RSS FeedGRANTS - Both the Cibola County Sheriff's Office and Cibola County Emergency Management have received ham radios with funds from a 2007 Homeland Security grant obtained by Lt. Harry Hall of the sheriff's office and Gabe Candalaria, formerly with Emergency Management.
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Hall stated, “To my knowledge this is the first time any government body has spent money on a ham radio in Cibola County, although San Juan County has been paying for and giving radios for years to volunteer ham operators at their homes.”
He pointed out that San Juan and Bernalillo Counties have numerous ham radios in the hands of volunteers. “Bernalillo County has hundreds of ham operators.”
Hall described how ham radio operators were essential during emergency events like Hurricane Katrina. “Fiber optic cables were cut, so both cell phones and long distance phone service were out of operation. The ham radio operators stepped into the void to set up communications with the outside world,” he explained.
Hall is the president of the local ARES/RACES ham radio club, which has a membership of approximately 15 people and meets the third Thursday of the month at the First Baptist Church.
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Tom wrote on Jan 13, 2010 8:32 PM: