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GIRLS ACADEMY PANELNATIONAL WEAR RED DAY

The first Friday in February is National Wear Red Day ® in the United States. Men and women are encouraged to wear red as a symbol of their support of women’s heart health. TCSO employees proudly wore red to raise aware-ness on the prevention and screening of heart disease.

On February 2nd, Sheriff Hernandez joined Mehraz Rahman, April Griffin and Dr. Jessica Trevino as panelists for the GIRLS Academy at the Ann Richards School for Young Women Leaders. The event focused on leadership, self esteem and service. It was an honor to spend time with these incredible students. Thank you to Kappa Kappa Gamma for helping organize this wonderful event!

TEEN DATING VIOLENCE PROCLAMATION

On February 12th, TCSO joined representatives from county agencies and advocate groups to support the Teen Dating Violence Proclamation recognized by the Travis County Commissioners Court. February is Teen Dating Violence Aware-ness Month - a national effort to raise awareness and protect teens from violence. TCSO’s Community Outreach Unit and Victim Services Unit provides resource information that may assist you or someone you know.

TOWING & VEHICLE IMPOUND

TCSO’s Wrecker Enforcement & Impound Unit supervises the impoundments of thousands of vehicles a year that are involved in unfortunate circumstances on our county roadways. Under the guidance of the Texas Transportation Code (§545.305) and the Code of Criminal procedures (Art. 2.12), TCSO derives the authority to regulate towing and storage of non-consent police towing in the unincor-porated areas of Travis County. TCSO has a contractual agreement with numerous towing companies throughout this county for service as it applies to police initiated, non-consent tows. With this mechanism in place, our agency can protect the public with the use of towing regulated pricing and rules. For more information on towing and vehicle impound to include fees and FAQs, please click on the button below.

HANDBAGS FOR HOPE

TCSO and the Texas Advocacy Project launched the 12th Annual Handbags for Hope campaign. This collection drive seeks donated, gently used (or new) purses which will be delivered to women shelters across Texas. Over the years, the Texas Advocacy Project has distributed more than 42,000 bags to women in need. The children’s programming coordinators at the shelters will encourage the children to select a handbag to give to their mother on Mother’s Day. The women in the shelters who don’t have children will be able to choose a hand-bag for themselves. Inside each handbag, these women will find hot-line numbers for the Texas Advocacy Project which provides them access to free legal solutions. The collection drive runs from February 20th - April 5th. you can bring your donated purses to the TCSO lobby at 5555 Airport Blvd. (M-F 8:00am - 5:00pm) or click on the button below for more collection locations.

SPECIAL OLYMPICS KICKOFF

On February 2nd, TCSO officers had a blast participat-ing in the 2019 Special Olympics of Texas (SOTX) Winter Games kickoff event. This is a community partnership that is very near and dear to our hearts. It was a fun evening filled with a variety of activities that celebrated SOTX’s 50th anniversary. In support of the event, the SOTX Scarf Project asked community members to knit scarfs to be presented to the Winter Games participants as well other attendees at the event. TCSO officers were all smiles wear-ing their scarves!

BIGGEST LOSER CHALLENGE

Travis County CARE Program’s “Biggest Loser Challenge” is a fun competition between all county co-workers and spouses which makes losing weight and eating healthy much more achievable. TCSO encourages their employees to manage their weight, get fit, eat healthy, and become their personal best - being at optimal health means we can better serve our community. Two teams have their eye on the prize: Team Major Peña Pain; Team Trainer Major Sally Peña and Team Sally’s Angels; Team Trainer James Moore. If you’re interested in registering a team and to find out more, click on the button below.

COFFEE WITH THE SHERIFF’S OFFICE

TCSO and the Austin Police Department spent a cold and rainy morning at the perfect spot...Starbucks! We hosted another Coffee with the Sheriff’s Office event at the W. 15th St. location and it was a successful turnout. These community outreach events are a great oppor-tunity for law enforcement and the citizens we serve to come together to discuss any public safety concerns. Stay tuned into our calendar of events and follow us on social media to join us for the next one.

MESSAGE FROM SHERIFF HERNANDEZ

I hope 2019 is off to a great start for all of you. I’m looking forward to March, it’s one of my very favorite time of year in Travis County. The wildflowers start to bloom, the trees fill with buds and tender new leaves. As the weather warms up, neighbor-hoods teem with the hustle and bustle of kids at play. March also holds Spring Break and loads of other festivities. As you, your friends and loved ones engage in fun activities, please keep safety in mind and remember not to drink and drive. We’ll have additional deputies on road-ways during our annual spring break DWI Initiative in an effort to keep our roadways safe. We’ll also be partnering with MADD, AAA Texas and other local agencies in cam-paigns designed to educate drivers. Together we can save lives.

If you have a tip you would like to submit to TCSO, you can do so online for one of the below categories. Tips can be ANONYMOUS.

• AUTO THEFT• CRIMINAL INVESTIGATIONS• FUGITIVE• TRAFFIC• VICE

SUBMITA TIP

On February 26th, Sheriff Hernandez joined more than 150 members of the Sheriffs’ Association of Texas to discuss 10 items that they want to see receive support during the 86th legislative session: HB or SB - Law-Enforcement Animal Retirement (Statute), HJR or SJR - Law-Enforcement Animal Retirement (Constitution), HB or SB - Mutual Aid, HB or SB - A Sheriff’s Civil-Service Exemptions, HB or SB - Extending a County’s Traffic Regulations and Enforcement, HB or SB - Work Week for Peace Officers and Firefighters, HB or SB - County-Jailer Weapons Proficiency, HB or SB -Mental-Health Holds, HB or SB -Definition of “License Plate,” and HB or SB - Commissary Funds.

SHERIFFS’ ASSOCIATION OF TEXAS AT STATE CAPITOL