Around the Arch Blog

In celebration of Fire Prevention Week, the Reno Fire Department is hosting open houses at neighborhood fire stations.

In addition to station tours, residents will get the opportunity to meet with firefighters to learn about firefighting techniques, personal protective clothing and various types of fire apparatus and special emergency equipment utilized by the Reno Fire Department. Fire Prevention Division personnel will also be available to discuss developing home escape plans, use of smoke detectors and fire extinguishers, and general fire prevention techniques for homes and businesses.

The fire station open houses will be held Saturday, October 9 at:

• Reno Fire Station 15 at 110 Quartz Lane (Sun Valley) from 9:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m.
• Reno Fire Station 14 at 12000 Old Virginia Road (off Damonte Ranch Parkway) from 9:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m.
• Reno Fire Station 3 at 580 West Moana Lane from 1:00 p.m. until 3:00 p.m.
• Reno Fire Station 8 at 3600 Kings Row from 1:00 p.m. until 3:00 p.m.

The 2010 National Fire Prevention Week theme is “Smoke Alarms, A Sound You Can Live With.” It serves to remind us all of the simple actions we can take to stay safer from fire year-round through fire safe preparation, having working smoke alarms, and planning and practicing home fire escape plans.

For more information about fire prevention in your home or business, contact the Reno Fire Department’s Division of Fire Prevention at (775) 334-2300.

Reno traffic patrol officers did a mandatory check point to see if folks were using seat belts and children were properly placed in their car seats. Police asked a number of drivers to have their children’s car seats inspected by car safety seat experts who were on hand for the check point.
[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=byrc1LRekZc]

Today, Secret Witness unveiled an anonymous texting program that will provide residents another means to report tips to help solve crimes.

Secret Witness has partnered with the Washoe County Sheriff’s Office, Reno Police Department, Sparks Police Department, and Carson City Sheriff’s Office to bring our residents the first texting tip line.

“In addition to the Secret Witness anonymous telephone tip line 322-4900, which has served the greater Truckee Meadows to help solve crimes for more than 30 years, a new tip texting program provides the same service to meet the needs of the electronic and texting age,” said Katherine Loudon, Chairwoman of Secret Witness.

 The program is designed for short-code texting and the texting operations may vary from phone to phone.

For all life threatening emergencies, call 911. The Tip Texting Program is not a 911 service, but merely another opportunity in addition to the telephone to provide anonymous tips to help solve crimes.

For details about the texting tip line click here.

Reno Fire Department investigators are seeking information regarding two potential persons of interest in an arson case.

On Wednesday, September 22, 2010 a structure fire occurred at an unoccupied residence at 1665 Bonneville Drive. Reno Fire investigators would like to talk to two males that were seen at approximately 8:00 p.m. near the address. The two males were driving a black or dark colored soft-top Jeep Wrangler.

Investigators are asking anyone with information about the individuals or the fire to contact the Secret Witness Program at 322-4900 where they can provide information anonymously, or fire investigators at 334-2300.

The City of Reno accepted a $5000 grant from the Home Depot Foundation today.  The funds are designated for supplies and materials to be used in future Adopt-A-Park clean-up efforts at Teglia’s Paradise Park in Northeast Reno.  Teglia’s Paradise Park is the park that local Home Depot stores have adopted, and Home Depot employees have donated hundreds of hours in volunteer clean-up efforts over the past 18 months.

Fifteen of Reno’s 87 parks are currently adopted by community organizations.  The rest remain available for residents and local organizations to help keep Reno’s parks clean, attractive and safe for everyone.  More…

The Nevada State Office of Energy just received a $5 million grant from the U.S. Department of Energy to retrofit 50,000 Nevada residences with energy efficiency upgrades. The Nevada Retrofit Initiative is projected to have an impact of $220 million in Nevada.

Read their news release to learn more and how to participate.

Area residents will be able to help the Reno Police Department’s K-9 Unit by dining at the Texas Roadhouse.

The Texas Roadhouse has generously agreed to donate 10% of food purchases to the Reno Police Department’s K-9 Unit when the attached flyer is presented to a server. To participate, visit the Texas Roadhouse at 150 Damonte Ranch Parkway on Sunday, September 12 from 11:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. and Monday, September 13 from 4:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m. Flyers can also be downloaded by visiting the K-9 Unit’s page on City of Reno’s website, http://www.reno.gov/index.aspx?page=2112.

The Reno Police Department’s K-9 Unit serves the community by working as a patrol support function. Officers and their K-9 partners assist with suspect apprehension, narcotics detection, finding articles of evidentiary value that have been discarded, tracking lost people such as children and Alzheimer’s patients, and explosive material detection. Additionally, the unit is called upon to conduct many public demonstrations to entities such as schools, churches and civic organizations.

The K-9 unit relies heavily on donations, and has been called upon to assist every agency in the area to include Sparks Police Department, Washoe County Sheriff’s Department, Reno-Tahoe Airport Authority, the U.S. Secret Service, F.B.I., D.E.A., U.S. Customs, California Bureau of Prisons, U.S. Federal Bureau of Prisons, to name a few.

On Wednesday, the U.S. Census Bureau recognized the City of Reno for their partnership in the successful Nevada Census 2010 Campaign.

In addition to a plaque presentation, David A. Byerman, Chief Government Liaison for Nevada, U.S. Census Bureau, presented a final operations update to the Reno City Council. In the presentation, Byerman advised due to invaluable partnership support, the Nevada Census 2010 Campaign:
• Maximized the Count for Nevada: Benefit equals $917 per person per year in federal funding for education, healthcare, and other services.
• Built a Broad Coalition: Over 1,500 partners statewide.
• Successfully Recruited 6,200 Nevadans to Work the Census: Providing short-term stimulus and extending unemployment benefits for thousands of Nevadans.
• Realized a High Response Rate: Nevada is one of only two states in the Denver Region to equal its 2000 response rate in 2010.

On December 31, the delivery of the national census count will be given to the President of the United States. For more information about Nevada Census 2010 visit www.nevadacensus2010.com.

Yesterday, the Reno City Council approved donation funds to sponsor the “The Rolling Pilot”, the first known paraplegic hot air balloon pilot, for the 2010 Great Reno Balloon Race (GRBR).

The donation of $1,899 ($899 to GRBR, Inc. and $1,000 to the Northern Nevada Center for Independent Living) will sponsor the participation and defray expenses associated with the participation.

“The Rolling Pilot” is scheduled to make two presentations at area schools in September. In addition, he will be taking one passenger with him during the 2010 GRBR competition. The RAAC is coordinating the passenger selection with the Washoe County School District and other local non-profit organizations who serve youth with disabilities. The “Rolling Pilot” will be available to meet with local media on media day during the 2010 GRBR.

The support of “The Rolling Pilot’s” participation in the 2010 GRBR will further the mission of the RAAC by visually promoting the City’s on-going commitment to inclusion of individuals with disabilities in all facets of civic life.

Council donation funds can only be used for nonprofit organizations that provide substantial benefits within our community. These monies are allocated throughout the fiscal year.

Nineteen area residents received their certificates of completion from the Reno Citizens Institute (RCI) program at today’s Reno City Council meeting. Over the past 10 weeks the residents have spent their Thursday evenings learning how their local government works through presentations and discussions involving all City of Reno departments.

The graduates are: Jack Brooks, Michelle Fournier, Mike Ginsburg, Terry B. Hoffman, Stacie Huggins, Barbara N. Kopp, Paula Lopez, Al Mabrouk, Patricia A. Moriarty, Donn R. Moriarty, Susan Moss-Redman, Michael Pidlypchak, Wayne Redman, Chris Riddell, Elaine Rockwell, Donald Smith, Kathleen Taylor, Zachary Twiss and Patrick Ty Whitaker.

The program schedule includes sessions with the City Manager’s Office, Human Resources, Finance, Communications and Technology, Parks, Recreation and Community Services; the Reno Fire Department, City Attorney’s Office, Municipal Court, Reno Police Department, Public Works, Community Development, the Reno Redevelopment Agency and Truckee Meadows Water Authority. The graduates learned how their tax dollars are allocated, how department heads make decisions, and how public officials work together to make our city great.

This graduating class is the 23rd class to complete the program. The Reno Citizens Institute is held twice a year and limited to 25 participants per session. Participants must be at least 18 years of age and residents of the Truckee Meadows. For more information about the RCI program or an application to the fall 2010 session, visit www.reno.gov or contact Reno Direct at (775) 334-3464.