Volunteer Firefighter Wins Big on Game Show

San Diego County Volunteer Fireman Joe Pellegrini, come on down! You are the next contestant on “The Price is Right!”

The 22-year-old Pacific Beach man was among a group of local volunteer firefighters who drove up to Hollywood where “The Price is Right” is filmed. They were there for a special “Salute to Firefighters”. Not only was he selected as a contestant, he scored a new car, and is now likely vying for the son-of-the-year award.

The show taped in March, but contestants sign contracts saying they won’t reveal what happens before it airs. That meant  Pellegrini had to keep a big secret from his family, especially his mother. The show aired today (Friday), but he was assigned to fighting the San Felipe Fire near Borrego Springs, so his mother, grandmother and some friends watched the show without him.

After he got back in the station, he called his mother. She and his grandmother were both really excited about his win, especially his grandmother because it’s her favorite show, he said.

That’s when he told his mother that he was giving her the new 2013 Honda Civic LX because he knew she needed a new car and had been talking about getting one. He called it a late Mother’s Day present.

“She was extremely happy. She thought I was kidding,” Pellegrini said.

His mom almost spoiled her surprise when she noticed a letter from the “Price is Right,” he said. She knew he had won something but she never suspected he would give it to her.

Pellegrini said it was his second visit to the Price is Right show. He had gone up last December with some fraternity brothers and his friend won a showcase. If you’re not a regular viewer, that’s a big deal. Two contestants are given the chance to bid on prize packages worth thousands of dollars, and the closest bid wins. Turns out, his friend’s luck rubbed off on him.

Pelligrini described his experience on the game show. Everyone starts out in a big line outside the studio and tries their best to dazzle the screeners who choose the contestants. People have to take their personality up a notch and come across as outspoken and energetic so they will “make good television,” he said. He obviously made a good impression because he was the only one among his group that was chosen as a contestant.

Inside the studio, the firefighter audience was cheering so loudly as they started the show that he almost didn’t hear his name called.

“Oh, that’s me, that’s me!”  Pellegrini remembers thinking.

He first won an iPad and iPad mini, then had the chance to win a new car. He gave host Drew Carey a junior firefighting badge sticker from San Diego County which the host immediately stuck on his suit. To win the car, Pellegrini had to play a price matching game. Initially, he guessed a wrong answer, but Carey gave Pellegrini a chance to revise two numbers and when he did, he won the car.

Pellegrini volunteers at San Diego Rural fire stations as part the San Diego County Fire Authority. He has been volunteering since October of 2011 and recently earned his bachelor’s of science degree from SDSU as well as a degree in fire protection technology from San Diego Miramar College.

“I love it,” Pellegrini said of volunteering. “Obviously, I’d like to get a (permanent) job at a department. I’m testing and applying wherever I can.” Hopefully, his luck will continue to pay off.

To watch the full episode of the show go to this link. He’s in the second half of the show.

Cooking Demos Offer Healthy Inspiration

 Shirley Salado, a nutrition educator with Farm and Home Advisor, teaches one of the County's new "Cook it Quick!" healthy cooking demonstrations.

 We’ve all been there. We’re rushing home from work, hungry and tired, and have little energy or patience left to cook dinner.

That’s where a series of new cooking demonstrations could provide a boost of inspiration.

The free classes, called “Cook it Quick!” started in April and offer employees practical ideas and instruction on how to put together quick, healthy meals. If you can’t make it to a session in person—there’s just one left June 21 at HHSA’s Health Services Complex on Rosecrans—check out a video of the first class on LMS. It’s simply called, “Wellness Cook It Quick Video.”

County Wellness Coordinator William Erese said he expects the Employee Wellness program to offer more cooking demonstrations in the future.

Shirley Salado, a nutrition educator with Farm and Home Advisor, taught the first two classes. At her class earlier this week, more than a dozen people watched as she started up an electrical wok and put together a vegetable-packed Asian stir-fry dish. She poured in some olive oil, onion, garlic, ginger and then colorful bags of pre-chopped vegetables including carrots, broccoli and cabbage. To add some more flavor, she stuck in some low sodium soy sauce, oyster sauce, sesame oil and seeds and chili flakes too. She encouraged the class to experiment with their favorite healthy seasonings or sauces.

Salado then showed the audience one way of incorporating both fruits and vegetables into breakfast fare by way of a green smoothie. She whipped up a drink in a blender using almond milk, spinach, carrots, pre-cut mango, frozen strawberries and banana.

“At every opportunity, try to build fruits and vegetables into your meals,” Salado said. “You can have a big lunch salad but why not start in the morning?”

She also showed off a chili dish she’d prepared the night before and then simmered all day in a slow cooker. She substituted chicken for turkey in this recipe below, which is also available online through Martha Stewart’s website here.

Spicy Turkey Chili

Prep time: 15 minutes

Total time: 3 hours, 45 minutes

Yield: serves 6

 

Ingredients:

·       1 1/2 lb. boneless, skinless turkey thighs cut into one inch pieces

·       3 cloves garlic, minced

·       1 medium yellow onion, diced small

·       2 Serrano chilies, seeded and minced

·       1 chipotle chili in adobo, seeded and minced

·       1 can (28 oz.) whole peeled tomatoes, pureed

·       2 tbsp. chili powder

·       Coarse salt

·       2 cans (15.5 oz. each) of black beans, drained and rinsed

·       1 tbsp. white vinegar

 

      Directions:

1.   In a 5- to 6- quart slow cooker, combine turkey, garlic, onion, Serrano chilies, chipotle chile, tomato puree, chili powder and one teaspoon salt. Cover and cook on high until turkey is fork-tender, 3 hours (or 6 hours on low). Add beans and cook until warmed through, about 30 min. more. Stir in vinegar and season with salt.

 

Cook’s Note:

Serve the chili with sliced jalapenos for heat, cilantro for fresh flavor and a dollop of sour cream to cool things off.

(From Martha Stewart Living magazine March 2013)

To sign up for a cooking demo or to watch the video of one, visit LMS.

Taking Her Customers’ Needs to Heart

Maria “Mia” Ruffier noticed her customer was having a hard time speaking one day in March. He was stuttering. A Board Assistant in the Clerk of the Board of Supervisor’s Office, Ruffier didn’t know if this was his normal speaking style or if the elderly gentleman was a little nervous.

As Ruffier, who is bilingual in English and Spanish, went through his passport application, she spoke with the man in his native Spanish. Ruffier spends the busy lunch hour – noon to 1 p.m. -- each day processing passports at the County Administration Center. She typically helps between four and seven customers a day.

A few minutes into their exchange, Ruffier noticed the man’s face losing color. It seemed to be turning gray. He reminded her of her late grandfather, who she used to tell to slow down and take care of himself.

She asked the man if he was feeling OK. No, he said. “I don’t feel good,” he replied in Spanish.

Turns out he’d felt dizzy the night before, too. She offered him a glass of water and he accepted. A few more minutes later, his application was ready to go and so the man started to get up. He began pushing himself up and out of a chair when the whole right side of his body just shut down. Ruffier gasped and leaned toward him, trying to prop him up.

"The muscles weren’t working,” Ruffier said. “They weren’t responding.”

“Siéntese, siéntese,” she told him in Spanish, meaning sit down, sit down.

Ruffier ran around the desk, calling out to her supervisor: “my customer almost fell over!” He had become dizzy and lost feeling in his arm, he said. He didn’t know what happened. She pulled up a chair and sat with him until Sheriff’s deputies and paramedics arrived. She explained to them the situation and the symptoms the man was experiencing.

Ruffier called the customer’s wife and told her what was going on. She put the man’s belongings in a plastic bag and gave it to the paramedics, who took him out in a stretcher. He thanked her.

“I almost wanted to cry,” she said.

Turned out the man had a history of heart trouble. He’d had two heart attacks. This time, Ruffier believes he was having a stroke, though she lost touch with him so she doesn’t know for sure. But his symptoms fit some of the key warning signs of a stroke, which according to the National Stroke Association, are:

• numbness or weakness in the face, arm or leg, especially on one side of the body
• confusion, trouble speaking or understanding
• trouble seeing in one or both eyes
• trouble walking, dizziness, loss of balance or coordination
• severe headache with no known cause

Ruffier said she was just glad this happened at the County Administration Center, where he was surrounded by people who could help. He had traveled by himself from his home in National City that day.

For her actions, she received a quarterly Clerk’s award. She called that humbling. Clerk of the Board Thomas J. Pastuszka said his department’s mission is to provide consistently excellent service to customers, and he praised Ruffier’s readiness to step in and help.

“In this situation, Mia's attentiveness and quick action made a significant impact on this gentleman's life,” Pastuszka said. “I am proud of her and all our staff who work hard to create a positive experience for our customers.”

Ruffier said she did what she would want someone else to do for her. “He was my priority,” she said.

“My mother used to say, ‘them today, us tomorrow,’ and it’s true.”

To learn more about preventing a stroke, check out this County News Center public service announcement featuring Supervisor Ron Roberts: Strike Out Stroke.

Edgemoor Honors RN and CNA of the Year

Wendy Liu was honored as the Edgemoor Skilled Nursing Facilities Nurse of the Year.

Phoebe Pascua was honored as the Certified Nursing Assistant of the Year at Edgemoor.

Dr. Rebecca Ferrini, Edgemoor's Medical Director, at the luncheon honoring the nurse and CNA of the year at Edgemoor.

Attendees enjoyed a healthy Live Well, San Diego! luncheon selection of fresh fruit.

Phoebe Pascua, left, Edgemoor CNA of the Year, and Wendy Liu, Edgemoor Nurse of the Year

Records Clerk's Total Recall Helps Nab Suspect

On average, Probation records clerk Mimi Bailey enters 156 probation cases per month, and she’s processed thousands of probationers’ cases in her job. Still, three months ago she immediately recognized one of them from a San Diego Police Department “Be on the Look Out” (BOLO) email flier and that led to his arrest for new crimes.

Bailey recently received a letter from the San Diego Police Department detective assigned to the case commending her for her sharp eyes.

She had entered the probationer’s case two to three months prior, but she not only recognized him from the photograph on the flier, she remembered that he was on probation for committing a similar crime using the same methods.

“I have a very good photogenic memory.  I can see someone today and then four days later see him in the community and say, ‘Oh that’s the guy and remember everything about the case,’” said Bailey.

She felt certain the probationer was the same person in the police flier about a man who was stealing over-the-counter medications from drug and grocery stores. She immediately notified her supervisor and sent a link to his photo.

The information was forwarded to San Diego police detective Bobby Rollins, who was able to pin three other store burglaries on the man.  Bailey said she was told the guy admitted committing the crimes when the detective showed him the photos.

“This is a prime example of having a quality employee that is focused on her work. (She) is to be commended for her job knowledge, enthusiasm and attention to detail, said Rollins in a letter to the Probation Department.

Law enforcement frequently sends the BOLO fliers, and Bailey always takes a look, but this is the first time she has recognized a wanted criminal. Bailey has worked for the County for 10 years, and she said it was nice to be recognized within her department.

She has a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice and is three classes away from earning a master’s degree in psychology. She aspires to work in law enforcement someday, perhaps as a homicide detective or a with the medical examiner’s office.

Local Celebrities Serve to Benefit Underserved Youth

This Friday, San Diego Chargers, Padres players and Sheriff Bill Gore will be serving lunch and trying to earn tips they can donate to a nonprofit that supports underserved youth and is closely linked to our County Probation Department.

The 13^th Annual Celebrity Waiter Luncheon will be held from 11 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. at the Market Creek venue in the Joe & Vi Jacobs Center, 404 Euclid Ave. in San Diego. A silent auction will begin at 11 and the program and lunch will start at noon.

Not sure if you’ll be able to go or not, given Friday time or the donation asked for a ticket — $100 for individuals or a table for 10 for $1,000. But the nonprofit that benefits is a great organization, so feel free to pass the information to anyone who might be interested.

San Diego County Probation Officer Heather Rios said the proceeds go to STAR/PAL, a nonprofit organization that brings law enforcement officers and kids together in positive programs.  STAR/PAL depends on public employees for its programming.  Four members of law enforcement—Rios and three San Diego police officers—work there full time.

The organization’s philosophy is that building a positive relationship between officers and youth creates safer neighborhoods in the future. Rios, who has worked as a probation officer for 14 years, was assigned to work directly with the STAR/PAL program last December and supports the organization’s efforts.

 “I worked so long in Juvenile Hall and I felt like I was getting a hold of kids after I could have helped them. Here, I get a chance to get to the kids before they get to that step where they have to go to Juvenile Hall,” Rios said. “I get to have more of an impact on these kids before they make that mistake, so it won’t affect the rest of their lives.”

STAR/PAL offers kids free recreational and sports programs that include field trips and educational programming such as diversion classes. Field trips include entertainment such as Circus Vargas, Disney on Ice, surfing clinics, fishing derbies, Junior Chargers Training Camp and the Padres Baseball Camp.

Often, the field trips are an opportunity for some of the kids to do or see things they otherwise might not, said Rios.

On a daily basis, about 35 kids come into the STAR/PAL center in City Heights for sports programs and a homework tutor hour. Annually, more than 10,000 youth participate in STAR/PAL activities or programs across the county.

The six-week-long diversion classes are taught by Rios and the three police officers. The program is offered four times a year with separate classes for girls and boys, she said. The kids are ordered to take the classes usually after being arrested for violating the 10 p.m. curfew, Rios said.  The classes focus on safety issues such as the dangers of drugs and alcohol, preventing sexual assault, conflict resolution, and crime prevention.

County Supervisor Ron Roberts will be presenting a Superheroes for Youth Award to former San Diego Mayor Jerry Sanders and his wife Rana Sampson.

To purchase a ticket for the Celebrity Waiter Luncheon, call (619) 531-2559 or email coleary@starpal.org. The STAR/PAL web site is at http://www.starpal.org.

County Officials Honor Staff for Graffiti Fight

Chairman Greg Cox recognized key public safety staffers at Tuesday’s board meeting for their role in the graffiti abatement program that took a Grand Golden Watchdog from the Taxpayers Association last week.

“This is a very unique program that was put together by a lot of different people,” Chairman Cox said. “…This is a perfect example of what we as a region can accomplish when we all work together.”

Sheriff Bill Gore and District Attorney Bonnie Dumanis also spoke at the meeting to honor their employees, many who have been or were involved in the graffiti program for years and were influential in seeing it adopted by police and public agencies all over the region.

Recognized were:

Undersheriff Ed Prendergast

A “driving force” in Graffiti Tracker being adopted across the Sheriff’s Department and region, Cox said.

Lt. Tony Ray

Who managed the program as it was successfully adopted by the Sheriff’s Department and regional agencies

Lt. Karen Stubkjaer

The current graffiti abatement program manager

Vista Deputy Kevin Johnston

“The most prolific graffiti investigator in San Diego County,” said Chairman Cox.

Keith Spears and George Gonzales

For their work facilitating the contracts that allow the County and the regional agencies to participate in the program

Victor Barr

The deputy district attorney who successfully built and prosecuted multi-count graffiti cases and pushed for more agencies to join Graffiti Tracker so vandals could be prosecuted and ordered to pay restitution, no matter where they left their mark. Cox called him a “bulldog” in going after restitution from vandals.

Jeff Lazar

Deputy district attorney who currently prosecutes multi-count graffiti cases and wins large restitution orders.

Sarah Gordon

Communications officer who wrote the successful Taxpayers Association nomination

See County News Center story about the award and video about Graffiti Tracker

Colleagues Remember Larry Yates

County employees were saddened to hear of the passing of Sheriff’s Community Services Officer Lawrence “Larry” Yates over the weekend.

Yates, 54, died after scuba diving in the La Jolla Shores area Saturday afternoon in an incident that was widely covered by local media. He is survived by his wife Vanessa.

Yates, who lived in Chula Vista, was a familiar face around the County Administration Center in recent years. Hired as a Deputy Sheriff Cadet in 2006, he served as a Community Services Officer assigned to Court Services and County Administration Center (CAC) Security in recent years. That meant he often interacted with the public at the CAC’s entrances, making sure those entering were successfully screened for weapons and that the building was safe.

Colleagues described him Monday as an intelligent, personable man who had a good sense of humor and was close with his family.

Sheriff’s Deputy Cliston Hensley said Yates was always very professional with the public.

He was active, Hensley said, often riding his motorcycle to work and going scuba diving around the world with his wife. Yates often talked about his dog, named Tarzan, and was known for flipping the TV in a Sheriff’s break room to the Animal Planet station. He also volunteered with the Boy Scouts.

Hensley said Yates had a dry, witty sense of humor. His father had been in the Navy, so he knew a lot about the military and its rankings. When Hensley would greet a member of the military and goof up their title, Yates would jokingly correct him.

“He would say, ‘you just promoted him,” Hensley said.

Yates’ supervisor, Cpl. Chuck Russell, said a group of Sheriff’s Department co-workers based at the CAC went to breakfast together every other Saturday. Yates was excited to go scuba diving after their breakfast this past weekend, Russell said.

“He made a lot of friends here,” Russell said. “We’re all friends.”

Notes and condolence cards can be sent to the family at: Court Services Bureau-San Diego, Mail Stop C-26. Information on a funeral service and a donation fund for Yates’ family is pending.

Making the Case for Getting Fit

Some had run in marathons, while others had barely if ever exercised.

Now this wildly diverse group of County employees, many of them from the District Attorney’s office, works out together during their lunch hours at the County Complex in Vista. Some work for the Sheriff’s and Probation Departments.

What brought them together? An interest in getting fit. Their vehicle to do that is CrossFit, an exercise program that builds both strength and endurance through ever-changing routines. Workouts can vary from running and weight lifting to striking sledgehammers against tires, as the group did on a recent day. The point is to mix it up, working a variety of muscles and keeping the exercise interesting. Routine is the enemy, said one of the group’s founders, Keith Watanabe, a Deputy District Attorney in the Vista office.

“You make yourself do things you wouldn’t otherwise do,” said Hung Bach, also a Deputy District Attorney in the Vista office and a member of the group. “It builds confidence. It makes you think and wonder what else can I do? It’s addicting.”

Now an affiliate of the CrossFit company, the group officially goes by the name, “CrossFit Aequitas.” Aequitas means justice in Latin.

The group’s roots go back to 2010, when a Superior Court judge based in Vista invited some of the Deputy District Attorneys to do a CrossFit workout together. Watanabe and Deputy DA Garret Wong joined him and quickly got hooked.

Over the years, more employees started participating in the workouts. They chipped in to buy equipment and installed a few pull up bars next to the complex’s parking lot. Employees even paid for Wong, a former personal trainer, to get his instructor certification through the CrossFit company. It offers gyms around the country affiliate status for a few thousand dollars a year.

Wong said a police officer he knows told him public agencies can become an affiliate for free under a special nonprofit status through the CrossFit company. So last year, Wong worked to arrange that.  

Wong said their status as an affiliate gives the group more caché. He runs daily lunchtime CrossFit workouts at the County Complex in Vista, with about five to 10 participants per session. He also sends daily workouts by email to a list of 150 people, who are spread around the County. About 25 members are active at the Vista location, and DA employees at other locations around the County follow the workouts.

Wong recently led about a dozen employees in a challenging but fun workout in the parking lot behind the Vista County Complex. They met about noon on an unseasonably warm day, starting out with a warm up of jogging, high steps and stretching. Then they moved into the heart of the workout, a circuit with four stations that would have them running while carrying each other piggyback, jumping rope, lifting kettle bells and striking sledgehammers against a huge tire. Wong split the employees into teams of two or three and asked them to try to make it around the circuit as many times as possible in 30 minutes. Participants cheered each other on, encouraging one another throughout the workout.

Claudia Plascencia, also a Deputy DA based in the Vista office, said she had never exercised before she started doing the CrossFit workouts three months ago. She’d heard about the workouts soon after she started the job. Now she and the other attorneys assigned to misdemeanor trials go to the workouts together a few times a week.

“I don’t think I would do these on my own,” she said.

Nikki Cassidy, a Deputy DA who also recently started the workouts after being hired, praised Wong for his patience in leading her and others through the exercises. She said she’s long been a runner but that the CrossFit workouts have helped her build strength.

“It’s totally toned me up,” she said. “It’s awesome.”   

She said that joining a CrossFit gym would normally cost $130-$180 month, but that these workouts are free.

Working out was nothing new to Dan DeLeon, Probation director in Vista and former Army reservist, when he started doing CrossFit with the group. He had run in marathons and other competitions, but said he feels better than ever now: stronger and more fit and energetic.

“This has changed my life,” he said.

For more information, visit the CrossFit Aequitas website.

Brighten Up Your Diet

Throw together a colorful stir fry of mushrooms, green peas, cabbage, onion and chard.

Mix up some fresh guacamole using avocado, tomato, onion and even a dash of corn.

Got a sweet tooth? Grab some passion fruit, apricots or nectarines.

Eating a variety of vegetables and fruit will push up your point count – and could even win you a prize – through the County’s newest employee wellness challenge.

Mix It Up, offered in partnership with Kaiser Permanente, encourages employees to add more vegetables and fruits to their daily fare—and a bigger mix of both. The quarterly program lays out a goal for employees of eating at least three servings of vegetables and two servings of fruit per day.

Employees who rack up the highest point counts will win prizes, said William Erese, the County’s Wellness Coordinator. The top five teams and top three individuals with the most points will receive awards.

Employees can sign up either individually or in teams of four to 10. All you have to do is log your daily veggie and fruit intake through the County’s Mix It Up website. Totals are automatically calculated and immediately broken down by color. For example, if you ate blueberries, red apples and asparagus, the online program would create a table showing what you ate by color.  

Eating a good variety of vegetables and fruits provides a mixture of vitamins, minerals, fiber and other health benefits. That, in turn, can help reduce the risk of obesity, heart disease, some cancers, diabetes and hypertension.

Erese said the County hopes the program will not only encourage participants to eat healthier but that it will have a ripple effect, raising awareness among other employees as well.

Many teams have already signed up, and the names show they’re having fun with the program. Among the clever and funky names listed on the program’s website: Orange You Green with Envy, The Veggie Masticators, Lettuce Be Winners! and Giving Peas a Chance.

For more information or to sign up, visit the County’s Employee Wellness website and click on “Quarterly Wellness Challenge” or the Mix It Up website.