Sheriff’s corner

—JOHN PAUL TRUJILLO, SHERIFF, SANDOVAL COUNTY
• On December 28, at approximately 2104 hours, the Sandoval County Sheriff’s Office responded to the area of the Rio Puerco off Southern Boulevard in reference to persons who had been four-wheeling and were now lost. Initially, three male adults, along with a male minor child, were out four-wheeling in a pickup truck. When the pickup became inoperable, they all started to walk out of the Puerco. A sister of one of the individuals received a telephone call and after notifying authorities, responded to the area, tried to locate the persons, and herself became lost.

Sandoval deputies responded to the area, which was under heavy winter-storm conditions, and began the search. The three adult males and the one minor male were located. The minor was suffering from early stages of hypothermia and was transported to Presbyterian Hospital, in Rio Rancho, for further treatment and monitoring. The sister, too, was located, after being instructed via cellular telephone to dial 911 and stay on the line until the corresponding GPS coordinates could be established. She was subsequently located and found to be in good health.

As the sheriff of Sandoval County, I ask those who may get caught in a winter snowstorm and become lost or disoriented in their surroundings to stay where you are, if at all possible. If you have a cellular phone, dial 911. This will allow the dispatcher to isolate the GPS coordinates from the cellular telephone as to your location. Once the communications center has these coordinates, they can be passed on to the deputies in the field. A deputy can then enter the coordinates into the on-board computer system and subsequently find you.

• On January 8, at 1045 hours, a Peña Blanca man was arrested at his residence by Sandoval County sheriff’s deputies. Information was relayed to the Sandoval County Sheriff’s Office from the Albuquerque Police Department Crime Stoppers that he had an outstanding felony warrant for failing to pay child support. A felony warrant was confirmed to be active out of Sandoval County District Court for contempt on child-support issues. The man was taken into custody and booked into the Sandoval County Detention Center without incident.

To Placitas, Bernalillo residents: fire volunteers needed

—BUD BRINKERHOFF, CHIEF, PLACITAS VOLUNTEER FIRE BRIGADE
Twice a year the Placitas Volunteer Fire Brigade holds a recruitment drive to provide additional volunteers to serve as fire-and-rescue personnel for the greater Placitas region. The brigade responds to more than four hundred fire-and-rescue calls per year. We provide primary response to the Placitas area and mutual aid to Bernalillo, Rio Rancho, Algodones, and the Indian pueblos to the south, west, and north of Placitas. As a member of the brigade, you will be provided with the best opportunity to help your friends and neighbors during their most difficult times.

The Placitas Brigade offers recruit classes in April and October of each year and we’re beginning the process for our spring class. No prior experience is necessary, as we provide full training, beginning with a recruit entry-level course. This course prepares new members with the basic training to participate safely, effectively, and helpfully on emergency scenes. The course runs for approximately forty hours and includes training in CPR, the incident-command structure, hazardous-materials awareness, and radio and equipment familiarization, as well as tours of the district and the dispatch center. The course is held at the main station on weeknights and weekends to accommodate those with a working schedule and concludes with a scenario training with other responding members. New recruits will be provided all necessary protective clothing, radios, and pagers for communication effectiveness. All training and equipment is paid for and provided by the Placitas Brigade.

If you are interested in this opportunity to make a valuable contribution to your community, call John Wolf, 771-3788, for more information and to sign up for a one-hour prospective-member session giving more details on what it means to be a responding member of the Placitas Volunteer Fire Brigade.

New members at PVFB

—BUD BRINKERHOFF, CHIEF, PLACITAS VOLUNTEER FIRE BRIGADE
The Placitas Volunteer Fire Brigade would like to introduce the newest members of the department: Andria Serrano, Michael Weinberg, Matthew Montoy and Ryan Faltys. Congratulations for completing the training, which included participating in a scenario, to become active members effective November 16. A special thanks goes to Dan Shaw, a longtime member, for his continuing efforts in coordinating and facilitating the recruit training program.

In an effort to continue to provide the best service to our community, many members continue their training with classes in fire fighting and EMS. Nine members—Bud Lolli, Jill Lolli, Corey Wright, Alejandro Gurule, Armando Gurule, Eric Perez, Kenda Huntley, Tom Hansen, and Evie Bennett—are currently in training for Firefighter 1 classification. These members along with the members who are already Firefighter 1 will provide Placitas with the largest number of trained Firefighters in the Brigade's history. Carmen Marcolina recently completed the course work and passed the state test to become an Intermediate Emergency Medical Technician, adding to the number of trained Emergency Medical Services personnel in the brigade. Two other members, Evie Bennett and Nancy Roope, have completed their class and are readying themselves for the State Boards to become Emergency Medical Technicians.

Training and preparation for emergencies is an important part of our commitment to the community. Another part of being a member of the brigade is the opportunity to meet and interact with the residents of Placitas, in non-emergency situations. The Placitas Holiday Sale gave us the opportunity to set up a booth at the winery to meet residents. Members were on hand to talk about fire safety, provide reflective house numbers, recruit new members, and answer questions. Evie Bennett is the brigade’s community liaison, arranging for the brigade to participate in our community activities. You may contact her at 771-8018.

NAMI provides free mental-illness support

National Alliance on Mental Illness is a volunteer-run organization providing education and support for people with mental illness and their families. It meets on the first Wednesday of the month at 10:00 a.m. and on the third and fourth Tuesdays of the month at 7:30 p.m. at St. Thomas Aquinas Catholic Church, 502 Sara Road, Rio Rancho, Educational Building, Room 111. For more information, call 892-1511.

The National Alliance on Mental Illness also offers Family-to-Family, a twelve-week course for people who have just been diagnosed with a mental illness and their family members. The next course starts March 6 at First Baptist Church, in Rio Rancho. For information, call Deborah Ryan, at 249-4976.

Presentations by individuals diagnosed with a mental illness are highlighted in the In Our Own Voice program, which covers personal experience, treatment options, and strategies for coping with everyday life. To schedule a presentation, call the NAMI office in Albuquerque, at 256-0288.

All services are free. For more information, call 260-0154 or visit www.nami.org.

Haven House looking for sponsors for motorcycle run

Haven House, the domestic-violence shelter of Sandoval County, is looking for sponsors for its second annual Run for Shelter motorcycle rally, on April 21. Sponsorship levels run from $5,000 for hogs, $1,000 for choppers, and $500 for scooters.

The Run for Shelter chair, Rio Rancho Sergeant Roberta Radosevich, is calling for Rio Rancho and Sandoval County businesses to support the county’s only domestic-violence agency, which serves an estimated population of close to ninety thousand.

Sponsors will be recognized in all event publicity, and hogs (Lovelace Westside Hospital is the lead hog) will be awarded special recognition. For more information on sponsorship, contact Radosevich, at 891-5963, or Haven House executive director Diane Torrance, at 896-4869.

The motorcycle run kicks off National Crime Victims’ Rights Week and hopes to increase domestic-violence awareness, in addition to raising funds for Haven House. This year’s run will begin at the new Santa Ana Star Center and end at the Lovelace’s Westside Hospital Health Fair, where refreshments and entertainment will be provided. Last year’s rally attracted riders such as Kevin Jackson, mayor of Rio Rancho; Gary Kanin, former mayor of Corrales; Steve Shaw, former deputy chief of Rio Rancho Department of Public Safety; Sergeant Radosevich and her husband, Robert Radosevich, former Rio Rancho City councilman. Chief Boone, from Rio Rancho Department of Public Safety, was at the finish line to show his support for the Run for Shelter.

“We are asking Rio Rancho and Sandoval County businesses to help Haven House by lending their support to the event,” Radosevich said. “We need several hogs to step up to the plate and loads of support from choppers and scooters.”