Attached is our agenda for the Tuesday, November 21, Emergency Preparedness meeting at 7:00 pm at the Granada Hills North Neighborhood Council office, 11139 Woodley Ave., Granada Hills, 91344 (map). Everyone is invited to attend. Plenty of free parking.
Remember our Can of the Month project to collect food for donation to MEND (mendpoverty.org), a local and regional food bank (and so much more). On your way out the door for the meeting, and if you are able, please grab one can (or box or package–no glass, please) of food (human or pet) and bring to our Tuesday meeting.
Special: Donate 15 cans for MEND at SOS Survival Products now through Saturday, Dec. 2, 2017, and received 15% off your purchase (in-store only). More info here.
Kiddie fire extinguisher recall notice for plastic handle fire extinguishers and plastic push-button fire extinguishers. More information here: http://www.kidde.com/home-safety/en/us/
Note that we will NOT have a December 19 meeting. Consider EP gifts for those on your holiday, or any day, shopping list. You’ll find some suggestions here.
In this Announcement:
Topic for Tuesday, November 21, 2017, 7:00 pm EP meeting: Annual Planning Meeting
Neighborhood Council Emergency Preparedness Alliance Meeting Saturday, December 16
One-Day Ham Radio Class and Exam in Agoura–Sunday, January 21
More Locations to Get Your Ham “Ticket”
Training Classes at SOS Survival Products
Upcoming Neighborhood Preparedness Events
CERT Community Meetings
What? You Didn’t Know?
Past agendas and meeting notes
This month’s featured topic for Tuesday, November 21, 2017, 7:00 pm: Annual Planning Meeting
As another great EP year nears its end, let us all join in and collectively review.
- What has been accomplished in our local EP community.
- What did you do to better prepare yourself and family?
- What nifty EP items have you added to your kit? Show and Tell!
- What would you like to add?
- Which EP-related events did you attend, and what was your take-away?
Help plan our EP calendar for next year. What speakers would you like to hear, which classes would you like to take, and which presentations are you most interested to hear?
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One-Day Ham Radio Class and Exam in Agoura–Sunday, January 21
Plan Ahead!
Norm (K6YXH) and Naomi (WB6OHW) Goodkin’s next one-day Study & Exam Session for the Technician (entry-level) class will be on Sunday, January 21, 2018. If you’d like to attend, get in touch with Norm soon, as those who prepare ahead of class do better in class. Learning Morse code is no longer required for any ham license, and you can miss up to 9 questions on the 35-question multiple choice Technician exam and still pass. Exams for General and Amateur Extra are also offered in the afternoon (concurrent with the Tech. exam) for just the cost of the exam session ($5).
The $75 Study & Exam fee includes instruction (no book to buy), lunch, the exam fee, and two follow-up sessions on the next two Sunday mornings. The follow-up sessions are held at the Lost Hills Sheriff’s Station.The first covers “What radio do I need?” and the second covers “How do I use and program my radio?” Exams for Tech (and all other levels) are also offered in the early morning of the two Sundays immediately following each quarterly Study & Exam session. If you are looking to upgrade your ham license, General and Extra Class exams are also offered at the same time (pay only the $5 exam fee). Many ham radio clubs and organizations offer the license exam throughout the Valley and the Greater Los Angeles area as well.
Once you have your ticket (license) you can get on the air with a radio that costs as little as $40.
For details and more information, contact Norm at hamclass@goodkin.net, via phone at 818-222-7893, or online at hamclass.goodkin.net.
Location for class and exam:
Agoura Hills/Calabasas Community Center
27040 Malibu Hills Rd.
Agoura, CA 91301
Date/Time:
Sunday, January 21, 2018
9:00 am to 4:00 pm
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More Locations to Get Your Ham “Ticket”
Here are some Valley locations where you can take the Amateur Radio license examination.These are “test only” locations so you need to come prepared to take the exam. Attending ham radio club meetings it a great way to learn more about ham radio in general and emergency communications specifically. For other testing locations, dates, and times, visit the Radio License Exam Session page at arrl.org. From arrl.org, you can also search for licensing classes.
Amateur Radio Emergency Service (ARES) Northwest holds their regular monthly meetings the first Saturday of the month at 8:00am with the exam-only session at 11:00am. Exam fee is $15.00. Contact Jim Laage, cllaage@verizon.net, for what you need to bring to the exam session and for further information.
Valley Presbyterian Hospital
Education Center
15107 Vanowen St.
Van Nuys, CA 91405
San Fernando Valley Amateur Radio Club, W6SD, holds their monthly meetings the third Friday of each month at 7:30pm. Please do not park at the police station. Instead, park behind or beside the library, which is next door to the station.
LAPD West Valley Station
Community Room
19020 Vanowen St.
Reseda, CA 91335
Exam sessions are held (new location!) on the first Saturday of even numbered months (February, April, June, August, October, December) in the Van Nuys FlyAway second floor conference room. Contact Jim Sullivan, jim@wb6tnf.com, for what you need to bring to the exam session and for further information.
Van Nuys FlyAway Bus Terminal
7610 Woodley Ave.
Van Nuys, CA 91406
Registrations begins at 8:00am and doors close at 9:00am. Exam fee is $5.00 (exact change, please). This is the same location where Lake Balboa Neighborhood Council holds their Emergency Preparedness meeting on the second Saturday of each month, starting at 9:00am.
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Neighborhood Council Emergency Preparedness Alliance Meeting Saturday, December 16
One week early due to the holidays, maybe. Determining if the location is available that day. Just wanted to give you a head’s up in case it’s a go. Topic is TBD.
Each neighborhood council should be sending one or two representatives to these meetings. If you are on a neighborhood council and/or attend their meetings as a stakeholder, ask if your neighborhood council has a rep, and if not, ask why not.
For more information, contact Len Shaffer, Chair, at Leonard.Shaffer@lacity.org.
Location:
Los Angeles EOC
500 E. Temple St.
Los Angeles, CA 90012
Date & Time:
Saturday, December 16
10:00 am to 12:00 pm
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Training Classes at SOS Survival Products
Check out all the great free and fee classes offered in the C. Denise Edwards Training Center at SOS Survival Products, Inc. Many are free to attend. Details here.
Location:
SOS Survival Products, Inc.
15705 Strathern St., Unit 11
Van Nuys, CA 91406
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Upcoming Neighborhood Preparedness Events
Let me know when you hear of a community event centered around disaster and/or emergency preparedness open to the public, and I’ll include in these announcements. Please provide the information no later than the second Tuesday of the month, or as soon as you can.
Lost Hiker Training Exercise. Generally conducted the second Saturday of the month in Griffith Park, the exercise is designed to train CERT and other personnel in the techniques of search and rescue in mountainous areas of Los Angeles.
Contact Tom Wirth at paratom@dslextreme.com.
The next Hiking Assessment exercise will be:
Location:
Griffith Park Carousel
4730 Crystal Springs Dr.
Los Angeles, CA 90027
Date & Time:
Saturday, December 9
9:00 am
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CERT Community Meetings
CERT (Community Emergency Response Team) Community meetings are open to all. You do not have to be a trained CERT responder to attend these meetings. Meetings are held throughout Los Angeles. Information on these meetings and much more is available at cert-la.com.
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What? You Didn’t Know?
Between Black Friday and Cyber Monday this year is Giving Tuesday on November 21, a time to consider your monetary contributions to your favorite charities. They can’t do their work without your financial support. In-kind donations and your time are equally valuable.
Resources for getting prepared, including gift suggestions, can be found on the Southern California Preparedness Foundation website here. Amazon is also a great place to shop.
Past agendas and meeting notes
To view our past agendas you can visit the GHNNC website, www.ghnnc.org, click on About, then Committees, and scroll down to Emergency Preparedness.
Or, use this direct link: http://ghnnc.org/committees/public-safety/emergency-preparedness-sub-committee/, or scan the QR code below with your smartphone.
Mark your calendar now for our Tuesday, January 16, 2018 EP meeting at 7:00 pm in Granada Hills. Scheduled topic is TBD.
If you have a specific topic you’d like us to consider, or a particular speaker, send me the info. Thank you.
If you have a ham radio license and your call sign doesn’t appear here: ________, please let me know what it is. Licensed amateurs are encouraged to check in on our Lake Balboa Emergency Preparedness simplex net each Sunday morning, 9:00 am, on 145.570 mHz.
FRS/GMRS (Family Radio Service/General Mobile Radio Service) radio operators may check in on our FRS/GMRS EPnet the second Sunday of the month, 9:45 am, on channel 5.
Neighborhood Council Valley Village FRS/GMRS net meets the last Sunday of the month, 10:00 am, on channel 5.
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Bill Hopkins
Emergency Preparedness Chair, GHNNC
Public Safety Vice Chair, GHNNC
GHNNC CERT Class Coordinator
cert@ghnnc.org