Members of Several Local Fire Agencies Help Battle New Mexico Blaze

Here's a roundup of news from San Diego County last week:

– A team of nine experts from several fire departments – San Diego, Heartland, Chula Vista, Carlsbad, Escondido, Coronado, and ; and from two police departments: San Diego and El Cajon – left for New Mexico Thursday to help control a wildfire that has burned 84,000 acres of rough terrain. The team is composed of members of the county all-hazards incident management team and will train with another incident management team for a week.

– On Saturday, May 21 thousands of young adults visited Kearny Mesa Juvenile Detention Facility to learn about the juvenile justice system at San Diego County’s Probation Department’s annual Open House. The experience gave the visitors the opportunity to learn first-hand about the life of a detainee, including a juvenile court hearing and a stay at the detention facility.

 “We want to help kids and their parents understand that there are serious consequences to illegal behavior,” said Chief Probation Officer Mack Jenkins. “We work with the community to provide a variety of programs and services for detained juveniles to help them get back on track, but we would prefer that they never enter the system in the first place.”

Hundreds of representatives from the juvenile justice system, community agencies, and local law enforcement met Tuesday and Wednesday in a seminar to learn how to decrease the number of repeat crimes by delinquent youth in San Diego County. By increasing the use of evidence-based practices, these groups seek to help delinquent youth make and keep positive changes in life.

– On Tuesday, May 24 the County Board of Supervisors approved the expansion of the successful Coverage Initiative Program to include the County Board of Low Income Health Program (LIHP) beginning July 1. Leveraging federal dollars, LIHP will provide low-income, uninsured adults access to primary care and mental health benefits.

“The LIHP addresses a key component to our “Live, Well, San Diego!” strategy to build better health throughout the region,” said Nick Macchione, Director of HHSA. “Treating the whole health of a person—physical and mental—leads to better clinical and cost outcomes.”

– To celebrate National Trails Day, which is June 4, the San Diego County Department of Parks and Recreation invites the public to pitch in on morning trail improvements and enjoy giveaways, lunch, and live entertainment all for free from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Los Peñasquitos Canyon Preserve. Volunteers of all ages will be able to choose from a variety of projects and work in groups.

National Trails Day also marks the opening of the link between Otay Valley Regional Park’s 8-mile trail system and the 26-mile Bayshore Bikeway. Otay Valley Regional Park will host its first park-wide community event, “Discover Otay Valley Regional Park,” with activities in seven different areas of the park.

– County of San Diego offices will be closed Monday, May 30 for Memorial Day. and teen centers will be closed, as well as all county libraries. County parks and campgrounds will remain open and all offices will resume normal hours May 31.

– The local case total of pertussis, also known as whooping cough disease, has increased to 212 as five new cases were confirmed in schools across the region.  Residents can get immunized at their primary care doctor or, if they don’t have a regular health care provider, at an HHSA Public Health Center.

– On June 1, the San Diego County Vector Control program will launch the second application of mosquito larvicide at various wetlands throughout the county by helicopter in order to reduce the risk of the West Nile Virus.