Latest news with #DepartmentofPublicSafety
Yahoo
6 hours ago
- General
- Yahoo
Andrew County earns Blue Shield designation
ANDREW COUNTY, Mo. (News-Press NOW) — The Andrew County Sheriff's Office received the Missouri Blue Shield designation for the community's commitment to improving public safety. The Missouri Blue Shield program recognizes local governments across that state that work to reduce crime, foster law enforcement collaboration and enhance public safety through community partnerships. Gov. Mike Kehoe established the program in January 2025 through Executive Order 25-03. 'The Department of Public Safety is proud to work alongside communities like the Andrew County Sheriff's Office that have shown exceptional dedication to enhancing public safety,' said Mark James, Director of the Missouri Department of Public Safety. 'This program is about fostering collaboration between local law enforcement agencies and the communities they serve. Our goal is to support these efforts, providing resources and guidance to help communities build sustainable, long-term solutions for crime reduction and public safety.' Communities that earn the Blue Shield will be reviewed annually to ensure continued commitment to the program's goals. Those with the designation will also get grant funding for law enforcement training and equipment through Gov. Kehoe's recommended state budget for the 2026 fiscal year.
Yahoo
3 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
Maine public safety dog dies in state vehicle that 'unexpectedly' stopped running
May 29—The state's "first official comfort dog" died Wednesday while inside a vehicle that "unexpectedly" stopped running. Baxter, a 3-year-old chocolate Labrador retriever, was found dead inside a state vehicle at the Bangor Regional Communications Center around 2 p.m. The vehicle, which he was regularly transported in, stopped running and the air conditioning turned off, the Department of Public Safety said in a statement Thursday. The agency is conducting an inspection to determine why and how the vehicle malfunctioned. A spokesperson did not respond Thursday to questions about how long the dog was left inside the vehicle and what type of vehicle he was in. Baxter was brought on to the Maine Bureau of Emergency Communications in 2022 to "help improve the mood and well-being of first-line responders in Maine's three emergency communication centers" in Augusta, Bangor and Houlton, the Department of Public Safety said. He was trained through the New Hampshire-based nonprofit Hero Pups, which pairs dogs with first responders and veterans. Since then, he has appeared at several conferences and spent time with dispatchers at the communications center, the Department of Public Safety said in social media posts. Copy the Story Link We believe it's important to offer commenting on certain stories as a benefit to our readers. At its best, our comments sections can be a productive platform for readers to engage with our journalism, offer thoughts on coverage and issues, and drive conversation in a respectful, solutions-based way. It's a form of open discourse that can be useful to our community, public officials, journalists and others. We do not enable comments on everything — exceptions include most crime stories, and coverage involving personal tragedy or sensitive issues that invite personal attacks instead of thoughtful discussion. You can read more here about our commenting policy and terms of use. More information is also found on our FAQs. Show less
Yahoo
3 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
Maine public safety dog dies in state vehicle which 'unexpectedly' stopped running
May 29—The state's "first official comfort dog" died Wednesday while inside a vehicle that "unexpectedly" stopped running. Baxter, a 3-year-old chocolate Labrador, was found dead inside a state vehicle at the Bangor Regional Communications Center around 2 p.m.. The vehicle, which he was regularly transported in, stopped running and the air conditioning turned off, the Department of Public Safety said in a statement Thursday. The agency is conducting an inspection to determine why and how the vehicle malfunctioned. A spokesperson did not immediately respond to questions about how long the dog was left inside the vehicle and what type of vehicle he was in. Baxter was brought on to the Maine Bureau of Emergency Communications in 2022 to "help improve the mood and well-being of first-line responders in Maine's three emergency communication centers," the Department of Public Safety said. This story will be updated. Copy the Story Link We believe it's important to offer commenting on certain stories as a benefit to our readers. At its best, our comments sections can be a productive platform for readers to engage with our journalism, offer thoughts on coverage and issues, and drive conversation in a respectful, solutions-based way. It's a form of open discourse that can be useful to our community, public officials, journalists and others. We do not enable comments on everything — exceptions include most crime stories, and coverage involving personal tragedy or sensitive issues that invite personal attacks instead of thoughtful discussion. You can read more here about our commenting policy and terms of use. More information is also found on our FAQs. Show less
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Health
- Yahoo
14 killed in GA crashes over Memorial Day weekend
Fourteen people died in crashes over the Memorial Day weekend in Georgia, according to the Department of Public Safety. The crashes happened in Brunswick, Clayton County, Cobb County, Douglasville, Gwinnett County, Perry, Richmond County, South Fulton and Statesboro. GSP says the holiday travel period was from May 23 at 6 p.m. to May 26 at 11:59 p.m. RELATED STORIES 3 college friends killed in I-75 crash remembered as 'the most genuine people' Former Kool & the Gang member dies in car crash in Mableton 6-year-old, 66-year-old killed in Memorial Day crash in Gwinnett County South Fulton police investigating hit and run that killed woman walking in roadway In addition to the deadly crashes, troopers responded to over 390 crashes across the state and reported a total of 189 injuries. Here are the other statistics that GSP shared: 26,200 traffic stops 410 arrest for driving under the influence (DUI) 18,000 warnings and over 13,000 citations. Over 1,050 distracted driving citations Almost 1,800 seatbelt citations More than 300 child restraint citations [DOWNLOAD: Free WSB-TV News app for alerts as news breaks]
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Gov. Cox creates new council to help prepare Utah for a bright future
As the state of Utah continues to grow rapidly, a new coordinating council will bring together various state agencies and other entities to coordinate and communicate plans for the future in order to keep quality of life in the state from decreasing. On Wednesday, Utah Gov. Spencer Cox signed an executive order to create the BUILD coordinating council. BUILD stands for: Blueprint for Utah's Infrastructure, Land, and Development. The council will coordinate efforts between multiple agencies for long-term planning in the state and will be chaired by state planning coordinator and senior adviser to the governor Laura Hanson. Hanson said the creation of this council comes as Utah is at a pivotal point where the state is growing rapidly. When this growth first started, many Utahns were excited about it, Hanson said. 'But we've hit a point where Utahns are starting to feel a little anxious about the growth and a little bit of concern, worry that the Utah of the future may not be as high quality as the Utah of today,' Hanson said. The council will include people from various state agencies such as the Department of Public Safety, the Department of Transportation and the Department of Environmental Quality. Other associations represented on the council include the Salt Lake Chamber of Commerce, Janet Quinney Lawson Institute for Land, Water, and Air, and the Utah Association of Counties. 'As Utah evolves, everything from water use to transportation is affected,' said Cox, according to a press release. 'This council will help us combine efforts and make better decisions to maintain the quality of life that makes Utah exceptional.' 'The goal of this coordinating council is to bring together decision makers and thought leaders and researchers in a whole variety of different policy areas, from transportation, air quality, economic development, housing, water, homelessness and public safety, the Olympics, but also local governments and private sector partners through the chamber to come together and have a conversation about what is the kind of Utah that we want for the future,' Hanson said. The council will meet to discuss the various planning efforts of the different groups and how to coordinate those efforts. Hanson said the goal is to 'ensure that we are moving toward the shared goals that we have as Utahns, and make sure that the future is just as great as it is today, and that we don't lose all the things that make Utah special, even as we bring in a larger population.' Different state agencies and other groups are developing their own long-range plans and goals within their areas, and this new council will provide a way for these efforts and different entities within the state to be aligned and coordinated. The creation of this council builds on HCR11, which was passed by the state Legislature in 2024 and focused on cross-issue impacts. 'Even if a policy area doesn't directly touch another policy area, there are indirect connections between these things like transportation and our air quality, like our housing and development patterns and our water consumption or preservation of agricultural land and open space. There are all these connections between these various different topics,' Hanson said. She added that, many times, policymakers and state agencies are focused on specific, individual issues, but regular Utahns are concerned about quality of life as a whole, and this council will be able to align many different issues in order to make sure Utah as a whole continues to improve. Specific areas that the council will be looking into include water, transportation, housing, air quality and recreation. 'It is very broad, which I think, is a challenge, but it's also an opportunity for us to think really holistically about where we want Utah to be in the future,' Hanson said. The coordinating council will meet together four times a year, with Hanson as the chair. Two yet-to-be-named co-chairs who will work with Hanson. One will be an executive branch co-chair and the other will be an external stakeholder co-chair. Hanson added that some sort of executive committee might also be formed within the council that can do work in between the quarterly meetings. The council's first meeting will be on July 22 at 9:30 a.m. at the Capitol. This meeting will be open to the public. At the first meeting, the group will start identifying what stakeholders want Utah to look like in the future and set statewide goals based on public input from the past. The different state agencies and entities involved will also be able to share their goals and plans for the future and how those can affect other areas and groups. 'So now we're building those connections, and it's really all about coordination. It's about talking together more. It's about being intentional about the future that we want.' The council will also develop an annual report that will be given to the governor and Legislature. This report will discuss changes that are happening in the state, constraints on natural resources and infrastructure, and will outline a list of high priority areas that need to be focused on as a state. 'We have limited resources, but we have tons of needs, and so this is an opportunity for us to come together and say, OK, with our limited resources, which focus areas are going to get us the biggest bang for the buck, what are the most critical things that can make or break quality of life in Utah,' Hanson said.
