County Lines for July 24, 2008 Santa Barbara County County honorsanti-DUI officers Local law enforcement officers who have been involved in the county’s anti-DUI campaign were recognized Tuesday. Thirteen officers received a small uniform pin for their work in the “Avoid the 12” operations that have taken place throughout the county in conjunction with major public events such as the Santa Maria Elks Rodeo and the Santa Barbara County Vintners’ Festival in Lompoc. Officer Christina Ortega of the Santa Barbara Police Department was awarded the title of “Best DUI Officer” for her arrest of 13 impaired drivers during the campaign’s 19-day winter holiday crackdown, officials said. Officer Eric Andreason of the Lompoc Police Department, Officer Israel Reyes of the Guadalupe Police Department and Officer Doug Klug of the Santa Barbara Police Department were also recognized. California Highway Patrol Officers Craig Carrier, Gus Garcia, Mike Gruver, Toby Hall, Mike Mallory, Philip Olsen, Michael Robinson, Ryan Sloan, Graham Walter and Scott Williams were also honored. Santa Maria Seminar for home buyers Saturday Anyone interested in learning about home ownership is invited to attend a free Home Buyer Education Workshop on Saturday. Hosted by the NeighborWorks HomeOwnership Center, the eight-hour seminar is scheduled to begin at 8:30 a.m. at the First American Title office, 411 E. Betteravia Road, Suite 200. The class is designed to go over the entire process of buying a home, including what questions to ask Realtors and lenders, organizers said. Additionally, the workshop is meant to explain the process of offer and counter offer, inspections, and how real estate agents work and get paid. The NeighborWorks center in Santa Maria was opened in December 2007 and is run by the Ventura-based Cabrillo Economic Development Corporation. The group is a nonprofit development corporation and the NeighborWorks center is a federally approved Housing and Urban Development counseling agency. The NeighborWorks HomeOwnership Center is in the United Way building, 1660 S. Broadway, suite 200. Vandenberg AFB AFA seeks sponsors for golf tourney The Air Force Association (AFA) is seeking sponsors for its 39th Annual Charity Golf Tournament on Aug. 15 at Marshallia Ranch Golf Course on Vandenberg Air Force Base. Sponsors for tees or greens, prize donations and teams of golfers are all sought. For more information, contact Denise LaLiberte at 606-7528 or denise.laliberte@ngc.com. The nonprofit organization will give proceeds to the local Air Force community. In the past, AFA has donated to Operation Kids Christmas and Angel Tree, along with providing funds to the Airmen’s Attic and helping purchase phone cards for airmen serving overseas. Additionally, AFA helps sponsor youth who join the Civil Air Patrol. Santa Barbara Man arrested after lengthy standoff A Carpinteria man suspected of barricading himself in a Santa Barbara residence for hours after fleeing from law enforcement officers is now in custody, according to Sgt. Alex Tipolt of the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Department. Christopher Anderson was arrested early Wednesday morning on suspicion of felony evading, being under the influence of a controlled substance and resisting arrest. He was being held in Santa Barbara County Jail in without bail because of a probation violation, according to a department spokesman. His age was unavailable. According to the department, deputies tried to stop a 1995 Jeep allegedly driven by Anderson near the intersection of State Street, Hollister Avenue and Highway 154 in Santa Barbara about 3 p.m. Tuesday but Anderson fled at high speed. After the Jeep crashed in front of a church and daycare center in the 4400 block of Hollister Avenue, deputies locked down the daycare center and called for a helicopter and a K9 unit. Deputies eventually received information that Anderson was in a residence in the 4500 block of Auhay Drive. When SWAT members entered the residence, they found Anderson hiding in a rear bedroom closet, Tipolt said, and he was arrested without incident around 1:20 a.m. -- From staff reports |