A New Substation

I had the pleasure of being invited to attend this afternoon’s open house for the new Fresno S.O. Area 2 Substation at Armstrong/Turner.  It’s a wonderful new building that should serve them well for many years.  It replaces a rental building on Shields Ave. that was used since the 1980s.  When we first started using the Shields building, we thought it was pretty fancy.  Well, except for the constantly leaking roof.  This one blows it away.  They have awesome three dimensional badges on the side of building.  

Just the right amount of dignitary speeches and a tour of the facility.  It was good seeing some familiar faces and getting caught up.   And of course, some of the new black and white patrol cars.  

This is 1954 map of Fresno metro and eastern Fresno County that was gifted to me back in the 1970-1980s.  I had it framed later, and it’s hung in my offices at TCI, AT&T, and then in my Yosemite home.  I dropped it off a month or so ago for the substation to use.  They have agreed within the substation not to hang anything on the walls for a while, so for the time being it sits over a memorial case to some of the fallen deputies.

https://maps.app.goo.gl/6NpduZSUKhyr9EUh6?g_st=ic 

Thunderstorms, February 19, 2024

I’m a sucker for a good thunderstorm. Always have been.  This one just hit as I was on the back patio reading.  Thus far, this storm system has raised our pool level by a “half tile.”   More is coming.  

After 15 minutes or so, blue sky is breaking out. 

Back In Black!

Black and whites.  

Finally!  

Last night I was excited to see this post on the Fresno Sheriff’s Office Facebook page.  

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Sheriff John Zanoni is excited to announce the Fresno County Sheriff's Office has rolled out a new design to its patrol car fleet.  The thought behind the change is that our current green and white design goes back to the 1990s and it was time to update our look.

Future orders of Chevy Tahoes, Ford Explorers and Ford F-150 pickup trucks will feature a black and white color scheme.  It was important to keep the FSO tradition of green and gold in the design, so we have incorporated it into the lettering on the sides and rear of the vehicles.

The two pictured vehicles are being deployed into the field this week.  Over the next few years, we will be taking delivery of more of these vehicles.  The goal is to eventually phase out the patrol vehicles in the current fleet and replace them with black and white vehicles as they become available and replacement of aging equipment becomes necessary.

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I was on the original vehicle committee in the early 1990s when Fresno SO adopted the ubiquitous existing white car with a green stripe that was being pushed hard by the California Sheriffs Assn. (we couldn’t understand why they wanted all California S.O. cars to resemble the National Park Service).  Nonetheless, Sheriff Magarian bought into it 100%.  A couple of us still pushed for black and white in various renditions, even some very similar to this new one.   

The committee worked hard to come up with proposed graphic schemes, and even all Deputies were allowed to vote on the three finalists—with understanding that Sheriff’s management could override the vote.  Of course, we were directed not to submit any black and white schemes, or brown and white schemes for Deputies to vote on.  We never knew the final numbers, only the final decision by the Sheriff.  

As I mentioned, the committee worked diligently.  I did a lot of the research.  I found photos of prior graphics used in the department including a snazzy looking black and white from the 1950s.   I researched and compiled information from all the other 57 Sheriff’s Offices to see what they were using for graphics.  For the ones I didn’t know—the vast majority of them—pre-internet I telephoned them all.  It was time consuming.  

On one fun day, committee member Sgt. Rick Cobbs grabbed me after day shift briefing, and he drove us up the San Joaquin Valley all the way to West Sacramento.  We stopped at every Police Department and Sheriff’s Office and took pictures of the different patrol cars.  Of course, the department didn’t pay for photo processing, so I paid for it.  I still have those photos in storage, and will try and post those in the future.  

And since I was the only one with a computer (and it was at home) I wrote all the drafts for the committee to review and then the final proposal.   (I did the same previously when on the Uniform Committee.)  

I’ve included a photo of the brown and white cars that the department had when I was hired in 1976, although there were a handful of all white ones floating around too.  Coincidentally, it’s a photo of Sgt. Rick Cobbs when he was a Deputy in the K9 Unit.  I love black and whites, yet I really liked these brown and whites too.  I was happy to drive one. 

 

Unfortunately, the county next bought brown and white Ford LTD IIs for the replacements.  The brown paint in those faded to a pukish green color.  The decision was made to change.  

Next, we went to the white cars with the brown stripes down the side.  The California Code of Regulations forbid a patrol car with a “painted stripe” wider than six inches.  Our stripe was something like eight or ten inches wide.  When discussing this with CHP Sacramento, they kept referring to the code.  After reading between the lines of what he was saying, I realized to be in violation, he was emphasizing the “painted” portion of the code.  Ours was a decal, not paint.  Technically, not a violation. 

 

The Sheriff’s executive team said they liked what they saw on the Broward County (Florida) units that they had seen on the television show COPS.  

I reached out to BSO fleet and they graciously sent me one of their graphics packages and our County Shop installed it on one of our new cars.  We swapped the BSO Star with ones the County Shop still had from the old brown and white FSO units that were still used for other purposes.   

Before a Sheriff’s management meeting, Sgt. Rick Cobbs and I parked it somewhat hidden in the department basement.  We were anxious to have the executive staff check it out.  We waited for them in the Briefing Room.  

They didn’t bother to come down  to see it.  Instead, they asked for Polaroid photos to be sent in quickly. I grabbed my personal Polaroid and took some photos in the dark basement.  If you don’t know, Polaroids used a disposable flashbulb that went into a removable flash unit.  To prevent injury from an exploding defective bulb, the unit had a flip open safety lens.  That lens was tinted blue tinted to help prevent flash glare.  As a result, the photo of the green reflective Broward’s County stripe had a slight bluish tint.  The Polaroid photos were sent into the meeting.  We weren’t allowed in to explain or be a part of the discussion.  The answer came back.  They didn’t like it.  So much effort to get the decals and have them installed—just to have them removed because a management team wouldn’t leave a meeting.  Especially after hearing that’s what they liked.  Sgt. Cobbs and I were very frustrated with the process and joked that maybe we’ll just send the whole car to the Broward County Sheriff.  

We ended up with what we got.  On the earlier Uniform Committee, I agreed with almost everything that was eventually approved.  On the Vehicle Committee, I agreed with almost nothing of the final accepted product.  What I disliked the most was the font used for the lettering on the front fenders.  It was supposed to mimic a 1890s style old western font. I thought it turned out poorly, missing the mark in daylight while being very fuzzy at night.  Other agencies used a block font that was much more readable at day and night.  Hopefully the new designs have been viewed at night.   But…I liked our final result much better than Broward County’s units. 

 

I think I saw one of the new FSO black and whites recently before the announcement.  I just didn't know what it was yet.  I was sitting at a traffic light on a multiple lane road, and one pulled up a couple lanes over in traffic.  I could kinda see the design as it moved through the traffic, and thought it looked really nice.  Patrol cars from near and far aren't unusual to see around the metro area of Fresno and Clovis due to various trainings and meetings.  

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Photo credits to the original photographers.   

Fresno Sheriff

Cop Cars

Police Cars

Law Enforcement Vehicles

Goodbye 2023!

There it goes!   

Personally, a good year.  

Globally, not so much.  

2023 Reads

 I’ve been reading more this year!

Rotary Club Food Distribution, December 2023

Not a bad way to spend a Sunday morning (apologies to Pastor Joe 😉 ) For the 39th year, the Clovis Rotary Club handed out food to those who need help for the holidays.  

              Our President’s back.  We try to “cover” it.

Locally well known P-R Farms provided both the facility and the large wooden produce bins that were filled with generous donations in Clovis schools.  Mix in a healthy amount of donations from vendors with purchases by the club, and a little from all adds up fast.  Our school based Rotary Interact clubs (age of 12 to 18-year-olds who work with Rotary clubs to do service projects and develop leadership skills), Rotary sponsored Boy Scouts, at least one school soccer team, Clovis Police, plus family members of all above, showed up in force ready to fill and distribute 500 boxes.  Plus, a trailer full of donated Christmas trees for those who needed one.  

Boxes were filled as they moved down conveyor rollers, stacked on pallets, then moved to the drive-through lanes by forklifts.

                          Having fun with my fellow box buster.  

It was an amazing process.  This is my first year with this club doing my very small part to help.  The scale of the operation was almost overwhelming to see compared to my former and much smaller club in Yosemite National Park where we were ecstatic to distribute 12-20 meals each year.  

Good deeds, small or large, are wonderful.

Backing Ain’t Easy

I’ve joked before, maybe here, that driving a semi-truck is a game of miles and inches.  Driving miles and maneuvering into places with inches of clearance. 

Here’s a reply I couldn’t help but post on Facebook after a guy posted what he called was a challenging dock.  I thought I’d share here.   It was long and narrow, but it was in a closed yard with lots and lots of pull-up space in front of it.  

Backing a semi-truck and trailer can be challenging under the best circumstances.  

Try Sugar Foods in Commerce, Calif.  

Take your OTR cab and turn off Slauson onto a busy Zambrano.  Stop in the street blocking traffic and open your trailer doors.  Pray no one pulls up behind you as you wait for the light to turn green.  

Back against the direction of travel and across the four lane divided road during your green light, trying to line up in the correct open dock.  Stop along the way, blocking traffic. Get out of the truck and fold *both* door mirrors in, because the truck won’t otherwise fit.  Finish backing in, truly blinded.  (And, there’s a busy L.A. County Fire Station nearby there too.)

Once parked, there isn’t any room between the other trucks to open your cab doors.  They call when it’s time to leave.  Then guess when Zambrano might have a green light.  Pull out onto one of the busy streets to close your doors. 

https://maps.app.goo.gl/64rFQBTwAwWfXTpF8?g_st=ic

One of many places like this in So. Calif.

Where Does 60 Years Go?

It’s hard to believe it’s been 60 years since President Kennedy was assassinated.  

I was in (Ms. Wagner’s?) fourth grade class at the almost new—and now former—W.B. Ellis school in Lafayette (Why was it torn down?  It was a great school designed to be added onto.) 

She turned on the TV in the room (it was odd to have a TV in a room or to use it).  I remember she handled it well.  

Even though our parents were at work, we went home early.  I usually walked home with my classmate and next door neighbor, Debbie George, walking down Quandt Road to our homes on Stanley Blvd.  I remember her crying all the way home and I was trying to console her the best I could and was failing.  

My mom was a second grade teacher at Gregory Gardens in Pleasant Hill and my dad worked for Pacific Finance in Oakland.  They came home early too.

Reportedly from November 22nd, 1963 in an unknown Sears Department Store.   

Aunt Marlene Mae Kosubs Stone

On November 15, I drove down to Ventura to attend my Aunt Marlene Stone’s funeral.  She was a wonderful woman and had a long life.  It was just about a year after my Uncle Ira passed away.   They were divorced a long time ago, but I wonder if some of their close connection remained.   When I was younger, they seemed inseparable, and I never asked why they divorced. 

Along the way, it rained off and on.  Nothing terribly strong.   I also had a task to complete. 

My first stop was in Fresno.  The Fresno Sheriff’s Office is building a new substation at Armstrong/Turner—and has been for some time.  It is still under construction and looks wonderful.  At some point decades ago, I was given two maps covering Fresno County.  They were large format, about three feet by four feet, dated 1954 (the year I was born).   One map covered the Fresno metropolitan area, west to the western county line.  The other map covered the same Fresno metropolitan area and went to the eastern county line.  They were rolled up and stashed away in the basement of our former home in Old Fig Garden. 

 

Years later, when getting to decorate my office when I was working for Telecommunications, Inc. (TCI), I thought I’d frame them.  When I retrieved them, unfortunately rodent(s) had got to them.  The western map was destroyed to the point it had to be trashed.  The eastern one was still good, so I had it framed.  Although I worked on the west side, most of my career I worked in Metro or Area 2, everything east of the Friant-Kern Canal.  It really turned out nice with a simple black frame.   After moving to Yosemite National Park, it hung in the hallway of my home there for almost twenty years.  

After finding my way in through the yet to be secured rear parking and unlocked door, I met a welcoming Detective Sergeant (I wish I could remember his name), to hand off the map.  He assured me he’d find an appropriate place for it, even if that’s his office.  He shared that the substation is far from finished.  Detectives have been working out of it for a while, and Patrol had just started two days before, on Monday.  He also shared they were three years into what was originally planned to be a one year build.  

Back on the road, I made a quick decision to take “the coast route” along SR-41 and 46 to get to Paso Robles.  I had a strong desire to see and be near the ocean as quickly as possible.  Relief came as I crested the US-101 grade into Pismo Beach.  Greeted by the view and the ocean smell was refreshing.  

 

I made it to Ventura in good time, with only a fuel stop in Buellton and highway construction delays in Santa Barbara.  I checked in at the Pierpont Inn.  In the past, I’ve had meals there and attended functions, including hosting my parent’s surprise 40th wedding anniversary party, yet I’ve never stayed there.  Room 421 was old, yet modernized, clean, and well appointed.  In the morning, I noticed it had a decent view of the ocean.  There was little highway noise.  I’d definitely stay there again. 

Off to dinner at Fosters Freeze on Telegraph for the self-mandated traditional corn burritos.  I was confident they probably closed at 8 or 9 pm on a weeknight.  I pulled in at 5:50 pm happy to see “my” traditional parking spot free, only to be told they were closing early tonight because the rain had slowed business—and were only currently serving ice cream.  I jokingly shared my sadness that I had just blasted into town for my primary desire, corn burritos.  She was amazing and said they had turned the grill off, but the fryer was still hot.  She double checked with the cooks, and an order placed.  The last one of the day!   If you don’t know corn burritos, you don’t have roots in Ventura.  They are almost exclusively made in the local Ventura area, and outsiders confuse them with taquitos.  They are not that!   Sorry, no picture.  Maybe when we go back in March.  

It was eerie seeing the parking lot vacant.  At least my first goal in town was completed. 

The service was Thursday, at Sacred Heart Catholic Church in Saticoy.  It’s been a long-long time since I’ve been to a Catholic Church during a Mass.   I’ve got nothing against the Catholic religion, but their rituals are confusing.  Fortunately, one of the attendants discretely gave hand signals when to stand and sit.  

Here’s the obituary my cousin Frank created for posting:

Marlene Mae Stone, was born in 1934 and lived a strong, full and rich life. She was raised in the Ojai Valley and later completed the rest of her life in Ventura. She married just after high school at Nordhoff High School, Ojai.

She leaves three beloved sons Frank, William, and Paul, 8 grandchildren, and 4 great-grandchildren.

The most cherished thing in her life was her family. She loved her family and her family loved her.

In life, she had a tremendous loved for her dogs, a great love of traveling, her loved dear friends, loved a good story, and a nice glass of wine.

She loved God and was looking forward to being with him in Heaven.

I'm glad to have been her son and caretaker for the last two years. Before she made the journey to heaven. We all love you so much Mom! We are so happy you are now in the presence of Jesus.

Interment immediately followed at Ivy Lawn Memorial Park, Ventura.  I snapped this photo just after the graveside service had concluded and many of the guests had stepped back from the immediate family. 

A nice video tribute 

https://youtu.be/BiBP4KZ6vvQ?feature=shared

There was some time to kill between the cemetery and the reception held at Marlene’s mobile home off Aurora.  This allowed me to get some errands completed, chiefly, visit my nearby parent's graves.  

Second, visit Green Thumb Nursery.  For several months I’ve searched home improvement stores and nurseries near home looking 1”x1” wood garden stakes.  None have had them.  Green Thumb rarely disappoints and didn’t today.  They had a great selection of assorted lengths.  Finally, success for such a minor yet irritating search.  

We had a great reception.  Sadly, not being a close of family as we are, once again, an opportunity passed (probably the last) for me to get photos with the family.  While the family has great cooks, they opted to have it catered by Wood Ranch BBQ.  The food was delicious.  As a tip of the hat to Marlene and her favorite drink, martinis, they were both served and the gift basket had a small bottle of martini mix, dehydrated olives, and packets of flower seeds to plant in her honor.  

The trip home was quick, and uneventful.  Although as I passed through Bakersfield, I wondered how the repairs to our travel trailer are going there.