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New
MSOL President, Ofc Mitch Powers - Hingham, hosted the May Meeting at
the Hearth & Kettle Restaurant in Weymouth.
It was certainly a busy meeting with three guest speakers and a
short awards ceremony.
First
up was Cynthia Gallo, the Director of Safety for the Transit Police.
Cynthia spoke about the upcoming curriculum changes to the
Operation Lifesaver Program. She
is hoping to work with the various communities and stress not only the
importance of teaching children, but teens, college students, and
elderly as well. There have
been studies conducted that show these particular audiences are in need
of awareness programs as well.
Next
in the spotlight was the MA RMV. Deputy
Superintendent Catherine Keyes started off by answering some questions
from the MSOL Members. For
being on the hot seat, Catherine was very informative and stated that
she would also be in touch and hopefully work with us via our website to
answer additional questions. She
and Paul Harkins also noted that the Operation Graduation would be
taking place on May 16th.
This event will be very publicized and Officers are encouraged to
stop Teen Drivers and address issues like seatbelts, cell phones, and
other bad habits. The point
is to bring awareness, not citations necessarily.
Catherine recommended contacting the RMV Ombudsman with any
day-to-day issues at 617-973-7777. Her
contact information is Catherine.keyes@state.ma.us
and she can also be reached at 617-973-7212. Following her introduction,
Catherine handed the moment over to Kevin Reddington and Leslie Jones of
Smart Start of Massachusetts. Their
presentation included the Ignition Interlock Devices - their
functions, the procedures, and what the police should be looking for
when that "Z" restriction is on the operator's licenses.
There was a quick demonstration inside of the meeting and then
the MSOL Members were invited to try the devices out in the Smart Start
cars. Don't
fret... everyone passed!
The
final speaker of the day was William Looney of the Sex Offender Registry
Board. William's
presentation consisted of a very detailed explanation of the Sex
Offender Classification Process as well as a review of the Levels of
Classification. This was a
great review for everyone given the fact that as Officers who work with
children, I am sure that we are all asked about the Sex Offenders in the
communities. William
provided handouts to everyone with information on the various forms,
steps of the processes, as well as the information on the updated CJIS
Web Registration. Should you
have any additional questions for him, he can be reached at William.Looney@state.ma.us
or 978-740-6454.
Lt Dave Millett -
Marblehead, has agreed to become the "Information Officer" of the League and
issue press releases about us to the various papers.
The only way for this to be a success and for us to get any press
is if he your local media's information!
Please contact at dmillett@marblehead.org
or at 781-631-1212. Wouldn't
it be great to have a group photo taken at the Citizen Safety Award
Presentation and for it to be submitted to your local paper for some
easy, positive press? Just
like the website - the success of this League really depends on the
Members' commitment to it so drop Dave a note or a call!
The
final highlight of the day was Ofc. Mitch Powers honoring the most
recent past President, Ofc. Larry Rotondi.
As you can see, Larry is enjoying his time away from the podium
as he arrived in a relaxed fashion!
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