Dear Amateur Radio friend,
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Benton County Amateur Radio Emergency Service (BCARES) is a group of hams committed to serving the public. We support non-emergency public service events such as parades and walk-a-thons. We also support emergency activities through the Benton County Emergency Management Office (part of the Benton County Sheriff's Department) as well as providing supplemental communications for the American Red Cross and Good Samaritan hospital in Corvallis. |
Our membership includes hams from all over Benton County, Oregon. We have an information and training net every Tuesday at 7:45 PM that meets on the Oregon State University Amateur Radio Club repeater (147.16 MHz (+)) that is located on Vineyard Mountain just north of Corvallis. In addition, there is a district-wide ARES net every night at 7:30 PM on the Mary's Peak repeater (146.78 MHz (-)) that is located west of Corvallis. Each member is encouraged to check into nets. Opportunity exists for serving in various ways. Some members have skills in formal message handling and we encourage all to gain this capability. We also encourage all members to learn the art of Net Control operation. |
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Training is available from several sources. ARES provides training in traffic handling, net control procedures, base support operations, and field team readiness. The American Red Cross teaches Standard First Aid as well as Introduction to Red Cross. Benton County Emergency Management provides information on FEMA procedures, Incident Command System training, and county/state emergency plans, as well as search and rescue procedures and certification. |
If you would like to participate in Benton County ARES/RACES please contact me, Kathleen Brindley, Benton County ARES Emergency Coordinator/RACES Officer or complete an application (pdf) and a background form (pdf) and send them to me and we will start the enrollment process. All ARES members go through a background and criminal history check before they are issued an Emergency Management ID card. Thank you. Kathleen Brindley, KC7QAE |
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