March 22, 2013 (Santee)--A 14-year-old boy has been booked into Juvenile Hall after making threats against two schoolmates, the San Diego Sheriff’s Department reports.

The principal of Cajon Park Elementary (which has students from kindergarten through 8th grade) school called the Santee Sheriff's Station  yestserday after a female student reported receiving a text message saying she will be killed at school. A second female student received a text message in reference to the killing and a body being hidden.

March 20, 2013 (Santee) – Padre Dam Municipal Water District’s Board of Directors unanimously approved a $1 per month lease agreement for the Santee Teen Center located at Santee Lakes Recreation Preserve. The City of Santee requested the $1.00 per month lease payment for the Teen Center building due to funding shortfalls for the Teen Center Program.

March 12, 2013 (Santee) – Santee’s City Council on Wednesday will weigh actions aimed at reducing  activities by the homeless including panhandling, overtaking public parks, riverbed camping and “scavenging” (including taking items from recycling bins). 

The City of Santee has no shelter for the homeless.  The proposals to discourage homeless people from taking up residency in Santee public areas focuses not on providing services to help the homeless, however, but rather emphasizes punitive actions such as banning cigarettes in public parks and alcohol on weekdays, prohibiting single-sale sizes of alcoholic beverages at new businesses, and prohibiting aggressive conduct by panhandlers.

February 17, 2013 (Santee) – Here's your chance to get know more about the services of the Santee Sheriff's Station. Chat with deputies, crime prevention specialists and detectives from the station's Community Oriented Policing and Problem Solving (COPPS) Unit. Speak with staff in a casual setting and exchange ideas and concerns over a cup of coffee. This event will be held Wednesday, February 27 from 9-10 a.m. at Kaffee Meister Coffee Shop, 9225 Carlton Hills Boulevard in Santee.

Community outreach is a top priority of the San Diego County Sheriff's Department. Reducing crime, making neighborhoods safer, and in general improving the quality of life for all of our citizens can only be accomplished through partnerships and team efforts. This event is not hosted.

County News Center

February 15, 2013 (Santee)--A Marine from Santee was chosen from more than 70 applicants to adopt the young Chihuahua that fell 80 feet from a cliff in Ocean Beach Jan. 11. The four-month-old pup has been under the care of County Animal Services while it recovered from head trauma, fractured ribs and numerous bruises. Once the little dog was healed, with the help of the department’s Spirit Fund, Animal Services began accepting adoption applications.

“Marine Gunnery Sergeant John Szczepanowski was chosen because he sent a story along with his application and it struck a chord,” said Animal Services Director Dawn Danielson. 

Szczepanowski works in the wounded warrior regiment at Marine Corps Headquarters.    

January 24, 2013 (San Diego’s East County) – Take a good look at these surveillance photos. This man is wanted in connection with three ATM robberies in Santee.

The first incident happened January 16th just before 11:00 p.m. Armed with a gun, he approached a man at a Mission Federal Credit Union ATM on Town Center Parkway and demanded money. The second incident happened on January 21st at the same location. He approached a woman and placed a hand into his waistband simulating he had a weapon. The woman ran to her car and the suspect drove away. The third incident happened on the same day at a Wells Fargo ATM on Jamacha Road in unincorporated El Cajon. He had a gun and approached a man demanding money. He then grabbed the money and drove away.

By Miriam Raftery

January 17, 2013 (Santee)—A man’s body was found floating in the water at Santee Lakes this morning.

ECM news partner 10 News reports that workers opening a locked gate at 8:30 spotted a blue cap floating in the water.  A parked vehicle with keys on the dashboard was also found nearby, Santee Patch reports. The body was partially submerged at the edge of Lake One.

Photo courtesy of ECM news partner 10 News

December 29, 2012 (Santee)—Jayme Midland, 25, was killed when the Volkswagen Beetle he was driving on State Route 52 was struck head-on by a Chevy pickup truck driving on the wrong side of the highway. 

The woman driving the truck suffered moderate injuries.  After treatment at Sharp Memorial hospital, she was arrested for gross vehiclular manslaughter while intoxicated. She has been booked into the Las Colinas Detention Facility, according to the California Highway Patrol.

 Midland,  a resident of Clairemont, was declared dead at the scene. The accident occurred shortly before 1 a.m. on eastbound 52, just east of Mast Boulevard in Santee.

December 14, 2012 (Santee) -- The city of Santee dedicated on Tuesday, December 11 a 107-acre open space parcel along the San Diego River as a future public trail and parkway at a ceremony located at the 9600 block of Magnolia Avenue.

The event marked the transfer of the property from private to public ownership, a project spearheaded by the San Diego River Conservancy that was four years in the making.

“The San Diego River Conservancy is proud to have been the catalyst for the conservation of the Walker Property,” said Mike Nelson, executive officer for the San Diego River Conservancy. “It is a remarkable addition to a river park that will someday extend from the Cuyamaca Mountains to the Pacific Ocean.

December 4, 2012 (Santee) - On November 1, 2012, the City of Santee started work to upgrade the City’s collision analysis software.  Funding for this program was provided by a $34,000 grant from the California Office of Traffic Safety, through the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

The project will upgrade the City’s traffic collision analysis software to improve efficiency in collision data collection, analysis, and ultimately improve traffic safety. The grant will assist in efforts to deal with traffic safety problems and to reduce the number of persons killed and injured in traffic collisions. 

November 15, 2012 (Santee) – On October 29, Sportsplex USA will made a donation to the Santee School District Foundation in the amount of $1410.00.  Sportsplex USA and the Santee School District Foundation (SSDF) have partnered with the goal of offering affordable recreational youth indoor soccer programs to all parents and children in Santee.  Since the partnership with the SSDF began in January, 2012, Sportsplex USA has donated $4,510 to the Foundation after three successful youth recreational soccer seasons. 

By Miriam Raftery

November 13, 2012 (San Diego) – In Colorado and Washington, voters decided it's high time to legalize recreational marijuana use. But locally, voters in Lemon Grove, Imperial Beach and Solana Beach defeated initiatives that would have allowed medical marijuana dispensaries.

Labor scored a win in Escondido, where a charter city ballot proposition was defeated by a 47.29% to 42.71% margin. Meanwhile in In Santee, a bastion of conservatism, voters approved raising transient occupancy taxes for hotel guests and campers from 6% to 10%, a move expected to generate $239,000 in revenues.  

November 8, 2012  --  (San Diego’s East County)--East County Roundup highlights top stories of interest to East County and San Diego’s inland regions, published in other media. This week’s top “Roundup” headlines include:

LOCAL/REGIONAL

• Mayor-elect Filner: Everyone should be heard (UT San Diego)
• Election’s over. Now what’s ahead for Santee? (Santee Patch)
• Stieringers upset incumbents on school board, hospital board (La Mesa Patch)
• Voters reject pot initiatives in Lemon Grove and IB (UT San Diego)
• Runaway victor: Hunter claims 50th Congressional district race (Ramona Patch)
• Earthquakes, Faults and Misguided Development in San Diego (Voice of San Diego)

STATE

• Public schools a big winner in election-statewide (UT San Diego)
• Blue Shield of California Refunds $50 Million To Consumers (KPBS)
• Election dominos could impact timing of supermajority in CA (SacBee)

October 27, 2012 (Santee) -- The Santee Sheriff's Station and Santee Fire Station invite you to the 14th Annual Santee Pancake Breakfast. It's a great way for people to get to know their local deputies, firefighters, neighbors, as well as help those in need. 



Money raised from the two-day breakfast will benefit two organizations. 

October 9, 2012 (Santee)--Santee's City Council will consider changing speed limits at its meeting on Wednesday, October 10 at 7 p.m. at Santee's City Hall, 10601 North Magnolia Avenue in Santee.