EMERGENCY COMMUNITY RADIO PROJECT PROPOSAL

Local amateur radio enthusiasts are ready to jump in and help Champlain Township officials the next time a major disaster situation arises in the area.

“Amateur radio coverage is like having an insurance policy or a spare tire,” said Michael Hickey of the Prescott-Russell Amateur Radio Club (PRARC). “You have it just in case.”

Hickey made a presentation during the October 8 Champlain Township Council session for a partnership between the club and the municipality for setting up a permanent emergency amateur radio system to serve the community in case of a major disaster situation. He noted that home-based amateur radio predates the Internet and UIF 8PSME 8JEF 8FC

As long ago as the late 1940s and early 1950s, amateur radio enthusiasts chatted with each other around the globe, and also served as an extra means of communication with the outside world for communities cut off by disasters like hurricanes, tornadoes, and major flooding. Amateur radio also IFMQFE LFFQ 8FTUFSO OBUJPOT JOGPSNFE PG events behind the “Iron Curtain” during the totalitarian regimes of Stalin and other communist dictators of that era.

Hickey noted that local PRARC members can maintain local contact for Champlain Township during situations when Internet access and cellular phone service are unavailable. Township council members asked what kind of equipment would be needed for a community-based emergency amateur radio network set up and how much it might cost. They asked Hickey to provide council and administration with more specific information for review at a later date.

—photo fournie Avant l’avènement d’Internet et des médias sociaux, les amateurs de radio à domicile discutaient entre eux dans le monde entier et aidaient aussi dans les situations d’urgence locales en maintenant un contact communautaire avec le monde extérieur. Le Club de radio amateur de Prescott-Russell (CARRP) est à la recherche d’un partenariat avec le canton de Champlain afin de créer une présence permanente du CARRP dans la communauté pour un service de garde au besoin en cas de catastrophe majeure.