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
