chesapeake search dogs fall december...

Chesapeake Search Dogs

It should be no sur-

prise that talking on

the cell phone or tex-

ting while driving is a

leading cause of many

accidents. According

to the National Safety

Council approximately

28% of all traffic

crashes (1.6 million

crashes each year)

involve drivers using

cell phones and tex-

ting. Texting while driv-

ing makes a driver 23

times more likely to be

involved in an acci-

dent and driving while

using a cell phone

makes a driver 4

times more likely to be

involved in an acci-

dent. Government sta-

tistics for 2010 indi-

cate that over 3,000

people lost their lives

in automobile acci-

dents due to distract-

ed driving and many

are of the opinion that

the cases of distract-

ed driving is under re-

ported.

Nationwide tougher

cell phone and texting

while driving laws

have gone into effect.

Maryland enhanced

their laws on October

1, and I am amazed to

see so many Maryland

motorists still texting

and using hand held

cell phones while driv-

ing. Below are the

highlights of the new

law.

An individual who

is under the age of

18 may not use a

wireless communi-

cation device Continue on Page 4

Fal l December 2013

CEL L PHONE & TEX TI NG BEWARE

Executive Mgmt Team

Barry Leese

Executive Director

Ed Thayer

Operations Director

Gayle Fowler

Finance Director

David E. Spitz

Membership Director

Sheli Engles

Public Relations/Fundraising Director

Dennis Ciesla

Law Enforcement Liaison

Nancy Markey

Planning and Research

I N S I D E T H I S I S S U E :

Tools of the Trade 2

Comms Corner 3

2013 Sponsors 5

Overnight Training 6

5K Photos 7

THE DOG EARED GAZETTE

K - 9 5 K T R A I L R A C E A S U C C E S S

We thank everyone who supported our 2nd Annual

K-9 5K Trail Race & 1 Mile Run/Walk. We look

forward to seeing you all again next year.

Search and rescue teams carry many pieces of equipment to aid them during a search. This article

will discuss just a few of the items carried in, what is known as the “24-hour Ready Pack”. An

official equipment list is provided to each member of Chesapeake Search Dogs (CSD) for their

specific discipline, whether it is a K9 Handler, Flanker, or Mission Support. The official equipment

list does not suggest one manufacturer over another but like many things, a proven piece of

equipment may become the choice of many members.

24-hour Ready Pack (non urban) – Must be large enough to carry all the equipment required for

NASAR SARTECH II and other items that may be required by CSD or the owners personal choices.

The pack should be comfortable to wear for long periods of time, should be made of high quality and

light weight material, and built to sustain many years of abuse while traversing the wilderness. An

urban pack is usually much smaller in size since the supplies required for this type of search is

limited due to the ability to quickly replenish from nearby sources if needed.

Light Stick – Light sticks or glow sticks are waterproof and use no batteries. The light stick contains

two chemicals and when the inner casing is broken; the two chemicals mix and produce the light.

Light sticks are inexpensive and easy to use. They can last up to 12 hours. Consider keeping some

in your vehicle for traffic emergencies and to summon help.

Survival Whistle – A loud whistle is a must when conducting search and rescue activities. It allows

the searcher to announce to a lost subject that help is nearby. The lost subject can bring attention

to themselves by repeating a series of loud bursts from the whistle at specific intervals. In addition,

women or children walking alone can use the whistle to ward off strangers and to alert others of an

attack. The whistle should be designed to work in all weather conditions and contain no moving

parts (little pea inside) that could become dislodge over time. The whistle should be able to produce

a sound greater than 100 decibels. One such whistle used in search and rescue is known as the

Fox Sonik Blast CMG (under $10) that can produce 120 decibels. Consider carrying one with you at

all times.

Multi-purpose Knife - I don’t mean a Swiss Army knife, that will be saved for another issue. I am

talking about an all-around good knife that can be used for protection, cutting rope, notching wood,

and be used at dinner time. I am also referring to a fixed blade knife that won’t accidentally fold

when under extreme pressure. There are many knives to choose from. They range in price from

$50 to into the hundreds.

Things to consider when purchasing a survival (multi-purpose knife) are:

The Tang of a knife is the portion of the blade that extends down into the handle. The Tang and

the blade are one solid piece of steel. A Full Tang, or tang that goes all the way to the base of the

handle, is considered the best for a quality survival knife. The full tang gives the entire knife

strength. On cheaper knives the blade is only connected to the top of the handle and can break

off. Continued on next page

Fal l December 2013

Tools of the Trade

The Dog Eared Gazette

C omms Corner K9MST Call Sign

Chesapeake Search Dogs Amateur Radio Club

Chesapeake Search Dogs (CSD) is known for providing teams of highly

trained K9 dogs, handlers, flankers,

and mission support personnel to aid

in the search for missing persons but

that is not all we can do. Every oper-

ational member of CSD is a licensed

amature radio operator and they are

outfitted with either a team issued or

personal commercial radio, or both.

This allows our team to be used, if

needed, as a communication re-

source for emergency events that

might not need search dogs. Continued

on page 4

The handle on survival knives varies widely. Some are hard rubber, others

polymer. Many are good and it is probably easiest to remember what you

should avoid; Any knife that has a hollow handle for “storing things.”

Survival Knives generally come in two types of steel: Stainless or Carbon.

Stainless steel is virtually indestructible, can take a beating and last a long

time without rusting. However many people say stainless blades lose an

edge faster than carbon. Carbon Steel knives are usually known to hold a

good edge longer than stainless steel, but will rust faster in the elements.

Blade design is a consideration. Straight blade or serrated is an individual

choice, A straight blade is better for chopping wood but a serrated blade is

better for sawing through wood. I will leave the decision up to you.

Blade length is usually between 6 and 12 inches but for portability 7” is

probably the norm.

Blade thickness is recommended to be between 3/16 and 4/16 of an inch.

No matter what knife you decide on, buying cheap is not your best option. How-

ever, you don’t need to spend hundreds of dollars if you don’t plan to spend a

great deal of time outdoors in the wilderness.

“We can dream can’t we”

Tools of the Trade continued from Page 2

Fal l December 2013

Our cache of radios includes several Vertex and Woxun commercial radios, Yaesu, Baofeng, and

Kenwood amature radios. We can deploy multiple amature crossband repeaters for distance

communication, utilize Echolink, and establish D-Star communication when needed. A communi-

cation trailer and antenna trailer are also available to support emergency communications.

Our team is experienced, flexible and mobile and is committed to answering the call from law en-

forcement agencies and other emergency services organizations as needed. We all always looking

for new members who enjoy emergency communication and are willing to volunteer their time and

experience with other like-minded members of CSD. For additional information visit our website at

Chesarda.org.

Comms Corner Continued from Page 3

while operating a motor vehicle.

A driver of a motor vehicle that is in motion may not use the driver’s

hands to use a handheld telephone other than to initiate or termi-

nate a wireless telephone call or to turn on or turn off the handheld

telephone.

The new law becomes a primary offense and a police officer may

stop you for violating the law without the need for observing any oth-

er violation.

Texting while driving is already, and remains a primary offense.

Texting laws prohibit a person from using a text messaging device to write, send,

or read a text or electronic message while operating a motor vehicle in motion or in

the travel portion of the roadway; specifying exceptions for use of a global position-

ing system, or text messaging to contact a 9-1-1 system; etc.

CE L L PH ON E & TE X T I N G BE WA RE C O N T I N U E D F R O M P A G E 1

“Really dreaming big this time”


2013 Sponsors

Molly

Fal l December 2013

Weekend Wilderness Overnight Training

Twice a year during the colder months of the year applicants for Chesapeake

Search Dogs membership are

trained to be self sufficient in

the woods in case they find

themselves stranded in the

woods during a real search. Our

lead instructor is former Opera-

tions Director Al Banthem who

draws upon his many years of

military service serving our

country. Al meets the trainees

mid morning and begins to

share his knowledge in picking

a site for a shelter, building a shelter,

starting a fire, and staying safe, dry and

warm. The trainees can only use sup-

plies they regularly carry in their 24 hour

pack and what they can find in the

woods. After a full day of instruction and

camp building, the trainees return to

base for a warm meal before heading

back out to the camp site to weather the

elements. The next morning the

trainees will be evaluated on their

camp site and be rewarded by en-

joying the company of CSD mem-

bers who stayed at base and kept

a watchful eye over the trainees.

They also participate in a great pot-

luck breakfast.


CSD 5K Photos October 2013 Jerusalem Mills

P.O Box 36188

Baltimore, MD 21286

Email: [email protected]


VOLU NT EE RS NE EDE D

Chesapeake Search Dogs is a 100% volunteer, non-profit search dog organiza-

tion dedicated to ensuring that a 24 hour, 7 day per week, professionally

trained, canine search team is available to law enforcement, fire services, natu-

ral resource authorities, and emergency management agencies, at no cost, with-

in the Chesapeake Bay and Southern Pennsylvania Regions to search for lost or

missing persons.

Chesapeake Search Dogs is a 501c3 non-profit organization in Maryland and subsists solely on

the generosity of our benefactors. NO salaries or wages are paid. This includes board mem-

bers, management, handlers, and support personnel. All of our funding comes from private

donations and grants.

All donations are tax deductible. 100% of every dollar goes directly to the expenses of meeting

our mission of finding the lost and missing.

Donations may be sent to:


PO Box 36188

Support Us

Dog Handlers

Flankers

Subjects—Assist by hiding in woods for the

dogs to find

Veterinary Technicians

Communication Specialists

Administrative

Fundraiser Support

Board Members

If interested send an email to

[email protected]

Board of Directors

Laura Concannon

President

Charles Fleischman

Vice President

Secretary

Jacqueline Reardon

Treasurer

Dorie Flynn

Member

Linda Boyer

Member

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