October 12, 2025 • 28 mins
Segment 1: Paso Del Norte Paranormal Society
.
Amber Banda talks with Bonnie Juarez, President, and Peter Stone, VP, of the El Paso Norte Paranormal Society. They talk about how they met, how they became paranormal investigators, how they teach history through their paranormal tours and events, and various ways that they use the money they fundraise from their events.
.
For more information go to https://www.ghosts915.org/
_______________________________________________________________________________
Segment 2: Flying Horse Race
.
The United Way of El Paso County is having their annual Flying Horse half marathon (13.1 miles, 10k, (6.2 miles), 5k, (3.1 miles), and Giddy Up Fun Run, (1 mile).
.
Amber Banda interviews Lauren Falco, Director of Marketing, and Mary Aikman, Strategic Engagement Manager, for United Way of El Paso County. Learn how the United Way functions to support various non-profits, how you can support them, and what to expect at this year's race!
.
To register go to flyinghorserace.com. For more information on United Way, go to unitedwayelpaso.org
_______________________________________________________________________________
Segment 3: Crimestoppers of El Paso Golf Tournament
.
Amber Banda interviews Norma Rincon, past President and currently on the board of directors for Crimestoppers of El Paso, as well as John Perches, their Law Enforcement Coordinator.
.
Listen to learn how to report tips on crimes anonymously through their hotline (915-566-8477) or free P3 app, how they work with other law enforcement agencies and the community to make the city safer, and how they use funds that they raise.
.
Their 46th annual golf tournament is coming up Friday 10/17 at Painted Dunes Desert Golf Course. Find more information at cselpaso.org
NEW EPISODES EVERY SUNDAY AT 8AM! Follow Amber Banda, 96.3 KHEY Country, Power 102.1 or Sunny 99.9 on Instagram and/or Facebook for pictures of our guests and leave a comment. Be a part of the good going on in our community!
.
Amber Banda talks with Bonnie Juarez, President, and Peter Stone, VP, of the El Paso Norte Paranormal Society. They talk about how they met, how they became paranormal investigators, how they teach history through their paranormal tours and events, and various ways that they use the money they fundraise from their events.
.
For more information go to https://www.ghosts915.org/
_______________________________________________________________________________
Segment 2: Flying Horse Race
.
The United Way of El Paso County is having their annual Flying Horse half marathon (13.1 miles, 10k, (6.2 miles), 5k, (3.1 miles), and Giddy Up Fun Run, (1 mile).
.
Amber Banda interviews Lauren Falco, Director of Marketing, and Mary Aikman, Strategic Engagement Manager, for United Way of El Paso County. Learn how the United Way functions to support various non-profits, how you can support them, and what to expect at this year's race!
.
To register go to flyinghorserace.com. For more information on United Way, go to unitedwayelpaso.org
_______________________________________________________________________________
Segment 3: Crimestoppers of El Paso Golf Tournament
.
Amber Banda interviews Norma Rincon, past President and currently on the board of directors for Crimestoppers of El Paso, as well as John Perches, their Law Enforcement Coordinator.
.
Listen to learn how to report tips on crimes anonymously through their hotline (915-566-8477) or free P3 app, how they work with other law enforcement agencies and the community to make the city safer, and how they use funds that they raise.
.
Their 46th annual golf tournament is coming up Friday 10/17 at Painted Dunes Desert Golf Course. Find more information at cselpaso.org
NEW EPISODES EVERY SUNDAY AT 8AM! Follow Amber Banda, 96.3 KHEY Country, Power 102.1 or Sunny 99.9 on Instagram and/or Facebook for pictures of our guests and leave a comment. Be a part of the good going on in our community!
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Welcome to El Paso Public Forum, a weekly half hour
public affairs presentation of iHeartRadio El Paso for over twenty years,
featuring local news and interviews of interest to our listeners
in West Texas and southern New Mexica. All views and
opinions expressed on this program are those of the host
and guest, and not necessarily those of iHeartRadio Management and
now El Paso Public Forum.
Speaker 2 (00:21):
Welcome back to the al Paso Public Forum. I'm your host, Amberbanda,
and today, especially for the month of October, we have
Bonnie Wattis, President of the Paso del Norte Paranormal Society. Bonnie,
thank you for talking with us today.
Speaker 3 (00:36):
Thank you for inviting us in, Miss Amber, so much
appreciated of course.
Speaker 2 (00:40):
And we also have Peter Stone, Vice president of Baso
del Norte Paranormal Society. Peter, thank you for joining us
today as well.
Speaker 4 (00:48):
Pleasure, ma'am always so today.
Speaker 2 (00:50):
We're going to be talking again Baso del Norte Paranormal Society,
which is a nonprofit. Bonnie, what is this society? What
what do you do?
Speaker 3 (01:01):
We're a five oh one c three nonprofit which means
that we're all volunteers. None of us are paid for
what we do, and in a nutshell, what we try
to do is teach I'll passo history, but we do
it with a little bit of a twist. We're also
paranormal investigators, so we love our history, but we also
try to help people who may be having issues at
(01:21):
home or their place of business, something like that.
Speaker 2 (01:24):
So you told me an interesting story that we'll get
into in a little bit, but I think a lot
of people wonder and I'm going to ask each of
you individually. I'll start with you first, Bonnie, how do
you become or get interested in becoming a paranormal investigator?
Speaker 3 (01:36):
Well, what happened with me is that I lived in
a home that was crazy haunted, and people would ask me,
aren't you afraid to stay there? And basically I would
say no, I'm used to it. But I saw an
advertisement and a paper for a workshop, and I went
to a workshop and realized I wasn't crazy, but there
are things out there that we can't explain, and that
(01:57):
there are people who really need help something times. So
that's how I got involved with the society.
Speaker 2 (02:03):
And Peter, how did you become a paranormal investigator. You
have some interesting stories too.
Speaker 4 (02:08):
I met Bonnie in the cemetery in Donyana, the village
of Donyana. On ever since then, I got invited to
a tour in sani Lesaudio, Texas, and just since then,
I told myself I didn't believe in the paranormal, but
after the experiences that I've had since then, I'm a believer.
Speaker 2 (02:30):
Yeah, that's so romantic. I see things. That's so cool,
especially because what you guys do so paranormal investigators. You
said that there's more volunteers. What do the volunteers do
in this organization, Bonnie.
Speaker 3 (02:42):
Well, we do tours, We do history tours and ghost tours,
and when we have those events, we need help. I mean,
Peter and I do a lot, but we need help
of volunteers. And without the volunteers that we have, we
wouldn't be able to do a lot of the events
that we have. They're a cornerstone of how we work.
Speaker 2 (03:01):
And you're I mean, your events, especially around the month
of October, gets sold out almost immediately. And I know,
you know, sometimes it's the city or whatever, but people
love what you all do and they love to be
a part of this. In October, Bonnie for you have
a brick and mortar. Where is this located? And what
do you do at this headquarters?
Speaker 3 (03:20):
Like?
Speaker 2 (03:20):
What is there?
Speaker 3 (03:21):
Well, our headquarters is actually the old State Theater that
was here downtown. Before that, it was the Wigwam Theater
and the Wigwam Saloon. So it's actually a historic building
here downtown. It's at one ten East San Antonio. And
I have to give Peter props because if you walk
into the building, it's amazing. We've made it into a museum.
(03:41):
Well he has really And we have little bit Janett's
little scenes about the tours that we do, and those
showcase the history about the tours that we do. So
you walk in and you're in another world.
Speaker 2 (03:53):
Peter, can you describe a little bit And I've been there.
I love going inside there. Can you describe a little
bit of what it looks like on the in side
and maybe some things that go on inside the building.
Speaker 4 (04:04):
Something different, totally different. And we promote history on the hotels,
the saloons, the gunfighters, the brothels, and my favorite subject
is the Chinese. We have a display for the Chinese
Clanadas Audio and Concordia. Nonetheless, but it's history at its best.
Speaker 2 (04:26):
Yes, And before we get into your events, because you
know there's so many events going on from now until
the end of the year, can you tell us first.
I'll start with you first, Bonnie, what are some of
your and if you can't say, I get it, but
what are some of your favorite spots a Rondel Passo
to you know that maybe that haunted.
Speaker 3 (04:47):
Well, pretty much any building downtown that we've ever gone
into has a story and we've had, you know, activity
on our own personal experiences. That's a given. Waco, Tanks, Concordia,
pretty much every place but we've gone you have something happened. Yeah,
(05:08):
And I'm not saying like the boogeyman like that, but
it can be subtle or it can be very over,
very in your face. Apasso and this area of Texas
I believe is really a haunted place.
Speaker 2 (05:20):
Yeah, yeah, oh yeah. And I mean there's been you know,
articles and different things written about a Passo and the
different haunts and the different tours. Peter, you want to
name a couple of your favorites, Audio, Yeah, there's.
Speaker 4 (05:33):
A little girl that sings the Bonnie there and she
did manifest before me in a crowd of about forty wow,
and there was after the screaming.
Speaker 3 (05:42):
And the panics settled down.
Speaker 4 (05:44):
You know, I walked up to it and it disappeared,
but it left the cold spot. We've seen things there.
I can't explain. Wiggle tanks the same, but the wigwam
where you're at. I do reckon commend the come, you know,
the public, to come visit my girlfriend that lives in
the basement.
Speaker 2 (06:04):
I've heard about your girlfriend. I've been to your girlfriend's house.
She left me alone. She left my husband alone, which
is good because there's not really much you can do,
you know, like cast me outside. You can't do that
with the ghost. But again we have Bonnie Quadis, president
of the Paso del Norte Paranormal Society, and Peterstone, Vice
president of the Paso del Norte Paranormal Society. And like
you said earlier, Bonnie, it's not just about you know,
(06:24):
having fun or learning about spirits or you know, whatever
you want to call them. I know there's different names.
And it's also including the history of al Paso, which is,
you know, a very cool thing to do. And I
think you know, people that go on these tours, they
get so much more than a good time. They get
that knowledge, they get that appreciation, especially for our historic districts.
Speaker 3 (06:43):
And if I might, another thing that we do Amber
is that we do fundraising tours. That's a big part
of who we are. We've done tours for islat of
High School, Austin High School, Jefferson High School, for you Tip,
for many other organizations and we fundraise for them and
then donate the proceeds to them.
Speaker 2 (07:00):
So with that being said, can you tell us a
little bit about some events that are coming up that
you know the public is invited to.
Speaker 3 (07:07):
Well, we do have trolley tours every Friday and those
go through visit Al Paso in the city. We also
have events. This weekend we're doing a drive through Concordia
Cemetery tour, but next weekend we're doing a Chinatown tour
on Saturday, and then the following Saturday we're doing a
brothel tour. So those are events that are coming up
(07:29):
towards the end of the month.
Speaker 2 (07:30):
A China I forgot, I completely forgotten. I learned it
from you guys that there was a Chinatown in El Paso,
Like you don't think about that, right.
Speaker 3 (07:38):
I was born and raised here. I didn't know we
had a chinatown much less at one point the largest
chinatown in Texas. Really, so we really they are really
an underground literally and figuratively part of a Paso history.
Speaker 2 (07:51):
Oh oh okay, I didn't even know that either. That's amazing, Peter,
What do you want to tell the listening audience about
these events? You know? What does it consist? What are
the reactions that you get from people.
Speaker 4 (08:03):
We get a lot of non believers that come in
and they learn about the history, and some of them
leave with a different opinion. Right, they've experienced some of
them still find gold, if that makes any sense. They
find their own treasure, whether it's the history the paranormal,
(08:25):
they leave completely different. But the thing is, it's all
about a Passo's history. That's the true treasure.
Speaker 3 (08:32):
Yeah.
Speaker 4 (08:32):
Yeah, and the paranormal takes care of itself.
Speaker 2 (08:35):
Yeah. Well, And this is also coming from a non believer.
And I know a little bit about your background, and
I won't say it on air, but you wouldn't think
that someone that came from where you did would believe,
you know, in these things, But there is something I mean,
I myself, I'm not a non believer, but like I
told you earlier, by I don't go looking for it,
but there's certain things that I sense or whatever. But
(08:56):
it's so interesting, it's so much fun. I love having
you guys on. So, Bonnie, is there anything else that
you would like to tell the listening audience?
Speaker 3 (09:02):
We thank you Ember so much for your time and
if you have a chance, anybody out there, if you're
interested in Olpaso history, please give us a look up
on Facebook, our website, visit El Paso. That's where we
put our events, and stop buy the museum. I think
it would be pleasantly surprised about what Peter has made there.
Speaker 2 (09:23):
Visit Olpaso dot com or dot org dot com dot com. Okay,
so you can go to Visitlpaso dot com. You can
also find them at ghost nine to one five dot org.
Perfect Peter, is there anything else that you would like
to tell the listening audience.
Speaker 4 (09:35):
We do have a special event that's happening in the
village of Doniana, just north of Las Cruces, New Mexico.
It's the other Los Mortos fest or festival. We may
be doing a little ghost tour after their event, so
come out and visit and get your ghost.
Speaker 2 (09:54):
On and again. These events sell out really fast and
if you want to donate or help out in any
way ghost nine one five dot org for those events,
visit Alpasso dot com. Bonnie and Peter, thank you so
much for talking with me today.
Speaker 3 (10:07):
Thank you so much. I'm always a pleasure.
Speaker 2 (10:15):
Welcome back to the al Paso Public Forum. I am
your host, Amber Banda, and today we have Lauren Falco.
She is the director of Marketing for United Way of
al Paso County. Lauren, thank you for talking with us today. Hi, Amber,
how's it going going good? Going very good? And I
also have Mary Aikman, a strategic engagement manager for United
Way of al Paso County. Mary, thank you for talking
(10:35):
with me today.
Speaker 5 (10:36):
Thank you for having us Amber.
Speaker 2 (10:38):
Of course you both are awesome so United Way of
al Paso County. You have a very important event coming up.
But before we get into that, I want to ask Lauren.
I'll ask you first what is United Way of al
Paso County.
Speaker 6 (10:50):
We like to think of us as the connector of
resources and people in the community. We are a nonprofit
that is based in al Paso, but we are connected
to a worldwide group. We are a funder for almost
seventeen seventeen nonprofits and twenty two programs in the community.
And we also provide a ton of volunteer opportunities for
locals for corporations in Alpaso in the region.
Speaker 2 (11:13):
So this United Way umbrella is part of a bigger umbrella. Correct?
Is the way explained it? Because I asked you both,
you know, can you compare it to other organizations that
provide funding for different nonprofits? And that's you explained a
little bit. It's a little bit different in that way.
Speaker 6 (11:27):
So the difference between us and maybe like a local
nonprofit is that we are established at a worldwide standing
so kind of like a Red Cross, a Salvation Army.
There are branches or chapters throughout Texas, throughout.
Speaker 2 (11:38):
The world, and we are one of them. Okay, perfect,
And Mary, did you want to add anything to the
description of United wale Pass, like what it does for
the community?
Speaker 3 (11:45):
Yeah? I do.
Speaker 5 (11:46):
Actually, something that's really cool about our United Way is
that we've been in the community for over one hundred years,
which not a lot of people know. So yeah, our
United Way has been in the Aposto community since nineteen
twenty three, and as Lauren mentioned right now, we're helping
fund seven ten different agencies across twenty two different programs,
all local nonprofits across you know, like health, education, basic needs,
(12:07):
and financial stability and some of those local nonprofits I'm
sure you've heard of, you know, the Opportunity Center, Child
Crisis Center, CASSIV Project DA. Yeah, so there's a lot.
So everything that comes our way, we give back to
the community, and then we also have our own programs
that we also lead in the community.
Speaker 2 (12:28):
Yeah, that's I think when I saw United Way because
I've had Alberto and Amanda from what is the name
of the organization Center for Resilience Center for Resiliency, So
it's like, okay, but then you all clarify, I know
it's under that umbrella, so perfect. So with United Way
of El Paso County, you're also talking about that there's
a lot of volunteer opportunities. So not only do raise
(12:48):
funds for these organizations, but can you talk more about
like what volunteer opportunities are available.
Speaker 5 (12:53):
Yeah, So we have a lot of different ways you
can volunteer. One ways that we help connect corporate partners
to volunteering agencies, whether it's like one of our funded
agencies or just nonprofits across the community. And we also
have an online free resource for the community and nonprofits
called volunteerial Passo. And so what volunteerial Passo is is
that you create an account, right and let's say your
(13:14):
interests are helping with food pantries, and so you fill
out what your interests are on the website and then
it helps you connect to local nonprofit set or need
of a helping hand. And it's a really great way,
not only and like vice versa. Right, So, if you're
a nonprofit and you need volunteers, you create an account
and then you can come and recruit volunteers. And what
I've been told is that at least from the nonprofit part,
(13:36):
is that this has helped them find their long term
volunteers and really make that connection and that relationship. And
so that's just one way. And then also you can
volunteer with our United Way and also we'll get into
that with the Flying Horse because we need race volunteers.
Speaker 2 (13:51):
There you go. Yeah, so it kind of filters it
so again to your specific want or need to volunteer,
because it's you know, it's nice to help all different
types of nonprofits, but there's people that have that certain passion.
That passion is what keeps them coming back to volunteering.
And Lauren, do you have anything to add as far
as like volunteer opportunities or if people do want to
volunteer or their organization needs volunteers, where do they go
(14:11):
how do they find that?
Speaker 4 (14:12):
Sure?
Speaker 6 (14:12):
So that's volunteer Alpasso dot org. Again, you can find
it through United Way Alpasso dot org as well. But
it's a very easy platform to manage in terms of
setting up your profile, getting getting connected fast. It's a
great opportunity, especially for maybe around the holidays. This is
the perfect time to start looking because there's a lot
of needs out there.
Speaker 2 (14:33):
Perfect And you said that there was seventeen organizations right
now that you all help with funding and volunteers. Correct,
So we're going to get into that because maybe you're
not a part of those organizations yet, but you do
want to help. Again, I'm talking to Lauren Falco, director
of Marketing for United Way of Alpaso County and Mary Aikman,
Strategic Engagement Manager for United Way of Alpaso County. Now,
(14:54):
let's go into this event. It's a pretty big event
in All Passo and then Lauren, right now you can
explain kind of the changes that happened with it last year.
But the Flying Horse Half marathon ten k and five
k and for anyone that's not insane enough to do
a half marathon, that's thirteen point one miles. Ten k
is six point two, five k's three point one. Also
the Gidea Up Fun Run, which is a mile. All
(15:15):
I got to say is if I'm running, you better
run two because something's chasing me. So, Lauren, can you
tell us a little bit more about the changes this
year to Flying Horse and what to expect. Sure, so,
in twenty twenty four, as you kind of alluded to,
in twenty twenty four, United Way acquired it from Race
El Paso. This has been a long standing tradition in
the community since like twenty eleven. So it's a great
opportunity for Sulllan Park, which is where it's hosted. And
(15:38):
I'll PASSO to connect.
Speaker 6 (15:40):
It's a as we like to say, two states, one race,
one great cause. The Flying Horse Race this year is
going to be hopefully bigger, better than ever. We have
an expo that'll feature nonprofits, wellness health. Of course, we
have our great race. We have some great entertainment planned.
So it's a great opportunity for people to come out
and you know, get a little healthy, have a good
(16:01):
time and support a great cause.
Speaker 2 (16:02):
Which one of you is juggling for the entertainment. So
out there at Sunlon Park, it's going to be November eighth, correct,
at Suln Park Racetrack. Can one of you tell me
like the registration fees and what time they have to
show up on that day because I know I've had
different races. You know at soln Park Racetrack, it's a
very nice run around, it's a very nice area. That's
a really nice yeah.
Speaker 5 (16:23):
So you know the race starts and finishes at the
Sulon Park Racetrack and casino. So that's what's also really
cool about it. As Lauren says, for the half marathon,
they're running through two states. You go through Sulon Parking,
Mexico and then up through the beautiful upper Valley of
All Passo. You know, the leaves are changing, the weather's
just perfect, it's absolutely gorgeous. But to go on for
the race fees. So right now, the half marathon is
(16:45):
one hundred and fifteen, the ten k is eighty dollars,
and then five K fifty five and not last, but
not least, the giddy Up Fun Run, which is one
mile around the racetrack, which is for all ages, you know, young, old,
are just families, right, Just to add that extra community
and engagement is thirty dollars.
Speaker 2 (17:04):
Okay? Perfect? And Mary, you were saying something earlier about
participants selecting having the option to select nonprofit, So if
they raise funds, they can select which nonprofit that goes to.
Can you tell people like how that works? Yeah, of course.
Speaker 5 (17:19):
So one of the cool things about our race too,
is that we have something called Race for a Cause,
which is a peer to peer fundraising for local nonprofits,
and we have about five different nonprofits that we're supporting.
We have Project feeda Child Crisis Center, Opportunity Center, MTM Connection,
and then also our United Way. And so runners or
(17:39):
people they don't even have to be registered. You can
donate directly through the run sign up page. And so
if you fundrate, if you start a fundraiser and you
raise the five hundred dollars, your race registration gets automatically
refunded back to you.
Speaker 2 (17:53):
Oh cool. Yeah, And Lauren, can you say a little
bit more about you know where the funds go for
from this race.
Speaker 6 (18:01):
Sure, so again, if you could select your specific nonprofit,
it allows you to directly to that nonprofit, including United
Way of Alpaso County, which, as we kind of mentioned before,
seventeen agencies and twenty two programs that are funded directly
through United Way of Alpaso County. It's a really great
opportunity not only to give back to the community, but
of course connect on that volunteer level. We are also
(18:23):
looking for volunteers. As Mary mentioned, we are looking for
some volunteers to come out and help us the day of.
Speaker 2 (18:28):
Perfect And so if you want more information on this race,
specifically Flyinghorse Race dot com. You can also go to
United Waylpasso dot org for more information on United Way. Mary,
is there anything else that you would like to tell
the listening audience.
Speaker 5 (18:42):
Yeah, I just wanted to add all so, so all
race registration fees for the tickets, you know, all of
that goes back to the United Way, which in turn
goes back into the community. Right, And so it's all
about supporting the community, healthy communities, just creating that engagement
bringing both of our communities from the Sulman Park and
all pass so together, and also bringing people from out
(19:04):
of state, because people come all the way from Wisconsin.
I've seen people from Virginia, you know, really far away,
and we're bringing them here to see our beautiful, beautiful city.
And it's an amazing race and we really hope we're
calling on the community to come help us. Race with us,
run with us, and we're so excited.
Speaker 2 (19:23):
And I think what's really cool about the race too, is,
like you had mentioned before, Lauren, the nonprofits are going
to be out there so you can actually get more
information on them. Lauren, is there anything else you would
like to tell the listening audience. I'd also like to.
Speaker 6 (19:33):
Thank all of our sponsors, especially the City of Sunland Park.
They are a title sponsor. They work very closely with
us to get this done. We have a really great
connection with them to help with local businesses in the
Sutherland Park area, and of course the Someland Park Racetrack
and casino for being very generous to letting us use
their course. So I'm very happy to have all of
those sponsors on this year.
Speaker 2 (19:53):
Perfect. Thank you both for talking with me today. Thank you, Amber,
Welcome back to the al Paso Public Forum. I am
your host, Amberbanda, and today we have back Crime Stoppers
of al Paso. I have here with me Norma Rincon.
She is on the board of directors and she is
(20:13):
a past president of Crime Stoppers of al Paso as well. Norma,
thank you for being here with me today. Thank you
for reminding us, of course, and we have back John Purchase,
the law enforcement coordinator for Crime Stoppers of al Paso. John,
thank you for being back with us today.
Speaker 7 (20:28):
Good morning, Embert. Thank you for having us, of course.
Speaker 2 (20:30):
So today we're going to be talking a little bit
about Crime Stoppers of al Paso. John, I'm going to
start with you. We've all heard of Crime Stoppers of
al Paso, but a lot of people may not know
it is a nonprofit. And what do you do for
the community and how do you work with other local
law enforcement agencies to keep our city safer.
Speaker 7 (20:49):
Sure, So, our mission is to gather tips from the community.
And when we receive those tips, and that could be
on suspicious activity, criminal activity, whatever they just seem like
be out of the ordinary. Once we receive those tips,
we send them to law enforcement agencies. Our program sends
them to federal, state and local agencies. So we have
almost one hundred agencies or recipients on our recipient list.
(21:13):
So we send them through all overall Passo Texas federal, state,
and local agencies and we rely on them the agencies
to conduct their investigations and upon completion of the investigation,
if an arrest is made, the tipster who submitted the
tip actually qualifies for a reward. We also partner with
the media. The media is a big help to us.
So we call it the partnership between the community, law enforcement,
(21:37):
and the media to help keep the city safe.
Speaker 2 (21:39):
And so it's not just hey, I see some suspicious sectivity,
I'm going to call crime stoppers. It's there is something
that the city may need help with in solving a crime,
and then you put it out there and then you
gather the tips.
Speaker 7 (21:52):
That's correct, Okay. We get requests from all law enforcement
agencies to post on our social media and that's how
we get a lot of our tips. Oftentimes, unfortunately, you know,
there's been a lot of hidden runs in the city.
So you'll see in the media releases where if the
if the person did not stop, law enforcement agencies, a
police department at the Sheriff's office will request to contact
(22:14):
crime Stoppers if you have a tip regarding that that incident.
So that's that's how the program works. It's very successful.
We are the first in the state of Texas to
get established and second in the world because Crime Stoppers
is worldwide.
Speaker 2 (22:28):
Right, Yes, that's right. And so if someone did have
say they want to go and find where you all
may need help solving a crime, do they go to
the website? Is there do they is it the best
place to go to social media? Or is there a
phone number.
Speaker 7 (22:41):
We have three ways to submit tips that the public
can submit tips. We do have a website. The public
and submit their tips through cslpasso dot org. That's how
they can reach us through the website. We also have
a phone app. It's called a P three app. You
can actually download the app on your phone and you
can actually submit your tip through your phone. It's free
(23:02):
of charge. There's no cost for that, and a lot
of people submit what's called the mobile apps, which is
that and then you can call us at nine one, five, five,
six six, eight four seven seven. That's a twenty four
hour call center that's based out of just outside of Houston, Texas.
But it's a twenty four hour call center. Most of
the crime Stoppers programs in the nation utilize that call
(23:24):
center and they will receive the tips. Again, it's all anonymous.
That's the big thing about our program is you submit
the tips. It's one hundred percent anonymous, and once they
receive that tip, then they'll send it to the individual
program where the crime pertains to. And then we go
into action and submit the tip, forward it to the
law enforcement agencies and let them connect their investigations.
Speaker 2 (23:46):
And again, if someone sees an actual crime happening in
front of them, they don't call crime Stoppers, right, they
should call the police. This is more for hey, these
are the crimes that we need help with. And with
that app. I'm curious, since you say a lot of
the tips gets admitted through there, can they use that
app to see what active I guess scenarios are happening
where they can help with.
Speaker 7 (24:06):
No, not necessarily, it's just specifically to submit a tip.
And yes, you're absolutely right, if it's an emergency or
something urgent, we always tell people to dial nine one,
go nine one one first. Ours is more of a
reactive process, you know, But if there's an emergency, dial
nine one one.
Speaker 2 (24:25):
Okay, so Crime Stoppers of I'll pass. So again that
was John Purchase. He's the law enforcement coordinator. And we're
going to talk right now with Norma Rincon again. She
is a past president of Crime Stoppers of El Paso
and a current board on the current board of directors. Now,
it is a nonprofit. Nonprofits need volunteers, they need funds.
We're going to talk a little bit about the funds
raised where they go, but we're going to talk first
(24:48):
about their forty sixth annual golf tournament for Crime Stoppers
of All pass So what's happening Friday, October seventeenth, seven
thirty am to three pm. It's always great to have
a golf tournament of Friday because it's a great excuse to,
you know, get out of work. It's going to be
at Painted Dunes Desert golf Course. So Norma, can you
tell us more about this this golf tournament. You know
(25:10):
what's going to be happening there at this event.
Speaker 8 (25:13):
Well, it's gonna be lots of fun and there are
plenty of sponsorship opportunities for everyone to participate in. We
have title sponsors, we have double eagles sponsor opportunities, beverage
sponsor opportunities, golf cart sponsor opportunities, birdie sponsor opportunities, breakfast
sponsor opportunities, and hold sponsor opportunities.
Speaker 3 (25:32):
Awesome.
Speaker 8 (25:33):
With the funds that we raised, they will all go
towards tip rewards, office expenses, phone except on. No salaries,
no rents, or vehicle expenses come out of your donations.
This is all for our nonprofit fiver one C three
organization to help the community with safety issues.
Speaker 2 (25:53):
Okay, so the funds you had mentioned some things there
repeat the first one that was the fall because I
know John you've mentioned this on the show before or
so you know there's that phone line that you're talking
about that cost to operate. So that's something that the
funds would be used for.
Speaker 8 (26:07):
Yes, those donations cover tip rewards, tip rewards, yes, yeah,
that John has spoken about. It covers office expenses, phone expensive,
It does not cover salaries, does not cover rent nor
vehicle expenses.
Speaker 2 (26:23):
Although I'm sure a lot of people wouldn't mind covering
that because you guys are helping to keep the city safer.
So with this event, I've done a couple of golf
tournaments myself. Are there going to be is there going
to be like a raffles or prizes or.
Speaker 8 (26:35):
Any of raffle very cool four prices, raffle prices and
you know the winners will take home bragging right.
Speaker 2 (26:45):
Bragging rights of course. And is it like I mean,
forgive me, I'm not an avid golfer, but like a
four person scrabble or what does it call?
Speaker 8 (26:53):
We have a four player team which is five hundred
dollars or single players which is one twenty five a player.
Speaker 2 (26:59):
Okay, awesome? And if they want more information, if you
want more information, you can go to Cslpasso for Crimestopperslpasso
dot org. You can register there and if you want
to sponsor this event, you can also find more information
there as well. Again, you can sponsor the breakfast, you
can sponsor the birdies, you can you know, there's different
levels of sponsorship for Crime Stoppers of Al Paso forty
(27:21):
six Annual Golf Tournament. John, is there anything else that
you would like to tell the listening audience?
Speaker 7 (27:27):
No, and thank you for mentioning the website again, because
there'll be a QR code there and you can go
directly to our registration there from the website.
Speaker 2 (27:35):
Very very simple, perfect John and Norman. Thank you so
much for being here with us today.
Speaker 8 (27:39):
Thank you for having us, and we hope to see
you all at our golf Tournamentee.
Speaker 1 (27:43):
Yes, you've been listening to El Paso Public Forum, a
weekly public affairs presentation of iHeartRadio l Passo. If you,
your organization or event would like to be featured on
an upcoming program, please email to ep Forum at iHeartMedia
dot com or call us at nine one five three
five one five four zero zero. Tune in again next
(28:03):
week for another additional of El Paso Public Forum. The
preceding program was recorded at the studios of iHeartRadio El Paso.
Welcome to El Paso Public Forum, a weekly half hour
public affairs presentation of iHeartRadio El Paso for over twenty years,
featuring local news and interviews of interest to our listeners
in West Texas and southern New Mexica. All views and
opinions expressed on this program are those of the host
and guest, and not necessarily those of iHeartRadio Management and
now El Paso Public Forum.
Speaker 2 (00:21):
Welcome back to the al Paso Public Forum. I'm your host, Amberbanda,
and today, especially for the month of October, we have
Bonnie Wattis, President of the Paso del Norte Paranormal Society. Bonnie,
thank you for talking with us today.
Speaker 3 (00:36):
Thank you for inviting us in, Miss Amber, so much
appreciated of course.
Speaker 2 (00:40):
And we also have Peter Stone, Vice president of Baso
del Norte Paranormal Society. Peter, thank you for joining us
today as well.
Speaker 4 (00:48):
Pleasure, ma'am always so today.
Speaker 2 (00:50):
We're going to be talking again Baso del Norte Paranormal Society,
which is a nonprofit. Bonnie, what is this society? What
what do you do?
Speaker 3 (01:01):
We're a five oh one c three nonprofit which means
that we're all volunteers. None of us are paid for
what we do, and in a nutshell, what we try
to do is teach I'll passo history, but we do
it with a little bit of a twist. We're also
paranormal investigators, so we love our history, but we also
try to help people who may be having issues at
(01:21):
home or their place of business, something like that.
Speaker 2 (01:24):
So you told me an interesting story that we'll get
into in a little bit, but I think a lot
of people wonder and I'm going to ask each of
you individually. I'll start with you first, Bonnie, how do
you become or get interested in becoming a paranormal investigator?
Speaker 3 (01:36):
Well, what happened with me is that I lived in
a home that was crazy haunted, and people would ask me,
aren't you afraid to stay there? And basically I would
say no, I'm used to it. But I saw an
advertisement and a paper for a workshop, and I went
to a workshop and realized I wasn't crazy, but there
are things out there that we can't explain, and that
(01:57):
there are people who really need help something times. So
that's how I got involved with the society.
Speaker 2 (02:03):
And Peter, how did you become a paranormal investigator. You
have some interesting stories too.
Speaker 4 (02:08):
I met Bonnie in the cemetery in Donyana, the village
of Donyana. On ever since then, I got invited to
a tour in sani Lesaudio, Texas, and just since then,
I told myself I didn't believe in the paranormal, but
after the experiences that I've had since then, I'm a believer.
Speaker 2 (02:30):
Yeah, that's so romantic. I see things. That's so cool,
especially because what you guys do so paranormal investigators. You
said that there's more volunteers. What do the volunteers do
in this organization, Bonnie.
Speaker 3 (02:42):
Well, we do tours, We do history tours and ghost tours,
and when we have those events, we need help. I mean,
Peter and I do a lot, but we need help
of volunteers. And without the volunteers that we have, we
wouldn't be able to do a lot of the events
that we have. They're a cornerstone of how we work.
Speaker 2 (03:01):
And you're I mean, your events, especially around the month
of October, gets sold out almost immediately. And I know,
you know, sometimes it's the city or whatever, but people
love what you all do and they love to be
a part of this. In October, Bonnie for you have
a brick and mortar. Where is this located? And what
do you do at this headquarters?
Speaker 3 (03:20):
Like?
Speaker 2 (03:20):
What is there?
Speaker 3 (03:21):
Well, our headquarters is actually the old State Theater that
was here downtown. Before that, it was the Wigwam Theater
and the Wigwam Saloon. So it's actually a historic building
here downtown. It's at one ten East San Antonio. And
I have to give Peter props because if you walk
into the building, it's amazing. We've made it into a museum.
(03:41):
Well he has really And we have little bit Janett's
little scenes about the tours that we do, and those
showcase the history about the tours that we do. So
you walk in and you're in another world.
Speaker 2 (03:53):
Peter, can you describe a little bit And I've been there.
I love going inside there. Can you describe a little
bit of what it looks like on the in side
and maybe some things that go on inside the building.
Speaker 4 (04:04):
Something different, totally different. And we promote history on the hotels,
the saloons, the gunfighters, the brothels, and my favorite subject
is the Chinese. We have a display for the Chinese
Clanadas Audio and Concordia. Nonetheless, but it's history at its best.
Speaker 2 (04:26):
Yes, And before we get into your events, because you
know there's so many events going on from now until
the end of the year, can you tell us first.
I'll start with you first, Bonnie, what are some of
your and if you can't say, I get it, but
what are some of your favorite spots a Rondel Passo
to you know that maybe that haunted.
Speaker 3 (04:47):
Well, pretty much any building downtown that we've ever gone
into has a story and we've had, you know, activity
on our own personal experiences. That's a given. Waco, Tanks, Concordia,
pretty much every place but we've gone you have something happened. Yeah,
(05:08):
And I'm not saying like the boogeyman like that, but
it can be subtle or it can be very over,
very in your face. Apasso and this area of Texas
I believe is really a haunted place.
Speaker 2 (05:20):
Yeah, yeah, oh yeah. And I mean there's been you know,
articles and different things written about a Passo and the
different haunts and the different tours. Peter, you want to
name a couple of your favorites, Audio, Yeah, there's.
Speaker 4 (05:33):
A little girl that sings the Bonnie there and she
did manifest before me in a crowd of about forty wow,
and there was after the screaming.
Speaker 3 (05:42):
And the panics settled down.
Speaker 4 (05:44):
You know, I walked up to it and it disappeared,
but it left the cold spot. We've seen things there.
I can't explain. Wiggle tanks the same, but the wigwam
where you're at. I do reckon commend the come, you know,
the public, to come visit my girlfriend that lives in
the basement.
Speaker 2 (06:04):
I've heard about your girlfriend. I've been to your girlfriend's house.
She left me alone. She left my husband alone, which
is good because there's not really much you can do,
you know, like cast me outside. You can't do that
with the ghost. But again we have Bonnie Quadis, president
of the Paso del Norte Paranormal Society, and Peterstone, Vice
president of the Paso del Norte Paranormal Society. And like
you said earlier, Bonnie, it's not just about you know,
(06:24):
having fun or learning about spirits or you know, whatever
you want to call them. I know there's different names.
And it's also including the history of al Paso, which is,
you know, a very cool thing to do. And I
think you know, people that go on these tours, they
get so much more than a good time. They get
that knowledge, they get that appreciation, especially for our historic districts.
Speaker 3 (06:43):
And if I might, another thing that we do Amber
is that we do fundraising tours. That's a big part
of who we are. We've done tours for islat of
High School, Austin High School, Jefferson High School, for you Tip,
for many other organizations and we fundraise for them and
then donate the proceeds to them.
Speaker 2 (07:00):
So with that being said, can you tell us a
little bit about some events that are coming up that
you know the public is invited to.
Speaker 3 (07:07):
Well, we do have trolley tours every Friday and those
go through visit Al Paso in the city. We also
have events. This weekend we're doing a drive through Concordia
Cemetery tour, but next weekend we're doing a Chinatown tour
on Saturday, and then the following Saturday we're doing a
brothel tour. So those are events that are coming up
(07:29):
towards the end of the month.
Speaker 2 (07:30):
A China I forgot, I completely forgotten. I learned it
from you guys that there was a Chinatown in El Paso,
Like you don't think about that, right.
Speaker 3 (07:38):
I was born and raised here. I didn't know we
had a chinatown much less at one point the largest
chinatown in Texas. Really, so we really they are really
an underground literally and figuratively part of a Paso history.
Speaker 2 (07:51):
Oh oh okay, I didn't even know that either. That's amazing, Peter,
What do you want to tell the listening audience about
these events? You know? What does it consist? What are
the reactions that you get from people.
Speaker 4 (08:03):
We get a lot of non believers that come in
and they learn about the history, and some of them
leave with a different opinion. Right, they've experienced some of
them still find gold, if that makes any sense. They
find their own treasure, whether it's the history the paranormal,
(08:25):
they leave completely different. But the thing is, it's all
about a Passo's history. That's the true treasure.
Speaker 3 (08:32):
Yeah.
Speaker 4 (08:32):
Yeah, and the paranormal takes care of itself.
Speaker 2 (08:35):
Yeah. Well, And this is also coming from a non believer.
And I know a little bit about your background, and
I won't say it on air, but you wouldn't think
that someone that came from where you did would believe,
you know, in these things, But there is something I mean,
I myself, I'm not a non believer, but like I
told you earlier, by I don't go looking for it,
but there's certain things that I sense or whatever. But
(08:56):
it's so interesting, it's so much fun. I love having
you guys on. So, Bonnie, is there anything else that
you would like to tell the listening audience?
Speaker 3 (09:02):
We thank you Ember so much for your time and
if you have a chance, anybody out there, if you're
interested in Olpaso history, please give us a look up
on Facebook, our website, visit El Paso. That's where we
put our events, and stop buy the museum. I think
it would be pleasantly surprised about what Peter has made there.
Speaker 2 (09:23):
Visit Olpaso dot com or dot org dot com dot com. Okay,
so you can go to Visitlpaso dot com. You can
also find them at ghost nine to one five dot org.
Perfect Peter, is there anything else that you would like
to tell the listening audience.
Speaker 4 (09:35):
We do have a special event that's happening in the
village of Doniana, just north of Las Cruces, New Mexico.
It's the other Los Mortos fest or festival. We may
be doing a little ghost tour after their event, so
come out and visit and get your ghost.
Speaker 2 (09:54):
On and again. These events sell out really fast and
if you want to donate or help out in any
way ghost nine one five dot org for those events,
visit Alpasso dot com. Bonnie and Peter, thank you so
much for talking with me today.
Speaker 3 (10:07):
Thank you so much. I'm always a pleasure.
Speaker 2 (10:15):
Welcome back to the al Paso Public Forum. I am
your host, Amber Banda, and today we have Lauren Falco.
She is the director of Marketing for United Way of
al Paso County. Lauren, thank you for talking with us today. Hi, Amber,
how's it going going good? Going very good? And I
also have Mary Aikman, a strategic engagement manager for United
Way of al Paso County. Mary, thank you for talking
(10:35):
with me today.
Speaker 5 (10:36):
Thank you for having us Amber.
Speaker 2 (10:38):
Of course you both are awesome so United Way of
al Paso County. You have a very important event coming up.
But before we get into that, I want to ask Lauren.
I'll ask you first what is United Way of al
Paso County.
Speaker 6 (10:50):
We like to think of us as the connector of
resources and people in the community. We are a nonprofit
that is based in al Paso, but we are connected
to a worldwide group. We are a funder for almost
seventeen seventeen nonprofits and twenty two programs in the community.
And we also provide a ton of volunteer opportunities for
locals for corporations in Alpaso in the region.
Speaker 2 (11:13):
So this United Way umbrella is part of a bigger umbrella. Correct?
Is the way explained it? Because I asked you both,
you know, can you compare it to other organizations that
provide funding for different nonprofits? And that's you explained a
little bit. It's a little bit different in that way.
Speaker 6 (11:27):
So the difference between us and maybe like a local
nonprofit is that we are established at a worldwide standing
so kind of like a Red Cross, a Salvation Army.
There are branches or chapters throughout Texas, throughout.
Speaker 2 (11:38):
The world, and we are one of them. Okay, perfect,
And Mary, did you want to add anything to the
description of United wale Pass, like what it does for
the community?
Speaker 3 (11:45):
Yeah? I do.
Speaker 5 (11:46):
Actually, something that's really cool about our United Way is
that we've been in the community for over one hundred years,
which not a lot of people know. So yeah, our
United Way has been in the Aposto community since nineteen
twenty three, and as Lauren mentioned right now, we're helping
fund seven ten different agencies across twenty two different programs,
all local nonprofits across you know, like health, education, basic needs,
(12:07):
and financial stability and some of those local nonprofits I'm
sure you've heard of, you know, the Opportunity Center, Child
Crisis Center, CASSIV Project DA. Yeah, so there's a lot.
So everything that comes our way, we give back to
the community, and then we also have our own programs
that we also lead in the community.
Speaker 2 (12:28):
Yeah, that's I think when I saw United Way because
I've had Alberto and Amanda from what is the name
of the organization Center for Resilience Center for Resiliency, So
it's like, okay, but then you all clarify, I know
it's under that umbrella, so perfect. So with United Way
of El Paso County, you're also talking about that there's
a lot of volunteer opportunities. So not only do raise
(12:48):
funds for these organizations, but can you talk more about
like what volunteer opportunities are available.
Speaker 5 (12:53):
Yeah, So we have a lot of different ways you
can volunteer. One ways that we help connect corporate partners
to volunteering agencies, whether it's like one of our funded
agencies or just nonprofits across the community. And we also
have an online free resource for the community and nonprofits
called volunteerial Passo. And so what volunteerial Passo is is
that you create an account, right and let's say your
(13:14):
interests are helping with food pantries, and so you fill
out what your interests are on the website and then
it helps you connect to local nonprofit set or need
of a helping hand. And it's a really great way,
not only and like vice versa. Right, So, if you're
a nonprofit and you need volunteers, you create an account
and then you can come and recruit volunteers. And what
I've been told is that at least from the nonprofit part,
(13:36):
is that this has helped them find their long term
volunteers and really make that connection and that relationship. And
so that's just one way. And then also you can
volunteer with our United Way and also we'll get into
that with the Flying Horse because we need race volunteers.
Speaker 2 (13:51):
There you go. Yeah, so it kind of filters it
so again to your specific want or need to volunteer,
because it's you know, it's nice to help all different
types of nonprofits, but there's people that have that certain passion.
That passion is what keeps them coming back to volunteering.
And Lauren, do you have anything to add as far
as like volunteer opportunities or if people do want to
volunteer or their organization needs volunteers, where do they go
(14:11):
how do they find that?
Speaker 4 (14:12):
Sure?
Speaker 6 (14:12):
So that's volunteer Alpasso dot org. Again, you can find
it through United Way Alpasso dot org as well. But
it's a very easy platform to manage in terms of
setting up your profile, getting getting connected fast. It's a
great opportunity, especially for maybe around the holidays. This is
the perfect time to start looking because there's a lot
of needs out there.
Speaker 2 (14:33):
Perfect And you said that there was seventeen organizations right
now that you all help with funding and volunteers. Correct,
So we're going to get into that because maybe you're
not a part of those organizations yet, but you do
want to help. Again, I'm talking to Lauren Falco, director
of Marketing for United Way of Alpaso County and Mary Aikman,
Strategic Engagement Manager for United Way of Alpaso County. Now,
(14:54):
let's go into this event. It's a pretty big event
in All Passo and then Lauren, right now you can
explain kind of the changes that happened with it last year.
But the Flying Horse Half marathon ten k and five
k and for anyone that's not insane enough to do
a half marathon, that's thirteen point one miles. Ten k
is six point two, five k's three point one. Also
the Gidea Up Fun Run, which is a mile. All
(15:15):
I got to say is if I'm running, you better
run two because something's chasing me. So, Lauren, can you
tell us a little bit more about the changes this
year to Flying Horse and what to expect. Sure, so,
in twenty twenty four, as you kind of alluded to,
in twenty twenty four, United Way acquired it from Race
El Paso. This has been a long standing tradition in
the community since like twenty eleven. So it's a great
opportunity for Sulllan Park, which is where it's hosted. And
(15:38):
I'll PASSO to connect.
Speaker 6 (15:40):
It's a as we like to say, two states, one race,
one great cause. The Flying Horse Race this year is
going to be hopefully bigger, better than ever. We have
an expo that'll feature nonprofits, wellness health. Of course, we
have our great race. We have some great entertainment planned.
So it's a great opportunity for people to come out
and you know, get a little healthy, have a good
(16:01):
time and support a great cause.
Speaker 2 (16:02):
Which one of you is juggling for the entertainment. So
out there at Sunlon Park, it's going to be November eighth, correct,
at Suln Park Racetrack. Can one of you tell me
like the registration fees and what time they have to
show up on that day because I know I've had
different races. You know at soln Park Racetrack, it's a
very nice run around, it's a very nice area. That's
a really nice yeah.
Speaker 5 (16:23):
So you know the race starts and finishes at the
Sulon Park Racetrack and casino. So that's what's also really
cool about it. As Lauren says, for the half marathon,
they're running through two states. You go through Sulon Parking,
Mexico and then up through the beautiful upper Valley of
All Passo. You know, the leaves are changing, the weather's
just perfect, it's absolutely gorgeous. But to go on for
the race fees. So right now, the half marathon is
(16:45):
one hundred and fifteen, the ten k is eighty dollars,
and then five K fifty five and not last, but
not least, the giddy Up Fun Run, which is one
mile around the racetrack, which is for all ages, you know, young, old,
are just families, right, Just to add that extra community
and engagement is thirty dollars.
Speaker 2 (17:04):
Okay? Perfect? And Mary, you were saying something earlier about
participants selecting having the option to select nonprofit, So if
they raise funds, they can select which nonprofit that goes to.
Can you tell people like how that works? Yeah, of course.
Speaker 5 (17:19):
So one of the cool things about our race too,
is that we have something called Race for a Cause,
which is a peer to peer fundraising for local nonprofits,
and we have about five different nonprofits that we're supporting.
We have Project feeda Child Crisis Center, Opportunity Center, MTM Connection,
and then also our United Way. And so runners or
(17:39):
people they don't even have to be registered. You can
donate directly through the run sign up page. And so
if you fundrate, if you start a fundraiser and you
raise the five hundred dollars, your race registration gets automatically
refunded back to you.
Speaker 2 (17:53):
Oh cool. Yeah, And Lauren, can you say a little
bit more about you know where the funds go for
from this race.
Speaker 6 (18:01):
Sure, so again, if you could select your specific nonprofit,
it allows you to directly to that nonprofit, including United
Way of Alpaso County, which, as we kind of mentioned before,
seventeen agencies and twenty two programs that are funded directly
through United Way of Alpaso County. It's a really great
opportunity not only to give back to the community, but
of course connect on that volunteer level. We are also
(18:23):
looking for volunteers. As Mary mentioned, we are looking for
some volunteers to come out and help us the day of.
Speaker 2 (18:28):
Perfect And so if you want more information on this race,
specifically Flyinghorse Race dot com. You can also go to
United Waylpasso dot org for more information on United Way. Mary,
is there anything else that you would like to tell
the listening audience.
Speaker 5 (18:42):
Yeah, I just wanted to add all so, so all
race registration fees for the tickets, you know, all of
that goes back to the United Way, which in turn
goes back into the community. Right, And so it's all
about supporting the community, healthy communities, just creating that engagement
bringing both of our communities from the Sulman Park and
all pass so together, and also bringing people from out
(19:04):
of state, because people come all the way from Wisconsin.
I've seen people from Virginia, you know, really far away,
and we're bringing them here to see our beautiful, beautiful city.
And it's an amazing race and we really hope we're
calling on the community to come help us. Race with us,
run with us, and we're so excited.
Speaker 2 (19:23):
And I think what's really cool about the race too, is,
like you had mentioned before, Lauren, the nonprofits are going
to be out there so you can actually get more
information on them. Lauren, is there anything else you would
like to tell the listening audience. I'd also like to.
Speaker 6 (19:33):
Thank all of our sponsors, especially the City of Sunland Park.
They are a title sponsor. They work very closely with
us to get this done. We have a really great
connection with them to help with local businesses in the
Sutherland Park area, and of course the Someland Park Racetrack
and casino for being very generous to letting us use
their course. So I'm very happy to have all of
those sponsors on this year.
Speaker 2 (19:53):
Perfect. Thank you both for talking with me today. Thank you, Amber,
Welcome back to the al Paso Public Forum. I am
your host, Amberbanda, and today we have back Crime Stoppers
of al Paso. I have here with me Norma Rincon.
She is on the board of directors and she is
(20:13):
a past president of Crime Stoppers of al Paso as well. Norma,
thank you for being here with me today. Thank you
for reminding us, of course, and we have back John Purchase,
the law enforcement coordinator for Crime Stoppers of al Paso. John,
thank you for being back with us today.
Speaker 7 (20:28):
Good morning, Embert. Thank you for having us, of course.
Speaker 2 (20:30):
So today we're going to be talking a little bit
about Crime Stoppers of al Paso. John, I'm going to
start with you. We've all heard of Crime Stoppers of
al Paso, but a lot of people may not know
it is a nonprofit. And what do you do for
the community and how do you work with other local
law enforcement agencies to keep our city safer.
Speaker 7 (20:49):
Sure, So, our mission is to gather tips from the community.
And when we receive those tips, and that could be
on suspicious activity, criminal activity, whatever they just seem like
be out of the ordinary. Once we receive those tips,
we send them to law enforcement agencies. Our program sends
them to federal, state and local agencies. So we have
almost one hundred agencies or recipients on our recipient list.
(21:13):
So we send them through all overall Passo Texas federal, state,
and local agencies and we rely on them the agencies
to conduct their investigations and upon completion of the investigation,
if an arrest is made, the tipster who submitted the
tip actually qualifies for a reward. We also partner with
the media. The media is a big help to us.
So we call it the partnership between the community, law enforcement,
(21:37):
and the media to help keep the city safe.
Speaker 2 (21:39):
And so it's not just hey, I see some suspicious sectivity,
I'm going to call crime stoppers. It's there is something
that the city may need help with in solving a crime,
and then you put it out there and then you
gather the tips.
Speaker 7 (21:52):
That's correct, Okay. We get requests from all law enforcement
agencies to post on our social media and that's how
we get a lot of our tips. Oftentimes, unfortunately, you know,
there's been a lot of hidden runs in the city.
So you'll see in the media releases where if the
if the person did not stop, law enforcement agencies, a
police department at the Sheriff's office will request to contact
(22:14):
crime Stoppers if you have a tip regarding that that incident.
So that's that's how the program works. It's very successful.
We are the first in the state of Texas to
get established and second in the world because Crime Stoppers
is worldwide.
Speaker 2 (22:28):
Right, Yes, that's right. And so if someone did have
say they want to go and find where you all
may need help solving a crime, do they go to
the website? Is there do they is it the best
place to go to social media? Or is there a
phone number.
Speaker 7 (22:41):
We have three ways to submit tips that the public
can submit tips. We do have a website. The public
and submit their tips through cslpasso dot org. That's how
they can reach us through the website. We also have
a phone app. It's called a P three app. You
can actually download the app on your phone and you
can actually submit your tip through your phone. It's free
(23:02):
of charge. There's no cost for that, and a lot
of people submit what's called the mobile apps, which is
that and then you can call us at nine one, five, five,
six six, eight four seven seven. That's a twenty four
hour call center that's based out of just outside of Houston, Texas.
But it's a twenty four hour call center. Most of
the crime Stoppers programs in the nation utilize that call
(23:24):
center and they will receive the tips. Again, it's all anonymous.
That's the big thing about our program is you submit
the tips. It's one hundred percent anonymous, and once they
receive that tip, then they'll send it to the individual
program where the crime pertains to. And then we go
into action and submit the tip, forward it to the
law enforcement agencies and let them connect their investigations.
Speaker 2 (23:46):
And again, if someone sees an actual crime happening in
front of them, they don't call crime Stoppers, right, they
should call the police. This is more for hey, these
are the crimes that we need help with. And with
that app. I'm curious, since you say a lot of
the tips gets admitted through there, can they use that
app to see what active I guess scenarios are happening
where they can help with.
Speaker 7 (24:06):
No, not necessarily, it's just specifically to submit a tip.
And yes, you're absolutely right, if it's an emergency or
something urgent, we always tell people to dial nine one,
go nine one one first. Ours is more of a
reactive process, you know, But if there's an emergency, dial
nine one one.
Speaker 2 (24:25):
Okay, so Crime Stoppers of I'll pass. So again that
was John Purchase. He's the law enforcement coordinator. And we're
going to talk right now with Norma Rincon again. She
is a past president of Crime Stoppers of El Paso
and a current board on the current board of directors. Now,
it is a nonprofit. Nonprofits need volunteers, they need funds.
We're going to talk a little bit about the funds
raised where they go, but we're going to talk first
(24:48):
about their forty sixth annual golf tournament for Crime Stoppers
of All pass So what's happening Friday, October seventeenth, seven
thirty am to three pm. It's always great to have
a golf tournament of Friday because it's a great excuse to,
you know, get out of work. It's going to be
at Painted Dunes Desert golf Course. So Norma, can you
tell us more about this this golf tournament. You know
(25:10):
what's going to be happening there at this event.
Speaker 8 (25:13):
Well, it's gonna be lots of fun and there are
plenty of sponsorship opportunities for everyone to participate in. We
have title sponsors, we have double eagles sponsor opportunities, beverage
sponsor opportunities, golf cart sponsor opportunities, birdie sponsor opportunities, breakfast
sponsor opportunities, and hold sponsor opportunities.
Speaker 3 (25:32):
Awesome.
Speaker 8 (25:33):
With the funds that we raised, they will all go
towards tip rewards, office expenses, phone except on. No salaries,
no rents, or vehicle expenses come out of your donations.
This is all for our nonprofit fiver one C three
organization to help the community with safety issues.
Speaker 2 (25:53):
Okay, so the funds you had mentioned some things there
repeat the first one that was the fall because I
know John you've mentioned this on the show before or
so you know there's that phone line that you're talking
about that cost to operate. So that's something that the
funds would be used for.
Speaker 8 (26:07):
Yes, those donations cover tip rewards, tip rewards, yes, yeah,
that John has spoken about. It covers office expenses, phone expensive,
It does not cover salaries, does not cover rent nor
vehicle expenses.
Speaker 2 (26:23):
Although I'm sure a lot of people wouldn't mind covering
that because you guys are helping to keep the city safer.
So with this event, I've done a couple of golf
tournaments myself. Are there going to be is there going
to be like a raffles or prizes or.
Speaker 8 (26:35):
Any of raffle very cool four prices, raffle prices and
you know the winners will take home bragging right.
Speaker 2 (26:45):
Bragging rights of course. And is it like I mean,
forgive me, I'm not an avid golfer, but like a
four person scrabble or what does it call?
Speaker 8 (26:53):
We have a four player team which is five hundred
dollars or single players which is one twenty five a player.
Speaker 2 (26:59):
Okay, awesome? And if they want more information, if you
want more information, you can go to Cslpasso for Crimestopperslpasso
dot org. You can register there and if you want
to sponsor this event, you can also find more information
there as well. Again, you can sponsor the breakfast, you
can sponsor the birdies, you can you know, there's different
levels of sponsorship for Crime Stoppers of Al Paso forty
(27:21):
six Annual Golf Tournament. John, is there anything else that
you would like to tell the listening audience?
Speaker 7 (27:27):
No, and thank you for mentioning the website again, because
there'll be a QR code there and you can go
directly to our registration there from the website.
Speaker 2 (27:35):
Very very simple, perfect John and Norman. Thank you so
much for being here with us today.
Speaker 8 (27:39):
Thank you for having us, and we hope to see
you all at our golf Tournamentee.
Speaker 1 (27:43):
Yes, you've been listening to El Paso Public Forum, a
weekly public affairs presentation of iHeartRadio l Passo. If you,
your organization or event would like to be featured on
an upcoming program, please email to ep Forum at iHeartMedia
dot com or call us at nine one five three
five one five four zero zero. Tune in again next
(28:03):
week for another additional of El Paso Public Forum. The
preceding program was recorded at the studios of iHeartRadio El Paso.
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