TIFTON —
Despite the Internet, cell phones, email and modern communications, every year whole regions find themselves in the dark. Tornadoes, fires, storms, ice and even the occasional cutting of fiberoptic cables leave people without the means to communicate. In these cases, the one consistent service that has never failed has been amateur radio. These radio operators, often called “hams” provide backup communications for everything from the American Red Cross to FEMA and even for the International Space Station. Tifton's “hams” will join with thousands of other amateur radio operators showing their emergency capabilities June 23-24.
Over the past year, the news has been full of reports of ham radio operators providing critical communications during unexpected emergencies in towns across America including the California wildfires, winter storms, tornadoes and other events world-wide. When trouble is brewing, amateur radio’s people are often the first to provide rescuers with critical information and communications. On the weekend of June 23-24, the public will have a chance to meet and talk with Coastal Plains Amateur Radio Club members, the local ham radio operators, and see for themselves what the Amateur Radio Service is about as hams across the USA will be holding public demonstrations of emergency communications abilities.
This annual event, called "Field Day" is the climax of the week-long "Amateur Radio Week" sponsored by the ARRL, the national association for amateur radio. Using only emergency power supplies, ham operators will construct emergency stations in parks, shopping malls, schools and backyards around the country. Their slogan, "When All Else Fails, Ham Radio Works” is more than just words to the hams as they prove they can send messages in many forms without the use of phone systems, internet or any other infrastructure that can be compromised in a crisis. More than 35,000 amateur radio operators across the country participated in last year's event.
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‘Ham’ radio will show off emergency capabilities, June 23-24
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Students challenge community, leaders to ‘stop the violence’
Eighth Street Middle School students chant "Keep calm and stop the violence" as they hold up signs in front of the school Tuesday morning for their peace rally.
“Keep calm and stop the violence,” “Save our streets” and “No more violence” were the words echoed by Eighth Street Middle School students early Tuesday morning as they stood in front of the school behind caution tape and orange cones, shouting and holding up signs as they waved at passing motorists who smiled and returned the gesture.
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Two from Tift named 1st team All-Region
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Two from Tift named 1st team All-Region
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