Two weeks ago, Surfin' kicked off a series of columns devoted to public service.

Continuing in that vein this week, check out this January 29 story from The Daily Astorian of Astoria, Oregon. Don Hillgaertner, WA7TEM, the county coordinator for the local RACES, and Ken Lucke, WA7PIX, vice president of the Sunset Empire Amateur Radio Club (SEARC), worked with Home Depot's corporate office to install a ham radio station at the local Home Depot to serve the public in times of emergencies. Visit the W7BU/SEARC Web site to see and read more about the installation.

This is a great article on two fronts because (a) it informs the public about the availability of ham radio's emergency service on the local level, and (b) it informs hams - us -- what is possible when we try to find a home for a public service oriented ham radio station. Who knows? Since Home Depot corporate supported the Warrenton installation, they may be agreeable to support similar installations at the other locations, which are everywhere.

Until next time, keep on surfin'!

Editor's note: To communicate with Stan Horzepa, WA1LOU, send him e-mail or add comments to his blog. By the way, every installment of Surfin' is indexed here, so go look it up.

Stan Horzepa, WA1LOU
Contributing Editor