As the 2010-11 school year kicks off, Citrus County students will be riding their bicycles or walking to and from school.

You’ll see them waiting at bus stops.  School buses will be everywhere, and lights will be flashing by designated school zones.

Do you need to be fingerprinted as part of a state-required background check for employment, to apply for a concealed weapon/firearm license or any other reason where fingerprints are necessary?

If so, volunteers with the Citrus County Sheriff’s Office are ready to help.

By Gail Tierney
CCSO Public Information Officer

The Citrus County Sheriff’s Office has a long history of making strides through innovative technology and sound law enforcement strategies.

By Gail Tierney
CCSO Public Information Officer

Since early April, Colorado State University’s renowned forecast team is predicting that the 2010 Atlantic hurricane season, which runs from June 1 to Nov. 30, will see above-average activity.

By Gail Tierney
CCSO Public Information Officer

The Citrus County Sheriff’s Office recently revamped its field training officer (FTO) program with an eye toward better preparing its new hires – particularly those with no prior law enforcement experience – for solo patrol duty on the road.

Gail Tierney
Citrus County Sheriff's Office

Since July 1, 2002, Florida motorists are required to move over or slow down when emergency vehicles are stopped on the side of roadways with their lights flashing.

By Gail A. Tierney
Public Information Officer

You’ve seen them on TV and in action movies.

Men and women clad in black, their faces covered, semi-automatic weapons at the ready.

They rappel out of helicopters, breach entryways and take control of volatile, potentially dangerous situations.

By Gail A. Tierney
Public Information Officer

Starting in mid-October, the Citrus County Sheriff’s Office became the first agency in Florida to implement Emergency Police Dispatch, or EPD.

The basis for EPD is a unified standard of questions that call-takers ask to make sure the appropriate actions are taken.

By Gail A. Tierney
Public Information Officer

Traditionally, the day after Thanksgiving, or Black Friday, is the busiest, most hectic holiday shopping day for consumers and retailers alike.

Not surprisingly, the Monday following Thanksgiving, or Cyber Monday, is the equivalent for e-tailers looking for their own piece of the commerce pie.

By Gail A. Tierney
CCSO Public Information Officer

[img_assist|nid=568|title=|desc=|link=url|url=http://citrusdaily.com/lecanto/think-hurricanes/2009/05/05/5060.html|align=left|width=90|height=113]When I met with Sheriff Dawsy to discuss possible topics for this month’s column, he surprised me by saying he’d like to take a crack at it.