As the Deputy Director of the El Dorado County Office of Emergency Services, Sheriff John D’Agostini is pleased to announce the schedule of the 2014 Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) Academy.

The Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) Program educates people about disaster preparedness for hazards that may impact their area and trains them in basic disaster response skills, such as fire safety, light search and rescue, team organization, and disaster medical operations. Using the training learned in the classroom and during exercises, CERT members can assist others in their neighborhood or workplace following an event when professional responders are not immediately available to help. CERT members also are encouraged to support emergency response agencies by taking a more active role in emergency preparedness projects in their community.

The CERT Academy is offered to prospective CERT Volunteers through the El Dorado County Office of Emergency Services (OES) in cooperation with Georgetown Fire District. The CERT training promotes a partnering effort between emergency services and the people that they serve. The goal is for emergency personnel to train members of neighborhoods, community organizations, or workplaces in basic response skills. CERT members are then integrated into the emergency response capability for their area. If a disastrous event overwhelms or delays the community’s professional response, CERT members can assist others by applying the basic response and organizational skills that they learned during training. These skills can help save and sustain lives following a disaster until help arrives. CERT skills also apply to daily emergencies.

The Academy consists of a total of 24 hours and will be conducted over a period of four (4) days with topics, dates and hours as listed below:

Thursday           May 08, 2014        6:30pm to 8:30pm 2hrs

Friday               May 09, 2014        6:30pm to 8:30pm 2hrs

Saturday         May 10, 2014        8:30am to 4:30pm 8hrs

Thursday         May 15, 2014        6:30pm to 8:30pm 2hrs

Friday               May 16, 2014        6:30pm to 8:30pm 2hrs

Saturday         May 17, 2014        8:30am to 4:30pm 8hrs

Although the training is being held in Georgetown it is open to all county residents. This training is good for all county CERT organizations. There currently are two other community emergency response teams in El Dorado County. Besides the Georgetown CERT there is one in Rescue and one in Pollock Pines. For more information about this Community Emergency Response Team training or to sign up for the academy, contact Georgetown CERT volunteers Laura Webster (530) 333-0214 or Bob Maherly (530) 823-6680

For more information on how to establish an El Dorado County Community Emergency Response Team in your community, contact Sheriff’s Deputy Jordan Thomson. Deputy Thomson is assigned to the Office of Emergency Services and can be reached at (530) 621-7660 or via email at [email protected]

2013 Awards Ceremony

This past Friday, February 21st, Sheriff John D’Agostini hosted the 2013 Sheriff’s Office awards ceremony at the American Legion Hall. This year’s dinner was hosted by members of Calvary Chapel of the Foothills. During the ceremony, El Dorado County Sheriff’s Office employees and community members were recognized for exemplary actions and service. Prior to them receiving their awards, a review of their actions that warranted recognition was read to attendees. These actions included traumatic life threatening situations, major investigations and exemplary work performance.

The ceremony was attended by award recipients, their family and friends. We also had distinguished members of our community including El Dorado County Board of Supervisor member Ron Mikulaco and Brian Veerkamp, along with California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation Senior Special Agent John Prelip.

OFFICER OF THE YEAR

Dan Fulton

CORRECTIONAL OFFICER OF THE YEAR

Ben Handy

EMPLOYEE OF THE YEAR

Peggy Wenner

TEAM OF THE YEAR

Narcotic Detectives:

Sgt. Mike Cook

Ben Davidson Eric Palmberg Dan Rath Lance Bryant

Robert St. Pierre Jason Bloxsom SA Joe Beeson

DISPATCHER OF THE YEAR

Deborah Green

SWORN MANAGER OF THE YEAR

Lt. Jackie Noren

SWORN SUPERVISOR OF THE YEAR

Sgt. Gary Parker

CIVILIAN SUPERVISOR OF THE YEAR

Danette Helwig

VOLUNTEER OF THE YEAR

Dan Schmidt (Search & Rescue – SAR)

CITIZEN OF THE YEAR

Beth Frisby

BRONZE LIFESAVING MEDAL

William Turnbull & Terrie Cissna

CERTIFICATE OF LIFESAVING

Jennifer Merino & Ben Handy

DISTINGUISHED SERVICE AWARD

Sgt. Jeff Leikauf

COMMENDATIONS:

Greg Almos Tony Broadfoot Michael Roberts Jackie Todd Mark Hangebrauck Sgt. Matt Cathey Christina DeWater Gabriel Hathorne Kathy Jacobs Cassidy Thomason Cortney Barbot Rich Dean Frank Yost Christopher Garcia Christina Novello Samantha Whitlock David Joiner

Scott Gabler (SAR) Sienna Smith (SAR)

Sheriff D’Agostini also presented service pins to employees who completed ten, fifteen, twenty, and twenty-five years of service to the Sheriff’s Office. Eight Sheriff’s Office personnel who retired in 2013 were also recognized for their service. Sheriff D’Agostini is appreciative of the dedicated employees and citizens who make our community safer and more enjoyable for all.

Sheriff John D’Agostini is proud of Sheriff’s Office Explorer Post #457. Explorer Post 457 brought back multiple awards from the 2014 Chandler Law Enforcement Explorer Tactical Competition conducted on January 18th and 19th in Chandler Arizona.

The team representing El Dorado County Sheriff’s Office Explorer Post #457 consisted of 4 participants. The group traveled from El Dorado County to Chandler, AZ with four Explorers: Explorer Captain David Oakes, Lieutenant Ken Naylor, Corporal Kayla Bloxsom and Deputy Dylan Kammerer. Two Sheriff’s Office Post Advisors, Deputy Dan Fulton and Community Services Officer Amy Sargent, accompanied the participating Explorers to Chandler

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They competed against 58 other teams in the three day competition. The Post 457 Explorers took first place in Robot Operations, first place in the individual event Obstacle Course, second place in the Incident Command System event and fifth place in the armored vehicle (TK-4) pull, (thanks to the help from Pinal County Sheriff’s Explorer Post). Sheriff’s Office Explorers also participated in the SWAT physical challenge, Hogan’s Alley, Officer Down, EOD, CNT and the Pistol Shoot. While they didn’t place in these events the team learned a lot from the various scenarios that will help them to train for the next competition.

“The Explorers of Post #457, did a great job” said Sheriff’s Office Explorer Post Advisor Amy Sargent, “They were a small team of four Explorers, up against 58 teams that consisted of 10 or more Explorers in each team.” 1000 competitors from around the nation were registered in the two day event. Some came from as far away as Minnesota and Illinois.

The Explorer Post is able to compete in and travel to these types of events with the help of donations from the public, and a lot of hard work the post puts into community service and fundraising.

Law enforcement explorer post programs are sponsored by their affiliated law enforcement agency and Learning for Life, a subsidiary of the Boy Scouts of America. It is a career education program for young men and women who are 15 (can be 14 if you have completed the eighth grade) through 20 years old. Exploring’s purpose is to provide experience that helps young people mature and prepare to become responsible and caring adults.

The Explorer Post is able to compete in and travel to these types of events with the help of donations from the public, and a lot of hard work the post puts into community service and fundraising.

Law enforcement explorer post programs are sponsored by their affiliated law enforcement agency and Learning for Life, a subsidiary of the Boy Scouts of America. It is a career education program for young men and women who are 15 (can be 14 if you have completed the eighth grade) through 20 years old. Exploring’s purpose is to provide experience that helps young people mature and prepare to become responsible and caring adults.

Explorers are ready to investigate the meaning of interdependence in their personal relationships and communities. Exploring is based on a unique and dynamic relationship between youth and the organizations in their communities. Local community organizations initiate a specific Explorer post by matching their people and program resources to the interests of young people in the community. The goal of the Sheriff’s Office Explorer program is to help youths pursue and further their special interest in Law Enforcement.

If you are interested in becoming an Explorer or if you would like to support the Post through a donation please contact CSO Amy Sargent at 530-621-7529 or email [email protected].