Working with the Community
Challenge Bike Ride 
On Sunday, May 3rd, community members from the cities of Sunnyvale, Mountain View, Los Altos and Los Altos Hills came together in a show of support for the schools in our communities and the children that attend them.
This collaborative effort between the Sunnyvale and Mountain View Challenge Teams, along with a tremendous amount of support from the El Camino YMCA, was designed to show community support for children's health, education, and welfare, as well as to promote healthy family activities...while bicycling a 26-mile course!
Over 500 people attended the event under gray, drizzly skies. Soon the clouds broke and the riders enjoyed a wonderful day along the course.
Rest stops were set up along the route at various school locations or points of interest. At each rest stop, riders enjoyed a variety of snacks provided by sponsors and they had an opportunity to sign a petition. The petition asked the California State Legislature to put kids first in their decision making.
It was a great day and everyone is looking forward to next year! For more information on how you can get involved in the community, go to challengeteam.insunnyvale.com
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Your Local Sunnyvale Crossing Guard
Name: Ed Zhou
Sunnyvale Locations: Cupertino Middle School and West Valley Elementary School Intersection: Bernardo/The Dalles Helpful Hints: "Safety should always be a top priority." |
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EXPLORER OF THE MONTH
Aly Rajah has been a member of the Sunnyvale DPS Explorer Post since 2007, volunteering close to 120 hours for the Department.
Aly Rajah, Explorer of the Month
She is an 18 years-old senior at Fremont High School. Aly is very
active and her hobbies include various types of dancing and playing
different sports.
Aly is always up for a challenge, and because of her energy she is a great role model for her peers.
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California Motorcyclist Safety Program
According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), motorcyclists are approximately 37 times more likely to die in a traffic collision than passenger car occupants.
Since 2004 California has experienced a dramatic increase in motorcyclist injuries and fatalities. In 2007, 465 motorcyclists were killed and 11,172 were injured in traffic collisions in our state. Of those, 75% of the fatal and 59% of the injury collisions, the motorcyclist was at fault. Nearly half of the collisions could be attributed to one of three reasons: driving under the influence of alcohol/ drugs, unsafe speed or improper turning. In 2007, riders between the ages of 45-54 years old represented the highest number of motorcycle fatalities.
The California Motorcyclist Safety Program (CMSP) is California's official motorcycle safety and training program administered by the California Highway Patrol (CHP). CMSP offers a Basic Rider Course for beginners and an Experienced Rider Course for those wishing to improve their skills. For more information or to register for training in California call 1-877-RIDE-411 or visit www.ca-msp.org |
DPS VOLUNTEERS
Welcome to our new Volunteers in Public Safety (VIPS).
Karol Smith, VIPS Records Unit Josh Cottrell, VIPS Police Services
 T Vorghin, VIPS Records Unit
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SUNNYVALE DPS UPCOMING EVENTS
Saturday, May 16
Hands on the Arts
Sunnyvale Community Center
550 Remington Drive
408-730-7350
TDD 408-730-7501
May 19-31
Click-it or Ticket
Seatbelt Enforcement Campaign
Wednesday, May 27
Challenge Team Meeting
7:00-8:00 AM
Saturday, May 30
Sunnyvale Health & Safety Fair and DPS Bike Safety Rodeo at
11:00 A.M. - 3:00 P.M.
Columbia Middle School
408-730-7140,
TDD 408-730-7501
Saturday, May 30
IAHV Yogathon
1:00 P.M. - 8:00 P.M.
Baylands Park
JUNE
June In the Schools - "Sober Graduation" (12th grade)
June 6 & 7 weekend
Sunnyvale Art & Wine Festival
Wednesday, June 17
DPS Volunteer Recognition BBQ
Monday, June 22
Special Olympics Torch Run Santa Clara Leg
Monday-Thursday
Wednesday, June 24
Challenge Team Meeting 7:00-8:00 A.M.
June 26-28
Special Olympics Summer Games at UC Davis
Saturday, June 27
Dinner at the Dump "Serving up a Trashy Affair" benefit for Sunnyvale Community Services, Project Help, Leadershp
June 27 & 28 weekend
Sunnyvale Amateur Radio Emergency Services (SARES) Field Day
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For questions and comments about the Sunnyvale DPS newsletter Beyond the Badge,  you can e-mail us at: pubsfty@ci.sunnyvale.ca.us
© 2009 City of Sunnyvale, CA
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 Message from the ChiefOver the last few months, we've had several occasions to call upon our Sunnyvale Amateur Radio Emergency Services (SARES) network of volunteers to provide unique support during a variety of local and regional emergencies and events. It's time to publicly thank these dedicated, enthusiastic, and committed community members for their professionalism and help. I know you will recall the events of April 9th, when one or more people intentionally severed critical communication links in San Carlos and Morgan Hill. What followed was chaos in local dispatch centers because emergency callers could not get in; nor could calls go out.
Some smart Emergency Planner thought quickly and activated 45 Amateur Radio Operators and deployed them to schools, hospitals, and Police/Fire and Medical Service providers to ensure critical communication could continue. You see, our HAM radio professionals operate on "old time" radio waves to relay information, and are not reliant on cell towers or hard wired communication lines. During this single event, 12 of our SARES volunteers worked tirelessly to support our region.
In addition, at the Second Annual Sunnyvale DPS Open House on May 2nd - six SARES members staffed the "DUI trailer", explaining amateur radio and giving demonstrations. This trailer has now been configured to serve multiple purposes - including a base of operations, should SARES be required to set up a command post. The trailer can do everything from one mobile location. This "additional capacity" conversion was a combined effort of DPS, Information Technology, and SARES members. The conversion took almost five months to complete and is the envy of amateur radio operators county-wide.
Finally, on May 3rd, four of our SARES professionals worked with staff from Sunnyvale, Los Altos, and Mountain View to provide communication services for the first ever Challenge Bike Ride that covered three cities and 26 miles.
Three different kinds of events, but the same professional response every time. I am proud of the work that our SARES Operators do, and the way they do it. My sincere thanks for a job always well done!
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HAMs Save the Day - DPS Sponsored SARES Responds to South County Phone Vandalism
In the early morning of April 9, 2009, as a result of vandalism, there was a South-San Jose/South-Santa Clara County phone outage effecting not only normal phone service, but ATMs, cash registers, cell phones, internet, alarm systems, etc. Someone very knowledgeable picked a strategic multi-carrier underground cable vault and cut pieces out of the critical fiber-optic backbone.
A call for emergency communication assistance went out from Santa Clara County. The DPS Office of Emergency Services (OES), under the direction of Lt. John Gienger responded with volunteer Amateur Radio operators (HAMs) trained in emergency communications through ongoing participation with the OES sponsored Sunnyvale Amateur Radio Emergency Services (SARES) organization. Sunnyvale supplied the largest number of HAM responders of any city in the North County.
Ralf Erickson WA6CQA, 31-year SARES member, runs a multi-radio Command Station
These HAM operators provided emergency communications through the day and into the night at strategic points in South San Jose, Morgan Hill and Gilroy: at schools, fire stations, key public access intersections, Cal Fire Command Posts and St. Louise Hospital.
Howard Krawetz N6HM, 45-year SARES member, providing emergency communication at a school
Emergency communications throughout the South Santa Clara County continued uninterrupted thanks to these well trained HAM volunteers and their personal equipment, which they keep at the ready for emergencies. For more information on SARES, visit the web site at: http://www.sunnyvaleares.org/ |
2009 Sunnyvale Health and Safety Fair
at Columbia Middle School
The annual Sunnyvale Health and Safety Fair is on Saturday, May 30 from 11:00 A.M. to 3:00 P.M. Each year, the Department of Public Safety joins our community partners to contribute several components to the event.
- The Bike Safety Rodeo, which includes: The Bike Safety Skill Course, hosted by Mike Klein State Farm Insurance and supported by the Fremont and Homestead High Schools Key Clubs; Bike Safety Inspections and Minor Repairs by Bob and Mary Cormia of Calabazas Cyclery; Sunnyvale bicyclist information hosted by the Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Commission (BPAC); and a breathtaking BMX Bike Stunt Demonstrations and Safety Presentations by Perfection on Wheels.
BMX Bike Stunt Demonstration
- Child Safety Seat Inspections with Safe Kids Coalition/Lucile Packard and State Farm Insurance by appointment only. To schedule, phone 408-730-7179, TDD 408-730-7501.
- Personal Document Shredding provided by CINTAS and supported by the Sunnyvale Recycling Program. Limit 15 banker boxes per vehicle. This component is extremely popular, so please plan to wait in a line. For more information, call 408-730-7262.
For general information about the Sunnyvale Health and Safety Fair or to be an exhibitor, please contact Alicia Gonzales at 408-523-8150, TDD 408-730-7501, or online at: HealthandSafetyFair.inSunnyvale.com | |
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Dispatcher Appreciation Week
Dispatcher At Work
Each day, hundreds of citizens call Sunnyvale DPS 9-1-1 for help in emergencies ranging from house fires and automobile accidents to heart attacks and domestic violence. The dedicated personnel who answer these calls for help, gathering essential information and dispatching the appropriate assistance, can often make the difference between life and death for persons in need.
These Public Safety Dispatchers are more than a calm, reassuring voice on the other end of the phone. They are knowledgeable and highly trained individuals who work closely with police, fire and medical personnel to protect and promote public safety. The work of these "unseen first responders" is invaluable in emergency situations and each of these men and women deserve our heartfelt appreciation.
This week we honored several of our dispatchers for their outstanding performance and dedication throughout the year.
SENIOR PUBLIC SAFETY DISPATCHER OF THE YEAR:
Debbie Patterson
Debbie is the consummate professional and serves as an extraordinary role model for her team. She provides strong guidance and a consistent even-handed approach to decision making in the control room. She remains totally impartial by focusing on the situation, issue or behavior and not the individual.
Debbie also serves as our Communications Training Officer Program Coordinator. She provides program oversight, reviewing all documentation, ensuring that the content of the training program is comprehensive and serves as a valuable teaching tool for the trainees.
Debbie has found that perfect balance of quiet steadfast control that elicits professionalism and integrity. She provides a safe environment in which to both fail and succeed by maximizing the positive and minimizing the negatives.
PUBLIC SAFETY DISPATCHER OF THE YEAR:
Paola Dunson
Paola is without a doubt, a stellar performer. Not only does she do the normal day to day duties exceptionally, but she is someone who is willing to go the extra mile in order to help find suspects, vehicles related to crimes, etc. by using every method available to dispatch personnel. She has assisted officers on many occasion making matches with subjects that are attempting to mislead officers by providing false information.
Paola raises the bar with her high level of dedication to both public and officer safety. Her commitment to her profession and the people she serves is truly commendable.
PUBLIC SAFETY COMMUNICATIONS MANAGERS ASSOCIATION SPECIAL RECOGNITION AWARDS RECIPIENTS:
After competing with nominees from multiple agencies in each category, these next two awards recipients were chosen by the County Managers Association for their outstanding performance.
SPECIAL ACHIEVEMENT AWARD:
Jenny Wood
Jenny was given this award for her contributions to the Communications Center's hiring and training of new dispatch personnel. Her performance in this area has been nothing short of remarkable.
Jenny re-wrote the entire Communications Training Manual, spending countless hours coming up with training scenarios, audio tapes, exercises and tests. She developed an extensive two-week classroom training program that covers not only basic dispatching, but also all of the Sunnyvale DPS dispatching specifics.
After completing the tasks of writing and creating the academy program, Jenny was then in charge of actually teaching the academies. She is an excellent instructor and recently gave four entry level dispatchers a great foundation to build from. It is her patience and dedication to duty that make her stand out amongst her peers.
EMERGENCY MEDICAL DISPATCHER OF THE YEAR:
Paola Dunson
Paola received a 9-1-1 call from the victim of a stabbing. He had been stabbed several times in the throat with a screwdriver. The suspect was his own son. Paola immediately recognized the address and recognized that the suspect was very well known by all in the department for being violent, unpredictable and suffering from frequent hallucinations.
Paola displayed a tremendous amount of compassion for the victim while she remained on the phone with him, still gathering officer and scene safety information. His condition was deteriorating rapidly and Paola continued to urge the patient to stay conscious and on the phone with her until medical help could arrive. Through her concern for patient care, and diligence for officer safety, not only did the patient survive this horrific ordeal, but the suspect was apprehended as well. |
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Working with the Community
Story Time At the Sunnyvale Library
On April 15, 2009, Sunnyvale Public Safety Officers were the guest readers for Story Time!
PSO Ochoa reads Chugga-Chugga Choo-Choo by Kevin Lewis
PSO Spoolstra reads Police: Hurrying! Helping! Saving! by Patricia Hubbell
They were both a great hit! For more information about Sunnyvale Library Services and Events www.sunnyvalelibrary.org or phone 408-730-7300, TDD 408-730-7501.
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