Here's how the mail is handled this year. I go to the PO Box twice a
week. If the mail is addressed to a particular team member, it is forwarded
to that person. If addressed simply to the team, the Secretary reads it and
forwards it to a particular person (usually an officer or committee chair
who handles the duty associated with the mailing). Various methods of
forwarding are used, depending on the urgency of the mailing and the
options available for the recipient.
Please listen to the hotline at least once a week. Between meetings, it
is not unusual for the Officers to receive updates to events. I'll get
those updates onto the hotline as soon as I know about them. I also check
the hotline every day for messages.
Thanks for the attention and patience during the votes on reimbursements at
the last meeting. Be assured there will be more votes of that nature when
spending is requested. I.e., not simply Y/N, but rather a choice on how
much the majority thinks the team should spend on an event.
Boots and Blisters
by Paul Husler
I wanted to let everyone know as early as possible about a change in the
1998 training schedule. Because of the Easter holiday, the Sunday, April
12th training has been changed to Saturday, April 11th.
March Winter Skills Training
by Mike Dugger
We will meet in the early afternoon for a short hike out to the
training location. Snowshoes will probably be required to get to the
training location. After a discussion of different types of shelters,
how to select a location, and some construction tips, participants
will construct emergency shelters. The goal of this training is for
participants to learn how to construct shelters from materials in
their packs and what is available in the wilderness, in order to gain
confidence that they can safely spend the night outdoors in winter.
Shelter construction should be complete by approximately 4:30 pm. We
will then have a discussion of other winter skills topics, such as
recognizing and preventing hypothermia, appropriate clothing,
maintaining energy in cold weather, etc. The daytime phase of the
training should be complete by approximately 6:00 pm. Participants
may then depart, but are encouraged to spend the night in the shelter
they constructed to fully appreciate the importance of these skills.
Those spending the night should be back at their vehicles by 8:00 am.
Participants should bring water-resistant outerwear to prevent getting
soaked during shelter construction. Some high energy snacks are a
good idea, as well as additional food for those planning to spend the
night. A 4' by 8' tarp or two are good for ground cover and as
elements of a winter shelter. A space blanket, sleeping pad, sleeping
bag, and bivy or extra space blanket should be included for those
planning to spend the night. Warm clothing (anticipate temperatures
well below freezing) and water are obviously required.
Hike of the Month
Embudo Canyon
0800, Feb 28 - Mar 1, 1998\01998
Trailhead: East end of Indian School Road
R.T. Distance: 6.0 miles
Elevation Min/Max: 6200/7800
Hiking Time 3.0 hours
Hazards: Unleashed dogs
Topo Maps: USFS Map of the Sandias
Follow the obvious road east into the National Forest, where it
changes to a sandy trail. As you pass through the boulder portion near
the waterfall, you may lose sight of the trail. To find it, always
look to the north side of the canyon.
After the boulder portion, the trail will cross the sandy wash and run
parallel above it on the south side. As you cross, notice a trail that
heads south up the hill straight ahead - this is a 'horse bypass'
trail around the waterfall, and is a recommended option for your
return route.
Later the trail will cross the wash heading north, and you'll begin a
series of long switchbacks. At the top there is a signpost, hence the
name 'Post Pass' for this area. You can turn back here or you can add
another 1.5 hours to the trek by heading further north to Oso Pass,
but there might be too much snow to do it without snowshoes.
Throughout the hike, take note of old trails and washes. Search
assignments in this area probably would include such 'hasty' routes.
Business as Usual
by Terri Mindock
Because I am the editor of the NMESC newsletter, I occasionally receive publications from other teams and SAR organizations, and thought Cibola members would be interested in looking at them. So I decided to consolidate them into a display binder, and will bring it to every General Meeting. If you would like to borrow one of the publications or get a copy, let me know. Also, if you know of another team in NM that publishes a newsletter and would like to see an issue, I'd be happy to try and track one down.
For a couple of years I've been making team business cards for Cibola's members, and would just like to let the newer people aware of this, as well as reiterate to the oldies. The cards are free of charge and available to any member. They are orange, have the team logo on them, and can include your name, address, phones, ham call-sign, email address, and whatever else you'd like printed. To order your set, send me the information you would like printed, and the quantity of cards (multiples of 10).
Mini Lesson
by Tom Russo
Basic Knots - Part 1
Introduction
Count on it: sometime while on a mission you'll need to handle a rope
or piece of webbing. Knowing how to tie the correct knot is
essential, and not just because you'll have to demonstrate it as part
of your litter-handling evaluation. In this brief piece I'll present
the basic knots you're expected to be able to tie, and provide photos
of each one being tied. Practice these knots until they're second
nature! You should be reading this article with a piece of rope in
your hand. PRACTICE as you read.
I am including here the standard terminology of the knots presented.
Avoid colloquial usages, as they are easily confused for each other,
but be familiar with all the names so you can recognize them should
others use them.
Rope Terminology
There are some common terms used in the knot literature, and you
should be familiar with them. (Source: the Essential Knot Book by
Colin Jarman)
Bend: a method of joining two ropes. Examples: overhand
bend figure 8 bend, double overhand bend.
Bight: the middle of a line, or a loop made well away from
the end of a line.
Bitter End: The end of a rope. Many of the knots described
here involve passing the bitter end through loops.
Standing Part: the main, non-working part of a line.
On Knot Names
Before we start, I need to clear up one little point. There are at least
three names for every knot I give here: a strictly-correct technical name
(e.g. "Double Overhand Bend"), a colloquial name (e.g. "Double Fisherman's
Knot") and at least one slang usage. I will strictly avoid slang usages and
only present the technical and correct colloquial names of each knot. If you
see a knot here which you believe is called something else, or if you see me
calling a knot something that you believe is the name reserved to a different
knot, you are encountering a difference between technical correctness and
slang usage. The clearest example of this is the "Double Overhand Bend" which
is colloquially named "Double Fisherman's Knot". This knot is so univerally
used as a bend in the sport climbing community, to the exclusion of the knot
which is really called the "Fisherman's Knot" that many climbers appear to
have dropped the "double" from the name as a matter of conversational
convenience. I will avoid such conveniences and stick completely to the
accepted terms which appear in books on knots such as the definitive "Ashley's
Book of Knots," or manuals such as the NASAR SAR Technician course textbook.
The Overhand Knot
Perhaps the most basic of all, the overhand knot is the basis for
several other knots you will need to tie, so learn to recognize its
shape. To tie it, simply make a single loop in the rope and pass the
bitter end through.
You should always back up any knot you tie, to give redundancy should
the line slip. The overhand is a good knot to use as backup, although
the double overhand is even better. When you back up a knot, tie the
backup knot right next to the primary knot, not a few inches away.
The Figure 8 knot
The easiest way to describe making a figure 8 knot is to say that one
makes a loop in the line, then wraps the bitter end around, passing it
through the first loop at the second opportunity (passing it through
on the first opportunity leads to an overhand knot). This is, of
course, not the easiest way to picture it. Examine the pictures
below.
Here's the first loop:
Pass the bitter end over the standing part again:
Now insert the bitter end through the back side of the original loop:
Pull the knot tighter and dress it up:
The Figure 8 knot is used as the basis of several other knots, but is
often used by itself at the end of a line to keep the end from
"unlaying" (fraying).
The double overhand knot ("grapevine")
This knot is similar to the overhand knot, but stronger. It is the
basis of the double overhand bend ("double fisherman's knot" or
"grapevine bend"), and can be used as a backup knot instead of the
simple overhand knot.
Form a loop in the line, then pass the bitter end around the standing
part:
Finally, pass the bitter end through both loops:
The Figure 8 Bend
To join two lines, begin with a Figure 8 knot in the first line, leaving a
sizable tail. Feed the bitter end of the second line (shown below in blue)
through the first figure 8 knot. Note that the
bitter end of the blue rope is being fed in through the end of the knot from
which the bitter end of the red rope emerges. When the knot is done the
bitter end of each rope will lie along the standing part of the other.
Snake the second line through the original figure 8, following each curve
exactly.
Nearly complete:
Now dress it up so that it lays properly THE KNOT IN THIS PHOTOGRAPH IS NOT
CORRECTLY DRESSED, SORRY!.
and remember to back it up! (here it is, backed up on each end with overhand
knots):
Figure 8 Rewoven
Nope, no pictures here, because tying it looks exactly like tying the figure 8
bend. The difference is that you tie it on one rope: tie a figure 8 well away
from the bitter end, pass the bitter end around a tree, rock or other anchor,
then treat the bitter end exactly as if it were the bitter end of a second
rope --- the result will look exactly like a figure 8 bend, but you'll have
tied the rope securely to the anchor. Of course you will still need to back
it up.
Coming Attractions
In the next exciting episode I'll have pictures of how one combines these
basic knots to form bends (note the colloquial names --- they're all properly
called "bends", but colloquially they're named "knots"):
the "fisherman's knot" or "overhand bend"
the "double fisherman's knot" or "double overhand bend"
the "water knot" (rewoven overhand knot)
and a few more important knots and hitches:
figure 8 on a bight
prussic hitch
Self-Quiz on Basic Knots
Ten questions? Don't be silly. Just tie the things and compare them with the
pictures until you can do it in your sleep.
Who's Who and New
by Mickey Jojola
Well another month has passed in this wonderful world of SAR.
Congratulations go out to Don E. Gibson (not Wheezer) for completing the
PACE certification test. Way to go! And now for a little of what is
happening with Membership. We have 3 new people who, after this meeting, will be ready for an orientation. It will be their responsibility to get a
hold of me for their information packets and for their orientation times.
This insures that all interested persons are indeed just that, interested.
I look forward to hearing from them and welcoming them to the team.
Mentors are needed for these and future new members. Anyone wishing
to become a mentor please contact me ASAP. We are in need of
willing mentors.
Have a safe and productive month!
Coming Attractions
by Tom Russo
March's newsletter will have part 2 of the knots lesson, a feature article by John Mindock, and a special surprise member spotlight. That last one means "whoever I can convince to write one by March First." Line forms to the right.
Public Relations
by Tom Russo
The public relations committee did not meet in January, but we plan to hold a
meeting in mid-February. Please contact me or Mickey Jojola if you're
interested in participating in assembling yearbooks and going over our
"canned" PSAR presentation. And feel free to contact us if you have ideas for
PR or PSAR activities.
On the Right Track
by Mary Berry
The K-9 Unit has recently finished a final draft of our new Training Log. A log is used to keep track of each dog's training and progression, and often is helpful in retrospect when specific training problems arise. (My dog's never done that before....Oh yes he has!!). It is a one page form (front and back), that is designed to be fast to fill out so it won't require quite so much self-discipline to do. Mickey has a contact that has agreed to print them up in a tablet for us, and we will begin using them this month.
The Unit continues to train every Wednesday night after work. These trainings are pretty short (about 1 1/2 hrs), and are held at various places around Albuquerque, usually in a neighborhood park. Typically, we work on building (up) skills, and this consists of obedience, socialization, short motivational exercises (fun, fast hide and seek games), and exercises intended to improve the Find Alert. Then on weekends, we work on search skills and techniques. These trainings take a few hours, depending on how complicated the search exercises are, and are held in various National Forest areas. These trainings include finding a person hiding for us, and we are always looking for volunteers (hint,hint).
We have had a few new people on the team interested in training a dog, or just helping, so we decided to print a schedule to facilitate them. The scheduled trainings for Feb. and March are as follows:
Feb 1, 10am
Search skills, Placitas
Feb 4, 5:30pm
Building skills, Snow Park
Feb 8, 10am
Mickey J. & "Jake" : Mission-ready Evaluation
Feb 11, 5:30pm
Building skills, Snow Park
Feb 18, 5:30pm
Building skills, Taylor Ranch
Feb 22, 10am
Search skills, Tunnel Canyon
Mar 4, 5:30pm
Building skills, Lynnwood Park
Mar 8, 10am
Search skills, Pine Flats
Mar 11, 5:30pm
Building skills, Lynnwood Park
Mar 18, 5:30 pm
Building skills, Hoffman Park
Mar 25, 5:30 pm
Building skills, Hoffman Park
Mar 29, 10am
Search skills, West Mesa
For specific details on meeting areas, contact me or Mickey Jojola.
Member Spotlight: Terri Mindock
I was born and raised in the Minneapolis, Minnesota area. At around age 20
my interest turned to computers, where it's been ever since. At one point I
worked for B. Dalton Booksellers in their main office in Bloomington, MN,
where I did data entry, occasionally using an IBM keypunching machine to
punch holes in cards for programs written by John Mindock. We started
dating and three years later got married.
In 1987 the lure of the southwest became overwhelming and we found
ourselves living outside of Phoenix, in a house we finished off ourselves.
A couple of years later we got to a point in our financial status when we
decided that I didn't need to continue working, so I found myself
'retired.' At this time, with a lot of crime happening in fast-growing
Phoenix, I became interested in self-defense and took a community college
course in self-defense for women. It was taught by a martial arts school
owner and after the course was finished I was 'hooked'. So I decided to
pursue a further education in Taekwondo. It turned out to be enormous fun -
advancing through the belt colors, competing in tournaments, making lots of
friends, and striving towards a black belt (I hold a first-degree black
belt). I found I had a 'knack' for martial arts and was soon winning
tournaments, including the Regional Tournament in Las Vegas, NV and the
World Championship Tournament in Little Rock, AR. My pride and joy is a
first place trophy I won as a brown belt from the World's in 1990!
I no longer take formal education in martial arts, but continue to practice
on my own. Physical fitness has always been fundamental in my life and I
maintain a long-time regimen of lifting weights and running. I also enjoy
hiking in nature and getting out to explore New Mexico's wilderness. I
started in search and rescue in the summer of 1993 and have found myself
'exploring' areas of the state I probably wouldn't have otherwise
discovered! SAR has been a lot of fun for me, and I plan to continue to
grow and learn and improve my proficiency in this 'hobby' that has become a
big part of my life.
Web News
by Tom Russo
Web development activity this month has centered around changing the structure of the database in the membersonly section. All of the database programs have been rewritten to use a powerful relational database query language instead of a simple flat database, so the functions that are available to us will be expanding Real Soon Now. Training data, evaluation data, mission data and so forth will be stored and used to automate some tasks which were heretofore done manually.
There are a handful of new training photos in the photo gallery. We will also be placing training handouts and evaluation forms into the membersonly area as they are created. If you can grab copies before trainings you'll save a little expense for the team. Each month the training handout for that month will be accessible directly from the membersonly home page. I have yet to decide where to put old handouts, but whatever I do with them it will be pretty clear where they are when you look at the membersonly home page.
New Mexico SAR Entities
by John Mindock
Here are abridged descriptions of entities that relate to NM SAR statewide.
New Mexico Search and Rescue Resource Officer
This is a paid position within the NM State Police, created as a result of the State SAR Law of 1978. This person coordinates all SAR efforts in NM. In addition to missions, he provides trainings for Field Coordinators, ICS Section Chiefs, and Mission Initiators (e.g., most State Police Officers).
He also maintains a list of SAR teams in a document called the SAR Resource Directory. This Directory is used by Field Coordinators to locate appropriate SAR Resources for missions.
This person also is required, per the SAR Law, to certify SAR personnel.
The current SAR RO is Rick Goodman, and his office in the Emergency Management Center in Santa FE.
Policy and Advisory Committee for Education (PACE)
This is a committee of appointed volunteers who assist the SAR RO with education and certification. Their current responsibilities are State Field Certification and Section Chief classes.
New Mexico Emergency Services Council (NMESC)
This is a group to which most NM SAR teams belong. The member teams elect a Board each year. The Board's main duty is to arrange trainings in SAR topics, with emphasis on those that may be too costly or complicated for individual teams to handle. Each year, they sponsor a training event (lasting a full weekend) called the ESCAPE, where many SAR topics are offered. They also occasionally offer other trainings during the year.
New Mexico State Search and Rescue Review Board
This is a group of people from various professional backgrounds, appointed by the Governor. Their main duties are to formally 'recognize' SAR teams (thus allowing them to be listed in the SAR Resource Directory), review SAR missions (usually only those where there has been some controversy), and make recommendations to the SAR RO on SAR topics.
Classified Ads
(20 words maximum, no services)
One new Long-sleeved Orange Shirt - Size Medium. $13. This is the type most of us wear to missions. Contact John Mindock.
Disclaimer
the Editors
The information in this newsletter was gathered from many sources and presents facts as we believe them to be true. This newsletter is not meant to be an official document, but a means to disseminate team information.
Follow the obvious road east into the National Forest, where it
changes to a sandy trail. As you pass through the boulder portion near
the waterfall, you may lose sight of the trail. To find it, always
look to the north side of the canyon.
You should always back up any knot you tie, to give redundancy should
the line slip. The overhand is a good knot to use as backup, although
the double overhand is even better. When you back up a knot, tie the
backup knot right next to the primary knot, not a few inches away.
