Submitted by VK2YJS on

August 1981: Men at Work, Mondo Rock, Reagan authorising the Neutron bomb, FT-7Bs and 101ZDs; and one of your mates missed a net because they were helping with the search for a light 'plane which crashed up past Newcastle - in the Barrington Tops, they think. The question is, who was that mate? Was it you? If you know, WICEN NSW would like of the operators involved in the original search for VH-MDX, the Cessna 210M "Turbo Centurion" which went missing in Barrington Tops, north of Port Stephens on Sunday, 9 August 1981. Please check your log for possible clues.

SAREX, a search exercise involving the search for this aircraft, running from Friday 24th of October for set-up, to Sunday the 26th. This involves the Bushwalkers Wilderness Rescue Squad and NSW Police Rescue, among others.

Northern Rivers region will be supporting a Horse Enduro at Wiangaree, until tomorrow. They will also be conducting a training event on Sunday the 12th of October.

The final WICEN supported Alzheimer's Australia Memory Walk and Jog will be held at North Wollongong on Sunday 12th of October. As it is a fairly short event, it would make a great first event for newer members.

WICEN is seeking operators for the Hawkesbury Canoe Classic on Saturday 25th October and Sunday 26th. As WICEN will be staffing several new checkpoints the number of operators required has increased, along with the clash with SAREX, means that if you have been considering taking part, this is the year to do so. New participants will be placed with an experienced member. Those with a Maritime radio certificate would also be most welcome. This event raises significant funding to the Arrow Bone Marrow Transplant Foundation.

WICEN has a twitter account: @wicennsw

Facebook users will find the official WICEN New South Wales page, an informal national WICEN group, and a few interstate groups. The official page includes a scan of a Blue Mountains Gazette article on the Trek for Timor, in which WICEN operators are thanked for their contribution.

WICEN ACT is part of the Canberra Region Amateur Radio Club, and supports events in the ACT and surrounding areas. The club's website at http://www.crarc.ampr.org includes details of both WICEN and general events. October events are the BSMC Tumut Rally; the Brookvale Horse Enduro, named for a property on the north-western border; and Fitz's Challenge, an endurance bicycle ride in the western area of the ACT. The BSMC "Rallye des Femme" is being planned for a Saturday in December.

WICEN Victoria will be supporting two events on the Murray River, which is located in New South Wales. The first is a 50km paddle from Barmah, finishing in Echuca on Saturday 18 October, with an 8km "Sweat vs Steam" race against the historic Echuca paddle-steamers on Sunday 19th. The second is the YMCA Massive Murray Paddle between Yarrawonga and Swan Hill from Monday 24th to Friday 28th November. See: http://www.vic.wicen.org.au for details.

October sees the start of both the bushfire season and the storm season. Fire conditions are expected to be more serious than last year. Last weekend had a Total Fire Ban in VK7, unprecedented for September.

Coming events include:

Horse Enduro at Wiangaree, from Saturday 4th to Monday 6th October
Illawarra Memory Walk on Sunday 12th October
Northern Rivers Training session on Sunday 12th October
WICEN ACT's BSMC Tumut Rally Saturday 18th October
WICEN Victoria's Mini Marathon at Moama - Echuca on Saturday 18th October
WICEN ACT's Brookvale Horse Endurance Ride on Sunday 19 October
Sweat versus Steam at Echuca on Sunday 19 October
Fitz's Challenge Bike Ride in the ACT on Sunday 26th October
Hawkesbury Canoe Classic is on Saturday 25th and Sunday 26th October
SAREX on Saturday Friday 24th to Sunday 26th October
WICEN ACT's "Call of the Beast" on Saturday 8th of November
Caves Rescue Operational Exercise Saturday 8th and Sunday 9th of November
YMCA Massive Murray Paddle from Monday 24th to Friday 28th November

Submitted by Julian Sortland VK2YJS on behalf of the WICEN State Management Committee.