City of Cathedral City
68700 Avenida Lalo Guerrero
Cathedral City, CA 92234
(760) 770-0340

From: Allen Howe
May 15, 2007

John “J.D.” Weaver Named 2007 Firefighter of the Year

John “J.D.” Weaver, Fire Engineer began his career with the Cathedral City Fire Department in February 1990 as a Firefighter, and promoted to Engineer in May 1999.

He was named the 2007 Firefighter of the Year, because of his dedication and passion both in training probationary firefighters who are learning new skills, and polishing the skills of his fellow veteran firefighters. Even though he carries all the responsibilities of being a husband and father, he always makes himself available to come in, off-duty, and work with firefighters to strengthen or learn new skills. He also shares his knowledge and experience as an Engineer with those who are aspiring to become Fire Engineers.

Weaver has also taken the leading role in re-establishing the department’s DMV Class B certification program (which makes sure that firefighters are certified to drive their emergency vehicles); he has assumed the duties as program administrator and works diligently to keep up on ever changing regulations and laws that affect our program.

Over the years, J.D. has been a consistently positive and bright influence in the Fire Department. His commitment to go above and beyond the call of his duties has made him an asset to the Department and the entire Cathedral City family.

Firefighters Receive Honors and Thanks for Caballero Fire Rescue

Two Cathedral City Firefighters were awarded the Medal of Valor, and two were awarded the Distinguished Service Award for saving a citizen’s life during a recent fire. The awards were given at the May 9th City Council Meeting by Fire Chief Bill Soqui.

Here’s the story:

On Tuesday, February 27, 2007, the Cathedral City Fire Department was dispatched to a reported structure fire in the 67000 Block of Faja Caballero. Units responding were Telesquirt 412, Engine 413 and Medic 413 along with Chief on Call Raymond Hatfield.

Upon the arrival of Telesquirt 412, Captain Doug Taylor established incident command and confirmed that the reported smell of smoke in the area was due to a structure fire in a single family residence. Smoke was visible coming from roof vents and the noise of the smoke detectors activated could be heard from outside the home.

Captain Aman and Firefighter Borque forced entry through the front door. Once entry was made, a search team consisting of Firefighter Paramedics (FFPM) Mark Caouette and Kino Suarez entered the building as Firefighter Paramedic Borque fed them the hoseline from the doorway.

FFPM Caouette, searching through the smoke-filled structure, came upon the home’s occupant – a 50 year old male – who was unconscious near the kitchen, approximately 15 to 20 feet from the front door. FFPM Caouette informed the Incident Commander by radio that there was a victim to be rescued and then proceeded to lift the patient from behind, wrapping his arms around the victim’s chest (under the victim’s arms). FFPM Caouette called to FFPM Suarez to assist, and together they pulled the victim to the safety of the front yard grass area.

Engineer Hess and FFPM Bourque took over patient care and began reviving the victim and the search and rescue team returned to the structure to fight the fire and check for more victims – there were none. Fire suppression activities were continued.

Later, the victim was transported to Desert Regional Medical Center’s Trauma Center where he was treated and released to Arrowhead Regional Medical Center before being release to go home. If the patient had not been removed and revived when he was, he certainly would have perished.

The Medal of Valor is the highest honor bestowed to public safety officers. The purpose of this award is to recognize employees for extraordinary service. Recipients of the Medal of Valor are employees who have performed an extraordinary act of heroism to save a human life or property – sometimes the lives of civilians and sometimes the lives of their own colleagues. They have demonstrated acts of courage in the face of adversity. Firefighter Paramedics Mark Caouette and Kino Suarez were awarded the Medal of Valor

The Distinguished Service Award is presented to persons who, while serving as a public safety officer, distinguishes himself or herself by extraordinary acts not justifying the award of a Medal of Valor. Engineer Josh Hess and FFPM Joe Borque were awarded the Distinguished Service Award for their actions in reviving the victim of the fire.

On May 10, the victim came to Cathedral City Fire Station 412 to personally thank the four firefighters who saved his life. You can watch read a story on the event with pictures and a video done by CBSTV2 at http://www.cbstv2.com/Global/story.asp?S=6498942

FIRE Facts:

In Cathedral City… Character Counts

Since 2004 the Cathedral City Police Department has worked with local youth to help them build the character they need to become productive members of society. It’s the old “ounce of prevention” concept… help youth develop the Six Pillars of Character: Trustworthiness, Respect, Responsibility, Fairness, Caring and Citizenship… and they will funnel their boundless energy in positive directions. These Six Pillars of Character come from the Character Counts program developed by the Michael Josephson Institute of Ethics in Los Angeles and represent “core values” or “basic life skills” necessary for a successful life in society.

The Cathedral City Police Department in partnership with the Palm Springs Unified School District has been offering a ten-week TeRRiFiCC Program (the name is an acronym based on the six pillars) that connects with youth in a fun and interactive manner that challenges each student to review his or her own behavior in school, at home and on the playing fields.

So far, over 1,900 students have participated in the program.

The program, which focuses on 10 and 11 year-old students (5th grade), begins with students receiving a bumper sticker, a pencil, a button and a “police badge” inviting them each to join the character-building program. Then, each week, one of the six pillars is discuss:

The course ends up with Certificates of Accomplishments given to each student completing the program and celebratory “Pizza Party.”

Ten-weeks is not much time to teach new core values. However, the course reinforces values that are already being taught by families at home, teachers at school and our society in general. The program makes a valiant effort to bring youth to a place of well-being and sound judgments in their decision making.

The Cathedral City Character Counts curriculum is the only one of its kind in the nation.

The program doesn’t end in the classroom. For older students, the Cathedral City Police Department, in partnership with Boys & Girls Club, offers a three-night-a week program called Club P.M.! Over 60 students attend each night and participate in activities that instill such “Character Counts” values as good sportsmanship and integrity. Club P.M.! has been in operation for 12 years.

Another approach to building character in youth by the Cathedral City Police Department is its 8-year-old New Directions program. Each month the Department buses 60 Middle and High School students to the nearby Chuckawalla Valley State Prison to see the inner workings of this correctional facility. The students are selected by their school administration.

Both the Club PM! and New Directions program are funded by the Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians.

It is difficult to measure the direct effect of these programs. The police department looks at crimes committed by 13–18-year-olds such as gang-related incidents, graffiti, number of physical attacks that occur on school campuses, number of stolen cars or shoplifting incident involving youth, number of school suspensions and the overall number of incidence involving youth. Since the programs were initiated the Police Department has noticed that youth related incidents have decreased.

The Department’s goal is to reach out to youth at the earliest possible age to make a difference in the lives of Cathedral City’s youth and to show that they are valued at the earliest possible and most impressionable time of their lives. By offering a variety of programs in collaboration with other entities for a variety of ages of youth, the Department hopes to demonstrate that “Character Counts!”

If you would like more information on these programs, contact Cathedral City Police Department Youth Diversion Counselor, Mike Scacco, at 770-0382.

Marine Corps Band Comes to Fountainworks

The Marine Corp Band has signed on to perform at Fountainworks 2007, July 3rd at 7 p.m. at Cathedral City Town Square. They will be a great patriotic addition to the outstanding and flashy entertainment provided SPLASH! – a group of musicians and singers that played the official Academy Award and Grammy Award parties. Outstanding music, good food, interesting vendors – what better way to kick off the Independence Day holiday.

Don’t Forget the 2-1-1 Riverside County Call Center

The Volunteer Center of Riverside County has a 24 hour 365 day call/referral center for people in need of assistance in such areas as: shelter, rent assistance, child care, crisis counseling, emergency food, consumer guides, parenting education, utility assistance and many other topics. The Center goal is to maintain specialized information about specific human service resources in the community and to link people who need assistance with appropriate service providers. Call 2-1-1 when you are in need – it’s free!