Bexar County Amateur Radio Emergency Services has been busily getting
ready for whatever impact Hurricane Dean brings to South Texas. The San
Antonio Radio Club is active supporter of ARES and we have encouraged
all of our member to become members of Bexar County ARES or your local
ARES organization.

In the next few days ARES is going to need more and more volunteer
operators and will look to local, licensed amateur radio operators for
help in filling its needs. These duties might include EOC operations,
Red Cross Shelter communications, distant assignments where normal
communications are down, and a long list of radio services to determined
by the impact of Hurricane Dean.

It is not too late to join Bexar County ARES and to do so you need to do
three things:

1. Join the Bexar County ARES Yahoo Group at
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/bexarcountyares/
<http://groups.yahoo.com/group/bexarcountyares/>

2. Once established as a member, go to the "Database" section and enter
your contact information. Call or email me if you have trouble entering
this information.

3. If you are available for an ARES assignment you need to let Teri
Thomas, KC5BJI know. Email her at wa3pay-kc5bji@...
<http://groups.yahoo.com/group/bexarcountyares/post?postID=86G2EqPZ_gEH9\;
Rqh1USnrOOWPfEBfBJ57AYj4Y2N3V7Q9bPl4v0lQQoDxdgg4sX5dp8yVnTkyjr_p5Pbu0dFK&#92;
ssq> with your availability, capability, and any restrictions that you
may have. Make sure she has your current contact information. It is
important to email her with this information rather than calling her on
the radio or telephone because she will have a record of the information
to work with and can concentrate on her Resources duties.

From Sunday forward several of the San Antonio area repeaters will be
used for logistical work in anticipation of Hurricane Dean impacting
South Texas, particularly the ARES repeater on 147.18 + MHz (103.5).
Monitoring 147.18 is recommended. Keeping the chit chat down on that
repeater, and increasingly other repeaters being used for Emergency
Communications, is a must.

If your non radioed friends or family want to volunteer to help those
who are going to be displaced, I recommend that they call the San
Antonio Red Cross Chapter at 210-224-5151 for information. Red Cross
volunteers have to attend an initial Orientation session. It is likely
that these short sessions will be scheduled quickly and they are going
to need additional help.

Email me at davidftx@... <mailto:davidftx@...> or call
210-710-8721 with questions.

K5OLE
David Freiberger