Each month I am able to connect with our community through this wonderful column in which I share positive accomplishments, great news and inspiring stories of courageous acts. It has been an amazing six months of sharing the positivity that goes around our City, and I am so grateful for the reader participation—keep them coming Santa Clarita!
My first bit of news came from Shirley Miller at the Santa Clarita Sheriff’s Station, highlighting two great men who give back so much to our community! Shirley shared:
Our station has started an Employee of the Month program where each month a designated committee made up of sworn and professional staff choose one sworn employee and one professional staff member. Last month, the City of Santa Clarita recognized our employees of the month at the City Council meeting.
Bob Garcia is our Training/Scheduling Deputy. He arranges training for our staff and has the important job of scheduling patrol deputies out in the field 365 days a year, 24 hours a day. Garcia has been with the LASD for 15 years, and at SCV Sheriff’s since 2009. His wife works as a law enforcement technician (dispatcher) for LASD.
“My job is challenging and it can be stressful at times but it gives me great satisfaction,” said Garcia, “to know that I am able to help serve the community by making sure we have patrol deputies scheduled around the clock, ready and able to respond to calls at any given moment.”
Garcia is known to sometimes even cover shifts himself if there is an unfilled vacancy. He can be seen at the station at all hours, and that is not an understatement.
Custody Assistant Manny Ramirez works as one of our station’s jailers. He deals with inmates, arrestees, deputies, and professional staff. He has been with LASD for 11 years. One of our detectives described Ramirez as “one of the hardest workers that he has come across during his time on with the department.” Ramirez is known for his calm, pleasant demeanor and professionalism.
“I do like my job,” said Ramirez, “It definitely makes me feel good to know I’m able to make a difference through my interactions with others.”
“And my co-workers at SCV Sheriff’s Station,” Ramirez added, “They are my second family, my law enforcement family. They are like brothers and sisters to me.”
And we know Ramirez is not only a hard worker at our station but also a positive role model for his three young sons.
Last month, on Tuesday, August 29 Hart High School dedicated a Wall of Honor to those who have served our Country. Hart High School is the oldest school in Santa Clarita, having opened its doors in 1947. The school honored the thousands of graduates who have served and given their lives in service to our country as well as all of those who have served.
In recent news: Deputy Natalie Hidalgo has been appointed as the school resource officer for Golden Valley High School, Sierra Vista Junior High School, and Sequoia School. She has served as a patrol deputy at Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff’s Station for three years, and she has been with the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department for a total of six years.
She graduated from Valencia High School, College of the Canyons, and then continued on to California State University Los Angeles where she graduated with a bachelor’s degree in political science. Hidalgo comes from a law enforcement family as her father is a retired LASD deputy and her sister currently serves as a LASD deputy at a jail facility.
Hidalgo commented that when she first went off to college, she wanted to become a lawyer but her father encouraged her to become a deputy.
“I decided to become a deputy, to at least give it a try,” she said. “And after I tried it, I found out I loved it.”
Deputy Hidalgo looks forward to working with the youth in Santa Clarita Valley and being a motivating force for the positive.
“I thank my dad for getting my siblings and I where we are in life. And I want to try and motivate the students, to push them on to the right paths, and make good choices.” said Hidalgo.