DALLAS COUNTY SHERIFF’S DEPARTMENT APRIL 2012 Volume 12 Number 3 HAPPY EASTER Behind The BADGE Inside this issue: Scottish Rite Hospital Bunny Hop County Commission- ers Employee of the Month Recipients ―Fatal Encounters‖ Films at George Allen Jail DMU’s Criminal Jus- tice Conference Cheers Chief Costa Farewell Capt. Bart Terrell Sheriff’s Department Cycling Team Administrative Profes- sionals Day Honorees Announcements Shoppers’ Corner: Benefiting the Dallas Sheriff’s Citizens Academy FROM THE SHERIFF North Texas made national news, partially because, miraculously, no fatalities were reported from the 21 tornados confirmed across North Texas on April 3. The Lancaster tornado, where we helped provide assistance, was officially classified as an EF-2, with estimated wind speeds of up to 130 mph. The funnel initially touched down in the northern part of the city and moved southeast for about 7 miles damag- ing hundreds of homes. The Lancaster tornado in early April called upon our staff to help those affected by the storm. Many deputies put countless hours on the ground keeping order during difficult times in the affected communities. And, though some of our department personnel’s homes were directly affected by the storms across the region, the de- partment never missed a beat. I am proud to say our officers were compassionate and patient as they did their job. I commend everyone for providing exceptional service to the citizens of Dallas County. - Sheriff Lupe Valdez Sheriff Lupe Valdez April 3, 2012 Lancaster Tornado Top photo courtesy of: AP, Bottom photo courtesy of: NOAA/National Weather Service
Transcript
DALLAS COUNTY SHERIFF’S DEPARTMENT
APRIL 2012
Volume 12 Number 3 HAPPY EASTER
Behind The
BADGE
Inside this issue:
Scottish Rite Hospital
Bunny Hop
County Commission-
ers Employee of the
Month Recipients
―Fatal Encounters‖
Films at George Allen
Jail
DMU’s Criminal Jus-
tice Conference
Cheers Chief Costa
Farewell Capt. Bart
Terrell
Sheriff’s Department
Cycling Team
Administrative Profes-
sionals Day Honorees
Announcements
Shoppers’ Corner:
Benefiting the Dallas
Sheriff’s Citizens
Academy
FROM THE SHERIFF
North Texas made national news, partially
because, miraculously, no fatalities were
reported from the 21 tornados confirmed
across North Texas on April 3.
The Lancaster tornado, where we helped
provide assistance, was officially classified
as an EF-2, with estimated wind speeds of
up to 130 mph. The funnel initially touched
down in the northern part of the city and
moved southeast for about 7 miles damag-
ing hundreds of homes.
The Lancaster tornado in early April called upon our staff to help those affected by
the storm. Many deputies put countless hours on the ground keeping order during
difficult times in the affected communities. And, though some of our department
personnel’s homes were directly affected by the storms across the region, the de-
partment never missed a beat. I am proud to say our officers were compassionate
and patient as they did their job. I commend everyone for providing exceptional
service to the citizens of Dallas County.
- Sheriff Lupe ValdezSheriff Lupe Valdez
April 3, 2012 Lancaster Tornado
Top photo courtesy of: AP, Bottom photo courtesy of: NOAA/National Weather Service
Volume 12 Number 3 Page 2
Bunny Hop at Texas Scottish Rite Hospital
Top right photo: DSO Travis Widemon, Sheriff Lupe Valdez, DSO Tommy Aguilar/Easter Bunny, Deputy Ja-net Curry-Finn, Deputy Krystle Bennett.
The Easter Bunny paid a visit to young patients at Texas Scottish Right Hospital on April 5. Sheriff Lupe Val-dez, along with Deputy Janet Curry-Finn, Deputy Krystle Bennett and DSO Travis Widemon spent time with the children and their families. DSO Tommy Aguilar had the honor of being this year’s Easter Bunny.
The patients received a pastel-colored stuffed bunny stitched with the message ―Some Bunny Loves Me.‖
The annual event is made possible through The Easter Bunny Foundation, a non-profit organization that pro-vides Easter Bunny visits to children in hospitals across the United States and the United Kingdom. Repre-sentatives from Pepsi Co., event sponsors, also took part in the visit.
Texas Scottish Rite Hospital is one of the nation’s leading pediatric centers for orthopedic and neurological disorder treatment.
Volume 12 Number 3 Page 3
Employee of the Month Recognition at Commissioners Court
The Dallas Sheriff’s Department nominated these three individuals to be recognized by the Dallas County
Commissioners Court Employee Recognition Program on April 10.
January Employee of the Month
Yolanda Lara
Director of Inmate Programs
Yolanda Lara diligently works to pro-
vide re-entry programs for incarcer-
ated individuals, giving them a se-
cond chance.
Several of her educational programs
have been featured in the news and
are often inquired about by other
agencies looking for programming
ideas.
Most recently, the Dallas County
Community College District educa-
tion component, a partnership with
El Centro College was featured in
SMU’s Daily Campus and the Dallas
South News.
The feature is about a woman’s
struggle with drugs who credits the
computer courses she took while
incarcerated, with helping shape
who she is today; drug-free and with
stable employment.
Director Lara is a master at turning
adversity into success stories like
this one. She diligently measures
each program’s performance and
does a great job at establishing part-
nerships in the community.
February Employee of the Month
Diane Bronar-Skipworth
Detention Support Services Director
As the support services director, Di-ane Bronar-Skipworth manages the meals for all the jails, including the six juvenile facilities, as well as the laundry services.
Director Skipworth is always open to new ideas. For example, the man-agement of food expenses recently was efficiently executed, while sav-ing the county over $2 million.
For the 2011 fiscal year, her staff served over 9.8 meals and laundry washed and dried over 730,000 tow-els for inmates.
Director Skipworth is a registered and licensed dietitian, a registered sanitarian, and a certified laundry and linen manager. Her expertise in all these areas make her an invalua-ble asset that would otherwise re-quire additional personnel.
She also works with the Department of Justice and Department of Home-land Security as a subject matter expert in conducting assessments of environmental health and safety conditions, as well as providing input for the nutritional adequacy of meal menus at other detention facilities.
Director Skipworth assists during emergency crisis situations, both internally and externally.
March Employee of the Month
Lt. Kelvin Fowler
West Tower Watch Commander
Lieutenant Kelvin Fowler is a 30 year veteran of the Dallas Sher-iff’s Department.
He serves as 2nd watch com-mander in the West Tower. Lt. Fowler is responsible for the care and custody of 1,108 in-mates and supervises 134 de-tention officers.
Lt. Fowler’s exemplary work ethic has contributed to the Dal-las County Jail’s successful an-nual jail inspections.
During the March inspectors visit, Texas State Jail Commis-sion inspectors mentioned how the jail facilities, including the West Tower, are cleaner than ever and facility maintenance issues, as well as inmate com-plaints, are minimal. All these changes can be partly attributed to Lt. Fowler’s dedication to the department. His leadership style motivates his team to do an out-standing job. He can always be counted on for any assignment.
In addition, Lt. Folwer was re-cently featured in his hometown newspaper, The Natchitoches Times, a Louisiana publication, which recognized his 3 decades of service to the sheriff’s depart-ment.
Volume 12 Number 3 Page 4
“Fatal Encounters” On Set at George Allen Jail
Pictured above: Various scenes with actors from the “Fatal Encounters” TV news series filmed at the George Allen Jail.
Two scenes involved a pair of “prison guards” played by Capt. Don Pressnell and DTO Carl Brown.
Producers of the new television series, ―Fatal Encounters,‖ brought their cameras to Texas for the reenact-
ment of a post-9/11 shooting spree which took place in Mesquite. You may recall the case of Mark Stroman,
who was executed by the state of Texas in July 2011. Stroman was convicted for a shooting rampage that
left two South Asian convenience store clerks dead and a third man, Rais Bhuiyan, seriously injured. By the
time Stroman was executed, the once self-proclaimed ―Arab slayer‖ had altered his radical point of view; and
Bhuiyan, a Muslim immigrant from Bangladesh, was fighting to try to spare Stroman’s life. An online petition
was started in a failed attempt to try to commute Stroman's sentence to life in prison without parole.
―Fatal Encounters‖ chronicles the story of Stroman and Bhuiyan. It was filmed at various locations across
Dallas County, including a restaurant in Deep Ellum. The episode is scheduled to air in early July, on the In-
vestigation Discovery (ID) channel.
Captain Don Pressnell and DTO Carl Brown make a cameo appearance as prison guards who are at Mark
Stroman’s side in his final days. This isn’t the first on-camera appearance for Officer Brown, who was once
dubbed ―Hollywood‖ by his colleagues when he served in the U.S. Army. Capt. Pressnell also has ties in the
film industry. He has a talent for directing and filming, experience he gained as part of the media staff at his
church.
Most of the jail scenes were filmed on the 10th floor of the George Allen Jail. Another scene was filmed in the
Super Courtroom of the George L. Allen, Sr. Courts Building.
Volume 12 Number 3 Page 5
Data Management Unit Attends Criminal Justice Conference
The ladies in DMU attended a criminal justice conference geared for women in Galveston. The April event was sponsored by the Correctional Management Institute of Texas.
Selma Littles, Tamica Dunning, Theressa Smith, Diane Harris, Ida Hill and Regina Lowery got to hear from several law enforce-ment officials from across the country. Some of the participat-ing agencies at the conference included: the Washington De-partment of Corrections, the Flor-ida Parole Commission, Arizona Adult Probations Services, and representatives from the Harris County Juvenile Probation office.
Ms. Diane Harris, DMU Coordinator
Working in an environment that is predominately men, ―Women in Criminal Justice‖ let me know we have to stay motivated. The class that most inspired me was ―How to Keep Going Right When Life Goes Left‖. I learned your failures don’t define who you are. There is a difference between hearing and listening to others, and you must for-give and release.
Ms. Selma Littles, Intake-Lead Clerk VII
My experience of the ―Women in Criminal Justice Conference‖ overall was more than I expected. First, Ms. Thecia Jenkins, who spoke on ―Smart Strategies to Pre-vent the Stress Chase‖-told us about stressors and stress in the workplace. Then, Ms. JoAnn Burbridge, spoke about ―Your Best Professional Image Begins in Your Head‖ – she told us about how your thoughts show up in your actions. Last, was Ms. Charlotte Stallings – ―How to Keep Going Right When Life Goes Left‖ basically she told us to keep going on our path even when we get a detour.
Ms. Ida Hill, Clerk IV
I was privileged to attend the ―Women in Criminal Justice Conference‖ in Galves-ton, Texas. The conference was a great experience, learning life and work skills from great women in law enforcement. I personally enjoyed the class ―How to Keep Going Right When Life Goes Left‖ –the session gave great strategies on getting back on track when life gives you unexpected surprises.
Volume 12 Number 3 Page 6
Good Luck On Your Next Adventure Chief Costa
Many of Chief Joseph Costa’s colleagues poured in one by one to thank him for being ―one of the most re-
sourceful people‖ at the Dallas Sheriff’s Department.
April 6, 2012 may have been his final day with the sheriff’s department, but Chief Costa will leave an everlast-
ing impression. Because of his work, programs like the Prostitution Diversion Initiative and the Citizen’s
Academy thrived in the community. Representatives from both organizations were among those paying trib-
ute to Costa’s strong work ethic. Chief Costa was presented with an autographed football, from now retired
NFL player Marion Barber. He also received tickets to watch his beloved Boston Red Sox when they are in
town to play the Texas Rangers.
Sheriff Lupe Valdez and the rest of her executive team reflected on their journey during the past seven years.
They shared stories about how ―the east coast man that came to Texas talking funny‖ provided great leader-
ship and helped make the department what it is today.
―It was sad when I got the call from DeSoto,‖ recalled Sheriff Valdez about Chief Costa, who was one of the
first people who pledged to help execute her philosophy for the department— to provide more community in-
volvement, embody professionalism, and provide humane treatment for all inmates.
Chief Costa humbly thanked everyone and said he simply was a facilitator in assisting with the execution of
many programs. He added: ―You always got a friend in me, my door is always open. I’m not going far away.‖
Volume 12 Number 3 Page 7
Pictured above: Capt. Bart Terrell, his wife A.J. and one of his two sons, West. Lower right photo: Capt. Ter-
rell is presented a congratulatory proclamation sent on behalf of Governor Rick Perry
The Internal Affairs Division prepared a big send-off celebration for Captain Bart Terrell, who retires his
badge after 32 years of service to the Dallas Sheriff’s Department. Friends and family gathered to reflect on
his extensive career which began when he was 21-years-old. Integrity and professionalism were two things
echoed by many of Capt. Terrell’s colleagues.
Capt. Terrell was presented with various tokens of appreciation, including a proclamation from Governor Rick
Perry, as well as one from former President George W. Bush. He also received a piece of Dallas history
when he was presented with Sheriff Bill Decker’s typewriter.
On April 3, at Dallas County Commissioners Court, Judge Clay Jenkins also read a proclamation in honor of
the captain. In response, Capt. Terrell said he hoped to be remembered as person who was a good steward
wherever he was assigned.
Sheriff Lupe Valdez commended Capt. Terrell: ―He’s always done well at whatever you put him in.‖
The man who, himself said he’d only taken a single vacation during his entire career, will now take time to
spend on cruise ships with his wife. Happy travels and thank you for your service!
Kudos to Dr. Dianne Urey
Volume 12 Number 3 Page 8
We would like to thank Dr. Dianne Urey for the dedicated physician care she of-fers her patients in the North Tower.
Dr. Urey has been part of the Parkland medical staff in the Dallas jail since 2008. In 2010, she took a leave to serve a tour in Iraq.
The detention staff appreciates your hard work. Thank you for your service to our country and Dallas County.
Wanted: Deputy Sheriffs and Constables
Are you or someone you know interested in becoming a Dallas County Deputy
Sheriff or Deputy Constable?
Sign up for the June 12, 2012 written examination between now and May
10th.
You must register in person at Dallas County Human Resources, 509 Main St,
Room 101, Dallas, TX 75202.
Don’t delay so you can pick up your study guide and have plenty of time to study!
June 12 examination will take place at the Bill J. Priest Institute located at 1402
Corinth Street, Dallas, TX 75215.
Deputy testing eligibility requirements:
Candidate must have completed 2 years as a detention service officer (DSO)
with the Dallas Sheriff’s Department OR
Candidate must have completed 30 college hours from an accredited universi-
ty/college with a ―C‖ grade or better with no DSO experience (must provide
official college transcript) OR
Candidate must have an honorable discharge from the U.S. armed forces after
at least 24 months of active duty (must provide DD214) OR
Candidate currently serves as a Texas Peace Officer with two years continu-
ous employment with an agency in the State of Texas as a peace officer and
currently possesses a Basic Peace Officer Certificate issued by TCLEOSE
(verification must be provided)
Must be at least 21 years of age, a U.S. citizen, have a social security number
& valid driver’s license.
Volume 12 Number 3 Page 9
After 18 years of service, the DMU team bids farewell to Mrs. Lillykutty Alexander, dispositions clerk.
Sheriff Lupe Valdez and Chief Cheryl Wil-son were among those present during the April 25 celebration to commend Mrs. Al-exander for her hard work with the Dallas Sheriff’s Department.
Good luck and happy retirement!
Sheriff Lupe Valdez & the Dallas Sheriff’s Team cordially invite all Sheriff’s Employees-families, friends,
churches, civic organizations to join us on
May 12, 2012, Location: The Band Shell, Fair Park, Check-in time: 8:30 a.m.
As we support NAMI Dallas in a 3 mile walk event to help raise funds & promote mental health awareness.
There is no registration fee!
However, all walkers who raise $100 or more will receive a T-shirt.
To register visit http://www.nami.org/namiwalks12/DAL/sheriffsteam or contact Capt. Bass @ 214.653.2743.
Thank you for your service Mrs. Lillykutty Alexander
Volume 12 Number 3 Page 10
Dallas Sheriff’s Department Cycling Team
Happy Administrative Professionals Day
Pictured above: Todd Hagenbuch (Precinct 2 Deputy Constable), David Mitchell (Captain, West Tower), Hong Moore (DSO, Intake), David Mosman (Investigator, Fugitive), Charlie Greenlee (Deputy, Traffic), Joel Claterbaugh (Investigator, Fugitive) The cycling team participated in their first event of the season on April 14, which took place at the Greater Dallas Bicyclists Country Rally in Lancaster. The recent tornadic activity did not affect the race for the team of six. An estimated 1,000 participants took part in the scenic ride through the countryside. The team now prepares for their next event at the Cedar Hill Head for the Hills Rally coming up on May 12. After that, they will compete in the Mesquite Rotary Club Rally on May 26. The team expects to have their team uniform jerseys in time for the Memorial Day Weekend event.
The men in the Intelligence Section took time to honor administrative colleagues with a little special touch.
The ladies were served pecan pancakes fresh off the skillet and a nice warm cup of coffee, with a side of or-
ange juice. All this is a simple token of appreciation for your hard work year-round, thank you!
Volume 12 Number 3
Announcements
BIRTHS– April 4, 2012: Fiscal Section’s Natisha Fields gave birth to
a healthy baby boy. Justin Selexman weighed 7 lbs. 2 oz. Congratu-
