The final candidate forum of the 2014 election year is today and will only highlight two of the may areas up for grabs on November 4th. The two areas that will be covered are City Council ( two seats open out of four candidates ) and Rialto Unified School Board ( two seats open with six people for the seats ). One interesting portion of this event is it appears Ed Scott will poke his head out and finally speak publicly on the race which he has primarily done through private fundraisers and mailers & signs. It will be nice to see a majority of the candidates out together and we can hear their view points at the same time. The event is at the Rialto Senior Center on South Riverside Ave. See flyer below for more info.
Join us and other strong community members as we are coffee and go over crime stats and upcoming events tie to our police department. Join us with Rialto PD’s top cop at Carrow’s on baseline.
Juvenile weapon related arrests down 60%, violent crime down 53%, property crime down 26% & overall Juv arrests down 40%. Why?… Because of the program Rialto Police implemented the Pride Platoon and the resurrection of the community policing program lead by Cpl Cameron Nelson. Come out tonight and see this awesome documentary. If you do miss out check back here and on twitter at http://www.twitter.com/rialtosnow for pictures and hot highlights.
On Friday April 4th the Rialto Community Coalition held a Substance Abuse prevention forum at Eisenhower High School. The event included a vendor resource zone with education a resource tools for attendees, speakers from Rialto Police Department, Rialto Unified Public Safety, Principle Scott Sparks, Key note speech from Prevention Specialist Ray Lozano and a Q&A Panel.
Speaker Ray Lozano gave a riveting presentation on the dangers and effects of drugs and alcohol on a young persons system. Ray Lozano used props and audience participation to make sure the information was interesting and hit home.
Jennifer Ariza from The Rec Center came with videos and tools to educate parents and students of the effects and dangers of substance abuse. Farmers Insurance Services came out and showed event attendees the dangers of alcohol use and driving. The African American Health Coalition came with resources and training event attendees could utilize at the event and after.
99.1 KGGI with Diana Wehbe and KC were on hand and Laniea Dominguez from Comedy for Causes was the event MC.
Campus Security Officer Juan addressed the public on a incident where a student was almost dumped by his FREINDS by the side of a building after giving the teen synthetic marijuana which resulted in the teen experiencing cardiac arrest. If the campus security officer had not found the teen he may have met a dire consequence.
All throughout the event the message was driven home to parents and teens that if your depending on your friends to notice when your life is in danger your depending on the wrong people.
Ray Lozano said that the #1 reason teens use drugs for the first time is because they are bored. This drove the point home to youth and adults to help us find other ways to curb boredom and make better choices.
Don’t Go There a Community forum aimed at raising awareness about the dangers of drug and alcohol consumption among our youth.
Rialto Community Coalition brings this informative forum working with Rialto Police Department & Rialto Unified School District.
This event will include A resource zone where Students, Parents and Educators can obtain information on how to deal with Drug and Alcohol Consumption, start the conversation or deal with use that is ongoing. We are also proud to announce that Ray Lazano the highly popular world wide drug and alcohol counselor will be our keynote speaker. We will also have a Panel where people in attendance can ask questions of Coalition members, School District personnel, Rialto Police dept. staff and more……
Check the event listing for an up to date list of everything that they will have going on.
Come early and meet Diana Wehbe and the 99.1 street team who will be doing a live remote.
Rialto Unified board VP: Superintendent fate to be decided soon
Rialto >> The top two administrators in the Rialto Unified School District being out on paid leave for the past five months have cost taxpayers the equivalent of three veteran teachers during that time. But the pair won’t be in limbo much longer, according to one board member.
Rialto Police Department Urges City Council To Ban Mobile Marijuana Operations
On Tuesday Rialto Police Lt. James Kurkoske presented the Issue with Medical Marijuana Dispensaries moving to a Mobile operations to circumvent Rialto municipal code laws Banning dispensaries within the city limits
Lt. James Kurkoske remarked on the law that created a Compassionate Use Act (CUA) where people that were suffering from the effects of treatment from serious illness. Rialto has a ordnance that does not allow medical marijuana shops to hold store fronts within the city limits. So what drug dealers have done is offer a delivery service to their clients in the city of Rialto. Lt. James Kurkoske said at the council meeting last night that this practice is dangerous because the drivers are a target of armed robbery for cash and drugs. This danger has brought drivers to have armed guards or even arm themselves. One community watch resident said “last thing we need is a shoot out in the city”.
Lt. James Kurkoske said that the SCAT team preformed undercover buys from these shops and had the drug delivered to a apartment where a undercover police officer was there to complete the purchase. Lt. James Kurkoske said that the undercover operations team did not encounter any armed curriers but did encounter armed guards at a store front that was shut down near Cactus and Valley.
The council went with staff recommendation and amend the current Ordnance to also ban mobile operations of Medical Marijuana within the city limits. The vote was unanimous but there were comments after the public comment portion was over. Councilman Joe Baca Jr asked Lt. James Kurkoske how possible legalization efforts would affect the city’s ability to enforce the Ordnance. Lt. James Kurkoske did say that it would become more difficult. Joe Baca Jr also asked how the police would be able to identify if someone was under the influence while driving. Lt. James Kurkoske said states like Colorado and Washington were already developing methods and technology to deal with this issue with more accuracy. Joe Baca Jr said its inevitable that Marijuana will be regulated and more available to our communities and he didn’t seem to concerned over this issue. Councilman Ed Palmer was disturbed that someone could order Marijuana like a pizza. He made reference to a potential decline in our communities is this continued. Councilwoman Lynn Hirtz said that having a lax attitude in reference to any drug use in our communities was dangerous and she thanked the police for their work on this item.
Final $11 millionsettlement reachedin water contamination suit
Wrapping up a decade of litigation involving multiple companies, of a former fireworks manufacturer agreed Friday to an $11 million settlement to help cover cleanup costs at a Rialto industrial site where toxic chemicals leached into the groundwater.
Rialto dog handlers Ivonne and Gabriel Rangel are ready to take Sky, champion wire fox terrier, into the ring Tuesday for the terrier competition at the Westminster Kennel Club Annual Dog Show in New York.
Well last Thursday the people of area’s 1&2 were treated to the first Area Command meeting of 2014. One thing that is clear that this is one of the regularly scheduled public venues that gets a little bit better each and every time. One component recently added to these meetings are the police department education meetings. The first one I remember is last year they had the staff from dispatch come out and educate the community on what dispatch does, why dispatch operates the way it does & how you can help the dispatcher answer your call as quickly as possible.
This year the special presentation is on our Investigative Unit how it operates, who makes up the staff, what their prospective duties are and some frequently asked questions that everyone found interesting and helpful. Even Area Command Leader Lt Karol gave everyone useful tips to help minimize your vulnerability to identity theft. We were presented with information from the following people:
Mike Story (City Administrator) – Went over the Mayors first public Q&A event with city dept heads, various activities that took place at the end of 2013. Mike Story also went over The Rialto Institute of Progress an 8-week program that will be held from March 6th to April 24th. Sessions will be held at the Rialto Civic Center in the Council Chambers from 6:30 to 8:30 pm. After completion, the community members will have an increased understanding of Rialto’s organizational structure, of the operations of our City Departments, and how they impact the quality of life in the City of Rialto.
Shawn O’Connell (Councilman) – Councilman O’Connell addressed his accident and thanked everyone for their support and prayers. Councilman also spoke about the new City Attorney and congratulated everyone in the city for their efforts to help make Rialto a better place to live.
Detective Stella & Detective Farmer (Rialto Police) – These two gentlemen gave us a look into the Investigations Unit and helped the people in attendance better understand how and why the Detectives do what they do. Lt. Andy Karol gave us a mini education on steps you can take to better protect yourself from identity theft.
Amy Crow (Waste Management) – Amy went over the senior & disabled person discount for trash services. She also highlighted the park cleanup schedule and other services the city offers like shred fest.
Linda (Cert) – Linda one of the training volunteers came up to introduce the CERT program. CERT stands for Community Emergency Response Training. The idea behind CERT and the importance of the program is in the event of a natural disaster EMS services will be primarily diverted to Schools & Hospitals leaving the communities on their own for up to 72 hours. CERT teaches you basic life saving skills and ways to gain shelter and safety as a Neighborhood unit.
Cpl. Cameron Nelson (Rialto Police) – Cpl. Nelson is the community liason officer for Rialto Police and came up to highlight some up coming programs. First was Golf With A Cop which gives kids ages 10-17 the opportunity to learn golf from a PGA player and other top notch golf instructors. An added benefit is if kids can hold a specific GPA they can play for free at Colton Golf Course all year long. Second was Fuel for Success a effort to get at risk kids to find the importance of staying in school and striving for excellence. The 2014 program will be held at Eisenhower High and will follow the look and feel of Rialto Police highly successful National Night Out program. The final presentation was on the Pride Platoon program that takes troubled, at risk or youth without direction and give them a program that is used to put them on the right track and give them needed tools for success in life. This program has been awarded multiple programs and cited as helping reduce our youth crime in the city of rialto.
Lt. Andy Karol (Rialto Police) – Lt Karol gave us a break down of some of the events that happened over 2013. He also showed us crime data that shows even though crime in California has increased crime in Rialto has decreased by 20%. He also introduced the Next Door Virtual Neighborhood Watch program. Next Door was created by venture capitalists to help communities connect in the biggest way we interact today via technology. Next Door is a FREE program and helps those communities where we don’t know our neighbors to connect. To sign up for Next door or learn more about it visit https://nextdoor.com/
Lt Kathy Thompson (Rialto Police) – Lt Thompson came up to introduce the public to the Police Community Program where residents are introduced to the inner workings of the police department and given a mini education into the job of a police department. As a former attendee of this and other similar classes with cities like Redlands, San Bernardino and the County of San Bernardino this program is top notch and gives you a awesome perspective on what our police do and how they do it.
The Area Command meetings are a vital tool in empowering the Rialto community to take a proactive role in helping make Rialto a great place to live, work & play. The information given at these meetings goes well beyond the presentations its extended to the wealth of information in the manner of the many flyers and printed materials available as well as the ability to talk 1-1 with people that help you with any given situation, problem or question.
If you missed this meeting your in luck there is another one coming up on Monday February 3rd at Calvary Chapel Rialto on the corner of Merrill and Cedar at 7pm. This meeting is geared towards the lower half of the city areas 3 & 4 (everything south of foothill) but anyone is welcome to come. Here are some flyers for your reference:
The very successful Area Command meetings are back with a ever so slight tweak. Instead of having four meetings they have combined two areas and made two meetings. When Area Commanders were asked about this change it was done this way to kick off the program and brings the areas together as they introduce a new Virtual Neighborhood Watch Program and other items better given to large groups. This combining of groups should benefit the community because people benefit from hearing other community members concerns.
Some things to expect at the first meeting of 2014 are:
Introduction of the Next Door virtual neighborhood watch program.
Access to city department heads like City Administrator Mike Story.
Receive up-to-date crime stats for the area in question.
Network with other concerned residents and find solutions to ongoing and prior problems.
Browse through the large amount of flyers and resources available via our city, police & fire departments.
This is an ongoing successful program run by dedicated professionals that care about the city and want to see positive forward movement in the city of Rialto.
For more information please refer to the flyer and the prospective area commander or go to www.rialtopd.com
Halloween is not what it used to be and every year it changes more and more. Rialto has really grown into itself over the years and so has its Halloween Celebrations. Halloween has gone from trick-or-treating and house parties to Halloween Carnivals and Harvest Celebrations galore. From churches to parks and your good ole trick-or-treating there is no shortage of places for kids and adults alike to secure some good ole candy.
The last round of Area Command meetings are happening in September and October.
The first Area Command Meeting is this Saturday at 1:00pm at Sunrise Church in North Rialto. This is Area 1 Command meeting and its a meeting you need to attend if your in the respective area. Lt. Andy Karol always brings out the resources that the community is looking for. Area Command meetings are more than a law enforcement tool to get the word out to the community. Various city departments come out and give you the information you need and answer your questions.
Be sure to attend your area command meetings. Also follow us on twitter and be given up to date information on what is going on at the area command meeting as it happens. Our twitter address is www.twitter.com/rialtosnow
rialtonow 