Notes from SNA EP NET Committee meeting 01/19/16, 10am-12pm at the Jeff Morris Fire Museum (12 attendees)
Our next meeting will be Tue, Feb 16, 2016, 7-9pm, location TBA. An agenda will be posted here in advance.
Notes and follow-up info:
- Committee Co-chair Jan led us through three interactive exercises to kick-start Map Your Neighborhood (MYN) efforts. This is a critical and fun process for preparing your micro-neighborhood for emergencies, and a good excuse for planning a block party or pot luck! A recurring theme of the discussion was that we need to foster our neighborhood relationships now, before an emergency occurs. Your neighbors are truly your “first responders”.
- There is a series of Map Your Neighborhood videos online, courtesy of Tigard CERT.
- MYN booklets are being redesigned by PBEM (Portland Bureau of Emergency Management) and should be available soon.
- We’ll think about how to enable Sunnysiders to claim/register their micro-neighborhood MYN activities, and publish the info in a map on our website and on Nextdoor.com. Thanks to Margaret for the suggestion.
- Sunnyside NET Team Leader Stephanie will draft a plan to involve more renters (60%+ of Sunnyside residents), landlords, and property management firms.
- Lauren will make initial contact with the Belmont Library about providing emergency prep info in print, to serve residents who do not have easy access to our website or e-newsletters.
- As mentioned in November, PBEM will soon publish a NET “Task Book”. A draft has been distributed to Team Leaders. Steph and I are thrilled with it, and it will probably be our Team’s guide for for Advanced Training sessions. Completion of the 26 listed tasks will earn a coveted challenge coin. It is expected that it will require two or three years to complete all the requirements, so it will be a great motivator for all of us to remain engaged and improve our skills.
- For those of you in the queue for NET Basic Training, note that the University of Portland is offering free basic CERT classes. Graduates from the program can become NET volunteers. View the schedule and sign up.
Not mentioned at the meeting, but . . .
- This is a fascinating article about how volunteer UO first responders helped after the Umpqua Community College shooting.
- PBEM / NET will soon launch an ARO (Amateur (HAM) Radio Operator) training program. It is modeled after Multnomah County Amateur Radio Emergency Services training and is tailored to the specific needs of NETs. Watch this space for updates.
- The most recent NET Bulletin from Jeremy Van Keuren (PBEM NET Program Coordinator)
- Recent reports (and Facebook silliness) about signs of The Big One were misguided. That’s really all you need to know, but this is the report by The Oregonian.