By Councilmember Bob Kellar
There is nothing quite like the feeling of pride that fills me when our Hometown Hero banners are hung on City street poles. This patriotic occurrence will take place once again, just prior to Memorial Day in May.
The Hometown Hero Banner program was established by the City of Santa Clarita as a way to recognize and pay tribute to currently serving, active duty personnel in the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines and Coast Guard that are either Santa Clarita residents or immediate family members of current residents. I encourage you to stop and read the names and see the faces on the banners that will be placed in Canyon Country, Newhall, Saugus and Valencia, and also visit the Fallen Warrior Memorial Bridge to see our Gold Star military banners. In addition to the Memorial Day weekend, Hometown Heroes banners will also be installed throughout Santa Clarita for the Fourth of July and Veterans Day.
We hope that every single actively serving member of the military from our City will be recognized with a Hometown Hero Banner. Thanks to our generous community sponsors, these banners are achievable for any budget. Each banner costs $417.50 plus tax, but thanks to sponsors, a special $100 discounted rate is currently available. If your family cannot afford the cost of a banner, full and partial sponsorships are available.
If you are interested in learning more, or becoming a sponsor, please reach out to me at [email protected] or visit santa-clarita.com/heroes.
We are also encouraging all residents to help out our hard-working sheriff deputies by taking part in the 9 p.m. Routine. This new social media craze is taking off across the country and encouraging everyone to share their #9pmRoutine. What is it you may ask? The 9 p.m. Routine is what every household in the valley should be doing when the clock strikes 9:00 p.m. every evening. It is making sure your doors and windows are locked, your valuables are stored inside and out of view and if your car is parked on the street or in your driveway, the doors are locked.
Would-be crooks are always looking for an easy grab – don’t help them out! Lock up to protect your valuables and your family. Let’s help our deputies keep Santa Clarita the safe community we all enjoy. Remember to post your #9pmRoutine on social media and make sure you check out ours! On Facebook and Instagram please like/follow @CityofSantaClarita and on Twitter @SantaClarita.
While we are on the topic of public safety – I want to remind everyone about our Special Needs Registry. A person of any age, with any kind of special need or disability, can be registered if they live in an area served by the Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff’s Station. The tool allows guardians to upload vital information to the registry, which can help a sheriff’s deputy during an emergency, including the family member’s name, photograph, address, emergency contact, medical diagnosis and suggestions on how to approach the individual.
The Special Needs Registry is available online at santa-clarita.com/SNR. It is a free safety tool for residents that is maintained by the City of Santa Clarita, the Community and Law Enforcement Aware Response (CLEAR) initiative and the Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff’s Station.
The information stored in the registry is confidential and only accessible by sheriff’s deputies. It provides sheriff’s deputies with real-time information securely stored in the cloud, making it accessible from anywhere with an internet connection. Sheriff’s deputies can quickly generate a missing person’s flyer and share it with the community via social media and the City’s Nixle public safety notification system.
The Special Needs Registry is a valuable and life-saving tool. If you care for an individual with special needs, such as down syndrome, epilepsy or bipolar disorder, I strongly encourage you to register them. The registry saves precious moments when there are none to spare during a missing persons search.
For more information on the Special Needs Registry, please visit santa-clarita.com/SNR.
Bob Kellar is a member of the Santa Clarita City Council and can be reached at [email protected].
