RCCC News

Rowlett Citizen Corps Council

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2004 RCCC News Archive

Thanks to the Wal Mart Foundation who awarded a $500 Neighborhood Grant to the RCCC in support of our fund raising efforts. 12/24/04

Fire Corps is a new component of the Citizen Corps program. The Fire Corps program utilizes citizen advocates to provide support services to Fire Rescue departments. The RCCC's CERT-Relief program registered as Fire Corps and became the first in Texas to do so.

12/9/04

Congratulations to Bill Reynolds who was honored as the 2004 City of Rowlett Volunteer of the Year. Bill was instrumental in initiating the CERT program in 2002 and is the Senior Radio Officer for Rowlett RACES. Bill had a long career in the fire service and also served as Rowlett's volunteer fire chief once upon a time. Well done Bill!

Our own Robin SImoneaux received Honorable Mention recognition for this award. 12/2/04

On Saturday, November 13th, RCCC held its Annual Meeting and At Large Board Member Elections at the First Baptist Church on Main St. The membership voted to re-elect Whitney Laning, Greg Peebles and Leisa Peebles. New to the Board are Cathy Bagwell, Chris Bouguyon, and Robin Simoneaux.

During the meeting, Whitney Laning, RCCC President, highlighted successes in 2004 and gave an overarching vision for 2005. Joe Charles, CERT Administrator, gave a progress report on our CERT program, new team structure and introduced the new Training Coordinator. Larry Browning gave an enthusiastic presentation on a new initiative called Rowlett On Watch. Robin Simoneaux was recognized as the 2004 RCCC Volunteer of the Year. And Fire Chief Larry Wright was recognized with an Excellence in Service award.

Members received new ID cards that feature holograms, digitized signatures and new team assignments. 11/14/04

CERT-Relief is proud to announce the addition of a Daytime team. Due to the many activations we have had recently, most of them being well before 7:00 p.m. when the usual CERT-Relief teams are on call, we felt that having people on duty during the daytime hours was needed. We have had several volunteers agree to be on this team.

CERT-Relief has responded to 6 major incidents all in the last 5 months:

On July 12^th, CERT-Relief was activated to a 2-alarm RV Service Repair Center fire at 5010 Dexham Rd. The first page was received at 5:06 p.m. and had a total of 9 members respond. During this incident, several of our CERT-Relief members shoveled sand to keep motor oil from running into a creek.
On September 17^th, we responded to a Gas Leak at Watersway and Cove Rd. The page went out at 4:30 p.m. and 3 members responded.
On October 8^th, activation occurred for a house fire at 4310 Simmons. This activation was at 12:37 p.m. with 2 members responding.
On October 19^th, we activated for a Trailer Fire in Sachse. This was our first activation for the City of Sachse. The page was sent at 6:49 p.m. and we had 6 members respond to this incident.
On October 30^th, we activated for a Structure Fire in Waterview at a model home on Kings Ct. The page went out at approximately 6:30 a.m. We had a total of 7 members respond.
On Decenber 9^th, CERT Relief activated for an apartment fire at the Lake Highlands Condos on Chiesa Rd. The page went out at 3:15 a.m. and we had 6 members who answered the call.

As you know, Fire season is approaching and we all need to be prepared. Practice your Fire Evacuation Drills with your family, check your smoke detectors, and check your fire extinguishers. Watch for Fire Hazards in your home.

If you are interested in volunteering for CERT-Relief, we have several openings. Contact Cheri Finch, Robin Simoneaux, or Leisa Peebles for more information. 11/14/04