Programs

File of Life

During a medical emergency, the history of the event, past medical history, current medications, and other details are of utmost importance. Sometimes, a person having a medical emergency may be confused, frightened, unable to speak, or unable to accurately remember their important medical facts.

The File of Life is an informational packet that lists a person’s emergency contacts, medical data, medical conditions, allergies, and other important facts. The packet, nicely contained in a magnetic holder, is placed on the refrigerator where EMT’s or officers can locate it quickly if there is an emergency. There is an additional packet that can be carried in a vehicle, purse or pocket.

A File of Life is available free of charge to Renville County residents.  Just stop in the Sheriff’s Office and pick yours up!  They are often available at various community events as well.

Firearms Safety Training

Several deputies in the Sheriff’s Office are trained and certified by the Minnesota DNR as Youth Firearms Safety Instructors.  Typically, each year, at least one youth firearms safety class is presented, where youth can earn their state firearm safety certificate, which is required by anyone born after December 31, 1979 to be able to purchase a hunting license in Minnesota.  The Sheriff’s Office teaches the classes in cooperation with the DNR and uses the DNR’s curriculum.  We offer a “blended” learning experience, where the students first complete a portion of the class online.

Following completion of the online portion of the class, the students are taught by deputies and conservation officers in a classroom setting and then move outside for the practical portion of the class, where instructors offer a “field experience”, which allows students to learn and demonstrate commonly accepted principles of safety in hunting and the handling of firearms. It includes live fire on a rifle range.

Students wishing to take a course through the Sheriff’s Office must:

• Be at least 11 years old at the time of the class.
• Have successfully completed the online MN DNR Safety training.
• Be accompanied by a parent or guardian at the student drop off.

When classes are scheduled, press and social media announcements are made by the Sheriff’s Office. To receive these and other announcements, follow the Sheriff’s Office on Facebook.

Prescription Drug Takeback

In 2012, the Renville County Sheriff’s Office began its prescription drug take back program.  This program is part of a larger, comprehensive plan to reduce drug crimes and addiction and to keep our children safe by reducing the chances of accidental overdoses.  The program aims to safely collect and destroy expired or otherwise unused medications.  Medications collected by the Sheriff’s Office are destroyed at an approved incinerator.  To date, several hundred pounds of medication have been collected and properly destroyed.

This program is FREE to Renville County residents.  Simply remove or black out your name on the container labels, bring your medications to one of the collections sites, place them into the tamper-proof container and that’s it!

The Sheriff’s Office currently has five collection sites around the county:

Why Use This Program:
Historically, unused medications were stored in medicine cabinets for months or years before finally being thrown in the trash (which ultimately ends up in landfills) or flushed down the toilet (which ultimately ends up in lakes, streams and other waterways). Both of these methods of disposal result in the active ingredients in the medications entering our water supply. An even more grave consequence of storing unused medication is that those medications oftentimes fall into the wrong hands! By clearing out medicine cabinets, you eliminate the risk of accidental overdoses by children. What’s more, safely disposing of unused medications make drug re-distribution (to street users) impossible.

What Kinds of Medications Can I Dispose Of?

Project Lifesaver

The task of searching for wandering or lost individuals with Alzheimer’s disease, autism, Down syndrome, dementia or other cognitive conditions is a growing and serious responsibility. Without effective procedures and equipment, searches can involve multiple agencies, hundreds of searchers, countless man hours and thousands of dollars. More importantly, because time is of the essence, every minute lost increases the risk of a tragic outcome.

How It Works:
Citizens enrolled in Project Lifesaver wear a small personal transmitter around the wrist or ankle that emits an individualized tracking signal. If an enrolled client goes missing, the caregiver notifies their local Project Lifesaver agency, and a trained emergency team responds with specialized equipment to the wanderer’s area. The Project Lifesaver equipment is used to find the location of the personal transmitter.  Most who wander are found within a few miles from home, and search times have been reduced from hours and days to minutes. Recovery times for PLI clients average 30 minutes — 95% less time than standard operations.

How Do I Enroll?

• Visit Project Lifesaver’s website.
  • Submit a contact us form titled “Options to Enroll my Loved One” & request an enrollment packet.”
• Complete all forms in the packet and return it to:
  • Project Lifesaver International, 815 Battlefield Blvd. South, Chesapeake, Virginia 23322
• Local PLI Agency will be notified for approval.
• Transmitter, tester, batteries, bands and instructions will be shipped.
• Client information will be supplied to the Sheriff’s Office.

Once enrolled, a Renville County Sheriff’s Deputy will come to your home, visit with the enrollee and fit them with the transmitter bracelet.  About every six months thereafter, subsequent visits will be made to replace batteries in the transmitter.

Safety Pup – Child Safety

For many years, the Renville County Sheriff’s Office has partnered with local businesses to bring important safety materials to students in the schools in Renville County. Each year, businesses donate money to assure that the kids on our schools receive Safety Pup’s safety information materials relative to their age.

The mission of the National Child Safety Council is to prevent needless childhood accidents and help save lives through meaningful safety education. Unintentional injuries account for 9.2 million emergency room visits and 12,175 deaths each year in children ages 19 and under. NCSC provides our schools with age-appropriate information about, among other things, child safety, drug abuse prevention, and missing children. Approximately 6,000 public safety agencies in more than 40 states use the materials to serve more than 16 million children annually.

Safetypup®, the NCSC SuperHero, was developed to be a friendly and positive role model for children in an effort to make learning about safety issues fun, entertaining, and non-threatening. He has proven to be a successful learning tool used by law enforcement officers and teachers across the country.

Snowmobile Safety

Several deputies in the Sheriff’s Office are trained and certified by the Minnesota DNR as Snowmobile Safety Instructors. Typically, each year, at least one snowmobile safety class is presented, where youth can earn their state snowmobile safety certificate. The Sheriff’s Office teaches the classes in cooperation with the DNR and uses the DNR’s curriculum. We offer a “blended” learning experience, where the students first complete a portion of the class in an on-line setting.

Following completion of the on-line portion of the class, the students are taught by deputies in a classroom setting and then move outside for the practical portion of the class, where each student demonstrates their riding proficiency on their snowmobiles.

Students wishing to take a course through the Sheriff’s Office must:

• Be at least 11 years old at the time of the class.
• Have successfully completed the on-line safety program and print their certificate.
• Be accompanied during the practical portion of the class by a parent or guardian.
• Have their own snowmobile and safety gear for the practical portion of the class.

When classes are scheduled, press and social media announcements are made by the Sheriff’s Office. To receive these and other announcements, follow the Sheriff’s Office on Facebook.