Kevin Hedgepeth - NB7O

Kevin Hedgepeth
NB7O
29759 Bridge Road
Hermiston, Oregon 97838


	Kevin Hedgepeth NB7O We invite you to join us for RVing, Amateur Radio, Genealogy, Music and other topics listed on this site.

A LITTLE ABOUT KEVIN
	Born in Grants Pass, Oregon and raised in Eugene, Oregon I attended South Eugene High School where I had a passing interest in electronics. I used to hang out with the geeks who would work the school radio station as announcers and they would get excited about getting a radio that they could strip for parts.
After graduating from High School I left Eugene to make my fortune in the fishing industry. I found that I would not be retiring early and often did not make enough money to cover expenses for the day and so I returned to Eugene in the fall of 1969 to discover that my draft number was 13. I had grown up fishing the ocean almost every weekend during the summer and for the previous 4 years I had worked on the salmon fishing charter boats out of Winchester Bay, Oregon or fished my own boat there. I thought I knew a lot about the Coast Guard and I liked their mission of saving lives. Plus I thought I would get paid to ride around all day on a boat playing in the surf and helping others. I ran to the recruiter in Eugene and tried to sign up. I was surprised to learn that their quota was filled and that there was a waiting list to enlist in the Coast Guard. I took all the tests and aced them so the recruiter put me on a "Will Call" list. That meant that if someone washed out during the process they would call me and I would head for Boot Camp. I could have a day to get things together or a week or two. In late October I got the call and the Monday before Thanksgiving I had my physical, was sworn in, and I found myself on an airplane headed for Alameda, California.
During Boot Camp I took the battery of tests to see if I was trainable in any of the ratings that the Coast Guard was in need of at the time. I qualified for everything but Sonarman. I requested to go to Electronics Technician School I had no idea that the school was in the middle of the New York harbor on Governor's Island. So on February 14th of 1970 I graduated from Boot Camp with my bride to be, Michelle, watching. I had a week with her and my family after that before I returned to Alameda to wait for the start of my class. March of 1970 I arrived in New York on Saint Patricks Day. Do you know how big an event that is in New York? I had no idea. I attended Electronics School until late July. I graduated toward the top of the class. I got orders to my first duty station - and I was on my way to a Coast Guard Cutter in Coos Bay, Oregon; just down the road from where I had spent my summers. I reported aboard the ship in August of 1970 and I was still stationed on that ship when Michelle and I married in June, 1971.
	After I retired from the Coast Guard I returned to college and was in a pre-law degree program when I had the opportunity to apply for a federally funded position at the Police Department in Coos Bay. It was a one to two year position. Twenty eight and half years later I retired from the police department. While I was with Coos Bay PD I served as a Patrol Officer, K9 Officer, Patrol Corporal, Patrol Seargeant, Planning and Research Officer, Investigations Supervisor, Communications Supervisor for the 9-1-1 Center, and when I retired I was the IT director for the City. While there I installed 3 iterations of networking and supervised the networking of all computers within the city. I authored, supported, and maintained the dispatch software and NCIC reporting software for the police department, fire department, and the 9-1-1 center. This software was used for 7 years until we joined a public safety data consortium running on an IBM 360 in Eugene, Oregon. During the time that the departments used the 360 I did all of the terminal support and wrote data compilation reports using COBOL and Assembler languages. We continued to use a LAN within the departments for local storage and access to local documents/reports and I maintained all of the networked devices. The year that I retired we switched to a locally managed SQL server and software to use on that server as the pool of support personnel for COBOL and Assembler languages was limited in Coos Bay.
While I worked at the City of Coos Bay I also taught at the college in Coos Bay as a part time, adjunct instructor for twenty one years. I taught computer science, Sociology, Criminology, Electronics, and Amateur Radio Courses there. Michelle and I also ran a small computer consulting business and I was invited by Oregon's Attorney General to consult with the Green River Task Force from King County to help them with their databases as they conducted their investigations into the homicides that were occurring there. I also consulted with the Oregon State Police and the South Coast Interagency Narcotics Team in creating and maintaining databases. I conducted a few computer forensic investigations for the police departments in Coos County.
Michelle and I both are licensed Amateur Radio Operators. We have taught numerous classes to help others get their license. We taught the classes at the college in Coos Bay and each course consisted of one three hour class per week for three months. When the attendees tested for their license they were ready to join the ranks of amateur operators in the area and knew how to use the equipment and how to operate on the air. We both have been active in Oregon ARES. I have been the County AEC, a multi-county DEC, a state level ASEC for training and digital operations, the SEC for Oregon, and now I am the ASEC for digital operations. I was the system engineer for the Oregon ARES Digital Network and continue to help counties to install and maintain equipment to support digital communications thoughout the 36 counties in Oregon. In April 2016 I will once again take on the duties of a multi-county DEC in addition to continuing to serve as ASEC. I serve as a volunteer for the Winlink Development Team and am a member of the Development Team.
Michelle and I enjoy sailing, fishing, RVing, gardening, yardwork, entertaining guests at the "Chicken Ranch", reading, and family activities along with amateur radio. I make wine and beer for our use and sharing with family and friends. I also enjoy canning and drying the fruits of our labors in our gardens. When I need to relax I enjoy sitting down at my fly tieing vise and whipping out a few flies to use or give away. We are very active in our church. We coordinate and serve as primary hosts for a monthly book reading group and a group called Tapping into Faith; where we meet once a month in a local pub and have theological discussions with other members of the community while enjoying a beer or two. I maintain the computer network at the church and help Michelle with a small group that meets once a week at a local restaurant where we discuss the following Sunday's lectionary readings so that when they are read during service the passages have greater meaning to us. When we lived in Coos Bay we were active with Coos Bay Yacht Club. I served as Commodore of the club in 1991-1992. We led sailing cruises to the San Juan Islands for members of the Yacht Club from 1995 until 2002. At one time we had 5 sailboats in our possession; a San Juan 21 that we raced, a Lancer 25 that we cruised, an O'Day 27 that we cruised, and two Sunfishes that our son and daughter raced and sailed at the Yacht Club. We have scaled back now to three boats; an 18 foot fishing boat, a 9 foot fishing pontoon boat, and a 10 foot inflatable dinghy. We both enjoy music and we perform with the Blue Mountain Old Time Fiddlers during the year at various weekend performances in Eastern Oregon. We play at assisted living and senior centers almost every week and often we play two to three times a week. We also play at the local county fairs and at Pendleton Round Up when we are invited. Michelle plays guitar and provides vocals. I play a four string banjo, tenor ukulele, bariton ukulele, and tenor guitar as backup for the group. If you enjoyed reading this and/or if you enjoy similar hobbies and activities to what Michelle and I do please catch us and say hello as we join you for various functions. Don't hesitate to ask us about any of the activities listed here as we enjoy talking about them as much as doing them.