Water rescue on the Little Mo

[DeMo]

Thanks DeBo. I read the entire page about the failure you quoted and the success/mutual cooperation stories too.

It's gut wrenching to wait for survivors to be found or recoveries to be completed.

[rickyrod]

They found the last missing person at 12 today. 20 in all. another SAD SAD day for those families . prayers for all.

[justin.payne]

40/29 News out of Fayetteville, Fort Smith is doing a news package on the ACC members that went down there this weekend. The contacted me for an interview. Supposed to air at 6 tonight.

[justin.payne]

Might be a good idea to get them to do a package over the swift water rescue course next month. That would get some people's attention.

[Joe Purdy]

Good Job Justin! Just saw the news interview with you.
Thanks for representing the NW Chapter for those of us who were not able to make it down there.

While I thought you did a good job, I thought the news coverage was a little weak... it felt like a fluff piece. There really wasnt much meat to the reporting, you definitely carried the story and represented the club well. Maybe more positive coverage like this of our club's efforts will attractmore positive attention to us, and help to strengthen the public's( and local government's) confidence in our abilities.

Thanks to all of you for your work, that goes out to all of you out there who volunteered your time to help with this.


Justin, Can I have your autograph at Boatball?

[RandyJ]

Looked for a clip on 40/29 web site but no joy. Anyone else find it?

[Paddlegal]

Here's the link to video. At the moment it says streaming unavailable.

http://www.4029tv.com/video/23898827/index.html

[Godzilla]

Justin,

Just wanted to say thanks to you & the other members of the club that have given their time & resources to help during this tragedy.

You did a great job on the interview! I'll be expecting an autograph, too.

[justin.payne]

ok ok guys.....I guess I will set up an autograph booth at boatball tonight. Come on by and get your favorite paddle or helmet signed by yours truely.

[Tamara]

I have been reading all the post on this thread. I knew when I posted the orginal post that there would be alot of ppl that wanted to help. And I was right. And I see the frustration that some of you are feeling and I understand, as do others. I would like to thank some of you like DeMo and OzarkTom for posting the information that you did. It helped to clarify alot of things.
Everyone would like to know what they can do to help in the future. In short, check with your county. Most county search and rescue units in Arkansas are made up of volunteers. Volunteer Fire Fighters. So one thing you can do is join your local Volunteer Fire Dept. If you don't have the time to commit every week. Offer to teach advanced swift water rescue corses. This will not only let you get to know the local rescue units and them to know you, but will also show them what you can do. And I don't mean at $200 to $300 ahead like most ppl offer to do. Volunteer Fire Dept operate off of grants and donations. They have to maintain equipment and training requried by the State in order to keep the dept open. And they rarely have leftover money to spend.
I hope everyone will step up and offer some of there time because the ppl in this club have so much to offer.
Paddle safe.

[Fish]

Just checking to see if anyone has led the charge to get with local/state/fed government organizations to try to provide them with a contact point with ACC or a list of "qualified" paddlers who can help with tragedies such as this flood. I think it would be a shame if another incident like this occurs and ACC hasn't tried hard to reach out and fastrack a way to get paddlers in there quickly for rescue and recovery. Is anyone doing this?

- Fish

[OzarkTom]

Fish and all,

Yes, that was actually a hot topic at the July BOD meeting and I am currently working on a way that the ACC can function as a special resource in events such as this.

There will be additional information as this unfolds as well as a sign up process.

Tom

[Fish]

Thanks for the update, Tom. Good to know we're staying on top of this!

- Fish

[Lupe]

Fellow paddlers,

We had a lot of emotional discussion about the role that members of our paddling community might be able to play during events like the tragedy at Albert Pike last year. At the time, the event highlighted that if we are ever going to be able to offer our unique skills and resources in the time of a emergency, that we need to plan ahead with some organization and establish the proper channels.

Please read back through the posts in this thread and think about how many of us really wanted to help, and in this situation we had MANY boaters with unique skills we could have offered.

We all hope we will not see this kind of dangerous flooding event that took so many lives again, but IF SOMETHING LIKE THIS HAPPENS AGAIN, I am sure there's going to be just as many boaters who once again will want to help. IN ORDER TO DO THAT, we do need to organize ahead of time - NOW, and not when the emergency actually happens.

Please consider contacting Tom Borroughs to add your name to a Water Resource Database that the ACC is trying to organize (please read details here: http://forums.arkansascanoeclub.com/vie ... =1&t=17029" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;). So far, we do not have enough names in this database to take the next steps needed.

Please keep in mind that adding your name to this list in NO WAY obligates you to do anything, other than saying you are willing to be called as a possible resource in an event. If you are not sure, or have questions, PLEASE ask either by posting or contacting Tom.

This is something I know I felt very strongly about after this incident last year, and that many others felt the same way. I really hope that we can do something that will make a difference for the future.

Thanks,
Heather

[Cowper]

E-mail sent. I hesitated for various reasons, one being thinking, could I really get away from work on short notice?

But then thinking back - how many times have I and my co-workers supported each other when there was a family emergency? It's just not the same thing as leaving early to do do something fun, when someone picks up the phone, gets a worried look on their face, and says something is going on at home, we all rise to the occasion, and within minutes they are out the door and on the way.

Companies and co-workers also provide this kind of support to volunteer fire fighters in smaller communities, so this is nothing new. I'm sure there are some in the medical professions, teaching, or other jobs where this wouldn't be possible or practical, but for many of us I think it would be within reach even if our boss is normally an ogre and vacations usually require scheduling far in advance.