Ridge to honor amateur radio leader

Jace Radke

Friday, April 16, 2004 | 9:39 a.m.

A Las Vegas man who could be invaluable to local emergency teams in the event of a terrorist attack is scheduled to be recognized Monday during Department of Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge's visit to Southern Nevada.

Charlie Kunz leads 175 licensed amateur radio operators in Clark County who have voluntarily formed a pool of operators to provide communication for local agencies and service providers in the event of an emergency.

Kunz, 58, and the radio operators are associated with the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the Citizen Corp. Program, the volunteer arm of the Department of Homeland Security.

"Most of us feel very strongly that this (amateur radio) is the only fail-safe communication system," Kunz said of the amateur radio operators in Las Vegas, who provide their services for free. "We're kind of in the background, and everyone thinks they have cell phones and they don't need us, but we're ready."

Kunz said he is excited to meet Ridge and honored to be representing all of the amateur radio operators in Las Vegas.

Ridge is scheduled to arrive Sunday in Las Vegas and probably will meet with Gov. Kenny Guinn on Monday, state homeland security officials said.

A of Homeland Security spokeswoman said that final plans for the visit were not available, but she said Ridge would be in Las Vegas Monday.

Jerry Bussell, Guinn's homeland security advisor and chairman of the Nevada Homeland Security Commission, said he hasn't heard exactly what Ridge's plans are in Las Vegas, except that the secretary is scheduled to meet with the governor.

After his stop in Las Vegas, Ridge is scheduled to go to Albuquerque, where he will recognize another volunteer who is associated with the Citizen Corp. Program.