By Cyndy Zuniga
The months of April and May were busy months for the Dolph Briscoe Unit
staff, and June seems to be going the same direction.
First, we bid farewell to Lt. Hamilton who promoted to the Clements
Unit, Lt. A. Garza who transferred to the Smith Unit and Officer B. McDonald
who transferred to the Torres Unit. They are all missed and we hope to
one day hear from them.
A big welcome goes out to Lt. F. Duran who was promoted to our unit
from the Cotulla Unit. We also welcome the following OJTs: A. Avila, D.
Bolling, A. Hernandez, E. Lomas, E. Patterson, I. Perez, E. Reyes, F. Bookout
and M. Davis.
The Dolph Briscoe Employee of the Month was 2nd Shift Officer Jesse
Perez. Officer Perez was selected for his outstanding qualities in work
performance. The Safety Spotlight Award was awarded to Mailroom Clerk Maria
Lozano for her knowledge and training in safety.
Special Olympics were two words that were heard repeatedly on the unit.
The Dolph Briscoe staff not only attended and joined in on other units
fund-raising efforts but held some of our own.
We hosted a volleyball tournament on April 29 which involved seven teams.
The Briscoe, Cotulla and Torres units were well represented in the tournament.
First place went to the Young Guns of Pearsall.
A Cinco de Mayo sale was held on the unit a week later and both functions
together brought close to $600 for our efforts.
On May 23, the Briscoe and Cotulla units were involved in the Torch
Run from Cotulla to Dilley. Those who ran were Warden Lumpkin, P. Herring,
P. Sifuentes, R. Campos, R. Garcia, F. Gonzalez, A. Velasquez, O. Garcia,
M. Garcia, M. Moreno, J.C. Gonzalez, and J. Moreno. They deserve a big
thank you and lots of Gatorade for running their part of the relay in the
hottest part of the day — NOONTIME!
Attending the Special Olympics ceremonies in Arlington for the Dolph
Briscoe Unit were P. Herring, M. Moreno, J. Reyes and C. Zuniga.
Has anyone ever wondered where the rank and officers go after they get
off duty? On our unit, they play softball and more softball.
The Dolph Briscoe Unit “Code Red” team not only entered the
Dilley Summer Softball League, they were the champions.
They played twice a week for six weeks and were 10-2 for the season.
The teams was lead by Warden Lumpkin and his lieutenants R. Lopez and K.
Stiefer. Other team members were Sgt. E. Fletcher, Sgt. A. Falcon, Officers
J. Perez, R. Campos, R. Carrizales, R. Moore, P. Sifuentes, F. Gonzalez,
J. Morales, R. Garcia, A. Vela, L. Travis and T. Sanchez. The furniture
factory was represented by W. Esqueda.
This same group with the addition of Lt. R. Clute and Officers W. Keck
and J. Reyes then entered the Uvalde Police Department Tournament and finished
in second place.
They played six games and finished with a record of 4-2. With this kind
of success rate, we guess that they will be playing all summer long. Bring
out the sunscreen!
The softball team is not the only group of athletes on the unit. We
also have our co-ed volleyball team. The team recently entered the Pearsall
Potato Festival Volleyball Tournament and finished in sixth place. Playing
on the volleyball team were Warden Lumpkin, R. Silva, T. Sanchez, R. Garcia,
O. Garcia, G. Salcedo, M. Garcia and L. Martinez.
On May 9, correctional officers were feted to a snack in the visitation
room.
Officers were given sausage wraps, chips, drinks and desserts for a
job well done.
Helping with this project were Maj. Kennedy, Capt. Portillo (who cooked
sausage), Sgt. Avery, P. Herring and C. Zuniga. This was the first time
this was done and we hope to make a bigger and better event for all employees
next year.
