Sheriff’s department
issues reverse 911 reminder
The
county Sheriff’s department reminds community members that its Reverse 911
System is available to help prepare for disasters. The reverse 911 system is an
automated system that issues outbound calls and provides urgent up-to-date
information about emergency events. Because the system does not have the
ability to manually add a phone number to an address that does not have an
existing land-line, the Sheriff’s Department is asking people who either have more
than one address county-wide or would like to sign up for the service to visit
www.sbsheriff.org and click on the reverse 911 link.
D.A.R.E. graduates
celebrate moving forward drug free
More
than 400 graduated from the Santa Barbara Police Department Drug Abuse
Resistance Education Program Jan. 23 at the Arlington Theater in Santa Barbara.
More than 17,000 students have graduated from the program. The program focuses
on teaching students to make good choices and discusses the perils of drug uses
and the violence that usually accompanies it. Along with the graduation, eight
students were selected as essay winners. The students wrote about D.A.R.E. and
explained what the program taught them. Joaquin Zarate
of Cleveland Elementary School; Jackie Lopez of Franklin Elementary School; Maisie Zimmerman of Hope Elementary School; Dolan Ingraham of Monroe Elementary School; Chris Benwitt and Keiko Eastman of Monte Visa Elementary Scholl
and Destin Cavazos of Santa Barbara Community Academy won the essay contest.
Off-leash dog
enforcement at Arroyo Burro Beach resumes
Park
rangers have resumed issuing citations for violations of the county’s dog leash
ordinance at Arroyo Burro Beach County Park. As of Jan. 15, rangers have been
citing offenders who do not have their dogs on leashes. Citations are
considered misdemeanor violations and will cost $100 for the first offense and
$200 for the second offense. People who are cited also will have to appear in
court. “To avoid the inconvenience of having to appear in court and pay a fine,
we are urging dog owners to take responsibility for their pets by using a
proper leash and avoid getting a citation,” said Daniel Hernandez, Santa
Barbara County Parks Department director.
Other
parks where the ordinance will be enforced include Tabano
Hallow and Patterson open space areas in Goleta, Tucker’s Grove Park and Toro
Canyon Park. Areas of enforcement include parking lots, sidewalks and
beachfront. The Arroyo Burro Beach County Park is located at the mouth of
Arroyo Burro Creek, near Las Positas Road and Cliff
Drive, close to Hope Ranch.
PCPA casting for
young performers to play in ‘Ragtime’
The
PCPA Theaterfest will be holding auditions for young
performers from 10 a.m. until 1 p.m. March 8 at the Columbia Business Center,
Room 16, located behind Costco, 900 E. Stowell Road
in Santa Maria, for its upcoming “Ragtime” show. The theater group is casting
for one boy and one girl between the ages of eight and 12. It also is asking
kids auditioning to be prepared to perform 16 bars or 30 seconds of a song of
their choice. The would-be thespians are required to bring their own sheet
music, since a pianist will be provided. “Ragtime” will begin rehearsal June 3
and performances will be featured through Aug. 24. For more information, visit www.pcpa.org,
e-mail audition@pcpa.org or call (805) 928-7331.
Mistrial
declared in Courtney trial
The
county District Attorney’s Office will try 53-year-old Alan Courtney a second
time following a Jan. 22 mistrial declaration. The next court appearance is set
for Feb. 13. Courtney is facing four counts of filing false tax returns, four
felony perjury counts, two felony embezzlement counts, two felony elder abuse
counts and one felony forgery count.
The
trial began in December and closing arguments were made Jan. 11. Courtney is an
attorney who was formerly based in Santa Ynez, at the time of the alleged
incidents. He has since moved his practices to Creston in San Luis Obispo
County. Courtney is accused of embezzling more than $300,000 from clients he represented.
Michael Scott, Courtney’s attorney, said that he was not surprised that the
jury took long to deliberate and said he hoped that the case would be
dismissed. The District Attorney’s Office declined comment on the case and
maintained that it’s still pending.
Residents urged to avoid beach and cliff areas
following rains
The
recent heavy rainfall has prompted county and city authorities to issue
warnings to residents about visiting beach and cliff areas where erosion may
have taken place.
The
City of Santa Barbara has posted signs in beach areas, including Shoreline
Steps, Thousand Steps and Mesa Lane Steps.