March 20, 2007 Rotary Wheel

Posted by William (Bill) Kalianov 
 
 

THIS WEEK:

Bill Kalianov will introduce RickTollakson, President and Chief Executive Officer, and Rachel Flint, Public Relations Manager, of CB Richard Ellis/Hubbell Commercial.  They will share their experiences and pictures from the Extreme Makeover: Home Edition project. 

 

NEXT WEEK:

Russ Ver Ploeg will share information about out speaker for next week at our meeting today. 

 

LAST WEEK:

Steve Ponsetto , DCI, Special Agent in Charge for the Iowa DCI was our speaker and introduced by Connie Bever.  Steve joined the Iowa Department of Public Safety in 1980 as a State Trooper and transferred to the Iowa DCI in 1990.  The DCI is a division of the Department of Public Safety.  He is currently assigned to the Intelligence Bureau.  He earned his BA in Public Administration from UpperIowaUniversity and is a graduate of the FBINationalAcademy.   

The following information was compiled from the information shared by Steve and also from the DCI website:   http://www.dps.state.ia.us/DCI

The Division of Criminal Investigation, (DCI) was created in 1921 to provide investigative support and expertise to law enforcement agencies across the state. The division is comprised of four functional areas:  Administration, Criminalistics Laboratory, Field Operations, and Gaming Enforcement

The Administrative section of the DCI includes the Records & Identification Unit, Missing Person Information Clearinghouse, Sex Offender Registry, as well as many of the functions associated with running a division including clerical, inventory, budgeting, etc.

The Criminalistics Laboratory was created by statute in July 1969 (Code of Iowa 691) and funded in July 1970. The Criminalistics Laboratory consists of the following sections:

Arson & Explosives, Breath Alcohol, DNA, Drug Identification, Latent Prints, Firearms & Tool Marks, Photography, Questioned Documents, Toxicology, Trace Evidence, Evidence Receiving.

The Field Operations Bureau of the DCI includes the General Criminal Unit, the Sex Offender Registry Investigation Unit, and the Digital Evidence Forensic Unit.

The Gaming Unit with the DCI is in charge of both criminal investigations and regulatory enforcement of the laws and rules dealing with gambling in Iowa.  (a fact shared by Steve:  There are now 16 casinos operating in Iowa now (three tribal) with two more casinos set to open in the future.)

There are 122 sworn officers and 102 civilian employees handling the ever-increasing workload of the DCI.

OTHER HAPPENINGS:

Xicotepec Trip: 

Thank you to all that brought crayons for delivery to the students in Xicotepec, Mexico.  Our very own Tom George and Mr. and Mrs. Tom Narak delivered them to Xicotepec and are most likely now in the middle of some construction project to benefit our friends.  Thank you to Tom George and Mr. and Mrs. Tom Narak for giving of themselves for this worthwhile Rotary cause and demonstrating service above self.     

 

Bunny Harper:

Scheduled for June 18th at the Indianola Country Club. Indianola Rotary is the host club for 2007. Contact Greg Kenyan if you want to participate in this event.

 

WDM Rotary Club Foundation:

Resurrected by Tom George and Greg Kenyon, it will soon be online.  More later on its purpose and growth potential.

 

Club Social & Attendance Make-Up: 

If you missed the February social, make plans to attend the one in March.  It will be held on March 22, 2007 at the Wine House on University Avenue just north of Des Moines Golf @ 142nd Street.  The time is from 5:00-7:00 P.M. 

 

Board Meeting:

March 20, 2007 @ 11:00 a.m. at Des Moines Golf immediately preceding our regular club meeting.  If you did not go, then you missed it.  Keep this in mind for the next meeting that as a member, you are most welcome to attend.    

 

Future Programs:

Check out our West Des Moines Rotary website at:  www.wdmrotary.org for information on future programs as it becomes available.  You can also find links to past programs and meetings in case you missed one.