Hi Everyone,

December is here and you know what this means don’t you? Yes you’re right; it’s time for the ALERT Christmas party! You are all cordially invited to the ALERT Christmas party Tuesday, December 11 at the NWS Forecast Office. This is a Pot Luck affair, which means you bring your own pot, meaning a pot with food in it, a covered dish, or desert. Bring your spouse, kids, and perspective members and be prepared to have Christmas fun!

Christmas is my favorite time of the year.

Christmastime is a time of wonder & mystery. A time of bright lights, shining trees and the time of hide and seek, as presents are hid from inquiring minds and fingers.

A time one’s mind and memories drift back to days of childhood, and Christmases now long gone by. Remembering friends and family, some here, some now gone & longing that they were near once again, as it was once upon a time not so long ago. And, it is a time when, if we allow ourselves and don’t choose to “Grinch out” and be sour pusses, we can become kids once again.

Hi everyone,

I hope this finds you well, and untouched by the hobgoblin attack of the 31st. We had no trick or treaters this year, so you know what that means. Yes, I have to eat ALL of the candy. Which is a tough job, but someone has to do it.

As we watch the Northeast recovering from the regional disaster caused by Hurricane Sandy it is to be remembered that November has arrived and with it our second tornado season. It is also to be remembered that some years the fall tornado season proves to be more active than the spring season.

With this in mind, this month’s ALERT newsletter will focus on training, with a review ALERT’s operational procedures. Please print out these instructions, keep and study them.

Also, remember that most of our “real training” is from “on the job experience”. In other words, please don’t be afraid to respond to a callout even if you feel need more training. 90 percent of our training is “learning by doing” under the supervision of seasoned mentor. That’s how I did it. My training was with David Black KB4KCH “showing me the ropes” during a callout many years ago.

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Hi everybody and welcome to the October ALERT Newsletter.

We begin this newsletter on a sad note as I have just received word of the passing of Penny Isbell KA4KUM wife and soul mate of Jay Isbell KA4KUN. Our thoughts and prayers are with you and your family.

This month’s newsletter will start off with news of the upcoming ARRL Simulated Emergency Tests.

This year’s October tests will be held on two different dates. Autauga, Cherokee, Montgomery and Shelby Counties will hold their SET’s on October 6 from 9:00 AM to 12 Noon. While Bibb, Jefferson, Tuscaloosa, Walker and Winston Counties will be holding their SET’s October 13 from 9:00 AM to 12 noon.

There will be various emergency scenarios being played out. The scenario for Shelby County will deal with a complete loss of landline phone service and sporadic and wide-area loss of cell phone service throughout the county and nearby areas.

Hi Everyone,

I hope you had a good Labor Day and are enjoying the early taste of fall. The lengthening shadows tell us that summer is slowly winding down. Soon the storms of our fall severe weather season will arrive as winter tries to sneak in and summer pushes back, not wanting to cooperate and move out of the way.

Now is the time to ask yourself a simple question “am I still prepared for the storms and other dangers that might come?”

You see we humans are reactive creatures. Once something happens, after it’s over and done with THEN we train and plan for the situation that just occurred. We are ready at that point. “Were ready,” we tell ourselves, and then we turn our attention to other things and then in a shorter amount of time than we think, our preparations and training can fade into nothing more than a comforting myth.