Region One Flash Volume 4, No. 7 July/August, 2006

Texas Citizens Police Academy Alumni Association Region One

P. O. Box 741515, Houston, Texas 77274-1515

 

Charles Billingsley, Houston, Editor and Publisher (713-729-1546) charl.bill@yahoo.com

 


President Tom Lane, Houston (713-771-0016)

Vice President Calvin Walker, Dickinson (281-339-1107)

Secretary Jeanne Canales Sugar Land (281-530-2733)

Treasurer Joyce Beeson Lake Jackson (979-297-5909)

Directors Leo Waltz, Webster (281-316-2255); Delores Gant, Pearland (281-997-1015); Richard Melvin, Dickinson (281-337-8623)

 

 

Please note that this is a combined Flash for July and August, 2006 due to not having a meeting in July.  Alumni activities for May and June are included due to the fact that May activities were not included in the June Flash.

 

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Please make plans to attend as many Region One meetings in 2006 as possible.  Exciting things can happen in Region One and in Texas if we all participate.

 

There is no meeting in July. The August Region One Meeting will be in Sugar Land on August 12, 2006 at 10:00 A.M. at the Sugar Land Police Department, 1200 Highway 6, Sugar Land.  The Police Department is located on Highway 6 in Sugar Land between US 59 and US 90A.  Going South on US 59 (Southwest Freeway) from Houston, turn right on Highway 6.  Going South on US 90A from Houston, turn left on Highway 6. Going West on Highway 6 to Sugar Land, go past US 59 to the Police Station.  Harris County Key Map is 568S. Come early for fellowship and refreshments.

 

Schedule for 2006:

                January 14 - Webster

                February 11 Lake Jackson

                March 11 Houston

                April 8 - Dickinson

                May 6 Deer Park                 (Note Change from Second Saturday)

   June 10 - Pearland

                July 8 No Meeting.

                August 12 Sugar Land

                September 9 Montgomery County

                October 14 Texas City

                November 4 Angleton (Note Change from Second Saturday)

                December 9 Alvin

 

If anyone has any ideas for fundraisers for the scholarship fund, please contact one of the officers or directors. It was suggested at the February meeting that each Alumni Association member of Region One that could afford it, donate $100.00 to the Scholarship Fund.

           

 May Meeting.  The May meeting was held in Deer Park on May 6th. It was presided over by Charles Billingsley in the absence of the president and vice president.  (The rumor was that they were out campaigning for Kinky Friedman). It was noted that the Rosenberg Alumni has disbanded and hopes to regroup in September.  Lengthy discussions about plans for the table at the convention were held and it is all coming together.  There was no formal program, which allowed for lively discussion about the various alumni activities presented as well as discussion of other topics.  One of our more interesting meetings.  This was Deer Park’s first effort at hosting Region One and we congratulate them on an excellent job and excellent refreshments.  There were 21 Alumni members present representing 10 associations.

June Meeting.  The June meeting was held in Pearland on June 10th.   A very interesting program was presented by Officer “Nancy”, the Pearland K-9 dog assisted by her trainer, Lt. E. T. Morton.  See the separate article about the Pearland K-9.  Plans were discussed and made for the table at the convention and the “Sun Catcher” donated by Montgomery County to be auctioned off with proceeds going to the scholarship fund. Kroger Share Cards were passed out by Tom Lane.  We will get a percentage of sales at Krogers by using this card and the proceeds will go to the scholarship fund.  If you shop at Krogers and do not have a share card, you can get one from Tom at the meetings or he will mail you one if you call him at 713-771-0016.  It was voted not to have a meeting in July since we did not have a host and since it is the convention month.  A tip of the Region One cap to Pearland for the excellent refreshments.  There were 28 alumni members present representing 9 associations.  This was a good crowd, but it would be nice to get it up to at least 50 alumni.  Were you there? 

 

Members in good standing for 2006 as of June 30, 2006 are Alvin, Angleton, Brenham, Deer Park, Dickinson, Galveston, Galveston Sheriff, Houston, Lake Jackson, League City, Liberty County, Matagorda County, Montgomery County Sheriff, Pasadena, Pearland, Richmond, Sugar Land, Texas City, Tomball, Webster and Margaret Hooper Individual (Harris County Sheriff). If you have not paid your Region One dues for 2006 of $30.00, you may pay at the June meeting or mail to Joyce Beeson, 413 Huckleberry Drive, Lake Jackson, Texas 77566-4318. Individual memberships are available for $10.00 a year.

 

 

Treasurer’s Report (submitted by Joyce Beeson) (April revised):

 

Balance            3-31-06                                                                     $2,218.16

 

Receipts:

     None.

 

Disbursements:

     Bank Service Charge                                                                          (5.00)

     Table for Convention                                                                         (30.00)

 

Balance 4-30-06                                                                                 $2,183.16          

 

Receipts:

     None.

 

Disbursements:

     Bank Service Charge                                                                          (5.00)

 

Balance 5-31-06                                                                                $2,178.16

 

Receipts:

     Correction of Bank Service Charges                                                   15.00

 

Disbursements:

     Bank Service Charge                                                                        (5.00)

 

Balance 6-30-06                                                                              $2,188.16

 

Balance in Scholarship Fund at 4-30-06                                                $700.25

    

Receipts:

     Interest                                                                                              0.60

 

Balance in Scholarship Fund at 6-30-06                                                $700.85

 

 

REPORT ON THE CONVENTION

  

    The 14th annual Texas State Convention met in Richardson at the Richardson Hotel from Wednesday, July 19th through Saturday, July 22nd.  It was co-sponsored by the Garland and Richardson CPAAA’s.  254 Alumni and officers were “on-list” and pre-registered.  Attendance topped out at about 350, which made it a tremendous success.

     Wednesday.  At 12:00 Noon, the Registration Committee was ready and waiting.  The exhibit hall opened for booth set up.  Region One had a table.  I took a red plastic table cloth cover for us just to be different and stand out.  I put out handouts which included our Bylaws, Organization Chart, Oath of Office copies, etc.  Montgomery County was there with an unusual raffle.  They had a beautiful, round, stained glass custom made “Sun Catcher”.  Proceeds are to go to the Region One Scholarship Fund.  There were 20 booths at the convention.  On Wednesday evening, an ice-breaker was held at the Richardson Convention Center, which was sponsored by our new TCPAAA State Association.  It was there that out new state logo was revealed.  A young lady alumnus from Mansfield won the logo contest.

     Thursday.  The opening ceremony was at 8:00 A.M. with the keynote address being given by Richardson Chief Larry Zacharias.   Following that, breakout sessions began in the morning and afternoon, ending in the ballroom for a three hour high profile talk on the “Columbia Space Shuttle Recovery”.  Thursday night, there was a hospitality party sponsored by the Austin CPAAA.   In 2007, the convention will be in Austin at the Hotel Hilton Downtown from July 4th through July 7th.

     Friday.  At the delegates meeting, an election was held for four offices:  elected were President Ben Hernandez (Dickinson CPAAA); First Vice President Beth Pickett (Austin CPAAA); Third Vice President Officer Joe Munoz (Austin Police Department); Secretary Charlotte Thomas (LaGrange CPAAA).  All were elected by acclamation.  The other officers will be elected next year on a rotation basis. The primary goal for the coming year is to add one additional state region and six new CPA’s and/or alumni associations.  This is conservative and can easily be realized.  Morning class sessions began.   The time from 11:00 A.M. till 6:00 P.M. was devoted to a high profile presentation and field trip about the John F. Kennedy Legacy Event.  After the speeches, a trip on the Dallas “DART” rapid transit train took us to the Schoolbook Depository Building and sixth floor museum.  A most interesting afternoon.

     Saturday.  All day, 18 class sessions a full day of quality learning about law enforcement and CPA’s.  Saturday evening concluded the convention with a magnificent awards banquet and entertainment. Everyone enjoyed themselves.  For me personally, it was good to see my friends that I have met over the years.  That’s half the fun of going there in the first place and seeing them once again.

     Attendance Recap.  350 + or - in attendance.  As time passed, I started a list of those I recognized from our Region One family, and with the help from a pre-registration list.  There were seventeen Region One cities represented. I hope I got them all:

Angleton

6

Harris County

1

Pasadena

2

Beaumont

1

Houston

2

Pearland

2

Brenham

2

Humble

1

Sugar Land

3

College Station

1

Lake Jackson

10

Texas City

2

Dickinson

16

Liberty County

5

Webster

2

Galveston

3

Montgomery Co

5

Total

64

           

     Conclusion.  The convention was well designed.  Many long hours and much dedicated work took place over the past two years to make it a success.  A couple of glitches here and there, but that was to be expected for an event of this size.  Overall, the quality of the subject matter for the class sessions was of the highest caliber.

Submitted by Tom Lane, President

 Editor’s note Way to go, Dickinson and Lake Jackson.

 

 TEXAS CPAAA WEB SITE

    

     The state convention website, http://tcpaaconvention.org has been updated since the 2006 convention.  There is a link to the convention photographer's web site page that contains his albums of the convention photos.  He promised a CD would be available with all the photos in the near future.  When I get the information, I will post it there.  Also there is some early information and the registration packet for the 2007 Austin convention. And don't forget to check the Texas CPAAA website also - http://TexasCPAAA.org . It will contain state logo'ed merchandise soon.  I have a page already with some photos of shirts, etc. but don't have pricing yet, so it will wait for David Jusiewicz's recovery from his operation.

     Visit the Texas CPAAA website at http://texasCPAAA.org and you will find a lot of information about the state organization. The website contains by-laws, the roster and photo of officers, and minutes of the quarterly state board meetings. You can find a Texas map showing the regions and the counties in each region. There are membership forms for both individuals and local alumni associations.  We have moved the Region One web pages onto the state site. We have made provision for other Regions also, but Region One is the 1st to be there. The CPAA Associations in our region are urged to provide their Internet link or URL of your CPAAA's web page so that it will be listed in the Region One listing of associations. The Texas CPAAA website co-exists with the 2006 Convention website and there is a link on each to the other. Visit http://TexasCPAAA.org at least weekly as more is added. My email for state-related website matters is Leo@TexasCPAAA.org

Submitted by Leo Waltz, Webster CPAAA, TCPAA Web Master

 

 

Directories.  Please keep us informed of any changes in the information in the directory.  We will be publishing a new directory this year and want it to be as accurate and up to date as possible.  Send changes to Charles Billingsley, charl.bill@yahoo.com . 

 

Region One Officers and Directors always welcome suggestions about how to make the Region One meetings better and more interesting.  Call any of them with your suggestions.

 

For those who are going to present activities for your Alumni at meetings, please take a few minutes and prepare your write up in advance and give the secretary a hard copy and a disc so she won’t have to retype.  If you do not submit a written report, it will not be included in the Flash. A good shortcut to get your news in the Flash is to send it directly to charl.bill@yahoo.com  in the body of an e-mail or as a MS Word attachment to an e-mail.

 

WE NEED NEWS!  BE SURE TO GET YOUR ALUMNI NEWS TO THE SECRETARY ON A DISC OR BY E-MAIL AND ALSO MAIL TO CHARL.BILL@YAHOO.COM .  IF YOU HAVE A FUNCTION COMING UP, OR HAVE SOMETHING THAT WOULD BE OF INTEREST TO REGION ONE MEMBERS, SUBMIT IT AND IT WILL BE PUBLISHED IN THE FLASH.

 

Pearland’s K-9 Unit to get 2nd Dog.  Officer “Nancy” is to get some company on the Pearland police force, with help from Kroger and Milk Bone. The grocery chain and the maker of dog treats gave Pearland $5,000 to pay for a second dog for the department’s K-9 Unit and to train an officer to work with the dog.  The new dog, which hasn’t yet been chosen, will join Nancy, a 2 year old Belgian Malinois who joined the force last November. Nancy wore her official police badge at a ceremony to award the check. She’s not one of those old fashioned vicious police dogs, said her partner, Lt. Eric Morton. “She’s actually very sweet,” he said. She’s also hyperactive and loves nothing more than to sniff out drugs and money that smells of drugs, Morton said. “When my telephone or cell phone goes off, she gets excited because she knows she’s going to work,” he said. So far, he said, Nancy has found about $114,000 in drug-related money, several pounds of marijuana and some caches of cocaine. During the ceremony, she hopped happily about, catching her favorite chew toy but dutifully obeying Morton’s commands. Kroger and Milk Bone have donated 85 police dogs to communities nationwide.

            From an article in the Houston Chronicle, July 3, 2006.  Nancy was the focus of the program presented by Pearland when they hosted Region One in June.

 

 ALUMNI NEWS:

 

Deer Park:  May - We will be getting a van for our group; the city passed an ordinance for the handicapped parking.  They will be taking pictures and sending the information back to the police station.  BBQ will be in June or July. 

                                                                                                                                                                           Submitted by Sylvia Garlowich

 

Dickinson:  June - Volunteers signed up for the step up in case of a disaster.  HAZMAT classes will be offered.  HEB has committed to furnish ice and water if a disaster occurs.  Tony Valdez from the PD gave his report.  There were in May 1852 calls, 269 cases, 29 accidents, 1129 911 calls.  There were 232 inmates and $33,929.15 in warrants and fees collected.  COP Mitch Mitchelette reported that as of 5-11, there were 501 minutes and 2 traffic surveys.  There were 28 members and 7 patrols per month on June 27-28.  There will be a COP class.  Handicap parking violations will be monitored.  Liaison Mary Allen reported that $1,725.00 left over from the 2004 convention will be used to purchase a new light bar for a patrol car and the PD will pay the balance of $100.00.  Class 12 graduates and the banquet will be 5-24-06 at the VFW.  There will be 6 update courses from 6-13 to 8-29-06. Richard Melvin and his Publicity and Public Relations Committee will take pictures of the awards that are presented and will start recognizing a member of the month and officer of the month.  Our profiles for Dickinson member of the year and officer of the year have been completed for the convention in Garland-Richardson.  A donation to an officer in financial need was made from our half of the 50/50 collection.    

Submitted by Calvin Walker

Galveston:  May - The Galveston Citizens Police Academy Alumni Association is in the process of having new Alumni Shirts for the members, and ordering new Mugs to sell to raise funds.  Primary business is the Revision of the Bylaws, and new ID Badges are in the making. A new Citizens Police Academy started on April 26, 2006. The Galveston Police Department and the Galveston County Sheriffs Department is now in their new quarters at the new Justice Center located on 601-54th Street, Galveston, Texas 77551. The Sheriff’s Department is on the North side of the building and the Police Department on the south side.  The Galveston Municipal Police Association has asked the Galveston Citizens Police Academy to help with a Fund Raiser to pay for the moving of the Police Monument outside the old Police Station to be moved to the new Police Station.  

Submitted by Amelia Collins

June - Working on by-laws; still working on cold cases; new banner; new I.D. cards; trying to get fundraiser going.

 

Lake Jackson:  May - LJCPAAA has completed the Child I.D. fingerprint and photo session and entering all information into the Child I.D. database, with parents' permission, all second graders in the Brazosport Independent School District.   This was done using the new digital system purchased by the LJCPAAA and with the help of a $25,000 grant by Dow Chemical Company.  The Police Department has now started using the digital system for entering information into the Lake Jackson Police database.  To date, we have collected about $60,000 and have still need approximately $30,000 to complete the system. CPA Class 24 will graduate with 9 members May 11.  This is our smallest CPA class. Volunteers will help distribute blue ribbons for National Police Week.  Volunteers will be at the May 6 Dow Neighbor Day functions at Brazosport College.  Parents will be able to bring their children by and have their photo, fingerprints, and information taken and then entered into the Child I.D. database. The Citizens on Patrol Program is still in the planning stage. 

 Submitted by Bob Koch

 

Liberty County:  June - Not active; Sending Chief Bill Griffin and Officer Scott Mouton to the convention.

 

Montgomery County:  May - Rita Crosby was awarded Volunteer of the Year with the Montgomery County PD and Coordinator of the Year for the City of Conroe. 

Editors Note: Congratulation, Rita!

June:  We will be helping out at the Red, White, and Blue event in the Woodlands in July. We will be holding a Class on Terrorism at the training center from 10-12PM.

 

Pasadena:  May - Active in the handicapped parking program. We have given out 15,500 parking tickets. Working on cold case files. We have a “streetlight patrol” to check for burned out lights. It is reported and then Reliant/Centerpoint will go out and change the lights that are not working.  Active ID Program and DNA swab program. Porch Lights being sold to notify police of emergency at their residence.

 

Pearland:  May - Class 22 Graduation on Thursday, May 11th at 7PM. Pearland Pear Run will be held May 13th at Independence Park. Police Department Awards Dinner will be held May 18th at 7PM @ Knight of Columbus Hall.  Training will be held in League City on May 17th from 5PM until 1AM. Regular Meeting will be held May 15th at the PD. Our Golf Tournament held with Pearland 100 Club was evidently a big success. We had 16 teams participating and a good time was had by all. Handicap Parking: Made $14,000 in 2005 and in 2006-$8000.

Submitted by Delores Gant

 

Sugar Land:  May - The Cast Program has begun for some of our members who have been participating in the Ghost Car Program. This is driving and parking police cars in areas visible to the public for numerous reasons such as traffic control and deterring crime. One area may be having problems and want more visibility. We are supposed to be getting a truck to use and a car from their old inventory. We are trying to plan for some activities such as a craft/garage sale to raise some funds for our next Trading Card Program.

June - Some of our members have been helping out with surveillance and still moving police cars and leaving them in areas that need police presence. We held a Barbecue Dinner and all of the trimmings from Brookstreet Barbecue. Our speaker for the evening was Sugar Land’s Mayor David Wallace on the Status of the City. Some members helped out with Child I.D. at the Sugar Land Airport.

 

Webster:  June For Police Week, the Alumni provided two Police Officer Appreciation Dinners which were well attended by police officers and WCPAAA personnel.  The police officers were pleased with the food as were the volunteers.  The food and fellowship were enjoyed by all.  Two members made up greeting style cards that will be sent as needed to police personnel for illness or to celebrate special occasions such as birthdays, promotions, etc.  Plans for the pancake breakfast were discussed.  Three electric griddles are being purchased to cook the pancakes.  The griddles (18 by 24 inches) could be placed side by side on a 6 foot banquet table during the cooking process.  The pancake breakfast is scheduled for September.   A revised letter for potential merchant donors has been composed.  We will be scheduling another training session for the Handicapped Parking Patrol.  Training was completed for the Amber Alert position in the EOC and a volunteer call list completed.  We will operate a barbecue booth at the 4th of July celebration.  Work on a member handbook has begun.  This will contain bylaws, member lists, project/volunteer lists, meeting minutes and whatever the members wish to place in it.  Copies for the new members will be updated so that a new member will get an updated copy.  Next CPA class is scheduled to start on August 3rd.  We will also take students from adjacent communities such as Nassau Bay, which do not have a CPA program.

 Submitted by Leo Waltz

 

State:  May - They have added major changes to the website. Logo merchandise has been ordered and will be ready for convention. The State Board Meeting will be held on June 24th at the City of Garland. Fly flags at ½ staff on May 15th to acknowledge Peace Officers Memorial Day.

 Submitted by Leo Waltz

 

June - Leo discussed the state mailbox foul-up and that letters had been sent. He said everything is back on track now. Leo mentioned that there are 28 members to the state organization.  He says that he manages the website for Region One and Region Three and that Region Two takes care of their own.  Give a “Big Thanks” to Leo Waltz from Webster when you see him. Thank you, Leo, for all that you do.

 

National:  June - Charles Billingsley furnished blank membership forms for the national organization.  He stated that there were 237 members from Texas in 2005.  There are only about 50 in 2006.

 

PLEASE NOTE THE NEW E-MAIL FOR CHARLES BILLINGSLEY

CHARL.BILL@YAHOO.COM

 

CC: Snail mail:  (If you are receiving this by snail mail and have an e-mail address, please send it to us at charl.bill@yahoo.com .  We are converting as much as possible to electronic mail to save on postage and assure rapid notifications).

 

Tom Lane Houston             

Rita Crosby Montgomery County Sheriff

Evelyn Phillips Liberty

Vickie Butler Tomball

Robert Bertrand Matagorda County

Rita Nicolaidis Texas City

Debi Hyde Alvin

David Ottmer Austin County

Robert J. Simpson Austin County

Lynne Bryant League City

Charles Wilson - Pasadena