Board Appoints Undersheriff Dicus to Complete Sheriff Term
The Board of Supervisors today unanimously appointed Undersheriff Shannon Dicus to serve as San Bernardino County Sheriff/Coroner/Public Administrator during the remaining 18 months of retiring Sheriff John McMahon’s final term in office.
In 11 months, the county’s voters will decide who will serve as sheriff for four years starting in January 2023.
McMahon announced last month that he would retire on July 16 after 36 years of service to the Sheriff’s Department, more than eight of those years as sheriff. The Board of Supervisors was obligated to appoint someone to complete McMahon’s term after determining that a special election would not be possible prior to the regularly scheduled June 2022 sheriff’s election.
“Undersheriff Dicus has been with the Sheriff’s Department for 30 years and clearly led the field of applicants in experience and knowledge,” said Board of Supervisors Chairman Curt Hagman. “He has overseen or served within virtually every division in the department. This county must have someone who is ready to step into the role of sheriff in nine days.”
Board Vice Chair Dawn Rowe and Supervisors Janice Rutherford, Joe Baca, Jr., and Col. Paul Cook (Ret.) all enthusiastically supported the appointment of Dicus.
Dicus joined the Sheriff’s Department in 1991 after serving in the U.S. Army as a military police officer and with the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs Police in Loma Linda.
As undersheriff, Dicus oversees the day-to-day operations of the Sheriff’s Department as well as the Internal Affairs, Civil Liabilities, and Bureau of Administration divisions.
His past assignments include corrections at the Glen Helen Rehabilitation and West Valley Detention centers; patrol duties in Apple Valley and Victorville and the Barstow and Victor Valley stations; specialized Investigations (Narcotics, SWAT, and Criminal Intelligence); and support services (Technical Services, Communications, Records, and the Bureau of Administration).
Dicus has a Bachelor’s Degree in Criminal Justice from Cal State San Bernardino and a Master’s Degree in Communications from Cal Baptist University.
View from a Doctor: Outbreaks of COVID-19 and Delta Variant Hitting the Unvaccinated
Despite a dramatic decline in new cases since the introduction of FDA-approved vaccines, San Bernardino County is continuing to see outbreaks of COVID-19. While most of these patients are not experiencing life-threatening illnesses, they still pose a threat to the county’s more vulnerable residents.
“Most of the people we are now seeing are young and in generally good health,” said Rodney Borger M.D., an emergency room physician at Arrowhead Regional Medical Center (ARMC). “Yet while few face truly life-threatening conditions, many still suffer a variety of unpleasant effects in both the short and long terms.”
Yet Dr. Borger’s greatest concern is that unvaccinated individuals will spread the virus to residents who are older or otherwise vulnerable to serious consequences, or that they might experience long-term effects from the virus. According to the CDC, the most common lasting symptoms from getting COVID-19 are fatigue, shortness of breath, cough, joint pain and chest pain.
“We have done an excellent job getting our most vulnerable residents vaccinated, and the results can be seen in our dramatically lower hospitalization and death rates,” Dr. Borger said. “However, a substantial portion of our population has declined, or at least delayed, getting a vaccine shot.”
He pointed out that virtually every new case involves unvaccinated individuals, and he said that COVID-19 will remain active as long as a significant portion of the population continues to neglect getting vaccinated.
“Frankly, there is a segment of the population that has simply refused to get vaccinated, including a number of incarcerated individuals,” Dr. Borger said. “There is little we can do about this group. However, there are other county residents who don’t oppose vaccinations on principle but have simply neglected to get a shot. These are the people we are urging to get vaccinated — if only to protect others, if not themselves.”
Dr. Borger said this lingering population of unvaccinated individuals is particularly concerning in light of the emergence of the Delta variant of COVID-19, which is significantly more contagious than earlier versions of the coronavirus. New data released by the California Department of Public Health show 35.6% of coronavirus variants analyzed in June have been identified as the Delta variant, which was first identified in India. That’s a dramatic increase from May, when it accounted for just 5.6% of analyzed coronavirus cases in the state.
“The Delta variant spreads much more quickly and easily than previous strains,” he said. “Fortunately, the approved vaccines have been shown to protect against it. So, the solution to the problem remains the same: convincing the unvaccinated to invest 20 minutes or so to get a shot.
“Shots are free and easy to come by,” he continued. “Getting vaccinated now requires nothing more than a walk-in visit to the local pharmacy.”
Chaffey College, Cardenas and McDonald’s Among the Many Special Vaccination Events
County residents who have yet to be vaccinated against COVID-19 have new, weekly options for obtaining a shot — easily and conveniently. The vaccination page at SBCovid19.com is continuously updated with special vaccine opportunities being held across the county, such as upcoming events at Chaffey College, Cardenas Markets, McDonalds and many others.
The County’s partnership with Cardenas Markets, for example, demonstrates how these special event vaccine opportunities make it easy to get vaccinated near home at a location people are used to visiting. The next event at the Cardenas on 245 E. Highland Ave. in San Bernardino is happening this Saturday July 10 from 4-7 p.m.
“This represents yet another strategy for making getting vaccinated as simple and easy as possible,” said Board of Supervisors Chairman Curt Hagman. “We are doing everything we can to enable residents to protect their health without having to travel, wait in line or deal with any other inconvenience. We really appreciate how Cardenas Markets has stepped up to help protect the public’s health.”
A statewide initiative spearheaded by the California Department of Public Health is providing free vaccinations at more than 70 local McDonald’s restaurants across the state — including restaurant locations in Colton, Lake Arrowhead, Victorville, Big Bear Lake, and San Bernardino. Visitors who receive either the Pfizer or Johnson & Johnson vaccine will also be given a coupon for any one item on the menu.
Chaffey College is partnering with Costco to administer the Pfizer vaccine at the Center for the Arts building on campus (located at 5885 Haven Ave. in Rancho Cucamonga) on Monday, July 12 and Thursday, July 15.
Although appointments are encouraged, walk-ins are welcomed at all locations. The following are dates, times and locations for vaccinations at McDonald’s and Cardenas Markets in July. All special events and ongoing County-administered vaccine sites can be found on the County’s vaccination website.
County’s COVID-19 Communications Campaign Honored by NACo
#SBCountyTogether Initiative Recognized for Civic Education and Public Information
The National Association of Counties (NACo), a professional organization representing county governments throughout the United States, has awarded a 2021 Achievement Award to San Bernardino County for its months-long campaign to inform and educate residents about the COVID-19 pandemic and its local impact.
The #SBCountyTogether initiative began in March, 2020 and was recognized for Best Management Practices in Civic Education and Public Information by NACo, which hosts the annual awards competition to recognize innovative programs that modernize county governments and increases services to county residents.
When the stay-at-home orders were first announced, County leadership knew it needed to assume responsibility for keeping citizens informed, especially with mixed messages coming from state and federal government agencies, as well as the news media.
“We recognized early on that we needed to move beyond our traditional, non-centralized approach to county communications,” said Public Information Officer David Wert. “Moreover, our multicultural communications were limited, and we needed to ensure that underserved communities were represented and prioritized.”
Understanding that SB County needed one voice for COVID-19 response, the County communications team quickly went to work. Wert noted that the team initially identified three primary objectives for the campaign:
- Promoting safe practices ranging from compliance with stay-at-home orders to social distancing and mask wearing;
- Emphasizing the critical need for COVID-19 testing to slow the spread of the virus; and
- Encouraging residents to get vaccinated as the principle strategy for overcoming the pandemic and re-opening the local economy.
Campaign elements
The award-winning communications campaign comprised a variety of elements, including:
Brand: “#SBCountyTogether” was created as a campaign theme and logo to help citizens recognize a consistent — and trusted — information source while emphasizing the importance of working collaboratively to combat the pandemic. The logo and brand style was integrated into a variety of flyers, signs and posts that would be used by various other County departments.
Website: A specially-created website, www.SBCovid19.com, quickly became an invaluable, comprehensive resource for local information related to COVID-19 and vaccines, capturing critical information from many of the County’s most actively involved departments. FAQs were added and the site was continuously updated as information and priorities changed.
Resident eNewsletter: The County Update began as a daily e-newsletter distributed three ways: via direct email to 250,000+ residents; through the existing CountyWire blog (roughly 175,000 unique readers); and through the County’s primary social platforms (Facebook, Instagram, Twitter). Now distributed once a week (with special editions published as needed), the e-newsletter has enabled San Bernardino County to provide critical news briefings, safety tips and resources on a consistent basis.
Social Media: San Bernardino County also distributes a variety of additional “#SBCountyTogether”-related content on Facebook (@SanBernardinoCounty), Instagram (@sbcounty) and Twitter (@sbcounty) — with posts shared widely by numerous county departments, community partners, residents and the Board of Supervisors. In addition, YouTube (@SBCountyPIO) is used to house all “#SBCountyTogether” videos.
Visual Assets: Informational fliers, mobile vaccine unit van wraps, social media graphics, news-reel style videos, infographics, PowerPoint presentations, and advertisements are among the visual storytelling tools the County has used to share information.
Advertising: San Bernardino County has implemented two major advertising campaigns, one for COVID-19 testing and another for vaccines. The early testing campaign included an investment in print, digital, outdoor, radio, and TV advertising. Key messages were focused on the central role of testing in getting the pandemic under control, with each ad directing users to the website to find and schedule an appointment.
Media Relations: The public information team used its eNewsletter (the County Update) to share relevant data and information with journalists largely replaced the need for press releases and media advisories. Virtually all our local and regional media subscribe to this communication and use it to identify stories about COVID-19 (including the response from local officials).
“We didn’t shy away from publishing the tough news,” said Wert. “We understand that being as transparent as possible is critical to building trust with the public, so we published daily numbers of COVID cases and deaths.”
Online Briefings and Press Events. Early in the pandemic and at critical times, the communications team hosted an online video briefing for urgent news and updates from Board of Supervisors Chairman Curt Hagman and the Department of Public Health. “These were produced inside the board chambers and broadcast both on Facebook Live and the County’s website,” said Wert. “We carefully scripted these media updates and produced an array of PowerPoint presentations.”
In addition, the County communications team took the lead in organizing and managing onsite media relations and interviews at testing events and mass vaccination events. To date, hundreds of media requests have been fulfilled.
The response from County supervisors has been enthusiastic.
“San Bernardino County’s '#SBCountyTogether' campaign demonstrated our ability to collaborate effectively across multiple County departments to keep our constituents continually apprised of the pandemic’s status and local impact,” said Chairman Hagman. “The team worked selflessly and tirelessly around the clock, sometimes seven days a week, and adapted to the furious pace of changes coming from the state and with little warning. We are extremely proud of their work — knowing it has been honest, transparent and compassionate.”
Sheriff Update on Inmates and Employees Testing Positive for COVID
A total of 1,131 County jail inmates have tested positive for COVID-19 since the outbreak of the pandemic; of these, 60 current inmates are experiencing minor symptoms and are recovering. The infected inmates are isolated, monitored around the clock, and provided with medical treatment.
A total of 1,048 department employees have tested positive for COVID-19 and 1,031 of the employees have recovered from the virus. Other employees are expected to return to work in the next few weeks. It is unknown when or where the employees were infected with the virus. The department continues to encourage all department members to heed the warnings of health officials.
Latest Stats
300,218 Confirmed Cases (up 0.1% from the previous day)
4,715 Deaths (up 0.2% from the previous day)
3,436,999 Tests (up 0.4% from the previous day)
For more statistics from the COVID-19 Surveillance Dashboard, click the desktop or mobile tab on the County’s sbcovid19.com website.
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