On Sept. 21, the Nevada Office of Traffic Safety held the annual award ceremony for the "Joining Forces" grant recipients.

Joining Forces grant money supports implementation of innovative traffic safety projects at state and local levels. The focus is reducing the contributing factors associated with traffic crashes through selective enforcement countermeasures developed from problem identification and public awareness and education programs.

The Nye County Sheriff's Office is one of 26 statewide participating agencies and received awards for;

-Award of Excellence for Outstanding Performance was awarded to Paula Cooper, Grant Coordinator, for her efforts in scheduling events county wide and ensuring the statistical reporting requirements were met in a timely manner.

-Deputies George Wherly and John Kakavulias were recognized for their arrests, citations and education of the public on matters of safety concerning motor vehicle violations.

-Award of Excellence-Outstanding Program Coordinator went to Paula Cooper for her efforts in managing the Nye County Sheriff's Office Joining Forces grant. Her efforts were largely responsible for the success of the grant. "Paula's dedication, innovation and hard work have gone a long way in promoting traffic safety and driver education in Nye County," Sheriff DeMeo said. "Her successful programs, despite numerous logistic challenges, are evidence of her selfless dedication and I applaud her continuing efforts on behalf of the motoring public."

-Best Innovative Joining Forces Cooperation Award went to the Nye County Sheriff's Office for utilization of resources. This program involved inviting other law enforcement agencies to Nye County to supplement the patrol force during targeted high traffic times; holidays, special events, etc. The program has been adopted at a statewide level.

-Award for Outstanding Individual Effort was awarded to Assistant Sheriff, Richard Marshall for his expertise and innovation in grant writing.

Sheriff DeMeo stated the success of the program is due to the hard work of the men and women of the Nye County Sheriff's Office. The Joining Forces grant is a crucial part of the Nye County accident reduction effort and has shown to be valuable in traffic accident reduction county wide.