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July 2010 - Vol. 03, No. 7 |
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| It's Beyond the Badge's 2nd Anniversary! | |
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| Sunnyvale DPS
Upcoming Events |
July 26 - August 6
Kick, Lead, Dream Soccer Camp
Cherry Chase Elementary School
1:00-4:00 P.M.
For more info, click here.
July 31
Special Olympics Power Pull
California's Great America
9:30 A.M.- Noon
August 3, Tuesday
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No Challenge Team meeting in July |
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| Message from the Chief |  Two Years and Counting
This issue marks the two year anniversary of our Beyond the Badge publication. I hope you find the information we provide you in each issue to be useful and helpful in understanding your Department of Public Safety.
We have a few key initiatives underway at Public Safety that you should know about:
We just finished a remodel on our dispatch center that will ensure we can meet your needs for the next 10-15 years. Most of the funding for this project comes from state 911 fees that are attached to land and cell phones. Our new center takes full advantage of the latest technology, including voice, data and mapping; and provides a great environment for our teams of dispatchers who work around the clock to make sure your needs are met. We welcome tours, so if you have a group that is interested, we would love to show off our latest and greatest.
This summer, we are looking at revising our Municipal Code Ordinance related to storage of vehicles on city streets. We do a pretty good job of keeping our streets free of abandoned cars, boats and trailers - but I am sure you can point to a "chronic" violator in your neighborhood, as easily as we can. We hope to revise the Code to deal with the "intent" that your streets are not a storage place for your neighbor's vehicle; I think we have a pretty good chance of creating a code to help us eliminate vehicles that should be stored elsewhere, while still allowing our community free access to the vehicles they regularly use. Believe it or not, vehicle storage is always a "hot button" in every community, so wish us luck!
We are also in full swing with our neighborhood code enforcement. We are looking at properties that are considered to be "blighted" and negatively impacting a particular neighborhood. Many resources came together to provide help - for example, we found support from a local service organization - The Tribe. On a recent Saturday, this group of volunteers helped a property owner to toss many years of accumulated junk. In addition, Legacy Sanitation donated funds to install a dog run. In this case, everybody was a winner - the property owner, the neighbors, and even the dogs..... a wonderful example of the power of teams and caring community members.
Finally, we are doing our best to support our schools as they face tough budget times. We've got the Kick, Lead, Dream Soccer Camp at Cherry Chase School this summer - more than 250 kids will benefit from this wonderful partnership between DPS Parks and Recreation, Mountain View PD and several non-profits, who together raised almost $20,000 to keep this program alive for the coming years.
Ok - not quite finally...... we would love to see a huge turnout at the August 10 City Council Meeting (7:00 P.M.) to support the Sunnyvale School District as both Cherry Chase and Lakewood Schools receive well deserved recognition as California Distinguished Schools - what an accomplishment for the District, the school staff and for the parents! I really hope to see many of you there to encourage outstanding performance by those we entrust with our children.
Chief Johnson
408-730-7140, TDD 408-730-7501
or email pubsfty@ci.sunnyvale.ca.us
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| Sunnyvale Leaders Launch Mentoring Initiative |  There's something stirring in Sunnyvale "in a very cool way," as Captain Doug Moretto of Sunnyvale Public Safety will often remark, as he facilitates Sunnyvale's Challenge Team meetings. Community leaders are coming together to steer youth away from drugs and juvenile delinquency through the Sunnyvale Youth Mentoring Initiative.
Public Safety Officers, business leaders and Reach Potential Movement's Mentoring Coordinator Angie Garcia-Stonehocker met with two focus groups of Sunnyvale youth on June 1 and June 3. They engaged Sunnyvale's youth on everything from what they would desire out of a mentoring program to the challenges they face navigating school, pressure from gangs, home life and the most common complaint of being "bored." Though many students were unfamiliar with the concept of having a mentor, the idea of having an older person that they can build a friendship with over meals and various activities energized both the students and adults.
Community leaders launched the Sunnyvale Youth Mentoring Initiative on May 26 at the Sunnyvale Challenge Team, which draws city, education, business, nonprofit and faith leaders at the Department of Public Safety from 7 A.M. to 8 A.M. the last Wednesday of the month. Dr. Ben Picard, Sunnyvale School District's Superintendent, encouraged everyone at the end of the Challenge Team meeting and noted that the group of forty leaders were "really starting to gel as a team." The Sunnyvale Youth Mentoring Initiative is being coordinated by the Challenge Team's Mentoring Advisory Group and Reach Potential Movement, a local nonprofit organization. "Our team effort has been a model of collaboration," said Rob Schulze, Reach Potential Movement's Coordinator. "We have a motto that our team has no bench, everyone plays!"
If you would like to be a part of the Sunnyvale Youth Mentoring Initiative by helping plan group outings for youth and their mentors, gather business sponsors or to be a mentor yourself, please contact Reach Potential Movement via their website or download an application at www.rpmovement.org/mentoring
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| A Special Donation to the K-9 Unit |
 Lisa Atkins, the Cumberland Elementary School Librarian and Student Council Advisor, recently read an article in the Sunnyvale Sun about one of the police service dogs at DPS that was in need of a bullet proof vest. Having raised money in the past for global causes such as Free the Children, Ms. Atkins thought it would be wonderful to align the Cumberland students with a local cause and raise funds to purchase a vest for one of the police dogs. Lisa placed a large donation jar at her desk in the library with an explanation of the cause and a picture of Officer Robin Smith with her K-9, Colt. She also selected some targeted books about police dogs from the Cumberland School collection such as, Officer Buckle and Gloria, Detector Dogs Sniffing Out Trouble and Sammy Dog Detective, to get the kids motivated. Along with the collection jar, Lisa held a Holiday Boutique in the library for three days during the Christmas season. She also coordinated a sales drive by the kids where they sold "smencils" (scented pencils) to the student body. Both of these efforts raised over $700. Being the true educator that she is, Lisa assigned two students to write an article about the Sunnyvale Police. The kids were asked to interview their school officer Brad Militano and K-9 Handler Robin Smith. They all learned a lot about each other...and the donations continued to pour in. All of this wonderful effort resulted in the collection of $1000 and a presentation of a check to DPS at their end of school year assembly on June 15. DPS and the entire City team are very proud of our kids..... Thanks! 
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Fill the Boot for MDA
|  On Saturday, July 5, the Public Safety Officers Association (PSOA) held their second "Fill the Boot" campaign for the Muscular Dystrophy Association (MDA) and it was a huge success. Last year they raised $20,269, a huge amount for a first-time event. Thanks to the efforts of 53 sworn officers who volunteered to brave the heat and work the intersections collecting donations from a very generous community. They surpassed last year's amount by collecting a staggering $31,169!
Just as important as the folks collecting the donations were the folks behind the scenes. The support staff made up of dispatchers and family members had the daunting task of sorting and counting this huge amount of money. In addition to the sorting and counting, they also kept everyone well supplied with food and drink throughout the day and spent time at the intersections cheering for those collecting.  Also present, was the Caine Family: Bill, Fiona and their son Calem who suffers from Muscular Dystrophy. The Caines were truly appreciative of the PSOA's efforts. They attended last year and came back again this year. They are very down-to-earth people who, without the help of MDA, would have a significantly more difficult time dealing with the day-to-day challenges of Muscular Dystrophy. The Caines are big fans of Sunnyvale DPS. Calem wears a "Sunnyvale Fire" t-shirt to all the other MDA events he attends. Not too long ago they were at an Alameda event and one of their firefighters saw the Sunnyvale shirt Calem was wearing. He told Calem they needed to get him a new t-shirt (Alameda Fire, of course). The Caines informed the Alameda firefighter that the Sunnyvale t-shirt Calem was wearing was very expensive to replace. Perplexed, the Alameda firefighter inquired further and the Caines told him that last year Sunnyvale collected $20,269 and when Alameda Fire collects more than $20,269 - Calem will wear one of their shirts. Well, from the new number, this year it seems the price of that shirt just went up! 
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| Dinner at the Dump |
 On Saturday, June 26, Specialty Solid Waste held its annual Dinner at the Dump event. It was a big success. The annual barbecue raised funds this year for Sunnyvale Community Services, Sunnyvale Rotary, Leadership Sunnyvale, YMCA and the Avon Walk.
Over 400 guests enjoyed cedar plank salmon, chicken and tri-tip with all the trimmings. In addition to all the great food, guests enjoyed live music by the California Beach Boys, a silent auction, prize drawings and activities for the kids. A highlight of the event was the Dunk Tank - guests took their best shots at DPS Chief Don Johnson, Sunnyvale Community Services Executive Director Nancy Tivol, Specialty Solid Waste owner Jerry Nabhan and other local celebrities. As usual, the Sunnyvale Public Safety Officers Association provided the "grill masters." This year's event raised more than $30,000!
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Summer Movies at the Firehouse | |
The DPS Summer Movie Series concluded on July 14 with Alvin and the Chipmunks at Fire Station #2.
Over the past few weeks, Sunnyvale
Families got a chance to vist DPS fire stations and watch movies including Kung Fu Panda, Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs and Madagascar, while enjoying free popcorn and lemonade with the firefighters. |
| Hyperthermia Prevention Month |
 Safe Kids USA coalitions are aggressively tackling the problem of young children affected by hyperthermia, or heat stroke, when they are unattended in vehicles on sunny days as part of the Safe Kids Buckle Up program. Each year, approximately 37 children die from hyperthermia and there have already been 9 fatalities thus far in 2010.
In February of this year, Safe Kids Buckle Up convened a national webinar meeting to bring more than 30 new injury prevention partners to collectively help address this very preventable problem. Safe Kids Buckle Up has encouraged those new partners to record their activities and submit them for evaluation.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) is a partner in this effort. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood highlighted the problem of hyperthermia and children in his blog post: Summer's Heat Requires Extra Car Safety Vigilance. On the same day, NHTSA issued a Consumer Advisory: Parents and Caregivers Reminded Never to Leave Children in Cars. The Secretary reminded motorists to never leave young children alone in vehicles - even for a minute. Citing statistics from NHTSA's Not in Traffic Surveillance (NiTS), which is a virtual data collection system, LaHood reiterated that hot weather and children alone in cars is a deadly mix and results in the leading cause of non-traffic deaths to children. Safe Kids Buckle Up supports NHTSA's elevating the issue to a higher level as summer heats up and as we continue to provide information, support and materials to our coalitions and new partners. For more information, go to the website: www.safekids.org. 
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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 © 2010 City of Sunnyvale, CA |
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