Sunday, December 31, 2006

Airport Land to Go Up For Sale (Whittier Daily News 21212006)

Airport land to go up for sale
Rialto Council OKs transfer
From staff reports



RIALTO - The Renaissance Rialto project took a step forward Tuesday when the City Council voted to transfer 437 acres of airport land to the city Redevelopment Agency.

The agency will in turn sell the land, which is along the Foothill (210) Freeway extension, to developers who want to turn the area into a massive development with of housing, businesses, schools and parks.

Lewis-Hillwood LLC, a partnership between Lewis Operating Corp. and Hillwood Development Corp., headed by Ross Perot Jr., is the developer.

The airport and land north of it have been appraised at $82million, but the Federal Aviation Administration is waiting an appraisal of its own. The developer will pay the city that amount for the land, minus the price of preparing the land for development. The city also will pay 45 percent of the FAA's appraised sum to the federal agency.

The City Council approved a conceptual plan for the project in December 2005 but held off on transferring the airport property until officials had won approval to close the airport.

Although the FAA typically decides the fate of airports, the city obtained permission to close Rialto Municipal Airport as part of a federal transportation bill passed

in August 2005.

Rialto officials have said they chose Lewis in part because of the company's political clout. The company has a lengthy business history with Rep. Gary Miller, R-Brea, and Lewis executive Richard Lewis has been friends with Miller since the 1970s. Rep. Joe Baca, D-Rialto, and Rep. Jerry Lewis, R-Redlands, also helped the city obtain permission to close the airport.

The city hopes to close the airport by next December.




BS Ranch Perspective:

Now the problem is figuring out where the best property will be to purchase it for an income type property. If you were to purchase it for a profit interest, the city might just turn around and purchase the property back at the price that you got it for, using the ever un-popular Immanent Domain type government take over of the property! There for you might just loose money, instead of a gain in monies, that would definitely be a sad affair. The city must come up with massive amounts of sales since they have to pay the Federal Aeronautical Agency 45% of the income of the land purchases that they get, they are not looking, to make money on the sale of the land, after all, they are looking towards the long potential Tax Liability that will be generated once the property will be developed, and then the city will make back a mint in Property taxes, a whole lot more then they were getting as a Municipal Airport that was currently being ran by the Federal Aeronautical Agency, instead of their own person, they didn't even have control over said, Airport!

It to me is awful that the city would sell out and get rid of the last piece of open land in the Inland Empire, why soon you will only be able to purchase land from the hillsides that are Devour, or what is considered to be the canyon of Cajon Pass, and that is the only un-built property that is left for sale. The property that is along the Lower Cajon has been previously built on, and torn down, as they didn't need the gas service stations any more. The Highway 66 was torn down and so was the service stations. now they will have houses built on them just to make houses available with some land around them, they will be considered to be in the sticks, when all is said and done.

BS Ranch

Three Decades of Public Service to Rialto

Three decades of public service
Jason Pesick, Staff Writer
Article Launched: 12/31/2006 12:00:00 AM PST


RIALTO - A great deal has changed about this city in the last three decades. It has experienced remarkable growth and encountered great challenges. But one constant during that time has been Joe Sampson, who held elective office in the city from 1975 through 2006, when he finished third in a race for two seats on the City Council.
"He's just civic-minded - all for helping his community," Jessie, his wife of more than five decades, said in an interview in their home.

Sampson began working for the city in the spring of 1975 as deputy city clerk. Shortly thereafter, the city clerk, Jimmy Frost, left the city, and Sampson replaced him. He served for almost 20 years in that role until 1994 when he won a seat on the City Council. Two years ago, he ran unsuccessfully for mayor, but he served as mayor pro tempore until leaving the council. At 74, he seems at ease with the recent loss, although he clearly feels the sting of a rough campaign.

"I'm not sure people believed my sincerity in working for the community," he said.

And although he said he wants to put the city's battle with the Police Department behind him, he can't help but defend himself for voting to eliminate the department last year. It was a vote that may have cost him re-election. He pointed out that he was a military police officer in the Air Force.

"I'm still a law-and-order person," he said.

Deeply religious, Sampson is not a person who looks to pick fights.

"It's made me, I think, maybe a more mellow person," he said of his devotion to the Catholic Church. He said that during his time working for the city, he rarely came across someone he could not work with.

"I try not to take life or myself too seriously," he said.

Despite his gentle demeanor, however, he has strong views on every issue facing the city. He has been an unwavering supporter of the city's decision not to permit water with any detectable levels of the potentially dangerous chemical perchlorate. He has supported the city's lawsuits against the suspected polluters even though those suits have complicated the city's relations with other government entities, including the county, one of the defendants in the suits.

He also calls the planned Renaissance Rialto project that would replace the city's airport "our last, best opportunity to make that big leap."

Sampson was born in rural Louisiana. His father was a sharecropper, and his mother, who raised four children as a single mother, was a cook in a hotel restaurant. As a teen, he moved to Port Arthur, Texas, where he met Jessie. He graduated from Tuskegee University in Alabama and then joined the military. He said he was the first black elected official in Rialto and the first black councilman.

Councilwoman Deborah Robertson said he might be the longest-serving black elected official in the Inland Empire. "He had basically broken any barriers you could think of back in the '70s when he was elected," she said.

Robertson also praised Sampson's work on senior-citizen issues, making sure the city is compliant with Americans with Disabilities Act requirements.

At Sampson's last City Council meeting in December, Mayor Grace Vargas, whom Sampson hired to work for the city when he worked in the City Clerk's Office, said, "He dedicated himself to Rialto."

Sampson said he is not sure if he'll ever seek elected office again, but he plans to apply to serve on one of the city's commissions.

--
BS Ranch Perspective:

It is true that Joe Sampson did do three decades of service however, the last few years of service were slighted. He didn't make the best decisions as to what should best serve the city of Rialto!

For Example, Joe Sampson voted to close the long serving Rialto City Police Department in favor of an outside Agency, the San Bernardino Sheriff Department to do the Law Enforcement for Rialto. I have only to wonder what did he do that he had to pay the Sheriff of the County this tab. What was it that he owed the Sheriff of the County, this great debt that he would give him a $3.5 Million dollar Budget to play with. It really was puzzling me!

When asked in the City Council Meetings as to the Reason for the sudden closure of their own City's Police Department over that of another Agency, Sampson simply sited to the people at that meeting, and the many watching at home on "KRTO Channel 3 TV" that the Rialto's Police Department of some 70 years, was "Corrupt". When asked to site what kinds of corrupt behaivor that the department was dealing in, bribes, running the city as its own little gang, etc etc...Sampson just mearly said, NO, it isn't anything like that it is just Corrupt! (for a Police Agency to be "Corrupt" it has to be working outside the law in some way, but there was no evidence of this type of activities within the department, only unfair practices regarding hiring, and promotions and the like, nothing of the nature that Sampson was talking about).

The best that I could come up with was that Joe and Ed Scott was making all kinds of deals. One was to close the airport. They would have this Congress member add pork to the transportation bill (the largest transportation bill in American history). When the Bill was signed by the President of the United States, it made the City Less Obligated to the FAA to keep the Airport Open. In fact all they needed to close the airport was a Majority Vote to close, and to pay the FAA 70% of the money that the City made on the land when it was sold for Private Development. The Crooked part of this was that the Congress Member that attached the little pork bill onto the Transportation bill also Owns a Development Business, and he got the contract to Develop the Airport and turn it into the Renaissance I feel that is dirty, and rotten, but who am I, the congressmen used his Elected Position to make money for himself!! That is sick.

Not only that but it is this writer's feelings that the Rialto City Council was not through with their Favors on this deal. They had also, told the Sheriff in the County of San Bernardino that he would get the Contract for Law Enforcement in the City of Rialto, to make up for the Fact that he would have to find a new Place to Fly his Helicopter from or base it out of, that is another bit if dirty business in this whole deal!!

So, was Sampson doing a good job for Rialto, at First he was, but in the final days he was not, he was working with the people to give them money and make them rich, at the expense of Tax Payers, but everyone seems to forget that now that he is not in any office.

I would say that Overall that Sampson did some pretty good work for the city. He did work for the City's Aging, and did a lot for them, their Lunch program was in large part becuase of some of the work that Sampson did. However when it came to the Police Department, a City Department that had been open with the city since the city was incorperated in 1911, and was open shortly there after, almost as soon as they could afford a Police Department they had one.

Like many of the Police Agencies, it started through the Fire Department and worked on through to what it is today. at one time there was only Two Officers and the Chief of Police was also the Fire Chief, that went on for years, but as the city grew, so did the two Departments, then a second chief was warrented, and that was when Sidney A. Jones Sr. became the first Full time Police Chief that the city of Rialto had. with Raymond Farmer being the second, I beleive that is how history will see it. Lewis third, and Dennis Hegewood Fourth, before coming on to Having Michael Meyers, and now Mark Kling.

Thank God that Sampson lost the Vote for the Closure of the Police Department, and he was right that was what lost him his seat on the City Council.

BS Ranch

City Housing Funds Put on Hold (Press Enterprise 12192006)

City housing funds put on hold

RIALTO: A budget review found the money should have been awarded in a more competitive process.
10:00 PM PST on Tuesday, December 19, 2006
By DUANE W. GANG
The Press-Enterprise

San Bernardino County supervisors Tuesday delayed a vote on whether to divert nearly $1 million initially destined for a housing program in Rialto.

The item was one of nine postponed or removed from the Board of Supervisors' agenda Tuesday.

Among the items pushed back until at least January were: a $720,000 three-year extension for the county's Sacramento lobbying firm Platinum Advisors; a $45,000 deal to study remodeling at the assessor's office; and a public hearing on a proposed open-air sludge-treatment plant in rural Hinkley.

The housing money initially was slated to help provide health and social services in the Willow-Winchester area of Rialto through a program coordinated by the nonprofit Southern California Housing Development Corp.

The organization and the city are investing nearly $40 million to buy and rehabilitate 160 apartment units and to build a community center.

Supervisors inserted the $975,000 into the Economic Development Agency's budget earlier this year at the request of 1st District Supervisor Bill Postmus' office.

But Postmus' office also asked for an item on Tuesday's agenda to shift the money back to the county general fund, officials said.

Economic-development officials conducted a review and found that funding for it should have been awarded through a more competitive process, Brian McGowan, the Economic Development Agency's director, said last week.

Still, Southern California Housing officials were dismayed to learn the county was considering taking the funding away.

"We have already made a significant investment of time and money to get this community center and series of community programs off the ground," Rebecca Clark, the company's president, said in a statement. "Without the county's funding, the ability to sustain these programs in the future is in doubt."

The money would help fund after-school, job-training and crime-prevention programs, Clark said.

Southern California Housing was founded by Jeff Burum, who also serves as co-managing partner for developer Colonies Partners. The county on Nov. 28 agreed to pay Colonies $102 million to end a four-year legal battle over flood-control easements.

Supervisor Josie Gonzales, who represents Rialto, said her office did not request the funding or seek to have it diverted.

The overall Willow-Winchester project is a worthy effort that the county has supported with funding in the past, Gonzales said.

Her office did seek answers about the program, mainly because questions were bound to arise because of Burum and Colonies, Gonzales' chief of staff Bob Page said.

If Postmus' office wanted to direct funds to Gonzales' district, she was not going to stand in the way, Page said earlier.

"We know there is a need in that community for programming and services," Page said Tuesday.

Reach Duane W. Gang at 909-806-3062 or dgang@PE.com


BS Ranch Perspective:

I know that they did this very thing when it came to the apartments in the 200 Block of N. Glenwood, Teakwood, Beachwood, & Lorraine Place. The turn around was instant, but the project was not such a success that they are touting it to be. There are still some Gang Members that are Paroled in the apartment complex located on Glenwood, but the management of that area has been very cooperative with the Police Department and when the Gang member has been noticed hanging around with this own or just doing anything that is suspicious in any way, that Non-Profit Property Management will evict that person on a dime, then they will notify the parolee's Parole agent that they keep on file, and tell him that he had to be evicted because he was hanging around with his old friends, then he will be back in Prison wondering what happened, so in many ways that Non-Profit Management Group is very good, but there are faults, just like there are many faults in many of the things that are set up today. Other then the mild Faults, the Non-Profit Management is the best way to go, They are the fairest when it comes to the people that are renting from them, and they do not tolerate, anything that is out of the ordinary, for very long, they will evict your Ass right onto the street in a hurry.

Now, they are working to get funding that is due to them from the County that is paid to the County from the State of California, but the County is being stingy right now about the money that is typed set for them, they are going to take the San Bernardino County Supervisors to Court I hope and make them, bend over and grab their ankles, if you know what I mean!! The old Fashioned Way!! Yep, an old Fashion Court Room Spanking is what the Supervisors need in a time like this.

I am shocked and surprised that they are doing this, but I know what or why that they are doing it, and it has to do with Politics. They wanted to Be the Law Enforcement Entity for the City of Rialto! I am talking of Coarse the Contract with the Sheriff Department for Law Enforcement, which fell through last year, and they were angry that they didn't get their hands on the Over $3.4 Million Dollars from the City of Rialto to pay the Sheriff's Department for Law Enforcement in the City of Rialto!!

As we all know that the County is much more suited for Jail duty and the service of said jail, It is a shame that they are going to try to scare the City Council by with holding all his money for the clean up of the apartments that they Imminent Domain and were going to sell or Donate to the Low Income, Non-Profit Organization that specializes in the security and safety for a single mother and her children to live, with out the worries of Gangs and etc etc... The Rent is regulated since they are a Non-Profit Organization they operate on donations and State Funding not to mention the rent payment from each month to month tenant that lives safely within their Apartment Complexes.

I really hope that the County Supervisors can Get Their Panties un Bunched from their, Well You Know!, and allow the City to get back to work on the project at hand, the closure of a land mark that is the Airport that once was an Air Field From In-between the First World War, and the Second World War!!

BS Ranch

USFWS Again Rejects Protection for Mono Basin Sage Grouse

USFWS again rejects protections for Mono Basin sage grouse

By SANDRA CHEREB
ASSOCIATED PRESS

RENO, Nev. (AP) - For the second time in three years, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service on Tuesday rejected efforts by environmental groups to impose Endangered Species Act protections for a population of sage grouse found along the Nevada-California line.

The petitions for the Mono Basin sage grouse did not contain "substantial scientific or commercial information" to continue with an in-depth analysis to determine if such protections are warranted, the agency said in an initial finding published in Tuesday's Federal Register.

Environmental groups responded swiftly, saying lawsuits would follow.

"They have just bought themselves a one-way ticket back to court," said Kieran Suckling, policy director for the Center of Biological Diversity in Tucson, Ariz.

Still, conservation groups were encouraged by the agency's acknowledgment that the population found along the Sierra range is genetically unique from greater sage grouse populations around the West.

"There is substantial information indicating that Mono Basin area sage grouse are genetically distinct from other greater sage grouse populations," the published finding said, though one Fish and Wildlife official in Reno said the comment is misleading.

"We believe it may be, upon further analysis," said Laurie Sada, assistant field supervisor in Reno.

"There is some information that they're genetically distinct," Sada said. "But no one has yet described where the boundaries of that uniqueness are or the extent of that uniqueness."

The bird's range encompasses areas of Carson City, Lyon, Mineral, Esmeralda and Douglas counties in Nevada and Alpine, Inyo and Mono counties in California.

Sada said the issue was moot, however, because the agency determined evidence of threats to the bird's survival - such as development and habitat loss - were insufficient to warrant further study needed before a species is listed as threatened or endangered.

Similar arguments about the Mono Basin population's uniqueness were rejected by the service two years ago.

The latest petition, filed in November 2005 by the Stanford Law School Environmental Law Clinic on behalf of the Center for Biological Diversity, Western Watershed Project, Sagebrush Sea Campaign and Christians Caring for Creation, argued that science has since proved otherwise.

Suckling said Tuesday's finding amounts to an about-face by the agency on the bird's genetic distinction.

"It's very significant because it takes that issue off the table," he said. "Having proved that, the only question is, is that population in peril?"

Sada also said that population data from the last three to four years indicates populations of the bird are stable or increasing.

Suckling disputed that assessment, arguing that it ignores historical data.

"Over short periods of time, you can't measure any difference," he said. "The


BS Ranch Perspective:

I know that the cost for such a study is expensive, however they do these kinds of study's all the time in and around where I am living right now, and they do them all the time where I am from. Including, but not limited to this study that they are talking of! Being a Native to the Region of the Owens Valley, these studies, when Requested have been granted, it seemed like always!! Now they are denying the Study on the Grouse, what is going on here?

There is something that is not right if they are not granting a Study, Whether it be long term or short term, they should at least have the study to see if the Grouse is a Candidate for the State's Attention on being an Endangered Species! That is my question here!! But the problem is that there isn't anyone that seems to be able to answer my question before them regarding the Grouse!

It is important if we are going to discover an estimate on how many of the Grouse there are, and another Estimate on how many survive to adulthood, and or Old Age, before death. The other part of the study should be what is the major part of death other then that of an Attack by a Coyote or a Man killing the Grouse,

If this animal is coming close to being on the endangered species List we should know, Right? Well I believe that we should know!

BS Ranch

USFWS Again Rejects Protection for Mono Basin Sage Grouse

USFWS again rejects protections for Mono Basin sage grouse

By SANDRA CHEREB
ASSOCIATED PRESS

RENO, Nev. (AP) - For the second time in three years, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service on Tuesday rejected efforts by environmental groups to impose Endangered Species Act protections for a population of sage grouse found along the Nevada-California line.

The petitions for the Mono Basin sage grouse did not contain "substantial scientific or commercial information" to continue with an in-depth analysis to determine if such protections are warranted, the agency said in an initial finding published in Tuesday's Federal Register.

Environmental groups responded swiftly, saying lawsuits would follow.

"They have just bought themselves a one-way ticket back to court," said Kieran Suckling, policy director for the Center of Biological Diversity in Tucson, Ariz.

Still, conservation groups were encouraged by the agency's acknowledgment that the population found along the Sierra range is genetically unique from greater sage grouse populations around the West.

"There is substantial information indicating that Mono Basin area sage grouse are genetically distinct from other greater sage grouse populations," the published finding said, though one Fish and Wildlife official in Reno said the comment is misleading.

"We believe it may be, upon further analysis," said Laurie Sada, assistant field supervisor in Reno.

"There is some information that they're genetically distinct," Sada said. "But no one has yet described where the boundaries of that uniqueness are or the extent of that uniqueness."

The bird's range encompasses areas of Carson City, Lyon, Mineral, Esmeralda and Douglas counties in Nevada and Alpine, Inyo and Mono counties in California.

Sada said the issue was moot, however, because the agency determined evidence of threats to the bird's survival - such as development and habitat loss - were insufficient to warrant further study needed before a species is listed as threatened or endangered.

Similar arguments about the Mono Basin population's uniqueness were rejected by the service two years ago.

The latest petition, filed in November 2005 by the Stanford Law School Environmental Law Clinic on behalf of the Center for Biological Diversity, Western Watershed Project, Sagebrush Sea Campaign and Christians Caring for Creation, argued that science has since proved otherwise.

Suckling said Tuesday's finding amounts to an about-face by the agency on the bird's genetic distinction.

"It's very significant because it takes that issue off the table," he said. "Having proved that, the only question is, is that population in peril?"

Sada also said that population data from the last three to four years indicates populations of the bird are stable or increasing.

Suckling disputed that assessment, arguing that it ignores historical data.

"Over short periods of time, you can't measure any difference," he said. "The


BS Ranch Perspective:

I know that the cost for such a study is expensive, however they do these kinds of study's all the time in and around where I am living right now, and they do them all the time where I am from. Including, but not limited to this study that they are talking of! Being a Native to the Region of the Owens Valley, these studies, when Requested have been granted, it seemed like always!! Now they are denying the Study on the Grouse, what is going on here?

There is something that is not right if they are not granting a Study, Whether it be long term or short term, they should at least have the study to see if the Grouse is a Candidate for the State's Attention on being an Endangered Species! That is my question here!! But the problem is that there isn't anyone that seems to be able to answer my question before them regarding the Grouse!

It is important if we are going to discover an estimate on how many of the Grouse there are, and another Estimate on how many survive to adulthood, and or Old Age, before death. The other part of the study should be what is the major part of death other then that of an Attack by a Coyote or a Man killing the Grouse,

If this animal is coming close to being on the endangered species List we should know, Right? Well I believe that we should know!

BS Ranch

Housing Prices Still Climbing in the Inland Empire

BS Ranch Perspective:

Everywhere else in the planet that you see, when you want television news programs, and the like. The common story is that Home Sales are dropping, but as we see here in this story, that home sales are climbing, who do we believe? it is a tough one?

Well, I am going with the local Paper, they are more tune to the local events.

BS Ranch

--
Housing prices still climbing
Michael Rappaport, Business Editor

Ifit's clear that the housing boom is over, what isn't completely clearyet is whether homeowners will see prices go sideways or slip back somein upcoming months.

Numbers released Tuesday by the California Association ofRealtors show the median price in the state at $548,680 in October2006.

That's up 2 percent from a year ago and down 1.5 percent from September, but it's hardly a serious decline.

"We'reseeing a seasonal decline in the median price characteristic of thistime of year, although the overall trend is a slight year-over-yearincrease," CAR President Colleen Badagliacco said in a release. "Pricesat the regional and county level have shown greater variability, withsome areas posting year-to-year declines while others continue toregister price gains compared with last year."

Southland home prices were up in Los Angeles County and theInland Empire, but Ventura, Orange and San Diego counties all sawdeclines from October 2005.

Regional prices in Southern California, with percentage increase or decrease from 2005:

High Desert -- $328,650 -- up 4.0

Los Angeles -- $583,160 -- up 4.6

Orange County -- $681,340 -- dn 2.9

Riverside/S. Bern.-- $402,680 -- up 2.2

San Diego -- $574,530 -- dn 4.5

Source: California Association of Realtors

Sales are down, demand still there

Home sales in California were off nearly 30 percent from October 2005, and the picture in the Inland Empire was even worse.

TheRiverside/San Bernardino metropolitan area saw 37.6 percent fewer homesales last month than in the same period a year earlier, but believe itor not, that doesn't mean people aren't buying homes.

"The demand is still there," said regional economist JackKyser. "Even though the builders have really cut back in an effort tocut inventory, the Inland Empire is still leading the state in homesales."

Three factors continue to impact the market, as economist John Husing pointed out recently.

Unsold inventory is at 7.2 months, more than double a year ago.

Foreclosures are up from historic lows, with several thousand homeowners entering the process each

Friday, December 29, 2006

New Police Chief Making his Mark- UPDATE

BS Ranch Perspective:

I like the changes that are proposed, The Modular building to allow traffic to join the rest of the Station, will be the first time that Traffic has been with the rest of the Patrol Division Which they support since 1993. It was in Early 1993, when Sgt. Little, Corporal Lessig, Officer, TC Hernandez, Officer, Cunningham, Officer Mining, & CSO Cabral was trasporting all the great stuff that we had stored at the main station into the brand new DUI Trailer to the N.Annex to join the men and Woman at Fire station Four. The transportation of all our traffic Citations to different locations to turn them in was a chore but one that we did, as it was our orders, but again we had to take part in Briefing just to get to know the other guys on the Shifts. If we had not had done that I might not had met Daniels. LOL..

The Hiring of a HSO Supervisor, is something that I am not sure of why we are doing that one, because they had been supervised under the traffic Division for as long as I can remember. Skalski was the first Supervisor, that did the job, and was well aware of what they needed. I would like to think that Little did, even though he was disorganized, but the only thing that I know that they complained about was the lack of training that they didn't get.

They are for the most part an enforcement position and are Supervised as such. They issue citations and Investigate crimes such as cruelty to animals and the like. other then that, they are basically a Police services or Enforcement position and any Sergent should be able to supervise them.

Any Sergent that says he doesn't know how to supervise an enforcement Position shouldn't be a Sergeant, or Supervisor of any kind!! I cannot beleive that the department is bending to this request for this supervisor position when they have so many Sergent's within the department, Unless they are trying to do this to set them up for a contract with the County.

If they contract HSO, with the county!! WOW, is the City Council Stupid!! Because they should listen to Fontana's Complaints about their Humain Services Contract with the County before they do!!

Other then the HSO Supervisor which I feel is a waist of money for the Department, Because they have so many Sergent's that can do that job. Other then that I agree with what I have seen so far. great job!!

BSRanch



--
New police chief making his mark
Jason Pesick, Staff Writer

RIALTO- Police Chief Mark Kling is no stranger to resuscitating policedepartments. He has developed a specialty in the practice, havingarrived at his previous job as chief of the Baldwin Park PoliceDepartment after the City Council there considered eliminating it.

Three months into his latest role in Rialto, Kling has alreadybegun to remake a department that the City Council tried to close downa little more than a year ago.

"There's a considerable amount of restructuring going on," Kling said recently in his office.

Withthe help of the now-supportive City Council, he has begun to alter thedepartment's hierarchy, recruit dozens of officers and policeemployees, make physical changes to police facilities and improvemorale.

"He wants everybody - every individual person in the organization - to develop and succeed," Lt. Randy DeAnda said.

Last week, the City Council passed a number of Kling's recommendations to restructure the department.

Oneof those recommendations was to place a 2,000- square-foot modular unitat police headquarters so that traffic-enforcement and animal-controlofficers will be with the rest of the department instead of with codeenforcement, where they are now.

The council also approved changes to a number of positions within the department. Those changes include:

Replacing a law enforcement technician position with a position focused on purchasing for the department.

Adding a human-resources official to the department.

Moving animal control out of the traffic division and hiring an animal-control supervisor.

Hiring parking-enforcement officers to go after abandoned or illegally parked vehicles.

Increasing salaries in order to compete with nearby cities for dispatchers.

Atthe City Council meeting, Kling announced the hiring of three newpolice officers. When he became chief in August, there were 27 officervacancies - almost a quarter of the budgeted positions. As soon as somenew hires graduate from the academy, the number of vacancies will bedown to 17. And the department has additional openings for dispatchers,records assistants, cadets, law-enforcement technicians andanimal-control employees.

Kling also needs to hire another captain to complete thedepartment's transition from one run by a chief and a deputy chief toone headed by a chief and two captains - one overseeing operations andthe other overseeing largely administrative functions.

One of Kling's biggest initiatives will be implementing thearea-commander police philosophy first recommended by his predecessor,interim Chief Frank Scialdone. The plan will divide the city into threeareas, with a lieutenant responsible for each one.

Each lieutenant will act as a community liaison, holdingmeetings with residents and then developing a strategy to combatproblems, employing other community programs and government entities ifnecessary.

"We're not an island anymore," said DeAnda, who willoversee one portion of the city, referring to the department'simproving relationship with the rest of the city.

Command officers from the Police Department recently metfor two hours with their counterparts at the Fire Department, andanother meeting is scheduled for January, Fire Chief Steve Wells said.He said it was the first time in 30 years that there has been such ameeting.

"Things are good, and they're going to get better," Officer Steven Daniels of the personnel and training division said.

Completelyrebuilding the department could take five to seven years, Kling said.He said one of his goals is to change the department's reputation sothat it is no longer seen as a training ground for young officers.

"I feel what he's doing is being responsive to the thingswe said we wanted when he came on," Councilman Joe Sampson said at lastTuesday's meeting.

Contact writer Jason Pesick at (909) 386-3861 or via e-mail at jason.pesick@sbsun.com.

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BS Ranch Perspective & Update:

Mark Kling has done a great job! He has hired that second Capt. The way that he did it was like hiring from within the department which is a better way of doing things. There is a built in Respect for Capt. Martinez before he even starts, He had left after serving Rialto as an Acting Caption. The Previous Chief, for what ever reason, Promoted, another person to Capt. right in front of Capt. Martinez. the ultimate Back Stab. For what ever Chief Meyer had against Martinez that is all the more to respect him when he comes back, because we all know how much of a Crooked Chief, that Meyers was!

The other chain of command that was lacking is also being filled by a long time City Employee that left when the things looked really bad here in Rialto. You cannot Blame Sgt. Crispin for leaving and going to the Riverside D.A.'s office to get a more secure position for his family, after all he was not going to jeopardize his family over a Position at a Police Department when he has all that Experience with Investigations. Well Sgt. Crispin is coming back to work for Rialto Police Department as well, that is all great News. For the Troops that work for Crispin you will see what a pleasure that it is working for him.

I am glad to see that The Old Rialto Police Department is coming back into focus, I am just sad that I cannot patepate in the change and the wonderful changed that are taking place. The Corrupt Police Department is Gone, There is a New Chief in Town, Mark Kling is his name!!

BS Ranch!

Rialto Planning Fire Station For Area South of I-10 Fwy

BS Ranch Perspective:

This was in the works back when there was plans for a New Police Station, at the same location as the current Police Station. The fire station also Acquired land at the N/W Corner of Santa Ana and Willow Ave, in South Rialto. Their main Concern at the time was that they were having trouble getting across the I-10 freeway, When the freeway and Cars are trying to come home on the Friday night Commute night, there is at least a 25-40 minute Response time for the Ambulance and Fire engine to Respond from Fire Station 201, Which is located at Rialto Ave, at Willow Ave. The Fire Trucks Either respond straight down Willow, or they cut across to Riverside and straight down. which I think is the Strategy now, because there is just to much danger to cross Bloomington, and Willow and Merrill Ave. Even with the Lights and Siren. They can get a much faster response from the Lights/ and cars and people when they drive straight down Willow to Rialto and then cross E/B on Rialto Ave to Riverside and straight to the Cross on the south end and turn to go to where the call history says that the call is supposed to be at.

They need a Station with the appropriate equipment on it for those Gasoline storage tanks on the south end of the city, they also need another ladder company that can also take care of that end, so that would make two ladder companies for the city of Rialto. a bit much, but when the Tank farm takes off then and only then people will say wow great that Rialto City council thought ahead. Other then that, with the war going on, the Rialto Fire Department shouldn't' get anything beyond what the people in Los Colinias got when they build those houses in that end. they need to think about that too.

BSRanch

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Rialto planning fire station for area south of I-10
Jason Pesick, Staff Writer

RIALTO- City officials plan to build a new fire station to serve the southend of the city, where it takes nearly twice as long in some areas forfirefighters to respond to an emergency.

Though much of the city's development has been focused north ofthe 10 Freeway, projects for the south end have been proposed,prompting the city to take a closer look at the thinly populated area.

"There's a clear need for the station there," Fire Chief Steve Wells said.

Wells said response times south of the 10 are eight to 10 minutes, compared with five minutes in the rest of the city.

ThePlanning Commission on Tuesday will consider the Rancho El Rivinoproject by Young Homes, a 726-home development on 165 acres south ofthe freeway. It would occupy county land just north of El Rivino Roadthat would be annexed by Rialto.

Economic Development Director Robb Steel said theEnvironmental Impact Report drawn up for the project showed there isinsufficient fire response in the area to serve the proposed homes.

The city is negotiating a development agreement with YoungHomes that would help pay for the fire station and infrastructure thecity would need for the development, such as sewers.

Steel said the city has askedYoung to pay development fees higher than the current rate because thecity is poised to raise those fees. He said the city has asked for evenhigher fees to fund a new fire station.

Building and equipping the station will cost $6 million, Steel said.

PoliceChief Mark Kling said it is also possible there will be a policesubstation at the same location and that as the city continues todevelop, it will be necessary to increase the department's size.

"Right now we wouldn't have the staff to fill a substation," he said.

Inaddition to the El Rivino project, a number of industrial projectseither already exist or will eventually will be built south of 10. InSeptember, the City Council approved a 1.4 million-square-foot heavyindustrial center that will be built on Riverside Avenue and Agua MansaRoad.

But Wells said industrial development does not demand as much from the Fire Department as does residential development.

If the Planning Commission approves the proposal, it would go before the City Council in January.

Rialto Plans South-Side Fire Station

BS Ranch Perspective:

This Idea, and or plan has been in the works since before my accident in 1997, they had been trying to get a station in the South since before they were asking for a station in the North end. Station Four was to be in the South end of the City South of I-10 on the corner N/W corner of Willow and Santa Ana Ave if My memory is correct, they once had a sign that was there and everything. The reason for the Fire station at that time was that it was impossible for them to get across the I-10 in the mornings and afternoons when the Traffic was backed up, and the response time to a fire call just at Santa Ana and Willow was about 25 minutes or more at peak times. The time has had to increase with the increase in traffic and times. They also have been trying to figure that if they had a major fire down in the Tank Farms the Colton Fire Department would be there first as they have southern Station already to respond and get there before the City of Rialto Especially when it is at 17:00 hrs, and the traffic is just at its peek. They are well at the most mortified with the traffic. I can imagine that it would take the Rialto Fire Department a total then of about 40 minutes to get across the freeway and to the tank farm!! Sorry to say, but that is what it would take to cross the I-10 depending on the day, I mean some days they could do it in no time and others forget about it, they would never be across. .

This Southern Fire Station Plan was back in a time when the Rialto Police Department was going to try to fight for extra monies from the Taxpayer in Rialto for a Brand New Police Station, after all at the time we were Changing our clothes in the hallway. downstairs with Blinder so that the Woman Employee's couldn't get an eye full of Police Officer when they were walking down the hall.

We had trouble when they where Qualifying Officers because the Lockers that we dressed at were in the hallway corridor that was the entrance to the Indoor gun range. The Female officers would either have to stay in the room until they were told it was clear or they were dismissed from the training until the graveyard officers were finished dressing. This went on for the first year and a half that I worked at Rialto, the whole time we tried twice to get a measure of a Half sent tax, or a $50 dollar, 5 year Property tax initiative on the ballot passed. They never were passed even with all the work that we did, we had the whole Off duty Police Force working on this, it was miraculous. really, but we never got it, so it stands to wonder that the PD didn't get involved in the Property tax deal that encounters the Tax reform that adds so much to the family home depending on how big their property was, that was the utility tax, which passed. wow..The State, Police was not the thank the PD and the Small stuff that we did he;peed and I have to say that the very little participation that we did might have helped it pass as well.

But that is not for me to say, after All I am the one that for the first two years changed my clothes in the hallway, it was to the point after a while that we didn't care and it we weren't so modest about changing. the girls came down could watch us change and we didn't care. we were wearing something after all! But, then they opened up that Conference room and we realised what or how it was wrong and how they should have did that sooner. But again that is just me.

BS Ranch.


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Rialto plans south-side fire station
City seeks quicker response as it considers development
Jason Pesick, Staff Writer

RIALTO- City officials plan to build a new fire station to serve the southend of the city, where it takes nearly twice as long in some areas forfirefighters to respond to an emergency.

Although much of the city's development has been focused northof Interstate 10, projects for the south end have been proposed,prompting the city to take a closer look at the thinly populated area.

"There's a clear need for the station there," Fire Chief Steve Wells said.

Wells said response times south of I-10 are eight to 10 minutes, compared with five minutes in the rest of the city.

Separately,the Planning Commission on Tuesday will consider a 726-home developmenton 165 acres south of the freeway. The Rancho El Rivino project byYoung Homes would occupy county land just north of El Rivino Road thatthe city would annex.

Economic Development Director Robb Steel said theenvironmental-impact report drawn up for the project showed there isinsufficient fire response in the area to serve the proposed homes.

The city is negotiating a development agreement with YoungHomes that would help pay for the fire station and otherinfrastructure, such as sewers, the city will need to build to serve the development, Steel said.

the development.

Steelsaid the city has asked Young to pay higher development fees than usualbecause the city is about to raise the fees and is trying to fund a newfire station.

Building and equipping the station will cost $6million, Steel said.

PoliceChief Mark Kling said it is also possible there will be a policesubstation at the same location and that as the city continues todevelop, it will be necessary to increase the size of his department.

"Right now, we wouldn't have the staff to fill a substation," he said.

Inaddition to the El Rivino project, a number of industrial projectseither already exist or eventually will be located south of I-10. InSeptember, the City Council approved a 1.4 million- square-foot heavyindustrial center that will be built on Riverside Avenue and Agua MansaRoad.

But Wells said industrial development does not demand as much from the Fire Department as residential development does.

If the Planning Commission approves the proposal, it would go before the City Council in January.

Putting Out Call for All Dispatchers!!

Putting Out Call for Dispatchers

BS Ranch Perspective:

I am mostly partial to that of Rialto Police Department, so the report that the Dispatchers are wanted at the County are one thing, but I can tell you that the Dispatch Center at Rialto Police Department pays a lot better then that of the Dispatch Center for the Sheriff's Department, so I guess once again they are in competition to get Employees and workers, but they are not fighting over a contract that the City Council will or will not sign. The Dispatchers at Rialto make about $1.00 to $2.00 more an our then that of the Sheriff's Dispatcher's, but you are dispatching for a larger area. The dispatchers at Eagles Nest don't get to know or even in some cases get to see the deputies that they are Dispatching for, especially for those that are in Chino Hills, etc etc... It makes it harder to get attached or to place a face to that voice.

Rialto you will get to see the person that you work with every day, you will know their personality and quite a bit about their family it is a tight knit family at the City of Rialto's Police Department, and Dispatch Center. They just hired a new Chief, Mark Kling and he is a great guy, one of the best Chief's that Rialto has had for a long time, or at least he seems to be that way. I don't know that much about him but he seems to be nice.

Well, it looks to be that time that the Dispatchers war is up and upon us, and if you see this BLOG, and you are thinking about becoming a Dispatcher be one at Rialto, where it is much more of a challenge, The Sheriff's Department is like retirement compared to what Rialto is concerned.

Think about it!

BSRanch

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Putting Out Call for Dispatchers

Police groups offer perks to new hires
10:00 PM PST on Sunday, November 26, 2006
By SONJA BJELLAND
The Press-Enterprise

When anyone calls 911, someone answers -- night or day, holiday or weekday.

William Wilson Lewis III / The Press-Enterprise
Lt. Mike Newcombe is in charge of theSan Bernardino County sheriff's communication center in Rialto. Ashortage of dispatchers has prompted agencies to offer incentives tonew hires.

Some Inland agencies are finding it more difficult to filldispatching positions and have started using incentives and other waysto recruit and retain their employees.

The competition between agencies for qualified candidates hasagencies adding more to these packages, said Chris Hinshaw, presidentof the California chapter of the National Emergency Numbers Association.

The Riverside County Sheriff's Department is now offering a bonustotaling $16,000 paid over five years. That includes $800 paid uponhiring.

"We need to stay competitive with the market around us," said Tom Freeman, executive officer with the agency.

The Riverside Police Department started an incentive program inOctober where new hires received a $1,000 signing bonus and $1,500after a probationary period plus $2,500 after two years, said spokesmanSteve Frasher. Since then the agency has had five of the new hires stayon.

Up the freeway, the San Bernardino County Sheriff's Departmentrecently had 210 people apply for their 24 available positions, saidLt. Mike Newcombe. Incentives help increase the pool of applicants, soafter hiring for the 24 spaces they also had some qualified candidatesthey may turn to when new positions open.

"Then they come on board and say, whoa -- this is not anything likewhat I expected," Newcombe said. "It comes down to saving lives, andthat's a lot of responsibility."

Statewide, dispatch centers have about a 40 percent attrition rate,said Alan Deal, bureau chief in training program services forCalifornia Police Officer Standards and Training.

Depending on the agency and years on the job, dispatchers can makebetween $14 per hour and $29 per hour. Locally, the mean salary fordispatchers in 2006 is $17.71 hourly, according to the CaliforniaEconomic Development Department.

William Wilson Lewis III / The Press-Enterprise
Karlee Remender, left, a dispatcher at the communications center in Rialto, trains Jessica Lopez.

The San Bernardino County Sheriff's Valley Communications Center inRialto takes about 51,000 calls per month under Newcombe. About halfits staff of 80 takes incoming calls and the others relay the calls tothe deputies.

Joni Hickman sits in front of five computer screens, has three micefor them and uses a foot pedal to answer the phone. She dispatchesdeputies in of Loma Linda, Highland and San Bernardino sheriff'sterritory.

After 16 years, she said the steady paycheck remains good work forsomeone without a degree. While the position does not require one, itdoes call for an ability to multitask, deal with extremely emotionalsituations and think on your toes.

Jessica Lopez has been training at the center for about three weeks.She wanted to work in law enforcement and help others so she took thetwo required classes so she could be a dispatcher.

For her training, she'll work with another in-call taker for a fewmonths before going solo. She's been sitting with Karlee Remender tolearn the skills.

Remender's been with the Sheriff's Department for about a year andsees it as a viable long-term career. In that time she's been mostsurprised by the misuse of the 911 line, such as people calling toreport past crimes, tying up the emergency-only line. She also lovesthe people she works with and the camaraderie in the center.

"In the end we're all working to do the same task so there's a lot of teamwork," Remender said.

The state keeps training agencies on how to better keep and recruitdispatchers, from streamlining the hiring process to finding ways towork with employees' needs.

"It has more to do with the economy than anything else," Deal said. "There are more job vacancies than people to fill them."

New technologies have made for more challenges for each agency andmore information for dispatchers to learn. In the past year, many localagencies have started accepting 911 calls made from cellular phones.New phones provide the dispatchers with the latitude and longitude ofthe call and they use that to help find an address.

Previously the California Highway Patrol handled all those calls.Now calls are divided according to the cell towers that broadcast them;signals from towers serving portions of the freeways are the CHP'sresponsibility and the others go to the local city or county lawenforcement agency.

The Riverside County Sheriff's Department is working on an agreement to begin taking the cellular 911 calls, Freeman said.

While most of those calls would have gone to the local agencyanyway, what they've mostly noticed is an increase in abandoned oraccidental calls. And the technology will keep changing. Agencies havefigured out how to handle homes that use an Internet-based phonesystem, Voice Over Internet Protocol, and now they see wireless VOIP onthe horizon.

Two Tours in Iraq Strenthen ER Doctor's Support of Iraq Conflict

Two Tours in Iraq Strengthen ER Doctor's Support of Iraq Conflict

BS Ranch Perspective:


Well, it looks like more and more of what I have been saying is being confirmed by people that actually have served time there in Iraq and know what the Political Climate is all about there. Dr. Jeff McInturff an Army Doctor Reservist, who just finished two tours in Iraq, says that leaving will allow the country and the government that is just now getting set up to fail. These are words that I have been saying. He also says that, We have only allowed this country Three Years to get their Government up and running, and that is just not enough time!!

The Insurgents are Political activists from Iran, and other neighboring countries that are trying to make the government that we have just gotten started there fail, it is something that would make their countries stronger. We have to leave Iraq, in a state that they can defend themselves from Iran and the neighboring Countries, because they want to move in and Take over the country and the Oil Supply that Iraq Haas. After all Iraq has the biggest Oil Reserve then even the Saudi Arabia Country does, they have the larges in the region according to the geologists that have gone in for Shell, and Chevron and the like.

So, we started Something that is bigger then the Democrats think!! They think that this is a small Potato's War that we can just pull away and there will be no consequences to the United States, I feel that they are Very Wrong and if they Pull Us out We will find out what they have done. And once Again we will have a Republican Run Congress and House, as well as a Republican President. That is what will happen if they pull out to quickly and our gas prices go up to $6.00 a gallon because they control the Iraq Oil Field and hold us hostage with that Oil!! We will have the Democrats to blam!

BSRanch

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Two tours in Iraq strengthen ER doctor's support for war

By Blair Anthony Robertson - Bee Staff Writer

Published 12:00 am PST Monday, November 27, 2006
Story appeared in METRO section, Page B1

Dr. Jeff McInturff works at Kaiser Permanente Roseville Medical Center on Friday. The emergency room physician, who served with the Army Reserves, says pulling out of Iraq wouldmean more Iraqi deaths. Sacramento Bee/Randall Benton

See additional images

Jeff McInturff is a 39-year-old emergency room doctor who twice put his life on hold for stints in the war in Iraq.

Moved to re-enlist in the army after the horror of Sept. 11, McInturff first served with the Army Reserve in Kuwait in 2004, troubled only by the notion that he felt underutilized working at a combat support hospital. A year later, he was in southern Iraq for an additional four months, tending to sick and injured detainees at a prison camp.

McInturff did all that as a statement about his commitment to his country and to the cause. While he has remained steadfast in his support for the war, the country has changed around him. McInturff initially served three years in the Army to fulfill the obligations of a military scholarship.

Back in 2003, when The Bee chronicled the physician's choice to renew his Army ties, the president's approval rating was 57 percent and six in 10 Americans supported going to war. These days, President Bush's approval rating is 33 percent, according to a USA Today/Gallup poll, and about the same percentage of people back the war.

The Nov. 7 election was seen as a referendum on Iraq and the resignation of Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld signaled the Bush administration was responding to voter outcry.

A recent visit to McInturff's four-bedroom home in a Granite Bay gated community found a doctor more determined than ever to support the war and more frustrated at American impatience with the military campaign.

On the heels of an election that swept the Democrats into power in the Congress and suggested the nation had moved toward the political center, McInturff's views seem practically missing in action in the media in recent weeks. He doesn't support a military withdrawal. He doesn't want to hear talk of a timetable.

"Patience is a big issue," he said, seated with his back to a living room window that looks out to a wooded meadow where wild turkeys and peacocks roam. "Fortitude and patience are what win wars. I don't know if it's a consequence of our current lifestyle in which everything is fast -- made-to-use, ready-to-eat. We live in a very fast society. It's good for our lifestyle, but it makes us ill-prepared for the long haul."

McInturff paused to reach down and pet his 11-year-old Labrador retriever, Dave, who was lying at his feet. Nearby, Cody, a 13-year-old lab, napped on a dog bed. Signing up for medical duty in the war meant saying goodbye to the aging dogs, and putting on hold his job in the ER at Kaiser Permanente Roseville Medical Center. A bachelor, McInturff took videos of the dogs on a walk and watched them overseas whenever he was homesick.

At one point in his first four-month assignment, McInturff succumbed to feelings that he wanted to quit, to go back to his hospital job in Roseville and say farewell to the military. It was at Thanksgiving two years ago that he was jolted out of that mood.

"I was sitting at a table with an enlisted soldier from Kentucky. He was telling me about his life -- he ran a pet store and he just bought a house. I was feeling down because I felt like medically I was being underutilized. I didn't feel like I was accomplishing much.

"As I was talking to him I realized here this kid was the embodiment of the American dream, starting without much, he had built up his life and was serving his country. During that dinner I realized I can't walk away. It sounds silly, but I felt like I couldn't leave this guy's health care to someone else. That's when I stifled that desire to get out."

McInturff has never wavered in his belief that the United States must be in it for the long haul, that victory must be the only answer.

Asked what argument he would make to the many who have changed their minds about Iraq, McInturff thought for a moment and said, "What I would ask those individuals to do is try to set aside our whole purpose for going to war and ask yourself today, 'Do I want to win this war? If you don't want to win this war then you have to ask yourself why and what are the consequences if we choose to walk away. I think the clear consequences are more Iraqi deaths. You're going to see increasing influence over Iraq by neighboring countries like Iran and Syria, which I think we can all agree isn't beneficial."

When it is mentioned that many Americans no longer see victory as a possibility, McInturff replied, "Realistically, we have to have a long-term vision. I mean, our own democracy took a long time to find itself. One hundred years after we had a supposedly great start, we fell apart into a civil war. We had a great functioning democracy, and yet we started killing each other in untold numbers. While democracy is clearly the best alternative I've seen, it's not without its flaws and foibles.

"We've really only given these people three years to establish one. There's no adding water and, bingo, instant democracy."

During his months in Iraq, McInturff's only television exposure was watching the news during his meals. He became so angry at what he was seeing that he began writing a rebuttal -- an argument for being in Iraq and finishing the job. Still in progress, he expects it to be 30 typed pages when he's finished.

"We've been distracted in the last 100 years by our conflict with fascism and communism," he said. "Prior to that, one of the major conflicts was, sadly, East versus West. Going back to 700 AD there's been a constant struggle between the Christian empire and the Islamic empire. We've kind of forgotten about that conflict because we had our own internal conflicts. We're really getting back to the realization that this conflict didn't resolve itself."

Opponents of the war, however, have argued that the unresolved -- or unresolvable -- conflict is also a good reason for getting out of Iraq.

About the writer:

Jeff McInturff, a military-trained doctor working in Roseville, says victory is possible in Iraq. "We have to have a longterm vision," he said. "I mean, our own democracy took a long time to find itself." Sacramento Bee/Randall Benton

Thursday, December 28, 2006

Hundres Honor Slain Oceanside Policeman Dan Bessant

Hundreds honor slain Oceanside policeman Dan Bessant


Hundreds gathered Thursday in an Oceanside church and on the streets of the city to mourn and honor the late Oceanside Police Officer Dan Bessant, who was gunned down last week near Camp Pendleton's back gate.

Police officers, firefighters and residents gathered on the sides of Oceanside streets in the morning as the funeral procession of Bessant passed through the city.

Sirens from the procession wailed as small groups of residents gathered along the procession route, some holding signs in support of the family of the 25-year-old officer, who left behind a wife and two-month old son.


During the service, Oceanside Police Chief Frank McCoy said the officer would be missed.

"His life was taken with a selfish and senseless act of violence," McCoy said. "But he died doing what he loved -- trying to make his community a better place."

A number of friends of Bessant's recounted memories of him during the service, and many laughed through their tears as they remembered the fun-loving young father. The 90-minute service also included a photo tribute and words from a church pastor. Bessant's mother and father, Jeanne and Steve Bessant, locked arms throughout most of the service and smiled as they remembered their son.

Afterward, Oceanside police put on a 21-gun salute in honor of Bessant.

Widow Katelyn Bessant, who walked into the service with their young son Wyatt on her shoulder, was consoled throughout the service by her parents. During the firing salute, Bessant sat with her head down, unable to control her tears.

Before the service, police shut down roads along the 10-mile funeral procession route, which ran from department headquarters on Mission Avenue, south on El Camino Real, east onto Highway 78 and along College Boulevard to Mystra Way.

Firefighters in stiff navy blue uniforms and white gloves used their engines to block on ramps to the freeway as the procession went past, and many residents huddled in small groups, hands folded, heads down as the procession passed. Many of the older spectators held hats over their hearts.

Bessant, the married father of a 2-month-old son, was gunned down Dec. 20 while assisting another officer in a traffic stop near the back gate. Meki Gaono, a 17-year-old gang member, pleaded not guilty Tuesday to firing at the officer with a rifle from about a half-block away.

Officers from all over Southern California came to Oceanside for the funeral. The Carlsbad Police Department and the Sheriff's Department were taking Oceanside police calls Thursday so the department could attend the ceremony.

At New Venture Church, about 200 friends and family members flowed into the church around 7:30 a.m. for the 10 a.m. service. By 9:45, the church was a sea of blue uniforms. City officials, including council members and other administrators, also filed into the service.

Greeting mourners was a photo montage of the fallen officer, including pictures of Bessant as a child, at his graduation, at his wedding, and holding his now-two-month-old son when the boy was born. A photo of him at the beach in Oceanside and a picture of his father holding Bessant as a baby were also on display.

A box of tissues was placed at the end of each pew, and large screens near the altar projected pictures of Bessant.

Security was tight at the funeral. Officers, apparently from the San Diego County Sheriff's Department, were on the roof of the church building, and police dogs were sent through the church to check for anything suspicious before guests arrived.

One of the officers involved in the procession stopped briefly in the Plaza Camino Real parking lot in Carlsbad to talk about why he came from Los Angeles to honor Bessant.

When asked why the LAPD sent him, the 25-year police veteran who identified himself as Sgt. Horan, responded quietly.

"They didn't send me. I just came," he said.

Why?

"I don't think I could talk about it without starting to cry."

USFWS Again Rejects Protections For Mono Basin Sage Grouse (Las Vegas Sun 12192006)

December 19, 2006

USFWS again rejects protections for Mono Basin sage grouse

By SANDRA CHEREB
ASSOCIATED PRESS

RENO, Nev. (AP) - For the second time in three years, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service on Tuesday rejected efforts by environmental groups to impose Endangered Species Act protections for a population of sage grouse found along the Nevada-California line.

The petitions for the Mono Basin sage grouse did not contain "substantial scientific or commercial information" to continue with an in-depth analysis to determine if such protections are warranted, the agency said in an initial finding published in Tuesday's Federal Register.

Environmental groups responded swiftly, saying lawsuits would follow.

"They have just bought themselves a one-way ticket back to court," said Kieran Suckling, policy director for the Center of Biological Diversity in Tucson, Ariz.

Still, conservation groups were encouraged by the agency's acknowledgment that the population found along the Sierra range is genetically unique from greater sage grouse populations around the West.

"There is substantial information indicating that Mono Basin area sage grouse are genetically distinct from other greater sage grouse populations," the published finding said, though one Fish and Wildlife official in Reno said the comment is misleading.

"We believe it may be, upon further analysis," said Laurie Sada, assistant field supervisor in Reno.

"There is some information that they're genetically distinct," Sada said. "But no one has yet described where the boundaries of that uniqueness are or the extent of that uniqueness."

The bird's range encompasses areas of Carson City, Lyon, Mineral, Esmeralda and Douglas counties in Nevada and Alpine, Inyo and Mono counties in California.

Sada said the issue was moot, however, because the agency determined evidence of threats to the bird's survival - such as development and habitat loss - were insufficient to warrant further study needed before a species is listed as threatened or endangered.

Similar arguments about the Mono Basin population's uniqueness were rejected by the service two years ago.

The latest petition, filed in November 2005 by the Stanford Law School Environmental Law Clinic on behalf of the Center for Biological Diversity, Western Watershed Project, Sagebrush Sea Campaign and Christians Caring for Creation, argued that science has since proved otherwise.

Suckling said Tuesday's finding amounts to an about-face by the agency on the bird's genetic distinction.

"It's very significant because it takes that issue off the table," he said. "Having proved that, the only question is, is that population in peril?"

Sada also said that population data from the last three to four years indicates populations of the bird are stable or increasing.

Suckling disputed that assessment, arguing that it ignores historical data.

"Over short periods of time, you can't measure any difference," he said. "The


BS Ranch Perspective:

I know that the cost for such a study is expensive, however they do these kinds of study's all the time in and around where I am living right now, and they do them all the time where I am from. Including, but not limited to this study that they are talking of! Being a Native to the Region of the Owens Valley, these studies, when Requested have been granted, it seemed like always!! Now they are denying the Study on the Grouse, what is going on here?

There is something that is not right if they are not granting a Study, Whether it be long term or short term, they should at least have the study to see if the Grouse is a Candidate for the State's Attention on being an Endangered Species! That is my question here!! But the problem is that there isn't anyone that seems to be able to answer my question before them regarding the Grouse!

It is important if we are going to discover an estimate on how many of the Grouse there are, and another Estimate on how many survive to adulthood, and or Old Age, before death. The other part of the study should be what is the major part of death other then that of an Attack by a Coyote or a Man killing the Grouse,

If this animal is coming close to being on the endangered species List we should know, Right? Well I believe that we should know!

BS Ranch