These are just a couple of recent news articals relating to Amateur Radio. Taken from an ARRL news site.

KING HUSSEIN, JY1, SK February 7, 1999 was a silent day for ham radio operators world wide. King Hussein, JY1 of Jordan passed away after a battle with cancer. He was the longest reigning ruler in the Middle East having been Jordan's king for 47 years. He was instrumental in the peace process of the area and world wide. Up until his illness prevented it he was active on Amateur Radio and the Royal QSL card was prized by many ham radio operators world wide. He was a life time member of the ARRL and his support was valuable to the amateur radio community in obtaining the WARC bands in 1979. in. He was one of the worlds most respected hams and his presence will be missed throughout the world.

ARKANSAS HAMS TORNADO RESPONSE Members of the central Arkansas Ham Radio community were reciently called into service when tornadoes struck January 21. During the first 24 hours the nets were very busy. The weather spotters startted tracking the storm long before the formation of tornadic activity. This early tracking was attributed by the National Weather Service with saving lives. Limiting the number of deaths in the state to eight. Various net and member stations were operating out of their homes and vehicles. Several had to leave the air as the tornadoe approached. After the tornadoes which may have numbered into the dozens those operators went from the weather spotter phase into the disaster phase. Damage in the area was widespread especially in the central Arkansas, Little Rock area and north into White county. Amateur Radio stations were established in the County Emergency Operating Centers, as well as the Red Cross Shelters. and local police stations. Over 100 messages were handled by the stations initially. Ham radio ingenuity came to the rescue when a group of Amateur Radio Operators came to the aid of the town of Beebe by maiking repairs to the ambulance radio antenna on top of a water tower. This is just one example of how ham radio assisted during an emergency.