WEEK OF AUGUST 1, 2024
VOLUME 129 | ISSUE 22
How local amateur radio enthusiasts in Colorado assist with public safety BY HALEY LENA HLENA@COLORADOCOMMUNTIYMEDIA.COM
Given our dependency on the internet, communicating with amateur radios may seem old school, even quaint. But imagine if bad weather or a solar storm hit and disrupted the internet and cell phones. At that moment, a network of amateur, or ham, radio operators could spring into action, playing a major role in keeping the public safe through communications. “It’s kind of old technology, but it’s old technology that never fails,” said Debrah Schnackenberg, Douglas County’s emergency management director. Whether it’s a natural disaster like Hurricane Beryl, which struck the Caribbean, the Yucatan Peninsula and Gulf Coast this summer,knocking out power for millions of people or the more recent Microsoft and CrowdStrike outage that impacted computer systems throughout the country, an amateur radio can become an important community tool. Amateur radio frequencies are the last remaining places in the usable radio spectrum where people can experiment with wireless communications, according to the American Radio Relay League. It’s not just hurricanes or internet out- Several American Radio Emergency Services of Douglas and Elbert Counties ages where amateur radio can be useful. members stand up a multi-band vertical antenna on Field Day in late June. The SEE SAFETY, P20
day is a way for amateur radio operators to practice establishing connections in COURTESY OF BRAD TOMBAUGH the case of an unspecified emergency.
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Elbert County town hall gets heated Anger over pay hikes leads to shouted remarks BY NICKY QUINBY SPECIAL TO COLORADO COMMUNITY MEDIA
Amid controversies over pay hikes for local government executives and Xcel Energy’s power-line plans, the July 17 Elbert County Commissioners Town Hall Meeting was hotly anticipated and well-attended. Wendy Walp, Elbert resident and treasurer for the Elbert Women’s Club, said the turnout at the Russell Gates Mercantile Building was much bigger than the last town hall in Elbert. The meeting started off calmly with a county update from the commissioners, though many had difficulty hearing and frequently yelled for the commissioners to speak up. Contract extensions that resulted in substantial pay increases for County Manager Shawn Fletcher and County Attorney SEE HEATED, P8
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