Hams in the news

From the Noo Yawk Times:

August 2, 2009
In Kentucky, Officials See Ham Radio as a Backup
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

OWENSBORO, Ky. (AP) — Local officials are turning to older technology to solve some of the communication problems they encountered during January’s ice storm and the windstorm after Hurricane Ike in 2008.

During the ice storm, cellphone service throughout the area was disrupted, sometimes for days at a time. Landlines were also affected, and communication problems were cited by multiple emergency response agencies as the biggest issue they faced.

“We lost communications for at least a day and a half,” said Walter Atherton, deputy director of the Daviess County Emergency Management Agency.

Amateur radio operators, on the other hand, were able to communicate throughout the ice storm, needing only batteries or generators, said Bob Spears, a member and past president of the Owensboro Amateur Radio Club. Drawing on the experience of the amateur radio operators, emergency management officials decided to sponsor a class on amateur radio operation. The five-week class teaches the skills and rules needed to pass the Federal Communications Commission’s mandatory basic or “technician” amateur radio test.

They need five weeks to teach them to get a Technician ticket?