Neighbors Helping Neighbors!
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Come Join US!
If you've been considering joining our Lake Arrowhead CERT (Community Emergency Response) Team, now's your chance. Your neighbors and your family need you!!! Training includes Hazard Preparedness, After disaster Safety, Light Fire suppression, Light Search and Rescue, Medical Operations, Terrorism, Disaster Psychology, working with other responding agencies, and other topics that will prepare you to help out in our community should we have a community emergency. The training is free and graduates will be provided with a CERT Volunteer ID badge and a CERT backpack with basic emergency response equipment. Class is limited to 20. Applications are being accepted now. A criminal background check (which we will send you) is required for all county volunteer positions. We'd love to have you join the other members on our team and help Lake Arrowhead be a more resilient and disaster ready community. 
Chainsaw Team Re-certifies - Great Day, Fantastic Training!
On April 23rd, 2016, ten members of the Lake Arrowhead CERT Chainsaw team along with Georgia Baptist Disaster Relief Chainsaw Instructor Kenny Jamerson took to the woods to the left of the 5th fairway between the cart path and the water hazard for a double mission - re-certify our disaster relief Chainsaw Certification and help LAYCC Golf Course Maintenance clear a few trees in anticipation of major reconstruction of the water hazard. It was a beautiful Spring day, and while we did what we could to try to stay out of the way of the golfers (and the occasional left hook), the team was able to have some precious practice and instruction time to keep their skills sharp. LA-CERT Division Director Bob Johnston noted "Safety is the most important factor whether training or performing disaster recovery operations and we stress that throughout the training. The Georgia Baptist Disaster Relief Chainsaw Team is one of the most respected teams in the country, providing training and certifications to fire departments, forestry agencies, and other disaster relief teams across the nation. It's a real privilege to have them close by and to support us in our training efforts." The re-certification was a combination of classroom instruction and hands on tree cutting exercises with a focus on handling "difficult" cutting situations the team will likely encounter following a significant weather event or tornado. Chainsaw Team Leader Kelly Hudson explained "It's not the tall, erect, standing trees that are typically a problem after a storm. It's the twisted, broken, leaning, and uprooted trees that will block our roads and delay emergency responders from getting in to the community. Those are the ones we need to learn to deal with." Our apologies to any golfers we night have disturbed with the noise and distractions of falling trees! Many thanks go to James Haslam and Rob Chalifoux from LAYCC for helping make this happen and give us a place to train.
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Lake Arrowhead Men's Golf Association supports LA-CERT with major donation!
A HUGE thank you to the Lake Arrowhead Men's Golf Association for their very generous donation to LA-CERT. You'll be happy to know we have used the funds to stock up our Disaster Response trailer with emergency medical supplies and equipment to support a "victim treatment area" should we experience a major emergency with injuries inside Lake Arrowhead.
LA-CERT is blessed to have two Emergency Department doctors and several highly skilled and experienced nurses that make up our "Medical Team" within the CERT organization. These skilled experts provided input into what we needed and the order was placed. The supplies are limited to things CERT members can use within the scope of their training. Excited to stock up these important supplies, Dr. Bill Manns - Medical Team Leader said "we may not be able to set up a field hospital or perform any surgeries, but we can do a lot of good to help stabilize injured patients and prepare them to be transported to critical care facilities or handed off to professional first responders when they are able to get in to the community".
Bob Johnston - LA-CERT Team Director added "The purchase of the supplies is great, but more than the supplies, we are honored by this affirmation from the MGA that LA-CERT is headed in the right direction in support of our community."
A HUGE thank you to the Lake Arrowhead Men's Golf Association for their very generous donation to LA-CERT. You'll be happy to know we have used the funds to stock up our Disaster Response trailer with emergency medical supplies and equipment to support a "victim treatment area" should we experience a major emergency with injuries inside Lake Arrowhead.
LA-CERT is blessed to have two Emergency Department doctors and several highly skilled and experienced nurses that make up our "Medical Team" within the CERT organization. These skilled experts provided input into what we needed and the order was placed. The supplies are limited to things CERT members can use within the scope of their training. Excited to stock up these important supplies, Dr. Bill Manns - Medical Team Leader said "we may not be able to set up a field hospital or perform any surgeries, but we can do a lot of good to help stabilize injured patients and prepare them to be transported to critical care facilities or handed off to professional first responders when they are able to get in to the community".
Bob Johnston - LA-CERT Team Director added "The purchase of the supplies is great, but more than the supplies, we are honored by this affirmation from the MGA that LA-CERT is headed in the right direction in support of our community."
Amicalola EMC Grant Helps Gear Up the LA-CERT Chainsaw Team!
Amicalola EMC's Community "Operation Round Up" program provides needed funding to community groups and to meet special needs within the Amicalola footprint. This year Lake Arrowhead CERT was the recipient of a $1500 grant that helped us purchase two new Stihl chainsaws and support equipment for our Disaster Response trailer.
"We trained and certified on Stihl so we naturally gravitated to what we learned on" said Kelly Hudson, LA-CERT Chainsaw Team Leader. The team used the funds to acquire the professional grade saws, spares chains, cases, gas cans, and bar oil so the team is ready to clear trees and downed debris if needed during a severe weather situation.
16 members of LA-CERT were certified as "Disaster Chainsaw Operators" two years ago and will go through a RE-certification on April 23rd with the team members and new equipment.
If you're not already a member of the "Operation Round Up" program, you can contact Amicalola and ask them to round up your monthly bill to the next highest whole dollar each month. Amicalola then uses the rounded up cents to give back to the community and to support groups like Lake Arrowhead CERT. More information is available at "OPERATION ROUND UP".
Amicalola EMC's Community "Operation Round Up" program provides needed funding to community groups and to meet special needs within the Amicalola footprint. This year Lake Arrowhead CERT was the recipient of a $1500 grant that helped us purchase two new Stihl chainsaws and support equipment for our Disaster Response trailer.
"We trained and certified on Stihl so we naturally gravitated to what we learned on" said Kelly Hudson, LA-CERT Chainsaw Team Leader. The team used the funds to acquire the professional grade saws, spares chains, cases, gas cans, and bar oil so the team is ready to clear trees and downed debris if needed during a severe weather situation.
16 members of LA-CERT were certified as "Disaster Chainsaw Operators" two years ago and will go through a RE-certification on April 23rd with the team members and new equipment.
If you're not already a member of the "Operation Round Up" program, you can contact Amicalola and ask them to round up your monthly bill to the next highest whole dollar each month. Amicalola then uses the rounded up cents to give back to the community and to support groups like Lake Arrowhead CERT. More information is available at "OPERATION ROUND UP".
Disaster Response Trailer -- Ready To Go!!
May 2014, Lake Arrowhead CERT was the beneficiary of a grant from GEMA and the US Department of Homeland Security. That grant was used to purchase a new Air Conditioned and Generator equipped 20' long Disaster Response Trailer for use by Lake Arrowhead CERT. Additional grant funds from GEMA were used to purchase some of the initial basic supplies needed to equip the trailer for use in an emergency situation.
The trailer, custom built by Colony Cargo in Fitzgerald, GA will serve as a transport for disaster response supplies, a communications trailer for Cherokee County Amateur Radio Service (ARES), and as a mobile Incident Command Post that can be used in Lake Arrowhead or elsewhere in Cherokee County as deployed by CERT Leadership and Cherokee County Emergency Management.
But now we need the help of our community. The grant funds are gone and only allowed for one time purchase of limited quantities of certain items. The grant money has been used for basic items such as initial stocking of First Aid supplies, pop-up shelters, tables and chairs, tarps, stretchers, etc. There are other items we believe are essential to have in order to effectively serve the community.
Support of our community is important. As a volunteer organization with no regular source of funding, the help of the residents who will ultimately benefit from the supplies and equipment is essential. If you are able to support us - you can either provide a tax deductible donation to "The Lake Arrowhead Preparedness Project, Inc." (the 501c3 set up for support of LA-CERT) or you may also make a direct donation by clicking on the "Donate" link above to make a donation using PayPal or by credit card.
If you have questions, please contact Bob Johnston at 770-479-6090 or by e-mail to john316@aol.com.
May 2014, Lake Arrowhead CERT was the beneficiary of a grant from GEMA and the US Department of Homeland Security. That grant was used to purchase a new Air Conditioned and Generator equipped 20' long Disaster Response Trailer for use by Lake Arrowhead CERT. Additional grant funds from GEMA were used to purchase some of the initial basic supplies needed to equip the trailer for use in an emergency situation.
The trailer, custom built by Colony Cargo in Fitzgerald, GA will serve as a transport for disaster response supplies, a communications trailer for Cherokee County Amateur Radio Service (ARES), and as a mobile Incident Command Post that can be used in Lake Arrowhead or elsewhere in Cherokee County as deployed by CERT Leadership and Cherokee County Emergency Management.
But now we need the help of our community. The grant funds are gone and only allowed for one time purchase of limited quantities of certain items. The grant money has been used for basic items such as initial stocking of First Aid supplies, pop-up shelters, tables and chairs, tarps, stretchers, etc. There are other items we believe are essential to have in order to effectively serve the community.
Support of our community is important. As a volunteer organization with no regular source of funding, the help of the residents who will ultimately benefit from the supplies and equipment is essential. If you are able to support us - you can either provide a tax deductible donation to "The Lake Arrowhead Preparedness Project, Inc." (the 501c3 set up for support of LA-CERT) or you may also make a direct donation by clicking on the "Donate" link above to make a donation using PayPal or by credit card.
If you have questions, please contact Bob Johnston at 770-479-6090 or by e-mail to john316@aol.com.
Disaster Chainsaw School a big success!!
April 11th & 12th, 2014 - 16 members of the Lake Arrowhead Team and 5 more from Cherokee County CERT graduated from Disaster Chainsaw School. Presented by the Georgia Baptist Disaster Relief (GBDR) Chainsaw team, the nationally recognized school provided LA-CERT team members with a "soup to nuts" training covering everything from chainsaw operation, maintenance, and the proper use of safety gear to disaster recovery methods for removing trees from roadways, rooftops, "spring poles" and other "tree scenarios" common to large scale disasters. LA-CERT Members completed two full days of training including felling a number of very large trees using safe and accurate methods that allowed them to drop the tree exactly where they wanted it. Instructors taught methods that are essential if a tornado, winter ice storm or other severe weather event occurs where fallen trees block roads preventing emergency services from getting through.
The 16 graduating CERT members expanded their "Scope of Training" that now allows them to be deployed for tree removal required to clear roadways or to help with the disaster response operations.
The GBDR school is recognized nationally as the top school in disaster chainsaw operations. Fire Departments and disaster response teams from all over the country seek to train under and earn the GBDR "CHAINSAW" patch. 16 people in Lake Arrowhead now have it!
The 16 graduating CERT members expanded their "Scope of Training" that now allows them to be deployed for tree removal required to clear roadways or to help with the disaster response operations.
The GBDR school is recognized nationally as the top school in disaster chainsaw operations. Fire Departments and disaster response teams from all over the country seek to train under and earn the GBDR "CHAINSAW" patch. 16 people in Lake Arrowhead now have it!
The coveted and "well earned" Disaster chainsaw Certification patch issued by the nationally recognized Georgia Baptist Relief Chainsaw School.
