in our community’s time of need.
On Saturday, June 5th, the Manchester Chapter of the American Red Cross held their annual Volunteer Appreciation Breakfast at the Executive Court in Manchester.
Due to ALERT’s continuing efforts in the community, including the management of Londonderry’s Regional Emergency Shelter during the 2010 Windstorm, the American Red Cross presented ALERT with a Community Partnership Award. Six ALERT members were present to accept the award.
For many years, ALERT has received training from the Red Cross in First Aid, CPR, and Shelter Operations. More recently, ALERT had the opportunity to work along side the Red Cross during the windstorm and a recent search for a missing person. ALERT is honored to be recognized as a partner in the community by the Red Cross.
On Saturday May 15, a group of ALERT members and Londonderry Firefighters participated in a yearly Chainsaw Cutting and Felling class presented by the Local Government Center (LGC) and instructed by Brent Bebe, a certified Sawyer for the NH Forestry service. The 4 hour morning class room session covered the basics of a cutting job “size up”. This included how to choose safely, a plan to fell a tree, and the many techniques do so. The classroom session also covered the care and maintenance of the chainsaw. Safety was the word of the day.
 Images Courtesy - Paul MacCullum The 4 hour afternoon session was a field exercise in which the class was brought to the property of the Continental Paving Company Inc. in Litchfield, for a hands on experience with trees that were in excess of 40 ft hight and 15 inches in diameter. The session included plunge boring techniques and wedge use to steer a tree. Safety and personal protective equipment (PPE) were discussed and used at all times. Everybody present had a “Go at it”.
The participants took away a good understanding of new techniques and an understanding of why some “bad Habits” should be avoided. They are now better prepared to handle any situation they may face in an official call out in the field.
Special thanks go out to Wynette DeGroot from LGC, Londonderry Fire Department for supplying saws and protective equipment and Mr. Richard Charbonneau VP of Continental paving for the use of their land.
View the gallery of all the pictures from this training session.
Stuck indoors this Memorial Day weekend? Download this DVD and make preparedness a part of your family plan.
Check out this downloadable video courtesy of FEMA.
http://go.usa.gov/3ra
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