The City of Corpus Christi Solid Waste Operations Department and Clean City Committee advise citizens from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturday, January 5, 2013 and on Saturday, January 12, 2013, there will be an opportunity to recycle Christmas trees at eight convenient locations.  The collection sites will be staffed by volunteers who will help unload their trees.  In return, those dropping off trees will receive a free Desert Willow or Afghan Pine Seedling.  Only clean, non-flocked (fake snow) Christmas trees with no decorations will be accepted.

The following locations will be accepting Christmas trees from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturday, January 5th:

• Wal-Mart – Greenwood and S.P.I.D.
• Wal-Mart – Highway 77 and FM 624
• Wal-Mart – 4109 S. Staples at Carmel Parkway

The following locations will be accepting Christmas trees from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturday, January 12th:

• Padre Island Property Owners Association – 14015 Fortuna Bay Drive
• Flour Bluff High School – 2505 Waldron Road (High School Gymnasium parking lot)
• Wal-Mart – Flour Bluff Drive and S.P.I.D.
• Wal-Mart – 6101 Saratoga at Cimarron

Citizens not participating in this effort may set out trees during their regularly scheduled brush collection days.  For set out dates, please refer to the 2013 Solid Waste Services Customer Guide or check online at www.cctexas.com/solidwasteservices.   Residents can also bring trees to the Collection Center at 7001 Ayers Street for free disposal from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Saturday. Beginning mid February 2013, residents may visit the Citizens Collection Center to collect freshly ground Christmas tree mulch. Volunteers are needed to help unload trees at all locations. Community service hours are available through Mayor Martinez’s office.

For more information, please contact Angela Gonzalez, Clean City Coordinator at (361) 826-3673.

Corpus Christi Police Patrol Officers get information from Metrocom. The Metrocom dispatchers are on the 4th floor at the Police Headquarters building. The dispatcher assigned to the “Patrol 3” talk group is Christa Garrison. Garrison started with the Corpus Christi Metrocom in June 2011.

Have you ever thought about what emergencies a police officer may encounter on their shift? This is a portion of my inventory. This includes: paper reports (because computers inevitably fail); the patrol bag; a first aid kit; a fire extinguisher; road flares; traffic cones; spike strips; ticket book; sun screen, bug spray (known as the company cologne); extra batteries; crime scene tape; gloves; reflective traffic vest; and rain gear.

The patrol shift starts with roll call. This is a time when attendance is taken, inspections are conducted, short training sessions are instructed, and important events are discussed. The patrol officers interact with their supervisor to receive special instructions or become of crime trends, law updates, fugitive information and a variety of other police related tasks and information.

There are currently four patrol districts in the Corpus Christi City limits. Each district has a sub-station. Each district is divided into beats. One patrol officer is assigned a beat and the supervisor, at the grade of Lieutenant, is responsible for the shift that covers all the beats in one district.

The Corpus Christi Police have typically four shifts in a day so that shifts overlap to provide 2 officers on a beat to allow for transition for officers to end their work day. This is a system so that a beat is not left unattended while officers clock out and others clock in to work.

Welcome to the Corpus Christi Police Virtual Ride Along. This is the opportunity for you to witness police activity in real-time from the comfort of home. Messages, pictures and information will be sent out on Twitter at the address @CorpusChristiPD. We encourage your participation, so please ask questions as you follow the program. Be aware that the officer will be driving and responding to police work, so be patient if there is a delay for response to questions.

The officer with which you will witness is Officer Kirk Stowers. Officer Stowers entered the police academy in May 2002 and served on patrol until his transfer to the Public Information Office in March 2012.

Officer Stowers will be a part of the Corpus Christi Police Holiday Initiative today. The Holiday Initiative is a project from the police department each year to provide extra patrols to the densely populated shopping areas in order to direct traffic, reduce crime, reduce the fear of crime, and to enhance public safety.

Sit back, relax, and enjoy the Virtual Ride Along!

Several Corpus Christi Police Officers delivered stuffed animals and “get well” cards to the children at the Driscoll Children’s hospital Friday morning, December 21.

The animals were donated to the police department and the officers delivered the animals to sick children in an effort to provide comfort as the children spend time away from home. The cards were signed by various areas of the police department which included patrol officers, dispatchers, administrative staff, and the chiefs of police.

The officers brought 30 stuffed animals and cards and visited with up to 25 patients at the hospital. The officers say they have a heart for children and want to provide some comfort and a little joy.

This was the first time the police department has participated in this giving event and say this may become a more regular activity.

Occurred Thursday December 20, 2012 10:30am      1100 Clare Drive       Phone Scam         1212200045

An 83 year old man received a phone call from a man who claimed to be a clergyman calling from a US embassy in Mexico City. The caller told the elderly individual that his daughter was in custody for possession of marijuana in a Mexican jail, and that he needed to wire $1600 dollars via Western Union in order for her to go to court and then be sent home on an airplane. The caller stated that the US government would later reimburse all the money.  The 83 year old man notified CCPD. When officer Fedler called back “Pastor O’ Conner”, he explained that getting the gentleman’s daughter to court in Mexico would be difficult since she was actually just fine in Missouri where she was supposed to be.

Fortunately in this case, the intended victim was suspicious and contacted the Corpus Christi Police Department first.  These scams continue however because many elderly fall prey to these highly convincing professional criminals. In many cases when victims learn that they were fooled, they are too embarrassed to tell anyone else. Please take a little time to talk about such scams with your family, church and community groups and remind them not to give out banking, credit card or other personnel information to anyone who calls you over the phone.  There are many resources online to educate folks about what is traditionally known as the “Grandparent Scam”. The link below is from the US state Department.

http://travel.state.gov/travel/cis_pa_tw/financial_scams/financial_scams_5608.html