ALL WORK AND NO PAY MAKES LIFE EXCITING FOR SHERIFF'S VOLUNTEER : SHERIFF'S VOLUNTEER FINDS SERVICE INTERESTING, EXCITING.

Byline: VICTORIA GIRAUD

Besides the opportunity to help out, Frank Sardo sees his job as a volunteer at the Santa Clarita Sheriff's Station as enjoyable and exciting.

A volunteer since 1991, Sardo is at the station, wearing a uniform of blue pants and white shirt, from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. every weekday. On each of two nights a week, he and his partner, Fidel Borrego, patrol homes of people away on vacation. The volunteers use a white Chevrolet clearly marked ``sheriff.''

``I think it's all exciting,'' Sardo said.

After Sardo, 59, took an early retirement from his job in research and development at Hughes Aircraft, his deputy friends at the sheriff's station suggested volunteer work.

He resisted at first, but soon found himself working the front desk at the station. Then he got involved in a variety of duties.

``The detectives said they could use some help, so I started working with the burglary team - tracking stolen property that was recovered, trying to find the owner,'' Sardo recalled. ``I was a paper-chaser. I filed reports, put them in order. I went out on a few search warrants. I'd stay well in the background until everything was cleared and hold the paperwork.''

Sardo enjoys patrolling homes of vacationers who have requested the service. Coordinated by Deputy Pat Rissler, the trained volunteers radio the station if they see open or broken doors or windows or anything else amiss.

Although the volunteers carry flashlights, they carry no weapons. ``We could have a car there in a heartbeat,'' Sardo said about summoning armed deputies. ``We're in constant communication with the station.''

Sardo recalled one nightly inspection that turned amusing. Standing in front of a two-story home in a very quiet neighborhood, he thought he saw movement in an upstairs window. Borrego also was intently watching the upstairs - and not where he was walking - when he bumped into a car parked in the driveway.

``The alarm goes off. Horns were blowing and lights were flashing, but not a person came out,'' Sardo said. He and Borrego sat in their marked car until the alarm ceased sounding.

``I had tears coming out of my eyes, I was laughing so hard,'' Sardo said.

Volunteers ticket able-bodied drivers who park in spaces reserved for disabled motorists. The $330 ticket almost inevitably elicits a vocal response.

``We always get stories. They were only there for a minute. They get mad at us for something they did wrong,'' Sardo said.

The volunteers carry tape recorders and have taken a class in tactical communication to ensure they can handle difficult situations.

``If we have a problem, we have it on tape,'' Sardo said.

The tape came in handy a year ago when one man ranted about a ticket.

``He called us every name we could imagine. He called the station and said we were rude,'' Sardo said. To prove the man wrong, Sardo merely played the tape recording.

The 105 volunteers at the station are involved in a variety of duties.

``We assist deputies if there's a traffic accident. We lay out flare patterns and cones, tape off the area,'' Sardo explained. They help at checkpoints where deputies arrest drivers who are under the influence of alcohol. Sometimes a volunteer takes children home when they are passengers in a car whose driver gets arrested. Volunteers also help search for lost children.

Sardo, a native of Cleveland, Ohio, and Louise, his wife for 37 years, have lived in Santa Clarita for 16 years.

He not only enjoys working with sheriff's deputies, but also hunting and fishing with them when they are off duty.

Sgt. Bruce Sonnerblick, who oversees the volunteer program, calls Sardo a valuable volunteer.

``Without a doubt, our most important volunteer is Frank; he's the man,'' Sonnerblick said.

As for Sardo, he enjoys the service so much that he says he will keep volunteering ``until they put me in the box'' for burial.

CAPTION(S):

Photo

Photo: (color) As Sheriff's Department volunteers, Frank Sardo, right, and Fidel Borrego patrol vacationers' homes.

David R. Crane/Daily News