Minutes posted

The minutes of the January KCJIS Committee Meeting, as well as the February minutes of the Southwest Kansas Regional Emergency Planning Committee have been posted at www.ksapco.org.

Conference schedule posted

The schedule for the Kansas APCO Spring Conference has been posted at www.ksapco.org.  Hope to see you there!

Spring Conference to offer "Active Shooter" training

As you're following the horrific events that are happening across the nation with active shooters are you wishing that you had some way to help prepare your dispatchers to deal with those situations?  We all know there is no real way to prepare but you want your staff to be armed with as much knowledge as possible going into these high stress situations.

 We are very proud to present the following general session class at the Kansas APCO Chapter Spring Conference being hosted in Wichita on April 7th-9th. 

Response to Armed Engagement – This class is designed to increase a Law Enforcement Officer’s change of survival in all types of “armed encounters.”  This class will briefly discuss recent Active Shooter events that have occurred in the United States, to include local events that have happened in Wichita.  It will also discuss the parallel development of both Law Enforcement and society for the past two decades and a look at the ALERT program that is currently being conducted for the Wichita Police Department.  This class will give the dispatcher an insight into what occurs in the mind of an officer during a critical incident and an explanation of the tactics the officer uses to bring the incident to a successful resolution.

KSAPCO announcing workshops

KSAPCO has started announcing some of the workshops and activities which will be held at the Spring Conference in Wichita.

Managing “Psycho-Hazmat” on the 911 Front Lines:  Protecting your Health, Your Career, and Your Family – Officers on duty wear bullet proof vests, Fire Fighters wear durable heat and fire resistant “Turnout suits”, and hazardous material workers wear, well--big funny- looking outfits that protect them from diseases and death! But what do 911 dispatchers wear to protect themselves from their exposure to Psychological Hazmat—the toxic effects of exposure to death, violence, and tragedy at the console?  Jim Marshall will launch our conference with an entertaining and eye-opening look at the psychological risks posed by your work as 911 frontliners--and what you can do to protect yourself. You’ll hear the incredible story of Oregon’s “Jan and Mike: the Kevlar Couple” then join your peers for a Think Tank exercise to explore how you can support your 911 family in the face of traumatic stress.  

After our morning break Jim will continue with part 2 of his presentation: Taming the Vicious 911 Stress Cycle-- “We Bring it Home & Take it back to Work”. In this highly interactive session, we’ll explore how we carry our 911 stress home where it can change our relationships and  impact the quality of our personal lives—our marriages and our families. Jim has listened to countless dispatchers describe their frustration with cycle—and helped many overcome it. He will lead us in a dynamic conversation equipping us to protect our mental health, and to enjoy our partners, our children and our lives outside the 911 center.

Don't forget the 80's Dance Contest

By Elora Randleas: The Sunday Night Social at the Spring Conference will include contests and prizes, including a prize for the "best 80's outfit". The social is hosted by Voice Products, Inc.

Astrological events may cause GPS outages

From Jim Shinpaugh, ENP, Project Manager, Mission Critical Partners, Inc. via Michele Abbott:

Two astrological events are about to occur that will have some short term effect on satellite communications and possibly some long term damage.

On February 15^th 2013 an asteroid the size of a 15 story building will pass in low earth orbit.  This is where the communications and GPS satellites operate.  NASA has already alerted satellite service operators to be ready to relocate their satellites to avoid destruction.  Services impacted will be weather data, Iridium sat phones, GPS, VSAT, TV and other spaced based communications services.

When the satellites are temporarily moved many earth stations will lose contact with the satellite.   If this should impact one of your clients they will lose service until the satellite is put back in normal orbit.  This should be a disruption of less than 24 hours.

In the event that a satellite is struck and destroyed, your clients should contact the service provider and request a new bird assignment. They will then have to physically realign the dish services to the new assignment.  This could take several days to correct as service crews will have many callouts.  The biggest risk to our clients would be if an east coast client is rehomed to the west coast or vice versa this requires a low look angle and clients may have obstacles in the path. 

Aside from services that talk directly on the satellites, the entire GPS system is at high risk.  Many of our client dispatch and radio systems rely on GPS timing to function properly.  These services may experience minor errors or major disruptions throughout this event.

Naturally anyone traveling on the 15^th may experience problems with the GPS system.

The second event is a major solar flare expected between February 15^th to the 18^th.  This may also impact communications and electrical systems. 

 

 

80's Dance Contest to be held: bring your 80's wardrobe!

By Elora Randleas: The Sunday Night Social at the Spring Conference will include contests and prizes, including a prize for the "best 80's outfit".  The social is hosted by Voice Products, Inc.

Dig into your closet and bring your best 80's outfit with you to the conference!