CCSO Pop Up Food Bank

Several members of the team helped the Clark County Sheriff’s Office with their pop up food bank today, which went from 9am to 1pm. The event was organized by Sheriff Atkins and his deputies, who helped load a thousand boxes of food which included fruits, vegetables, dairy products, meats and loaves of bread. Sunshine Division gathered the products from Pacific Coast Fruit Company, Farm to Family, and Franz Bakery.

Attention: Can You Help?

Our SAR Team is looking to upgrade several of our training and rescue capabilities with some advanced technology and we could use your help.  We need:

Need 1:  Handheld Tablets

We have budgeted and will be purchasing several new SAR Drones. The usefulness of these drones would be significantly enhanced with the addition of some handheld tablets. 

Any tablet will work if the following criteria is met:

(a)   Apple iPad/Mini iPad: Must be capable of iOS 8.0 or greater

                                Must have cellular access (do not need a subscription) this is for the GPS

(b)   Android Tablet: Must be capable of Android 4.1.2 or later

                                Must have GPS (I believe most Android products do)

Need 2:  GoPro Cameras

We are also looking for several GoPros cameras to use with both our dog team as well as for other training operations.

If you can help us, please scroll down to “Contact Us”. Thank you! 

Should I drink that water?

When you are on your next adventure, there are a few things to consider when picking a water filter or purifier. What’s the difference? Filters remove bacteria and protozoa but not viruses. Purifiers neutralize bacteria, protozoa, and viruses and is a definite choice if you are going to be out of the country, or just want to be sure the water you are drinking is virus free. How long you plan to be gone, and how many people you plan to provide clean water for is another factor. Even if you only expect to be out for a couple of hours, things can happen and it’s always a good idea to have some ability to make the water you have to collect safe to drink. Here are some different choices to consider.

1- BOIL COLLECTED WATER.

Heat water to a roiling boil for at least 1 minute at lower altitudes, and 3 minutes above 6500 feet in elevation. For this, you will need to have a fuel source.

2- DRINK-THROUGH FILTERS AND PURIFIERS

A Life Straw needs to go directly into a water source, so you will be drinking from that water source. You can get the Life Straw Go Filter bottle so you can carry some water, but the downside is that the rigid bottle won’t allow you to filter water into another carrier, or even to cook with. Life Straws are literally a straw. Another option is the Sawyer Straw. With this, you can collect water in a bag or bottle and attach the straw to a squeezable bottle to drink, however not all water bottles may screw onto these filters (Smart Water bottles work great). Some can connect inline to your reservoir bag, and some come with their own squeeze bottle. Drink-through filters are light weight and easy to pack, but can’t filter large quantities of water. 

3- PUMP WATER FILTERS

Most are heavy and bulky and not great for large groups, unless you don’t mind hand pumping. One end goes into the water source, the other end goes to your bottle or reservoir. A nice portable option is the MSR Trailshot.

4- GRAVITY FILTERS

This system uses two bags, and is the best choice for groups of people. You fill one with un-filtered water, hang that bag up and water goes through the filter and collects clean water in the other bag. For this, you may need a water source big enough to scoop water into the first bag.

5- CHEMICAL PURIFICATION TABLETS

There are 2 kinds:

With iodine tablets, you will need to wait 30 minutes to neutralize protozoa, bacteria and viruses. The downside is that it leaves a bad metallic taste, and doesn’t treat against cryptosporidium. Chlorine Dioxide is another option. You will also need to wait 30 minutes to neutralize  protozoa, bacteria and viruses, and 4 hours if you are in an area with cryptosporidium.

6- UV PURIFIER

These use UV rays to purify the water of bacteria, protozoa, and viruses.; be sure to pre-filter any murky water as silty/murky water will keep the purifier from working properly. Stir the wand in the water for 90 seconds. With a UV purifier, you can only purify a small amount of water at a time, and they require batteries or USB charging.

In Search and Rescue, every member carries at least a Sawyer Straw and some carry the MSR Trailshot. Since purification tablets are cheap and easy to carry, those are included in our kits as well. Remember to keep un-purified water away from purified water by  separating your water containers to avoid cross contamination, and keeping your hands clean. No matter how pristine the water may look to you, it’s better to be safe than sorry.