[Mishmash] The recent weather.

[Fred Atkinson]

Hi, Dick,

    Atlanta is Downtown.  I would estimate that where I live was about
twelve to fifteen miles north of where (in Atlanta) that the tornado
occurred.

    Two people were killed, one in Floyd county and one in Polk county
(Polk county is two counties west of where I live and Floyd county is
one county north of Polk county).  See
http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/maps/georgia_map.html .  Both of them
are on the GA/AL border.

    We were having the Marietta hamfest yesterday and attendance there
was down because of the weather conditions.  However, at one point I was
told we collected thirteen hundred dollars in attendance fees.  That's
in the neighborhood of two hundred and twenty tickets.

    We tested a bunch of folks, mostly for those who wanted to become
amateurs and some who were upgrading their licenses.  As yet, I don't
have any statistics as to how many tests where passed.  Though I am a
certified VE (volunteer examiner), I didn't do any of the actual
examining this time.  I sat out front of the exam area, collected the
exam fee, verified picture IDs (as required by FCC rules) and made sure
that they got their form 605 and our VEC's (Volunteer Examiner
Coordinator) examination card filed out correctly before I sent them
into the exam area so that the other VE (volunteer examiners) could
administer and grade their exams.  I'm sure we collected over four
hundred dollars in licensing fees.  At fourteen dollars per exam, that
would be about thirty applicants.  And it may have been more than that
by the time we were done.  One father/son came in very late in the
testing session because they were delayed due to the weather situation.
Under the circumstances, we let them test anyway.

    You can read about the tornado situation it in the Atlanta Journal
Constitution at
http://www.ajc.com/metro/content/metro/atlanta/stories/2008/03/14/domeburst_0315.html?cxntlid=homepage_tab_newstab .

    Regards,



                                                            Fred