"The Heart of Service"

ISSUE 6:  JULY 2018

Welcoming New Public Servants

June 22nd was a pretty great day, in our books, as we welcomed ten brand new public servants into the fold.

Congratulations to our new Correctional Officers who successfully completed their Correctional Officer Academy training. We're glad you chose public service, and we look forward to seeing the great work you do for our community.

Prepping Kids for Safer Bike Riding

Got training wheels? No problem! What better time to learn about bike safety than when you're just learning to ride a bike. Forty kids, young and old and in all stages of bike-riding proficiency, joined us in late June for our Bike Rodeo at Island Lake Park in Shoreview. We had an awesome morning going over rules of the road, doing equipment checks, learning bike safety, riding a skills course, and even providing a few bike helmets to those in need.

Spending Time with Community at HDWAD Events

It's one of our favorite times of the year - Hot Dog with a Deputy season! We recently entered mid-season with our latest event in Arden Hills last week.

Here's Hot Dog with a Deputy Arden Hills "By the Numbers":

• 350 = Hot dogs served
• 30 = Beanie babies launched to ecstatic kids
• 20+ = Kids who now want to be on the Dive Team when they grow up
• 1 = Deputy on a child-sized bike
• 100% = Frozen fun pops that were very appreciated in the summer heat
  
• 100% = RCSO members who enjoyed another great summer evening getting to know our city officials, neighbors, families, kids, and family pets in a Ramsey County community. Thank you for making it another wonderful summer event.

Look for our next Hot Dog with a Deputy events on July 17th in North Oaks and July 19th in Falcon Heights.

Retiring from 30 Years of Service

In late June, Sheriff Serier presented Deputy Tom Dahedl with official retirement hardware and thanked him for his 30 years of service in Ramsey County. Deputy Dahedl most recently served in the Human Services Unit. According to an inside source at the Sheriff's Office, Deputy Dahedl (who was actually Mr. Minnesota in 1998) plans to use his retirement time to continue his fitness and bodybuilding regimen, play golf, spend time with his grandkids and family, and enjoy time with his friends. We'll miss Deputy Dahedl's great character and ability to put everyone at ease and immediately light up a room. Congratulations and happy trails.

Planting the Seeds for Women in Law Enforcement

On June 15th, we wrapped our first ever RCSO Women's Academy and graduated 30 great women from our program. Several of the women described the Academy as life-changing and said it helped them cement decisions for their future paths, including pursuing careers in public safety.

RCSO Sergeant Kirkland, who created and developed the Academy, said one of her goals was to challenge our participants to,"dig deep and to be uncomfortable."

Over the course of the week-long Academy, the women experienced traditional law enforcement training in patrol operations, defensive tactics, tasers, and firearms. Beyond that, they also experienced nutrition and yoga sessions, motivational leadership seminars, and participated in community conservation field work at a local nature area. The week was capped with a resource and employment fair and a graduation ceremony.

Sergeant Kirkland said, "This is bigger than us. This is bigger than this moment. This is bigger than this week. What we’re doing is planting a seed and essentially giving them the tools and the resources and the water to continue to grow.”

Thanks to our both our RCSO members and our participants for a memorable and purposeful week!

Check out Women's Academy media coverage by Kare11, Lillie News, Fox9, and White Bear Press.

Diving into Deeper Waters with Special Teams

Graduating from the pool to the open water...and beyond! Congrats to Deputies Ouellette and Wahlberg on completing their foundational scuba diving training and becoming PADI Open Water Diver certified! Deputies Ouellette and Wahlberg have spent the past 1.5 years in essential roles as dive tenders and look forward to becoming the newest Ramsey County Dive Team divers!

Building Homes in our Communities

Every year in Minnesota over 30,000 people contribute their time, effort, and skills to building or repairing over 300 homes as part of Habitat for Humanity projects. In late June, it was our turn to join with a great team of people, don some hard hats, do some heavy lifting and light construction, and make our contribution at a Habitat for Humanity - Twin Cities project in the community of White Bear Lake! We'll be back at it for round two the week of July 30-August 3rd!

Developing Leaders in our Ranks

Great work by Deputy Grandner who recently wrapped up a battery of intensive coursework through the Institute for Credible Leadership Development (ICLD), which was sponsored by the Minnesota Sheriffs' Association. The coursework included such topics as conflict management, interpersonal communication, versatility skills, and organization development. Deputy Grandner is our fourth RCSO member to complete the rigorous ICLD coursework – congratulations.

Inspiring Youth to Wear Safety Helmets

Our Deputies are on the lookout this summer for kids who are wearing helmets while bike-riding, in-line skating, skateboarding, or riding scooters! And if we "catch" you, we may write you a coupon for a FREE DQ small ice cream cone. We're asking kids (and adults) to be safe this summer and always wear helmets during these activities. Thanks to Dairy Queen and AAA for providing 50,000 free DQ coupons throughout Minnesota.

Recognizing Service and Lifesaving Actions

"You gain strength, courage and confidence by every experience in which you really stop to look fear in the face. You must do the thing you think you cannot do." ~ Eleanor Roosevelt Thank you to our outstanding RCSO members who were honored and recognized for their courage, distinguished service, and lifesaving acts at an awards ceremony in late June: Deputy Don Rindal - Class A Medal of Valor Deputy Don Rindal - Class B Medal of Merit Deputy Bill Snyder (Retired) - Distinguished Service Medal Correctional Officer Sergeant Rob Erickson - Lifesaving Award Correctional Officer Eric Downing - Lifesaving Award Correctional Officer Justin James - Lifesaving Award Correctional Officer Paul Mainville - Lifesaving Award Correctional Officer Antonio Rulli - Lifesaving Award Correctional Officer William Thurmer - Lifesaving Award Correctional Officer Michael Toste - Lifesaving Award Correctional Officer Brent Wittwer - Lifesaving Award

Honoring Citizen River Rescuers

Quick-thinking. Brave. Lifesaving. Heroic. One workday in early May, Upper River Services employees Beasley Baker, Ben Brooks, Russ Galvan, Randy Kohl, and Jesse Harrison banded together to rescue a man who had jumped off a bridge into the Mississippi River in St. Paul. In mid-June, these men were recognized by Sheriff Serier, the RCSO, and the U.S. Coast Guard for their lifesaving actions and were presented with the Sheriff's Award for Excellence and a U.S. Coast Guard Certificate of Merit. See media coverage here.

Ensuring You are Served 24/7

We always enjoy “meeting” you out on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram and sharing news and information. There is one thing, though, that we ask you to NOT share with us on our social media platforms – reports of crimes and suspicious activity. Each week, we receive social media messages and posts from our community members who want to report crimes. Often the posters say they’ve chosen to post instead of call because: “I don’t want to bother you.” “I’m not sure of the protocol for calling you.” “It’s not an emergency.” Remember that we are here to serve you, help you stay safe, provide you with resources, and respond when you need us. You are not bothering us by requesting our help. Our trained police and fire dispatchers are available to take your calls 24/7 and provide timely and appropriate response. The takeaway from all of this? For emergencies, issues that need immediate police response, or to report crimes or suspicious activity, don’t post, DO call. DO call 9-1-1 for emergencies and issues that require immediate police response DO call 651-767-0640 for non-emergencies in Ramsey County

- COMMUNITY EVENTS -

Hot Dog with a Deputy

Join members of the Ramsey County Sheriff's Office for our popular summer get-togethers and enjoy a "Hot Dog with a Deputy" at locations throughout Ramsey County.

We'll be bringing our squad cars and gear, plus plentiful hot dogs, chips, bottled water, and frozen fun pops. It's our treat!

We look forward to getting to know you!

Upcoming dates, times, and locations:

• July 17th, 5:00 - 7:00 pm / West Rec Center, 14 West Pleasant Lake Rd., North Oaks
• July 19th, 5:00 - 7:00 pm / Community Park, 2050 Roselawn Ave. W., Falcon Heights
• July 25th, 5:00 - 7:00 pm / Commons Pavilion, 4580 Victoria St., Shoreview
  

- COMMUNITY EVENT -

Leadership Academy for Girls

"Every girl deserves to live a confident, fulfilling and authentic life. Our mission is to empower our girls into the leaders of tomorrow." - Empower Leadership Academy for Girls

We're excited to be partnering with Empower to offer a special half-day leadership event for girls in grades 5-12.

August 1, 2018 from 9:00 am - 4:00 pm

Falcon Heights Community Park Building, Falcon Heights, MN

Event participants will learn about leadership, confidence, resilience, and well-being through hands-on activities.

The event will break-down into two sessions.

• Session #1: 9:00 am - 12:00 pm; for girls grades 5-8
• Session #2: 1:00 pm - 4:00 pm; for girls grades 9-12

Lunch will be provided for all participants from 12:00 - 1:00 pm.

This event is FREE of charge, and space is limited for each session. RSVP to Inspector Merci Dahedl at 651-266-9368 or via email.

Learn more about Empower.

- COMMUNITY EVENT -

Night to Unite 2018

August 7, 2018 from 5:00 pm - 9:00 pm

Night to Unite is a summer celebration that gathers people, neighborhoods, and public safety personnel together for an evening to promote safe communities.

You can participate in Night to Unite by attending a party or hosting a party. See complete participation details and instructions or contact our crime prevention personnel at 651-266-7339.

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425 Grove Street - Saint Paul, MN 55102

www.ramseycountysheriff.us

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