June 2007 AACOG Region Newsletter

AACOG will have its Semiannual Meeting of the Area Council and Board of Directors on Wednesday, June 13, 2007 at 1:00 p.m. in the AACOG Board Room, 8700 Tesoro Drive, Suite 100, San Antonio, TX. AACOG will announce the winners of the 2007 AACOG Regional Awards at a special ceremony and reception following the meeting at approximately 2:00 p.m. We will also be recognizing outgoing AACOG Board Members and Advisory Committee Chairs at the reception.

•AACOG will again conduct the Walk & Roll Corporate Challenge in June. This annual event was developed to promote the use of alternative forms of commuting to reduce congestion, improve air quality, and encourage healthy lifestyles. Alternative forms of commuting that count towards Challenge points include carpooling, walking, riding a bicycle, riding the bus, and eating at the rather than driving to a restaurant. For more information about the Walk & Roll Corporate Challenge events, log onto www.walkandrollchallenge.com.

Today, the number of products made from recycled materials continues to rise. Buying these products helps close the recycling loop by putting the materials collected through recycling programs back to good use as products in the marketplace.

The 7^th Annual South Texas Resource Recovery Roundtable, to be held on Friday, June 8, at the San Antonio Central Library, will address the education and promotion of these green purchasing habits. This free workshop is supported by a grant awarded the Recycling Alliance of Texas by AACOG. For more information about registering for this roundtable, click here.

Cadet Class 2006B will be holding its graduation ceremony at the UTSA 1604 Campus on June 1, 2007 at 7 p.m. The keynote speaker will be Captain Clete Buckaloo, Texas Rangers, Company D.

The class has completed a rigorous curriculum consisting of more than 1,000 hours of classroom, physical, and reality based training. Class 2006B was required to undergo and pass "The Crucible" reality-based evaluation system. "The Crucible" is a one week reality based training exercise for our senior cadets. Cadets negotiate 8 scenarios that test both knowledge and tactical skills in burglary and DWI investigations, domestic violence offenses, use of force decision making, and traffic stops. The cadets receive several "calls" to which they must respond. They must write offense reports, submit a probable cause affidavit to a magistrate, and execute an arrest warrant for their suspects.

AACOG offers a workshop for planning commissioners, elected officials, and staff. This workshop is sponsored by the Texas Chapter American Planning Association in cooperation with the City Planners Association of Texas, the Texas Association of Regional Councils, and AACOG.

The next workshop is scheduled for July 19, 2007 in the AACOG Board Room, 8700 Tesoro Drive, Suite 100, San Antonio. Click here for more information about the upcoming workshop.

Below is a list of topics that are covered in the workshop:

Texas Planning: What You Need to Know in 2005
Being an Effective Planning Commissioner
Roles, Responsibilities, Ethics, and Legal Issues
Learn by Doing - An Exercise in Decision Making
Planning for Communities with Limited Staff
Planning in the ETJ
Legislative Action and Court Decisions Impact on Planning
This Year's Hot Topics for Your Area

The registration fee for this workshop is $70.