Features

By: Kira Villareal

Local citizens are assisting the Schertz Police Department and doing their part to help make their community a safer place thanks to the Schertz Citizens on Patrol Program. The program allows residents to serve as the eyes and ears of the police department, patrolling their neighborhoods and alerting the police to anything suspicious or unusual that might warrant further investigation.

In addition to patrolling various neighborhoods, the program volunteers assist with such tasks as collecting speed data for traffic studies and helping with traffic control and barricades for City parades and other events. There is a dedicated patrol car for the program that the volunteers use when on duty – a Chevy Tahoe which is specially labeled with the program graphics and logo.

The Citizens on Patrol program is just one of many volunteer opportunities within the larger Schertz Police Department Volunteer Auxiliary Program, created in 2021 to provide opportunities for members of the community to work with members of the department. Although the Citizens on Patrol program had been in existence many years prior, its membership had dwindled before the department revived it in December 2021 with updates that included the new patrol car and efforts to educate the community about the program and recruit new volunteers.

While the volunteers do not make arrests or stop vehicles for speeding, they still serve as a valuable resource for the department, performing those tasks that don’t require a police officer and freeing up the police force to focus on other critical activities.

Officer Anna Kraft currently serves as Special Projects Officer for the Schertz Police Department and is the coordinator of the Citizens on Patrol program. She was instrumental in reviving the program this past year after learning about how well similar programs had been working in other communities.

“I saw how this type of program could be a great asset to the community and the police department,” said Kraft. “The police can’t be everywhere, so this program enables them to focus on the most urgent community needs while allowing the volunteers to use their knowledge of their own neighborhoods to assist in identifying unusual activity.”

Kraft restarted the program by first updating the Citizens on Patrol car and finding a former member of the program to drive the vehicle in a local parade. This began generating calls to the department from people inquiring about the program. Kraft also started posting about the program on social media and this generated additional interest and led people to start applying. Currently, Citizens on Patrol has 12 active members, ten of whom joined the program in the past six months.

Kraft says that the program is a diverse representation of the community, including men and women of all ages. Some are retired, some have a background in military or law enforcement, and some have full-time jobs and families. All are united in their desire to help make their community a safer place and to help the Schertz Police Department.

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Tim O’Neil has been a volunteer with the Schertz Police Department since 1998 and is a current member of the Citizens on Patrol. He says he has always been motivated by the desire to assist his community and the police department, and that he also really enjoys the social aspect of the job. “I feel it is important for all of us to get involved with helping make our city a better place,” said O’Neil. “Anytime we can free up a police officer to do the more demanding parts of the job, it’s a win for everyone.”

Another Citizens on Patrol Member, Deborah Stone, says she also enjoys the opportunity to help the police department and has seen a very positive response to the group’s work. “I joined after I retired from Randolph AFB civil service to help my community and assist the police department in any way needed,” said Stone. “Just driving the car around makes people aware of what we do, and it’s very enjoyable and fulfilling when you see how the community responds.”

Citizens on Patrol volunteers must be at least 21 years of age with a valid driver’s license and must fill out an application form which can be obtained at the police department headquarters or completed online. Applicants must then be fingerprinted and pass a background check. Finally, they will be required to pass a few brief online training courses including security risk training and defensive driving. If they are not already CPR and AED certified, they will also need to take these classes in person to receive their certifications.

Once the volunteers are ready to begin the program, they’ll receive an orientation to the vehicle and then they can get started with their duties. There are two main types of work that they can do – neighborhood patrolling and working on special assignments such as operating a radar gun for traffic studies or helping with community events. Officer Kraft will usually send an email to the group as the special assignments come up and assign specific volunteers for each task. For the neighborhood patrol, the group members have more flexibility to select times, the number of hours, and the areas of town in which they would like to work. They can then reserve the patrol car and check it out for their desired time.

Interim Police Chief Marc Bane has been a firm supporter of the Citizens on Patrol Program and was instrumental in helping Office Kraft revitalize the program. He notes that he expected the program to provide numerous benefits, which are now being realized. “I wanted to revive the Citizens on Patrol Program because it has great value to the department and the community,” said Bane. “The benefits include supplementing our staff on various projects, increasing the department presence in the community, and creating an opportunity for members of the community to get to know us and learn how we work.”

Judging by the positive response so far, the program is already proving to be a popular volunteer opportunity, and the department is optimistic that it will see continued growth in the coming year. Kraft says that her long-term goal is to gain enough volunteers to support a second patrol car.

Anyone interested in joining the Citizens on Patrol Program can find more information and an application form at Schertz.com/ VolunteerAuxiliary. They can also contact Officer Anna Kraft at (210) 619-1264 for more information.

By: Jaime Cline

Schertz is a city of vounteers. "People just come together and pitch in where we need help,” shares Ruth Tienor, a volunteer with the Schertz Public Library and member of the Library Advisory Board for 44 years.

That was exactly the case in 1977 when the residents of Schertz petitioned the city council to start the Schertz Library. At the time, the two nearest libraries were miles away in Seguin and San Antonio and the residents were eager to have access to their own local library. “Twelve of us ladies divided up the town’s 12,000 residents and went door to door to get our petition signed. We presented the signed petition to the city council with over 1,250 signatures— many from members of the community who were concerned about our children growing up without a library that was nearby,” remembers Tienor. “I started volunteering with the library in 1978—they had asked if anyone had any library experience during the petition time and I raised my hand. I joined the Library Advisory Board a few years later,” shares Margaret Riley, a member of the Library Advisory Board for 42 years.

The library truly started as a community effort. Communitysupported, community-established, and community-run— donations poured in to start and the community banded together to help the library get off the ground. “The city council really just trusted us and got us working and off we went. I remember going down there with my husband and putting up drywall and pitching in where we could. We really just started from scratch,” remembers Riley. “Our first library board had 12 members. It comprised of our town vet, our bank CEO, and many others, most of whom had full-time jobs too. They all rolled up their sleeves and would divide up the work—from manning the building to even doing a deep clean once a week,” Tienor explains. “I’ve always loved books. On my way home when I was younger, I could take a small detour and go to the library and that gave me the opportunity to always have books to read. I started on that degree path in college and actually served as an elementary school, junior high school, and high school librarian for twenty years. Volunteering was just a natural way to give back but also do something I enjoyed,” shares Riley.

The Schertz Public Library has now grown to 31,300 cardholders and saw more than 12,000 visitors in March. Its collection boasts 141, 662 titles and a large array of materials including e-books and e-audio books. “Our library is hugely supported by our volunteers,” shares Library Director Melissa Uhlhorn.

“Our volunteers not only help with items within the library like shelving and sorting the incoming books, but they also help prepare materials for our in-person programs like our summer and winter reading programs. They also manage our bookstore called the “Read Before Bookstore”—accepting the donations, cleaning the books, pricing, and running the store. All of the funds that they raise in the bookstore is used for programming and supplies,” explains Uhlhorn. “We sell books by the inch in the bookstore—it really is the best deal in town. Our hardcover books are 50 cents an inch and our paperbacks are 25 cents an inch. We have a great vintage section and each donation box that comes in is like opening a treasure chest. We always wonder what we are going to find,” shares Tienor. “We’ve had so many donations come in after COVID. People had the time to go through their attics and garages and we’re still trying to catch up on processing them all. We meet every Tuesday and go through all of the donations to see what’s come in, clean them up, and organize. Our regulars that come in know that Tuesday is the day to come in,” Riley shares with a smile.

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“Through the bookstore and other fundraising efforts, they have been able to not only fund new digital content like e-books, audiobooks, and our online video streaming service, but they also helped fund Brainfuse, our online tutoring program. It’s a service where you can connect to a live tutor online for any subject and all levels. In 2009, they were able to help put $50,000 towards the construction costs of the library building and some of the furniture as well,” explains Uhlhorn. As you walk through the library and its adjoining “Read Before Bookstore” you notice the modern space mixed in with touches from the past--like an antique sofa that’s perfect to sit on to flip through the latest New York Times Best Seller. “What’s really remarkable is to see the journey from the start. The card catalog for example was donated to us by the Randolph Officer’s Wives Club in 1978. We used it for years but now, the systems are all on computer. Each library book gets an RFID tag put in it so that when it comes down the book return drop, it’s automatically checked in. You can use the self-check stations at the library and the librarians no longer have to stamp the cards in the back of the books with the return dates. It’s all come so far and that’s really incredible to see how much we can offer servicewise now to the community,” shares Tienor. “It’s a good feeling to be able to help people. Whether that’s supplying access to affordable books for our community at our book sale each year, finding specific books for our regulars that come into the book store, or even recommending a new book to someone—I just read the best seller “The Midnight Library” by Matt Haig, it’s really rewarding,” says Riley.

Learn more about joining the Library Advisory Board at Schertz.com/boardsandcommissions. The Library Advisory Board meets on the first Monday of each month at 6:30 p.m. in Schertz Public Library Meeting Room 1. The Schertz Public Library is also now looking for volunteers for its teen and adult program. Learn more at Schertz.com/603/Volunteer.