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Effective February 1, 2006, Per Mar Security Services acquired the accounts and assets of Associated Security, Inc. in Madison, Wisconsin.  Prior to the sale, Jim Sullivan and Dennis Schultz owned and operated Associated for more than 20 years.  Associated has been serving the needs of approximately 800 customers in the greater Madison area as a Notifier dealer with a team of 20 experienced fire and security alarm professionals.

We will now serve those customers through both our current electronic security branch office in Madison (where Joe Abrisz is now the General Manager) and through a newly established office in Madison for Midwest Alarm Services.  As you know, Midwest is a wholly-owned subsidiary that provides engineered advanced fire alarm and life safety systems and services.  Midwest currently operates throughout Iowa and Wisconsin and portions of Illinois with offices in Des Moines, Cedar Rapids, Davenport, Eau Claire, and Wausau.  Midwest has grown to become one of the largest distributors of Notifier fire alarm systems in the world.  

On the evening of January 11th, 2006, during the evening hours just prior to midnight, a standpipe valve was opened in the stairwell of one of the buildings at a public housing complex in Rockford (IL).  This opened valve injected approximately 1,000 gallons of water per minute into the stairwell.  The water made its way down 14 stories and throughout the building, including individual apartments.  

Fact of the Month: Albert Einstein was offered the presidency of Israel in 1952, but he declined.

As owner of one of the most advanced forensic labs in the United States, the retailer Target Corp. has taken an increasing role as a partner to law enforcement in recent years. This has included providing high-tech assistance and coordination in crime investigations, teaching government agencies how to use technology to fight crime, and working with customs agencies on ways to vet imported cargo. Target's other roles have included connecting police and business radio systems to improve neighborhood foot patrols in large cities, providing remote-controlled video surveillance systems for local police, and contributing money for prosecutor positions to fight repeat criminals. Large companies often work with law enforcement to help protect their properties--for example Wal-Mart provides equipment to law enforcement agencies in need and does outreach with police in some cities, says spokeswoman Sharon Weber: "We teach kids the true consequences of shoplifting." However, Target goes beyond simply protecting its store assets with a more comprehensive effort to prevent crime in the community through its "Target and Blue" program. According to Douglas G. Pinkham, president of the Public Affairs Council, Target's work with law enforcement reflects a larger trend in corporation donations intended to help solve problems in society. "Target is pushing forward a different model of corporate giving," says Pinkham. Other examples of this trend include Exxon Mobil's work building hospitals in the developing world and Cargill Corp.'s building of schools in places where potential employees did not have basic skills. Still, there are some potential ethical concerns when companies get overly tight with the government as Target has done, says Ernesto Dal Bo, a business and public policy professor at the University of California at Berkeley: "There is no reason we need to say that anything bad is happening, but we do need to watch."

Source: Washington Post

Chicago's $200 million 911 Command Center should serve as an anti-terrorism and anti-crime video surveillance system model for other U.S. cities to look to, U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Michael Chertoff said on Thursday. Chicago Mayor Richard Daley took Chertoff on a tour of the facility and its capabilities, which include receiving impressive real-time video footage from various cameras throughout the city. Chertoff and Daley agreed that Chicago and other cities should provide federal emergency agencies with instantaneous video feeds that would allow the federal government to respond swiftly to incidents across the country. "If there's an event in Chicago or somewhere else, and we're all able to see in real time what's going on, we can make intelligent decisions," Chertoff said, noting that Chicago's Command Center is "second to none." Said Daley: "I believe the secretary needs a facility twice as large, 10 times as big as this, with all the information gathered in every city that he can, any time."

Source: cbs2chicago.com

Travel Tip: When traveling outside of the U.S. make photo copies of your passport. Carry one with you and leave one at home with an individual you can contact in the event of an emergency. When at all possible lock your passport in your room safe or hotel safe. Remember, a man without a passport is a man without a country.

Congressman Don Manzullo (R-IL) announced last week that he has secured $170,000 in federal money to help fund a new program designed to improve regional communications in Illinois between police and fire agencies in the event of a terrorist attack or natural disaster. The funding, which was secured as a federal earmark through the Congressional appropriations process, will help kick off the initiative known as the Prairie Shield Regional Alliance, which is a consortium of first responders from McHenry, Boone, Winnebago, Stephenson, Ogle, and DeKalb counties. The goal of the consortium is to allow police, fire and other emergency response teams in the region to communicate on a "voice, data, and video platform with interoperable capability." "This is enough to get the project started," Manzullo spokesperson Rich Carter said of the federal funding. If implemented, the Prairie Shield project would allow first responders in this region -- including police, fire agencies, and others -- to communicate on an "alternate wireless network" during significant emergencies.

Source: www.journalstandard.com

Commuters on Chicago's South Shore rail system may soon be able to use their laptop computers and cell phones while riding the line between South Bend and Chicago. Officials at the Northern Indiana Commuter Transportation District say they're working on a deal to bring wireless service to commuters through the same technology used for communication in NASCAR racing. The service will be tested for 60 days, from April through June, on a seven-mile stretch from Dune Park to Ogden Dunes. The South Shore line would be the first commuter rail line in the nation to offer the service if the test is successful, railroad spokesperson Boris Matakovic said.

Source: www.chicagotribune.com

Quote of the Month: "The Chinese use two brush strokes to write the word 'crisis.' One brush stroke stands for danger; the other for opportunity. In a crisis, be aware of the danger - but recognize the opportunity."
- John F. Kennedy, (1917 - 1963)