Aug DPSDS Chap0304

User Manual: DPSDS

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Produced by DPS Public Information, (512) 424-2080 March 2004

DPS online: www.txdps.state.tx.us DPS “on the air”: 512-424-7777 askthecolonel@txdps.state.tx.us

New commissioner appointed;

Chairman McHugh re-appointed

Gov. Rick Perry re-appointed

Colleen McHugh, chairman of the

Public Safety Commmission, and

appointed a new commissioner.

Carlos H. Cascos of Brownsville

was named to the Public Safety

Commission on Feb. 13. He will

serve a six-year term that expires on

Dec. 31, 2009.

Commissioner Cascos is a part-

ner in the accounting firm of Pattillo,

Brown & Hill LLP. He served as

Cameron County commissioner

from 1991 to 2002 and is a mem-

ber of the Association of Public Ac-

countants.

Chairman McHugh, a Corpus

Christi resident, has served on the

commission since 1998. She is a

partner with the law firm Bracewell

& Patterson and a former president

of the State Bar of Texas. Her term

on the Commission expires on Dec.

31, 2005.

Dear Fellow Employee,

The Training Academy is full

these days: we are running the

Highway Patrol inservice, and we

have two recruit classes there.

One of the recruit classes be-

gan in February—I want to wel-

come aboard those newest re-

cruits. Your career with DPS will

be rewarding and interesting.

I also welcome Mr. Carlos

Cascos to the DPS family as our

new commissioner. Public Safety

Commission chair Colleen

McHugh was re-appointed to the

commission and she will continue

as the chair.

We look forward to our new

association with Mr. Cascos and

our continued association with Ms.

McHugh.

On the back page of this news-

letter, there is a complete sched-

ule of the competitive promotional

examinations planned so far this

year. There are plenty of oppor-

tunities for advancement for our

commissioned employees. If you

are eligible to compete for pro-

motion, I urge you to do so.

SB 193 requires drivers nearing stopped emergency vehicles—with

lights activated —to either slow down or change lanes.

The law states a driver must either vacate the lane closest to the

stopped emergency vehicle if the road has multiple lanes traveling in the

same direction or slow down 20 miles per hour below the speed limit. (If

the speed limit is below 25 mph the driver must slow down to 5 mph.)

Emergency vehicles include police, emergency medical service and fire

vehicles.

A violation is punishable by a maximum fine of $200. If the violation

results in property damage, the maximum fine increases to $500. If the

violation results in bodily injury, the offense is enhanced to a Class B mis-

demeanor.

The new law was passed in the last regular session of the Texas Legis-

lature and went into effect Sept. 1, 2003. DPS issued warnings until Dec.

1, 2003, before troopers started writing citations for this offense.

Slow down or change lanes

for stopped emergency vehicles

DPS online: www.txdps.state.tx.us DPS “on the air”: 512-424-7777 askthecolonel@txdps.state.tx.us

Short Shots

Great news! Tr. Jack Lawson

THP Bowie; Tr. Esther Racus

DLD Houston; and Michael

Reisen, HP Capitol, have all re-

turned to duty after line-of-duty in-

juries.

On the

mend...

Awards

Robert Keith Warrington and

James Wesley Warrington of

Harlingen were both presented

Director’s Awards.

Since 1983 and without com-

pensation, the Warringtons used their

expertise to further the Department’s

mission in a variety of ways. For ex-

ample, they often donated material

and needed repairs for vehicles, such

as modifying the back seats of pa-

trol cars for new K-9 troopers. They

also helped dismantle suspect ve-

hicles containing drug contraband.

The Warringtons were instru-

mental in negotiating a land agree-

ment for an incinerator that will be

used to destroy seized drugs. They

were nominated by retired Sgt. Jose

Sandoval, Narcotics Harlingen.

Quarter Century Club

The 48th Annual DPS Quarter

Century Club meeting and banquet

will take place on March 19 at the

Red Lion Hotel in Austin.

The Ladies Luncheon begins at

11:30 a.m. at the hotel. The business

meeting starts at 3 p.m. in the CLE

Auditorium at Headquarters. New

members will receive certificates and

pins during the 7 p.m. banquet at the

hotel. If you have questions about

the meeting, please call Jennifer

Hall, 512-424-7297.

New service created within

Administration Division

A new service has been created

within the Administration Division:

the Regulatory Licensing Service.

The new service is composed of the

Concealed Handgun License Bureau

and the Private Security Bureau.

The new service is headed by

Assistant Chief Valerie Fulmer,

who was formerly the deputy admin-

istrator of the Crime Records Ser-

vice.

DPS Mutual Association

The DPS Mutual Association

held its annual meeting on January 28

and elected officers and board mem-

bers. There were 5,101 members in

the Association.

The following officers were

elected: Col. Thomas A. Davis, Jr.,

president; Lt. Col. David

McEathron, vice president; Chief of

Finance Tom Haas, secretary, and

Supervisor of Budget & Planning

Douglas W. Noren, treasurer. Ma-

jors Tim Thompson, Stanley

Clark, Artemio Garza, J.R. Allen,

Morris Arnold, Larry Story,

Charles Smith and James Sand-

ers were elected to the Board of

Directors. An Audit Committee was

also appointed, composed of Rick

Kautz, Debbie Cartwright and

Roger Leathers.

The DPS Mutual Association

offers membership in a life insurance

fund, which provides death benefits

for beneficiaries of deceased mem-

bers. Beneficiaries of deceased cur-

rent employees in good standing re-

ceive $10,000 and retirees receive

$5,000. Assessments, made only on

the death of a member, are due within

30 days of issuance of notice, and

are the same for active employees

and retirees. If payments are not re-

ceived within the allotted time, mem-

bership is canceled. All current em-

ployees of the DPS are eligible to

become members of the Associa-

tion. Retirees of DPS can join the

Association under certain conditions,

including payments of all assessments

made by the association since the

date of their retirement. The mem-

bership fee is $10, payable to the

DPS Mutual Association. Contact

Lorna Meyer in Accounting &

Budget Control at (512) 424-2061

for details.

Look for newsclippings on the

DPS intranet

The Public Information Office

will be testing a new program on the

DPS intranet: newsclippings online.

Each week, PIO mails out a clip

pack that contains information in the

news media about DPS or law en-

forcement-related issues. We will test

putting the clippings on the intranet

for two months to evaluate the popu-

larity of the intranet access.

To access the intranet, please go

to http://dpsnet/ and look for the link

to DPS Clip Pack.

DPS no longer issues press

passes, media credentials

As of April 21, 2003, the DPS

no longer issues media credentials.

A number of factors entered into

the decision:

DPS online: www.txdps.state.tx.us DPS “on the air”: 512-424-7777 askthecolonel@txdps.state.tx.us

Mile Markers

Promotions

THP

Kevin Wayne Wood, Sgt., HP

Tyler to Lt., HP Austin; Robert Lee

Losoya, Cpl., HP Fort Stockton to

Sgt., HP Fort Stockton; James

Todd Jennings, Cpl., HP

Fredericksburg to Sgt., HP Del Rio;

Jerome Avery Johnson, Tr., HP

Pearsall to Sgt., HP Pearsall;

Robert Bernard, Jr., Tr. HP

Waxahachie to Sgt., HP Temple;

David Shawn Gustafson, Tr., HP

Coldspring to Sgt., HP Capitol; Dan

Bradley Frye, Tr., HP Orange to

Sgt., HP Capitol; Brian Allen Lillie,

Tr., HP Eastland to Sgt., HP Capi-

tol; Abel Anthony Martinez, Tr.,

CVE Kingsville to Sgt., CVE

Harlingen; Steven Earl

McQuagge, Tr., CVE Freer to Sgt.,

CVE Laredo; Monty Gene Kea,

Tr., CVE Sweetwater to Sgt., CVE

Garland; Wade Charles Kimble,

Tr., CVE Eagle Pass to Sgt., CVE

Eagle Pass.

Administration

Kelvin Dews, Tr., HR Austin to

Sgt., Training Austin.

DLMarcus W. Bolden, Tr., DL

Houston to Sgt., DL Houston;

Cesar Eduardo Torres, Tr., DL

McAllen to Sgt., DL Houston;

Sharleigh Drake, Tr., DL San An-

tonio to Sgt., DL Conroe.

CLE

Larry Pulliam, Tr., HP Orange

to Sgt., MVT Laredo.

Retirements

Dorothy Jean Porter, Finger-

print Supv., Crime Records Austin,

28 yrs., 5 mos.; Elda Gutierrez

Lopez, Secr., CVE Laredo, 22 yrs.,

11 mos., 16 days; Christopher Joel

Welty, Sen. Prog. II, IMS Austin,

10 yrs., 6 mos., 12 days; Robert

Milton Skelton, Sen. Tr., CVE

Breckenridge, 27 yrs., 4 mos., 16

days;

Judy Lee Kenneaster, Sen.

Oper., Comm. Corpus Christi, 23

yrs., 8 mos., 12 days; Noe

Martinez, Tr., Narcotics Svc.

Harlingen, 22 yrs., 7 mos., 21 days;

Linda Marie Balyeat, Tech., Nar-

cotics Svc. Kerrville, 22 yrs., 4 mos.;

Phillip Ray Jansa, Sen. Oper.,

Comm. Wichita Falls, 19 yrs., 7

mos.;

Michael Barrett O’Donnell,

Cpl., HP Van Horn, 25 yrs., 7 mos.,

7 days; James Oliver Mitchell,

Sec. Worker IV, Capitol Austin, 10

yrs., 11 mos.; Dora Ann Stark,

Tech., DL Houston, 5 yrs., 7 mos.,

4 days; Margil Maldonado, Cus-

todian, HP McAllen, 5 yrs., 9 mos.,

13 days.

Deaths

Carroll Gene Pfluger, ret. Ac-

countant I, Accounting Austin

(March 1953 - Aug. 1983) died

January 29, 2004; Delfina

Dennett, ret. Custodian III, THP

McAllen (April 1978 - Dec. 2002)

died January 31, 2004; Chester

Lee Davis, ret. Sgt., DL Lufkin

(Feb. 1955 - March 1985) died

January 15, 2004; Lyndel Wayne

Murph, ret. Cpl. V, HP Uvalde

(Feb. 1974 - Aug. 2002) died No-

vember 20, 2003.

1. We could find nothing that

statutorily authorized us to issue press

passes.

2. The document was insecure,

and we could not produce a secure

document without going to great ex-

pense to produce one.

3. We felt increasingly uncom-

fortable with determining whether an

applicant was a member of the “le-

gitimate” media, since the definition

of “legitimate media” has changed

so much since the media

credentialing program started.

Current press passes will remain

valid until their expiration date.

Cell phone and road rage wrecks

increase from 2000 to 2001

The number of cell phone-related

and road rage-related collisions both

increased in the latest statistical data

compiled by DPS.

Cell phone-related traffic crashes

increased from 716 to 1,032 from

2000 to 2001—a 44 percent in-

crease. In cases where cell phone

use was listed as a contributing fac-

tor, there were 7 fatalities in 2000

compared to 8 in 2001. Road rage-

related accidents jumped from 90 to

219—a 143 percent increase. One

fatality in both 2000 and 2001 was

attributed to road rage.

It’s important to note that new

accident reporting forms listing cell

phones and road rage as contribut-

ing factors were not available until

April 2000, so comparing the two

years may not present an accurate

picture.

DPS urges drivers to minimize

cell phone usage in their vehicle and

refuse to be drawn into the road rage

cycle.

DPS online: www.txdps.state.tx.us DPS “on the air”: 512-424-7777 askthecolonel@txdps.state.tx.us

The competitive examinations for the following posi-

tions will be conducted at the Texas Department of Public

Safety Law Enforcement Academy as follows:

Monday, March 22, 2004 at 8 a.m.

Lieutenant, Texas Ranger Division

Wednesday, March 24, 2004 at 8 a.m.

Captain, Texas Ranger Division

The competitive examinations for the following posi-

tions will be conducted at the Texas Department of Public

Safety Regional Headquarters offices as follows:

Tuesday, April 13, 2004 at 8 a.m.

Captain, Narcotics Service

Lieutenant, Highway Patrol Service

Lieutenant, Commercial Vehicle Enforcement

Sergeant, Narcotics Service

Sergeant, Driver License Division

Tuesday, April 13, 2004 at 1:30 p.m.

Captain, Motor Vehicle Theft Service

Lieutenant, Aircraft Section

Sergeant, Commercial Vehicle Enforcement

Sergeant, Special Crimes Service

Sergeant, Texas Ranger Division

Wednesday, April 14, 2004 at 8 a.m.

Captain, Driver License Division

Lieutenant, Driver License Division

Lieutenant, Motor Vehicle Theft Service

Lieutenant, Narcotics Service

Sergeant, Highway Patrol Service

Sergeant, Motor Vehicle Theft Service

The Oral Examining Board will convene at the Texas

Department of Public Safety, Texas Ranger Division Con-

ference Room beginning at 8 a.m. as follows:

Tuesday, March 23, 2004

Lieutenant, Texas Ranger Division

Thursday, March 25, 2004

Captain, Texas Ranger Division

The Oral Examining Board will convene at the Texas De-

partment of Public Safety Law Enforcement Promotional

System Conference Room beginning at 8 a.m. as follows:

Friday, April 23, 2004

Lieutenant, Aircraft Section

Monday, April, 26, 2004

Captain, Motor Vehicle Theft Service

Tuesday, April 27, 2004

Captain, Narcotics Service

Thursday, April 29, 2004

Lieutenant, Highway Patrol Service

Friday, April 30, 2004

Lieutenant, Driver License Division

Wednesday, May 05, 2004

Sergeant, Highway Patrol Service

Monday, May 10, 2004

Sergeant, Driver License Division

Wednesday, May 12, 2004

Sergeant, Commercial Vehicle Enforcement

Friday, May 14, 2004

Lieutenant, Motor Vehicle Theft Service

Monday, May 17, 2004

Lieutenant, Narcotics Service

Wednesday, May 19, 2004

Sergeant, Texas Ranger Division

Monday, May 24, 2004

Sergeant, Narcotics Service

Wednesday, June 02, 2004

Sergeant, Motor Vehicle Theft Service

Monday, June 07, 2004

Sergeant, Special Crimes Service

The Oral Examining Board will convene at the Texas

Department of Public Safety Human Resources Confer-

ence Room beginning at 8 a.m. as follows:

Wednesday, April 28, 2004

Captain, Driver License Division

Thursday, May 06, 2004

Lieutenant, Commercial Vehicle Enforcement

The application form HR-106 should be submitted di-

rectly to the Human Resources Bureau. Applicants must

also submit a copy of form HR-106 to their service com-

mander through proper channels. Only those candidates

who are qualified will be able to compete in the written

examinations. Applications should be addressed to the Hu-

man Resources Bureau, MSC 0251, Texas Department of

Public Safety, Box 4087, Austin, Texas 78773, faxed to

512-424-5627, or emailed through DPS email system to

“Tracey Carlile” and should be received no later than 5 p.m.

on Friday, March 12, 2004, for Texas Ranger Lieutenant

and Captain and Wednesday, March 31, 2004, for the re-

maining examinations.

An announcement and application form HR-106 can be

found in Outlook at Public Folders/All Public Folders/Law

Enforcement Promotions.

Competitive promotional examinations announced