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DART News

Coats for Kids at Cal Expo Friday 12/30/11 was a success thanks to all DART members that participated, including MiguelZ who coordinated the effort to help distribute over 25,000 coats

President's Dinner-  12/8/2011  was held at a newer venue, The Palace,
wherein a scrumptious dinner buffet satiated all attending Team Members and their families. Awards were presented to those in attendance by emcee, President Bob. Along with the wonderful anecdotes, awards, good food, warm conversation and photos, members left with the warm, fuzzy feeling that the the DART Team accomplished much during Year 2011.

EOD Training Scenario at Port of Sacramento - 11/16/2011

D.A.R.T. Divers & Swiftwater provided Water Safety for this event.

Boat Training for the Newly Acquired DART 8 was held 11/4/11 at Discovery Park

Sacramento Fire Department facilitated Donation & Transfer of this Jet Boat to DART.
DART members, in groups of 3's, were given a practical overview of DART 8's handling characteristics as they jetted around the Sacramento River. All the salient features on this Rescue Boat were revealed.

TV cameras were present to interview some members & to witness this watercraft in action.

Swiftwater Rescue Training (3rd of 3 Classes)  - October 14,15,16
was completed by select D.A.R.T. members. Coloma Resort as the home base for 3 days & 2 nights.

The 1st day morning was spent setting up a short, but full, Tyrolean rig between campsite trees for later use. The rest of the day the Team scurried up-river to jump, swim, & play in the rapids, eddies, currents, & strainers.

The 2nd day stepped up the pace in a rescue scenario at on the Middle fork American River near the confluence, continuing with more strainer & entrapment exercises & exhausting fun in rocky current. Members then picked up their gear & traveled to the Auburn Dam ravine area for some exciting Helicopter Ops extractions. The 2nd day blended into dusk, as a hasty dinner was consumed, and the Team was engaged in a realistic night operation rescue scenario.

The 3rd day the Team left early to travel to the North Fork of the Mokelumne  River (x 49 Hwy), whereupon they engineered an elegant Tyrolean connecting opposite canyon walls. Rescuers then dangled across the steep ravine & lowered themselves down into the middle of the river. Each Team member got to dunk their head into the water before being pulled up & then across the canyon. It gave everyone confidence in what the DART Team can do with just ropes, pulleys & prusiks.

Safety Fair at Home Depot - 10/1/2011 - Madison & Manzanita Blvds - Static Display -

Swiftwater Rescue Training (2nd of 3 Classes)  - September 23,24,25
was completed by select D.A.R.T. members.

Operation Delta Breeze, a Multi-Agency Emergency Scenario at Natomas Lake, 9/17/11, was more than a breeze suggested by it's name. The operation played out longer than expected as each agency practiced their search & rescue techniques, while ironing out the complexities of interagency communications and navigation techniques.  Helicopters, Horses, dogs, boats, ground crew, divers and boat personnel combined their expertise to solve the whereabouts of some cleverly placed victims.  It was a practice & learn day for all.

Safety Fair Static Display at the 2nd Annual Rhythm & Blues Festival at Miller Park, Sacramento sponsored by NAACP  9/3/11 - provided an all day educational platform for festival participants. The beautiful day, with the DART Booth & DART 5 set against the backdrop of the Sacramento River drew a curious crowd. MiguelZ, Will, StephenF NeavaH and BobE gave demonstrations, showed equipment, and explained DART's role in the community.

Swiftwater Rescue Training (1st of 3 Classes)  - August 5, 6, &7
was completed by select D.A.R.T. members. After a morning classroom session on the 1st day, participants began knot tying basics and learned basic rope techniques, throw bag tips & equipment rigging for later river use. The 2nd day was a full river workout; swimming through currents, eddies & turbulence of the American River. In addition to practicing some basic rope rescue techniques for foot entrapment and stranded victims, members waded over slippery cobble time & time again & practiced repeated swims across the river without fins. The 3rd day at Rossmoor Bar built upon the previous 2 days experience as they constructed a Double Tension Diagonal Zip Line across the river anchored tightly with a Z-rig & a Pig-rig. All participants tested the ease of ferrying themselves back & forth across the river. After disassembling the zip line, DART students had an exhaustive afternoon of swimming up, over & through the San Juan Rapids as they tested their fortitude with turbulence & Sunday rafters

National Night Out - August 2, 2011
The Witter Ranch Community Association in partnership with DART hosted a huge National Night Out event where equipment was donated to the Sacramento Police and Fire Departments, recognizing and honoring first responders leading up to the 10th anniversary of 9/11. 
Mayor Kevin Johnson, City Council member Angelique Ashby, Fire Chief Jones and Police Captain Maccoun were in attendance. Assembly member Dr. Richard Pan's office presented DART with a certificate recognizing DART's effort in raising donations for the equipment that was presented at the event.       -- Jason Alexander DART 502

Fireworks Fundraiser - 6/29 thru 7/4

Another success, with many members sacrificing their time and expertise at the booth to help meet our Team's yearly needs for equipment, repairs, maintenance, and public education. In doing so, we got interact with fellow team members and educate the public about D.A.R.T. and about water safety... it may have been a long, hot & grueling time for some of our members, but it was still FUN !  ChrisM worked tirelessly behind the scenes to arrange many sponsors in providing food, music & entertainment: Music was provided by radio Stations KNCI and Hot 103.5 FM.  RanierG and family devoted patriotic music and selling skills on July 4th. Chipotle, BJ's, Chile's, and Chevy's restaurants, along with James Netzel's famous BBQ Tri-tip and Chicken Extravaganza Feasts supplied nourishment to all those volunteers that dared to devote time at the Fireworks booth. Ice cream & Snapple were delved out by the Hot 103.5 FM tricked-out truck. Special Thanks goes out to EVERYONE for proving their wonderful & varied talents to this endeavor. Each Team Member & their families made this Fundraiser a success

 Red,White & Blue Parade  6/2511 in Citrus Heights pending participant news

Donor Appreciation Day - 6/12/11 - 

Thank you to all Members that had the opportunity to attend today's Donor Appreciation Event. We only had 63 people in attendance but we had a GREAT time. The grounds and pond of Joe & Shirley Mohamed's Quail Run were beautiful. The music provided by John Daly was superb. The beer, wine & soft drinks were ice cold. The pizza was scrumptious. Our goal was to say thank you to our 2010 donors for all they do to keep DART afloat. Many were unable to attend. I received 28 regrets. However, in addition to saying thank you, this was our "kick off" in our goal to get people to commit to donating yearly to DART. I am pleased to tell you that today's donations added up to a generous amount. Not a bad day at all. Thank you all again for all you do for our communities. We also educated many people today who thought DART was publicly funded.   Have a superb day,  Bob Erickson, DART President

Safetyville  - 6/11/11 -  Bradshaw Road Sacramento
MiguelZ, single-handedly, manned the static display of DART 5 and equipment,. & provided water safety material and sagely advice about life jackets to kids of all ages. Kudos for MiguelZ for a heroic all-day effort

      Classroom Training - 6/11/11 - all day

NCAA Womens Rowing Championships 5/25 thru 5/29, 2011 . Two DART Safety Divers were stationed on these days at the starting line dock at Lake Natomas. Each diver was fully suited up and poised to quickly respond to an impeding rowing disaster. An EMT / boat operator provided emergency transport if response was needed. Luckily no emergency was required, but the Team got a much deserved donation for this event based on the hours spent in the sun...

PFD Distribution to Sacramento County River Parks - Saturday 5/28/11
JimC, JohnM and ChristineR distributed PFD'S out to five County Parks. Great Job

Life Jacket Trade-In at Kohl's Department Stores - 5/27/2011 at multiple locations:

Open House - 5/21/11 The public was invited to the dock
to learn more about D.A.R.T. and our missions. A demonstration - a full dress rehearsal - of a diver with his tender, in preparation for an emergency rescue call was performed. JohnM provided details of this rescue process in chronological order, from the initial page-out to the water entry.  He also answered numerous questions.

Along with showing our equipment, people got to try on some of our equipment and socialize with the DART members. Restaurant Crush 29 donated tasty food served by cordial waiters that was much appreciated by all.
Thanks to everyone that helped in making this a successful event

Dock Day -   5/14/11  8am to 5pm
Many Team members collated their time & efforts to Clean up the Entire Dock, Rigs, and Equipment
A delicious BBQ lunch inside the dock building avoided the cold river wind...

after which a 2011 Team Picture was snapped.

Annual Boating Season Kickoff  5/14/11 8am
Some of the morning was used by several members to station a static DART display at Discovery Park.

DART 5 & DART 7  and diving gear were prominently displayed

 Water Safety Class presentation 3/19/2011 at the  Hispanic Empowerment Association  ( H.E.A.R ) Youth Conference at Robert Cooley Middle School, Roseville - 8am-3pm - organized by  MiguelZ
DART 5 and booth were deployed to educate the public about D.A.R.T.'s important endeavors.

Fill the Boot Fundraiser and Safety Fair 2/19/2011 at the Sunrise Mall
           proved to be a fabulous success, as Miguel Z will attest to:

EXO-26 Repair & Maintenance Classroom Training  2 / 12 / 2011 - Some select DART members transformed themselves into certified technicians of the EXO 26.  A factory representative from Kirby Morgan provided hands-on training. Overall, this will save DART money, time, and effort to ensure diver safety by keeping the EXO’s in top shape.