Volume 13 Number 07
JULY 2013 HIGHLIGHTS
Behind The BADGE DALLAS COUNTY SHERIFF’S DEPARTMENT FROM THE SHERIFF The Dallas County Sheriff’s Department continues to represent well in the community. At the state level, District 102 State Representative Stefanie Carter recently recognized the efforts of our Clean Air Task Force. Locally, our educational and arts community joined the efforts in helping showcase some of the most talented artists who have set foot in the Lew Sterrett Justice Center. Next month, another citizens academy class will kickoff, helping educate our residents more on what it is that we do throughout the various sections of the department. —Sheriff Lupe Valdez
Inside this issue:
Legislative Resolution Honors Clean Air Task Force
Inmate Art Gallery
Ramadan Dinner
New Power Washer
Retirement
Announcements
Next Executive Staff Evening Shift: Sept. 11 and 12, 2013 Oct. 23 and 24, 2013
Dallas.Sheriff.Dept
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The Dallas County Sheriff’s Department was recognized with a resolution by the State of Texas House of Representatives.
The Dallas County Sheriff’s Department Clean Air Task Force was recently presented with a resolution from District 102 State Representative Stefani Carter during the 83rd Texas Legislative Session. The resolution recognizes the department’s instrumental leadership role in helping the state fight illegal emissions inspection activities. The Regional Emissions Enforcement Program was created by the North Central Texas Council of Government, in conjunction with Dallas County to assist local law enforcement. The program is based on a comprehensive approach that includes on-road enforcement, covert operations, prosecution of offenders and collaboration among agencies which include the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality, the Department of Public Safety and the Attorney General’s Office. Moreover, the department’s detection of fraudulent emissions inspection activity has often led to the uncovering of related crimes, including money laundering, drugs and weapons trafficking, as well as human trafficking.
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Texas Visual Arts Association Features Inmate Art
Pictured Top-Left: Artist Jay Voltman next to two of his art works. Top-Right: Director of Inmate Programs Yolanda Lara with Mr. Voltman’s mother and nieces during the opening reception. Bottom-Left: Some of the general population pieces at the gallery. Bottom-Right: Over 30 pieces of art designed by some of the mental illness jail population. The Texas Visual Arts Association teamed up with the Dallas County Sheriff’s Department and El Centro College to feature some of the Dallas County jail inmates’ art. The Americana, Primitive, & Outsider Art exhibition is open until August 31, 2013 at the TVAA’s downtown gallery inside the Plaza of the Americas, Suite G207 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday. Guests at the opening reception had an opportunity to meet one of the artists, Jay Voltman, who has rehabilitated himself since his incarceration. He, along with his mother and nieces, were in attendance and talked about the great ventures Voltman has participated in thanks to the art course he took during his time at the Lew Sterrett Justice Center. Students taking the art courses under the jail inmate education program get the opportunity, like Voltman, to channel their creativity in a positive manner. These art courses have proven to be therapeutic and serve as helpful discipline to a population who may, otherwise, not have an opportunity to learn about art. Approximately 32.5 percent of the total Dallas County jail population enrolls in an El Centro College Jail Education Program. These courses are made possible through the commissary funds. No tax payer funds are used.
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Volume 13 Number 07
Ramadan Iftar Dinner
Pictured above: The department’s executive staff took part in a Ramadan iftar dinner during one of their evening shifts in July. The Dialogue Institute of the Southwest, formerly known as the Institute of Interfaith Dialog, recently joined Sheriff Lupe Valdez and her executive staff for an iftar dinner. These evening meals take place in the Muslim culture to break their fast at sunset before Maghrib Prayer. Dialog Institute members had the opportunity to meet the sheriff and the rest of the chiefs for a second year in a row. The group also got a brief tour of the department. The non-profit organization was established in 2002 by Turkish-Americans and aims to eliminate or reduce false stereotypes, prejudices and unjustified fears through direct human communication. The institute is dedicated to encouraging the study of global communities’ spiritual traditions from the vantage point of respect, accuracy and appreciation. The organization does not accept favors nor does it promote any political or government agency, be it foreign or domestic. The institute’s headquarters are in Houston and branch offices are located in five other states. To learn more about the Institute of Interfaith Dialog log on to: the dialoginstitute.org.
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Funds For New Power Washer
Pictured above: Ann Robinson’s fundraising efforts helped the department acquire a new power washer which will assist in the daily fleet maintenance duties. The Intake/Release Section recently acquired a new power washer thanks to the fundraising efforts of Ann Robinson, through some bake sales. The machine is being used once a week to wash the transportation section’s fleet in the sallyport.
Happy Retirement Ms. Willie Faye Washington!
After twenty years of service Ms. Willie Faye Washington is retiring from the Dallas County Sheriff’s Department. Ms. Washington started her career as a clerk 4 and moved her way up quickly. During her retirement celebration she stated that she will miss everyone deeply. Congratulations Ms. Washington!
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Announcements
DEATHS
Rest In Peace: Retired Captain Valerie Ann Tartaglino
July 1, 2013: Margret King, mother of DSO Lashonda Lacy, North Tower-2nd Watch, passed away.
Alvord: Surrounded by her family, Val Tartaglino passed from this earth June 29, 2013 after a fierce battle with ovarian cancer.
July 3, 2013: Aleyamma Korah, mother of Clerk 8 Valson Scariah, Bond Section, passed away.
Val was born July 29, 1946, in McKinney, Texas. As a child, she was blessed with a great imagination and an environment that supported it and made it prosper. She was a mother, a grandmother, a sister, and defender of all creatures great and small.
July 6, 2013: Retired Sergeant Douglas E. Riggins, father of our late Sgt. Kenneth Riggins, passed away.
Val worked in the Sheriff's Department in Dallas County where she rose to the position of captain during her thirty-year tenure. In 2000, she retired from that position and moved to her beloved farm in Wise County where she pursued one of her great passions, the care of her other family, a variety of animals that kept her company and entertained her constantly. It was also in Wise County where she made lifelong friends with the Over the Hill Gang, a group of avid cowgirls that rode and camped not only in the adjacent LBJ Grasslands but also venues across multiple states. Her other passion, travel, took her to all seven continents where she combined her love of horseback riding and the study of exotic creatures. She had adventures with elephants in Thailand and India, orangutans in Borneo, Andalusian horses in Spain, camels in the Outback of Australia, Mountain Gorillas of Uganda, and penguins in Antarctica, just to name a few. She was always ready for her next adventure or the rescue of her next pet, and bravely ventured around the world even in illness until her strength finally left her. She never backed down from a challenge, and her bravery was admired by all those who knew and loved her. She was a writer, a painter, a musician and a veracious reader. Perhaps no words can describe this extraordinary life other than her own that she wrote in one of her meticulously documented travel journals, "External events may be hammer and file, torch and douse, but we create the mold into which we pour ourselves. Cratered by tragedy, burnished with laughter, peppered with irony, stung by desire, the vessel we pull from the bright crucible of our imagination is unique but never quite finished. Every artist seeks a more perfectly crafted work."
July 12, 2013: Lois Bolden, aunt of Sgt. Penny Nelson, West Tower-Court Desk, passed away. July 13, 2013: Reverend LaDolle Hart, father of DSO Semie Hart, Intake/Release Section-Supply Officer, passed away. July 23, 2013: Rachel Zacariah, mother of Sussama George, DMU -Intake-3rd Watch, passed away. July 30, 2013: Constance Rall, aunt of Sr. Sgt. S. Burke, Vault and Inmate Property-Release Section, passed away. Our thoughts and prayers are with each family member during this difficult time.
Shoppers’ Corner
Val is survived by her beloved daughter, Rene, and her two grandchildren, Austen and Valerie Dornich. She is also survived by her two sisters, Susan Tartaglino and Nancy Tartaglino Richards, and her brother, Jerry Tartaglino and his wife, Dena. She will be greatly missed by her nieces, Kati and Gigi Tartaglino and her nephews, David Richards and Stewart Richards, and his wife Jennifer. Numerous cousins, friends, and associates know that she was one-of-a-kind and will miss her stories around family tables and friends' campsites. She was beautiful, brave and passionate. The family is grateful to all the loyal friends that weathered the storm of the last two years at her side. The celebration of her life will take place in the chapel on the family ranch in Palo Pinto County. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made in honor of Val Tartaglino at Turpentine Creek Wildlife Refuge, outside of Eureka Springs, AR, and can be made online at www.turpentinecreek.org.
Dallas County Sheriff’s Department 133 N. Riverfront Blvd. LB-31 Dallas, Texas 75207-4313
Sheriff’s one inch badge lapel pins $3.50 each or get 3 for $10 Contact: Marian Ogletree (214) 653-3462
For submission of a newsletter item: Carmen.Castro@dallascounty.org
For the latest updates: www.dallas-sheriff.com
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