Page 5 - Customs Today Winter1984-OCR

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Explorers participated in pistol competitions throughout the conference. Here one checks her sight alignment.
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Supervisory Customs Patrol Officer Jerry Kasha con
ducting a surveillance technique seminar; one of many held during the conference.
An Explorer from the Tulsa post examines a cup for
fingerprinls during an investigation of a crime scene search sponsored by U.S. Customs. A Customs Patrol
Officer stands behind and judges the post's performance.
-
By Charles W. Conroy
Customs Explorer Post 1789 Now In Business
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sponsored Explorer Post, enjoys much more than a famous date in its numerical
designation. Just as this historic date commemorates the establishment of the
U.S. Customs Service, the numbers also herald what promises to be the develop
ment of a dynamic group of Explorer Posts in several Texas cities and,
perhaps, eventually extending to the frontiers of the Southwest Region.
Modesto Canales, Customs South
west Region Liaison Officer and Chair
man of the Explorer Scout Committee, is
currently organizing three additional
posts, in Brownsville, El Paso and Houston. All will follow a similar law en
forcement theme of activity.
The post in Laredo, organized and
chartered last July, now has 25 active members and a waiting list for new mem
bership. The group is coeducational, and includes nine girls. All members are
under 18 years old. The post normally
meets for an hour or more in the early
evening twice a month. Meetings are usually held at the Customhouse in Laredo, and may feature an appropriate Customs film, speakers from local law enforcement agencies, training activities,
including firearms, or a field trip to a law enforcement activity.
Activity is a watchword and the group has already raised several hundred dollars—by holding a car wash—to pur chase uniforms. Already planned is a Bar-
B-Q dinner to bring in still additional funds for expanding operations. Nu
merous Laredo businessmen have also
pledged support.
Major field trips planned include a visit to Customs Marine operations in
Corpus Christi, the San Antonio Air
Support Branch, airport operations at Houston Intercontinental Airport, sea
port operations in Brownsville and a tour of Texas Department of Public Safety
facilities in Austin.
Kingpins in the management of Post
1789 include Scout Advisors Victor
Oliver, Mary Visttahuz, John Mason, Rodolfo Santos, Hector Tijerina, Margie
Zapata and Delia Guzman. Mason is a Supervisory Customs Patrol Officer. The other advisors are Customs inspectors in Laredo. The post strives for a ratio of ap
proximately one advisor for each five members.
Additional chief supporters of the
group include Laredo District Director Joseph Costellano and several local
municipal dignitaries.
A special guest at a recent commit
tee meeting was Melinda Hilyard, a Scout executive representing the regional office of the Boy Scouts of America, who
provided the group with especially help ful program direction and guidance.
Goal of Customs Explorer Scout Post 1789: Participate in the 1984 Explorer Law Enforcement National Conference in
Ohio.
Charles W. Conroy is Public Affairs Officer, Southwest Region
CUSTOMS TODAY / WINTER 1984