EDITORS: SHEILA HALL AND TERRY SWANSON
December 2006
LEARNING MORE ABOUT OUR TEAM MEMBERS
JAMES E. ADAMS, D.D.S.
Dr. James “Jim” Adams is a licensed General Dentist and Forensic Odontologist. He has practiced dentistry in Jerseyville, Illinois for 30 years. Aside from his dental practice, Jim is Deputy Coroner for the Jersey County Medical Examiner’s Office, and he volunteers for the Jersey Community Hospital Ambulance Service.
Dr. Adams received his Bachelors of Science Degree in Biology from Southern Illinois University in Edwardsville. He furthered his education by attending the University of Illinois College of Dentistry in Chicago, where he attained his Doctorate of Dental Surgery. Jim’s profound interest in forensics led him to complete the Medico-Legal Death Investigator’s Course at the University of St. Louis School of Medicine in Missouri and attend the Disaster Identification and Bite Mark Course at the Armed Forces Institute of Pathology in Washington, D.C. In addition to his dental and forensics background, Dr. Adams has received formal training as an Emergency Medical Technician and Paramedic; he also participated in the Advanced Emergency Response Training for Dentists at the University of Illinois in Champaign.
Dr. Adams is an active member of his profession, affiliated with the American Dental Association, Illinois State Dental Society, Chicago Dental Society, and American Society of Forensic Odontology. He is on the Board of Directors for the Jersey Community Hospital. And for the past fifteen years, Jim has served as Chair for the Peer Review Committee of the Illinois Dental Society (Madison District).
Jim is deeply committed to his community: he is part of the Illinois Medical Emergency Response Team (IMERT) as an Emergency Technician/Dentist, member of the Illinois High School Association, Elks Lodge, and Lions Club; he is an Elder at the First Presbyterian Church and Trustee/Vice President of the Quarry, Elsah, Mississippi (QEM) Volunteer Fire Department.
Jim joined DMORT Region V in
1996 - he is passionate about his DMORT family. Dr. Adams has shared his
expertise as a Forensic Odontologist at deployments: the World Trade Center
Tragedy (New York 2001) and Hurricane Katrina (Gulfport, Mississippi; St.
Gabriel and Carville, Louisiana 2005).
In June 2005, Jim assumed the responsibilities of “DMART Proprietor,”
succeeding Bob “Bubba” Stevens. His current endeavor is the marketing and sale
of “9/11 Memorial Sweatshirts” –all profits will benefit the World Trade Center
Memorial. (Look for more details in this issue of “Voice of V”)
Jim currently resides in Dow, Illinois with his wife of 21years, Marcia. He has two children – Heather (spouse - Cameron) and James (spouse – Laurin), three grandchildren – Parker, Isabelle, Brendan, and a step grandson - Andrew. When he finds leisure time, Jim enjoys scuba diving with his friends in the Diving Dentists Society. He pilots single-engine airplanes and officiates several high school sports. Jim’s main hobbies are travel and photography: he is captivated with European castles and churches, traveling overseas whenever possible to marvel at them. Jim and Marcia recently made two trips to Colorado, driving their ATV’s across breathtaking slopes of mountain trails.
The Region V Team concurs that Dr. Jim Adams’ dedication, spirit, and energy are all something worth “smiling about!”
TEAM UPDATES
DAVID HUNT
Deputy Commander
The Region V Search and Recovery (S&R) Team is progressing. I received an overwhelming number of responses from applicants. We are waiting to fill positions after we obtain the SOP’s (Standard Operating Procedures) from headquarters. This will not take place until after the first of the year due to the transition.
In September 2006, I attended the DMORT-WMD training in Knoxville, Tennessee. While there, I met Lee Sweat, who is the team’s Deputy Commander for Recovery. The DMORT S&R Teams will be based off of the WMD S&R Team. We discussed the overall operations of Search and Recovery with team training, including human remains from the University of Tennessee Anthropology Research Center (a.k.a. “the Body Farm”). Some of the current discussions are in regards to equipment -for team and personal provisions, as well as training needs. We intend to have Search and Recovery training at the National DMORT training in the Spring of 2007.
It should be noted that the S&R Team is not a stand-alone team or even a separate group within DMORT V. Search and Recovery members will still be deployed for missions that may not require recovery operations. The Search and Recovery capability enables our team to offer further assistance to the local authorities for whom we work.
ADMINISTRATIVE ISSUES
SUE ATWOOD
Administrative Officer
Every member must apply for the US Bank credit
card. This card is used for all official travel except airfare. All
government Citibank cards will expire December 31st. The US Bank cards
will be activated January 1st.
Many professional licenses expire at the end of
December so be sure to send me a copy.
Online courses IS100, 200, 700, and 800 need to be
completed with verification sent to me.
This year's immunization requirements are a TB skin
test and influenza vaccine, on top of the required list of immunizations.
Verification has to be on file so be sure to send me a copy.
Fingerprint cards and background security paperwork
are no longer being accepted at headquarters due to the transition from
FEMA to HHS.
There may be new procedures to follow after the
first of the year. Please check your
e-mail frequently and keep me updated with any
changes in contact information. If you are going to be out of town for
any more than a couple days, please let me know and your call
coordinator. Should we need to contact you, it is much easier to know
that you cannot be reached at either home or your work number.
Congratulations to the DPMU members who are now
officially part of a stand-alone team. These members from Region V
consist of Shannon Dotson, Bob Shank,
Jr., Bob "Bubba" Stevens, Scott Davis, Mike Gedert, and Jim Weldy.
TRAINING
ISSUES
JAN SIMONS
Training Officer
Seasons
Greetings,
I Need Your Help! Do you exchange
e-mails, chat, or otherwise correspond with other members of Region V? If so, please ask them if they have completed
the online training.
The
members of Region V were given a deadline of September 30, 2006 to complete the
online Incident Command System and NIMS training. Please remember, if you have not completed all 4 of the components of this
training you are NON-DEPLOYABLE. This leaves a significant deficiency within
our team. If you have completed the
training, please remember to fax the copies of your certificates to Sue.
To
access this training use: http://www.training.fema.gov/EMIweb/IS/ and complete the
following 4 courses: IS-100 Introduction
to Incident Command System, IS-200FW Incident command for Federal Disaster
Workers, IS-700 National Incident Management System (NIMS), and IS-800 An
Introduction to National Response Plan.
If you have any problems or questions, please contact me ASAP.
As we
approach this time of year for giving, please remember to give to your team;
schedule a few hours to complete this training.
Have a
Safe Holiday,
Jan
Simons
Region
V Training Officer
CONGRATULATIONS
Shawn Wilson and Carlena
(Weiland) Grandgenett are pleased to announce the arrival of their new
daughter-Danika Flah Weiland. She
was born on September 30, 2006 weighing 7 lbs. 9oz and 19 inches long.
Congratulations to the new
parents!
NEW DMORT ITEM
911 Memorial
Sweatshirt
Jim Adams is pleased to
announce the latest item for sale at DMORT’s DMART store. This Long Sleeved, 50% Cotton/50% Polyester, Medium-Weight Sweatshirt
is Black with Silver Lettering. The Sweatshirts are available in sizes: S, M,
L, XL, and XXL.
The cost is $25.00, which
includes shipping and handling.
All profits benefit the World
Trade Center Memorial.
To order, checks can be sent directly to:
DMORT Association
906 S. Liberty
Jerseyville, IL 62052
DMORT WICKING SHIRT
A Testimonial
By Sue Atwood
Today I “test drove” our new team wicking shirt. I am part of a disaster response team at the hospital where I am employed, and knew there was going to be a drill today. I packed clothing to wear under my Tyvek suit and decided to try out the wicking shirt. It was not only comfortable to wear, but it kept me from feeling overheated. I highly recommend this shirt for your go-bag as part of your uniform. Treat yourself to an early holiday gift and order several today from Jim@DMORT.org.
EDITORS’
NOTE:
The staff of the
“Voice of V” needs your help in developing articles of interest and relevance
to Region V. Please submit anything that you think would be appropriate to our
editors at:
Sheila Hall: halls @infantwelfare.org
Terry Swanson:
robertaswanson@msn.com
