North Rosslyn members have an opportunity to attend the County's training in emergency response -- a particularly timely and important matter in these days of Orange Alert. If you are able to attend this training, please let me know and contact the county's coordination team directly at the number provided below. The more people we have trained in our neighborhood -- particularly in the condo and apartment buildings -- the better.

Dear Presidents:
Very briefly, the County has begun its 2004 CERT training for residents. This entails 20 hours spread over 6 weeks and 8 classes (six weeknights, two Saturdays) and includes medical operations, search and rescue, fire suppression, weapons of mass destruction and general disaster preparedness. Neighborhoods were clustered for the first round of training (at least ten people from each cluster). We now have at least one person trained in MOST neighborhoods and have a few VERY strong teams (Pentagon, Fairlington/Shirlington, Lyon Village, and the "Hospital" CERT, to name a few) but need to bolster other teams.
We have openings in three of the winter-spring sessions -- one beginning on January 22 (a Thursday CERT), one beginning on February 10 (a Tuesday CERT) and one beginning on February 19th (a Tuesday CERT). If you have a newsletter going out, please let people know about the training. Those who complete all eight classes -- and become certified -- are entitled to grant-funded training in CPR, First Aid and AEDs through an agreement with the Arlington Red Cross. (All weeknight classes run from 7 to 9:45; all Saturdays from 10 a.m. until completion. All classes are at the Fire Training Academy, 2800 S. Taylor Street in Shirlington).
Captain Carl Lindgren of the Office of Emergency Management coordinates the training -- which is provided by fire fighters and EMTs; Cynthia Kellams of Arlington Ridge is our citizen liaison. This is a great example of a citizen-government partnership working toward a common goal.
For those interested in registering for the class, they can go to the County Web Site -- www.co.arlington.va.us -- click on E Prep and follow the prompts to CERT.
To give you an idea of what CERTs do nation-wide (this is a FEMA curriculum), The Connection is the national on-line newsletter and this month's edition has an article on Arlington's CERT (written by Cynthia!). It can be accessed at
http://www.naem.com/connection.html.
Thanks for considering this request. Please feel free to contact Captain Lindgren, Cynthia or me (703-527-0294) if you have any questions. (Some physical strength is necessary but we've trained able-bodied individuals well into their 70's)!
Kim Smith
CERT Scheduler