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News
SEMA and Southwick Auxiliary Police
provide crowd and traffic control at the Fourth Annual Penguin Plunge
On Saturday, January 26, 2008 the Amelia Park Children's Museum
hosted its 4th annual Penguin Plunge and Winter Carnival fundraiser at
The Cove Pavilion on North Pond of the Congamond Lakes. Southwick Emergency Management
Agency members provided
crowd and traffic control. Southwick’s Community Emergency Response Team (CERT)
members also assisted Public Safety during the event.
The Penguin Plunge is an annual fundraiser that benefits the Amelia
Park Children's Museum and gives fundraisers a chance to take a cold
swim in Lake Congamond. 92 thrill seekers went for an icy
dip in the lake to raise money for the museum. The air temperature was
a brisk 34 degrees and the water was a invigorating 33 degrees. The event was held on the
grounds of The Cove restaurant in Southwick and raised more than
$15,000 for the Amelia
Park Children's Museum. The event was extremely well attended
with over 1000 spectators. SEMA members who worked the Penguin Plunge
included Director Charles Dunlap, Assistant Directors Chuck Housner
and Keith Stromgren, Radio Officer Eric Carroll, and members Bob
Miller and Dave Houle.
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| Southwick Emergency
Management Director Charles Dunlap along with other SEMA members
provided crowd control for the
crowd of 1000 people for the 4th annual Penguin Plunge and Winter
Carnival. |
Here you can see some
of the participants taking a plunge in Lake Congamond where
the Southwick Fire Department Dive Team opened a hole in the ice for the Penguin Plunge. |
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| Wilderness Experiences
Unlimited put on a Kayaking demonstration. |
Southwick Fire and
Emergency Management vehicles staged at the event. |
SEMA members attend Southern New England Weather Conference.
On Saturday, October 27, 2007 SEMA
Director Charles Dunlap and Assistant Director Keith Stromgren attended the
Southern New England Weather
Conference in Brookline, MA. The
conference was held on the grounds of
the Dexter and Southfield Schools, at the Clay Center Observatory.
Topics included winter weather forecasting, severe
weather, hurricanes, advances in the science of meteorology, and
emergency preparedness.
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| SEMA Director Charles Dunlap,
Glenn Field, Warning Coordination Meteorologist of the National Weather Service and Assistant Director
Keith Stromgren take a break from the Southern New England
Weather Conference. |
SEMA Director Charles
Dunlap and Robert Thompson, Meteorologist-in-Charge of the
National Weather Service forecast office in Taunton,
Massachusetts. |
SEMA Members Participate in
Simulated Radiological Emergency at Greenfield Community College
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| SEMA Director Charles Dunlap,
Radio Officer Eric Carroll, members Howard Pohlman, Bob Miller
and Assistant Director Chuck Housner prepare to distribute dosimeters to participants. |
SEMA Members explain
the correct use of the Direct Read Dosimeters to
emergency workers during the simulated exercise at the
Greenfield Community Reception Center. |
On Saturday morning, July 14, 2007
members of the Southwick Emergency Management Agency participated in a
radiological exercise that was sponsored by the Enterty Corporation,
owner of the Vermont Yankee power plant and the Massachusetts
Emergency Management Agency. SEMA Director Charles H. Dunlap,
Assistant Director Chuck Housner, Radio Officer Eric Carroll and members
Howard Polhman and Bob Miller were active participants in the exercise. During the
exercise, SEMA members calibrated dosimeters and distributed them to
rescue personal who were participating in the exercise. The
exercise scenario was based on a radiological
release and the subsequent evacuation of local residents. The exercise was held at the
Greenfield Community College which serves as the reception center for
evacuees because it is located outside the 10 mile Emergency Planning
Zone.
SEMA featured in the Springfield
Republican: Hams tune up emergency radio skills
Sunday, June 24, 2007
By ALEX PESHKOV
apeshkov@repub.com
SOUTHWICK - William R. Ferry has a hobby enjoyed by 6 million people across the world: The Southwick resident has been a ham radio operator for about 50 years.
"I was visiting a fellow who was a ham already. I was a paper boy, and he was one of my customers.
"I started talking to him, got interested, got a license and have been keeping up the hobby for 50 years," said Ferry, one of the radio amateurs who use various types of equipment to communicate with each other for public service, recreation and self-training
Today, thousands of ham operators across the nation were participating in Field Day, an annual 24-hour exercise, that began yesterday at 2 p.m.
Each year, countless radio enthusiasts into unusual locations to test - making certain that ham radio always will be there to get the message through in an emergency.
Dozens of operators from Western Massachusetts gathered yesterday in Dufresne Recreational Park in Granby and at other sites across the region to take to the air at the same time and stay on the air for 24 hours.
The 75th Field Day "is a national exercise run by the American Radio Relay League to promote emergency communications preparedness," said Chuck Housner, assistant director of the Southwick Emergency Management Agency.
He was speaking in a parking lot behind the Southwick Town Hall where the agency's staff was setting up a temporary communication center.
"Basically, we test our equipment and try to make contact with other emergency management agencies and amateur radio operators throughout the country," said Housner, a ham radio operator himself, whose interest in that "goes back, probably, 10 or 15 years."
"It's a great way to meet other people, to help your community and be involved in your community, especially in times of trouble. We did use amateur radio back during the nor'easter we just had, so it's very helpful," he said.
Housner and his colleagues will be at the site until 2 p.m. today, so everyone will have a chance to meet and talk with them and "see what the Amateur Radio Service is about."
"The main purpose of this is to test our skills and equipment, running today on solar power," said Al Albert Grimaldi, radio emergency communication officer from East Longmeadow, whose call sign is KB1XG.
Grimaldi's first contact yesterday was W1AW, which is both the amateur radio call sign and the primary operating station of the American Radio Relay League. Also known as the Hiram Percy Maxim Memorial Station, W1AW is located on the grounds of ARRL Headquarters in Newington, Conn.
"It's the ham radio headquarters in America, and it's just happened. It's like one chance in a million," Grimaldi said.
Source
WAMC interviews SEMA Director
Charles H. Dunlap about the NWS StormReady Program
SOUTHWICK, MA (2007-04-24) The National
Weather Service is hoping to encourage more communities to develop
comprehensive plans to handle local severe weather. WAMC's Pioneer
Valley Bureau Chief Paul Tuthill reports.
Listen to the report in MP3 format by
clicking here.
SEMA and Southwick Auxiliary Police
provide crowd and traffic control at the Third Annual Penguin Plunge
On Saturday, January 27, 2007 the Amelia Park Children's Museum
hosted its 3rd annual Penguin Plunge and Winter Carnival fundraiser at
The Brass Rail Pavillion on North Pond of the Congamond Lakes. Southwick Emergency Management
Agency members along with the Southwick Auxiliary Police provided
crowd and traffic control. Four
of Southwick’s Community Emergency Response Team (CERT)
members also assisted Public Safety during the event.
The Penguin Plunge is an annual fundraiser that benefits the Amelia
Park Children's Museum and gives fundraisers a chance to take a cold
swim in Lake Congamond. Over 170 thrill seekers went for an icy
dip in the lake to raise money for the museum. The air temperature was
a brisk 16 degrees and the water was a invigorating 34 degrees. The event was held on the
grounds of The Brass Rail restaurant in Southwick and raised more than
$40,000 for the Amelia
Park Children's Museum. The event was extremely well attended
with over 1000 spectators. SEMA members who worked the Penguin Plunge
included Director Charles Dunlap, Assistant Directors Chuck Housner
and Keith Stromgren, Radio Officer Eric Carroll, and members Bob
Miller and Howard Pohlman. Southwick Auxiliary Police Officer Peter
Jakobowski, Jr. assisted with traffic control.
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| Here you can see some
of the participants taking a plunge in Lake Congamond where
the Southwick Fire Department Dive Team opened a hole in the ice for the Penguin Plunge. |
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| Southwick Auxiliary
Police Officer Pete Jakobowski provides traffic control for the
crowd of 1000 people for the Penguin Plunge and Winter
Carnival. |
Left to Right: SEMA
member Howard Pohlman, SEMA Radio Officer Eric Carroll, Assistant Director Chuck
Housner and SEMA Director Charles Dunlap. |
Southwick Girl Scouts Receive
Orientation on Emergency Management
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| SEMA Director Charles
Dunlap talks about the importance of emergency management to the
scouts. |
SEMA Director Charles
Dunlap along with Scout Leaders Patty Reardon and Kate Donnelly and members of troop 403. |
On Monday morning, January 15, 2007
the Southwick Emergency Management Agency hosted members of Girl Scout
Troop 403 of Southwick, MA. The scouts received an orientation
of the Emergency Operations Center provided by SEMA Director Charles
H. Dunlap, Assistant Director Chuck Housner, and SEMA member Robert
Miller. The scouts are working toward their Emergency
Preparedness Interest Projects. The Emergency Preparedness
Interest Project requires the scouts to visit a local command center to learn about different technologies used for communication and handling emergencies in
their community. The purpose of this visit is to teach the scouts what back-up technologies are available for use in case of a disaster.
SEMA Members Participate in
Simulated Radiological Emergency at Greenfield Community College
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| SEMA Member Bob
Miller, Assistant
Director Chuck Housner and Director Charles Dunlap distribute
dosimeters to participants. |
On Saturday morning, October 28, 2006
members of the Southwick Emergency Management Agency participated in a
radiological exercise that was sponsored by the Enterty Corporation,
owner of the Vermont Yankee power plant and the Massachusetts
Emergency Management Agency. SEMA Director Charles H. Dunlap,
Assistant Director Chuck Housner and members Bob Miller and Pete
Jakobowski were active participants in the exercise. During the
exercise, SEMA members calibrated dosimeters and distributed them to
rescue personal who were participating in the exercise. The
exercise scenario was based on a radiological
release and the subsequent evacuation of local residents. The exercise was held at the
Greenfield Community College which serves as the reception center for
evacuees because it is located outside the 10 mile Emergency Planning
Zone.
Southwick Auxiliary Police
provide crowd control at the Holyoke Road Race and St. Patrick's
Parade
On Saturday, March 18 and Sunday, March
19, 2006 - Southwick Auxiliary Police Director Charles H. Dunlap and
Officer
Pete Jakobowski, Jr. provided
crowd control at the Holyoke St. Patrick's Parade and Road Race.
With a crowd of 250,000 people for the parade, neighboring towns and
cities have traditionally volunteered their Auxiliary Police to assist
in providing security for this event. Holyoke Police Captain
Alan G. Fletcher said, "I have over 300 police officers assigned
to the parade; we have auxiliary police and neighboring city
departments, and state police."
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| Southwick Auxiliary
Police Officer
Pete Jakobowski, Jr. and Director Charles H. Dunlap |
SEMA and Southwick Auxiliary Police
provide crowd and traffic control at the Penguin Plunge
On Saturday, January 28, 2006 Southwick Emergency Management
Agency members along with Southwick Auxiliary Police Officers provided
crowd and traffic control at the Penguin Plunge and Winter Carnival.
The Penguin Plunge is an annual fundraiser that benefits the Amelia
Park Children's Museum and gives fundraisers a chance to take a cold
swim in Lake Congamond. The lake temperature was a chilly 44
degrees. Approximately 70 thrill seekers took the
plunge and were applauded by 750 spectators. The event was held on the
grounds of The Brass Rail restaurant in Southwick and raised more than
$26,000 for the Amelia
Park Children's Museum. Southwick EMA Director
Charles Dunlap, Assistant Director Chuck Housner, Radio Officer Eric
Carol and members Dave Houle and Bob Miller provided traffic and crowd
control as well as communications support. Auxiliary Police Officers
Pete Jakobowski, Jr. and Steve Royer provided traffic and crowd
control during the event.
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| Left to Right: SEMA
Assistant Director Chuck Housner, Southwick Auxiliary Police
Officers Steve Royer and Pete Jakobobski, SEMA members Dave
Houle, Bob Miller, and SEMA Director Charles Dunlap. |
Southwick Auxiliary
Police Officers and SEMA members provide traffic control for the
crowd of 800 people for the Penguin Plunge and Winter
Carnival. |
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| Here you can see some
of the thrill seekers taking a plunge in Lake Congamond where
the Southwick Fire Department Dive Team opened a hole in the
10" thick ice for the Penguin Plunge. |
|
SEMA members attend Southern New England Weather Conference.
On Saturday, November 5, 2005 SEMA
Director Charles Dunlap, Assistant Director Chuck Housner and member Pauline Dunlap attended the
Southern New England Weather
Conference in Brookline, MA. The
conference was held on the grounds of
the Dexter and Southfield Schools, at the Clay Center Observatory.
Topics included winter weather forecasting, severe
weather, hurricanes, advances in the science of meteorology, and
emergency preparedness.
Among the speakers who presented at the conference were John
E. Jones,
the Deputy Director of NOAA's National Weather Service and Rick
McCoy, the Director, of the Van Wert County Office of Homeland
Security and Emergency Management, in Ohio.
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| Presenters in the Clay
Center Observatory
auditorium. |
SEMA Director Charles
Dunlap and Pauline Dunlap. |
SEMA Assistant Director Chuck
Housner heads to Mississippi to Assist Hurricane Victims
On Monday, September 26, 2005 SEMA
Assistant Director Chuck Housner left for Atlanta, Georgia to be
staged for deployment into the Gulf coast region on the heels of
Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. In Atlanta, Chuck was selected to
lead a task force of Community Relations Field Officers and deploy
them to Biloxi, Mississippi and on September 30, 2005 Task Force 139
was deployed.
Once in Mississippi, Chuck worked in
the field for a month as a Community Relations Field Officer,
identifying Special Needs clients and helping to get them into
temporary housing. Currently, Chuck has several responsibilities
working in the Biloxi Area Field Office (AFO).
- Coordinating the Speakers Bureau,
which provides FEMA representatives from different program areas
to Town Hall meetings to help answer peoples questions about
receiving assistance from the federal government.
- Managing Special Needs Intake
- FEMA Community Relations
representative to the Inter-Agency Health and Safety
Committee.
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| SEMA Assistant Director Chuck Housner
(second from right) with his task force of Community Relations
Field Officers in Atlanta,
GA. |
SEMA Assistant Director
Chuck Housner at his desk In Biloxi, Mississippi. |
SEMA acquires AM General M35A2 6x6 2
1/2 ton Cargo Truck

The Southwick Emergency Management Agency
is proud to announce that it has acquired an AM General M35A2 6x6, 2
1/2 ton Cargo Truck that it will use to support Emergency Management
activities.
SEMA Members Participate in
Simulated Radiological Emergency at Greenfield Community College
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| SEMA Director Charles
H. Dunlap cleans up a simulated contaminated area. |
Peter Jakobowski, Jr.
and Eric Carroll discuss the radiological exercise |
SEMA Assistant
Director Chuck Housner and Eric Carroll stand in front of one of
the radiological detection portals. |
On Saturday morning, May 14, 2005
members of the Southwick Emergency Management Agency participated in a
radiological exercise that was sponsored by the Enterty Corporation,
owner of the Vermont Yankee power plant and the Massachusetts
Emergency Management Agency. SEMA Director Charles H. Dunlap,
Assistant Director Chuck Housner and members Eric Carroll and Pete
Jakobowski were active participants in the exercise. During the
exercise, participants were required to setup radiological portals to
screen evacuated residents for exposure to radiation. The
exercise scenario was based on a radiological
release and the subsequent evacuation of local residents. During
the exercise, all participants were required to wear protective
equipment including disposable nitrile gloves and rubber
booties. Participants also
were equipped with radiation dosimeters
to measure their expose levels. The exercise was held at the
Greenfield Community College which serves as the reception center for
evacuees because it is located outside the 10 mile Emergency Planning
Zone. SEMA Members attend
National Weather Service SKYWARN Training in Chicopee, Massachusetts
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| National Weather
Service Meteorologist Glen Fields leads the SKYWARN training
session held in Chicopee, MAssachusetts |
SEMA Director Charles
H. Dunlap is interviewed by News 22 about the importance of the
SKYWARN weather spotter training. |
On Monday evening, April 25, 2005
members of the Southwick Emergency Management Agency attended National
Weather Service SKYWARN training in Chicopee, Massachusetts.
SEMA members who completed the weather spotter course included
Director Charles H. Dunlap, Assistant Direct Chuck Housner, and
members Pauline Dunlap, Robert Miller and Eric Carroll. WWLP
News 22 was there and hosted a segment on the training during their
regular broadcast. During that segment, SEMA Director Charles
Dunlap was interviewed and spoke about the importance of the training.
Thanks to WWLP News 22 for providing us with these images.
Southwick Auxiliary Police Officer
Peter Jakobowski, Jr. Graduates from Reserve / Intermittent Basic
Training
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| Peter Jakobowski, Jr.
Receives his diploma from Mark Smith of the Western Massachusetts Regional Police Academy
in Feeding Hills Massachusetts. |
(Left to right)
Southwick Fire Chief Don Morris, Southwick Auxiliary Police
Office Peter Jakobowski, Jr; Southwick Police Chief Mark Kynicki
and Southwick Emergency Management Director Charles H.
Dunlap. |
On Thursday evening, April 7, 2005
Peter Jakobowski, Jr. graduated from the Reserve / Intermittent
Officer Basic Training at the Western Massachusetts Regional Police Academy in Feeding Hills
Massachusetts. In attendance for the event were Southwick's new
Chief of Police Mark Krynicki, Southwick Fire Chief Don Morris and
Southwick EMA Director Charles Dunlap. Officer Jakobowski, Jr.
was one of 34 graduates
from this session of the academy receiving 148 hours of training.
SEMA conducts R.A.C.E.S. Radio Propagation
Drill on April 2, 2005
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| Members of Southwick
Emergency Management Agency (Left to right) Keith Stromgren,
Radio Officer; Charles H. Dunlap, EMA Director; Robert Miller;
and Eric Carrol. |
(Left to right) Chuck
Housner, EMA Assistant Director; Eric Carrol; Pauline Dunlap;
Keith Streomgrem, Radio Officer; and Robert Miller. |
On Saturday morning, April 2, 2005 the Southwick Emergency Management Agency conducted a
R.A.C.E.S. (Radio Amateur Civil Emergency Services) Radio Propagation Drill within the town of Southwick to test 146.000 MHz radios and their capabilities communicating from
different sites around town to each other and to the Emergency Operations Center.
The weather made this exercise even more challenging and realistic to
the members who participated. During the exercise, the E.O.C.
was activated as we were under a flood warning from the National
Weather Service. Over two inches of rain fell while the exercise
was being conducted and a portion of College Highway was closed due to
flooding.
SEMA Assistant Director Chuck
Housner heads to Florida to Assist Hurricane Victims.
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| On Monday,
September 14, 2004 SEMA Assistant Director Chuck Housner (far
right) was chosen at the FEMA Disaster Field Office in Atlanta,
GA to lead a team of Community Relations Officers. |
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