Success & Service: Tuolumne Sheriff Mele get statewide honor

Tuolumne County Sheriff James W. Mele received the Daryl F. Gates Memorial Police Executive of the Year award during the annual conference of the California Association of Tactical Officers in Los Angeles last month. He was recognized for his “commitment and leadership to the field of SWAT and helping raise the bar of SWAT training and tactical responses.”

Ustach teacher receives grant

Sarah Deaton, a sixth-grade teacher at Ustach Middle School in Modesto, is one of 70 educators receiving funds in Horace Mann’s “Seventy in 70” giveaway for her DonorsChoose.org project. By funding supplies through www.donorschoose.org, Horace Mann helps limit personal resources teachers spend in the classroom. The average award is $500 per teacher.

Deaton will use her camera, memory card, adapter and camera bag to capture memories at the sixth-grade Outdoor Education Camp near Sonora. She will take photos and create CDs, giving the students lasting memories of their time at the camp.

The program has funded more than $3 million in projects since its inception in 2011.

Volunteers recognized for environmental work

Staff members of the Central Sierra Environmental Resource Center, based in Twain Harte, received a Volunteers and Service Restoration award from the U.S. Forest Service for work on national forest lands. They were recognized for their efforts in 2014, when they completed 17 restoration workday projects with more than 180 participants, contributing 1,318 hours of volunteer labor. They work closely with Stanislaus National Forest staff to identify potential restoration projects, plan them, buy supplies and muster volunteers to carry them out.

Yosemite recognizes volunteers

Yosemite National Park honored its volunteers at a recent event in the park. Award winners included Talya Havice, individual volunteer award; Natali Torschi, individual youth volunteer award; MaryJane Johnson, enduring service award; CSAA Insurance, group volunteer award; Boy Scout Troop 1776, youth group volunteer award; Margaret Eissler, supervisor of volunteers award; Yosemite Preventative Search and Rescue, volunteer program award; Leo Burk, face-lift volunteer; and Rebecca Ryan, NatureBridge Stewardship instructor of the year.

Salida man in 6th Fleet operations near Spain

Damage Controlman 2nd Class Scott Smith, from Salida, is serving aboard the USS Donald Cook, an Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer. The ship is deployed to Rota, Spain, where it is conducting naval operations in the U.S. 6th Fleet area of operations in support of U.S. national security interest in Europe.

This story was originally published October 3, 2015 at 2:30 PM with the headline "Success & Service: Tuolumne Sheriff Mele get statewide honor."