"
Working Together "
With
education, a little effort, and cooperation from community leaders and citizens,
we can all have safe, friendly, and
rewarding places to visit, work and live.
SUBJECT:
Community Safety Watch
Dear
Tunkhannock Township Resident,
Tunkhannock
Township has seen a growth in population and traffic. This letter is to
request your assistance in keeping our Township a safe community in which
to work, live, and raise a family. You can do your part by simply being
watchful. If you see something that doesn't seem right, it probably
isn't!!
Your
Township Police are asking you to be watchful in your community and to
continue to report any suspicious activity. Your Police Department
responded to 98 suspicious activity calls and 103 traffic complaints last
year. In many cases these citizen reports prevented a serious event from
occurring.,
If you
have any questions, comments or suggestions for your Police Department you
may telephone the station at 836-5255, email at tunktwppolice@yahoo.net
or in the case of an emergency dial 911. Officers are available to
discuss your community safety issues.
Bernie
Griff, Chief of Police
Ernie
Relch, Police Commissioner
MISSION
STATEMENT
To
provide a police organization to Tunkhannock Township which will enhance
community safety, business and quality of life
To
serve and protect the residents and business leaders of Tunkhannock
township
by enforcing, in a fair and just manner, all federal, state and
local laws
To
serve crime and accident victims in Tunkhannock Township by providing aid,
assistance and direction in obtaining counseling, restitution and justice
To
serve and protect the residents and business leaders of Tunkhannock
Township through positive community involvement and interaction
To
reduce injury, death and property damage on highways within Tunkhannock
Township by enforcement of traffic laws and visible police patrols
To
maintain the peace and dignity of Tunkhannock Township by investigating
crime
and enforcing criminal laws
To
provide state certified medically trained police officers capable of
providing emergency care to persons and rendering assistance to area
volunteer services
To
provide this service to Tunkhannock Township residents and business
leaders
at a reasonable cost with regard to officers' safety and quality
of service
From a letter written to the editor of the
New Age Examiner - November 3, 1999
Dear Editor,
We are some of the kids in Tunkhannock who skate, but now they've taken
away our places
to skate. We realize that permitting us to skate at the new school,
the courthouse, and the
Post Office could risk injury to other pedestrians. We understand
the possibility of those
places being sued by the parents of injured skaters. We also realize
that we were never
supposed to skate at the courthouse.
We figured that skating was a good way to stay out of trouble. It
used to be, but now skating could nearly get some of us arrested.
Now we have to sit at home and watch TV, play video games,
or go on our computers. We're getting no fresh air, and our parents
don't know what to do with us. Besides, we spent a lot of money on
skating equipment and where are we going to use it?
We also realize that some skaters cause trouble, but we don't!
Our main point is that we think
the town should somehow provide a place to skate. Thank you for your
time.
Sincerely,
Sara M. Ward, Tunkhannock
Also, Mark Fetzko, Nicole Sechrist,
Ryan Sheridan, Mike O'Mara,
Josh Murray, Scott Wilcox, Eric Ramsom,
Jim Sheridan, Andy Soltis,
Mike Conroy, Ryan St. Hilaire, Andrew St. Hilaire,
Christine St.
Alilaire,
Daniel Zacharias, Roy Greenley, Nathan Garey,
Patrick M.
Weber, A.J. Ball,
Kiah Van Gordon, David Zackus, Anny Clapp,
and Hannah Ward
Small Town Community Policing
Police Spearhead Park Project
Riverside Park is
now home to a brand new, full-sized outdoor basketball court with three
hoops, courtesy of the Tunkhannock Borough Police
and local business donors.
Sandy Howard,
Chairman of the Riverside Park Commission,
said the whole project was
Borough Sgt. David Ide's idea.
"There
literally weren't anymore basketball courts in town.", Ide
said.
The schools in
town removed all of their outdoor courts about a year ago.
The Borough
police used the proceeds from their circus, held every
other year, to raise money for a publics works project, and found
businesses to pitch-in on materials and labor. The total value
of
the courts came in at $2,500.
Wyoming Sand and
Stone, Tunkhannock, donated the asphalt, and laid the courts. Jerry
Ross, Welding and Supply, Tunkhannock, donated his time
and materials, and helped to paint the poles. The poles
were donated by a Wilkes Barre company, Bloomsburg Metal.
Tunkhannock Borough workers also contributed labor to clean up the site
on the west side
of the park, where a Borough building used to stand.
The police wanted
to put in a basketball court, largely to give local kids a positive
association with the department. "Most of our contact with
people
is when we're issuing a traffic ticket.". said Ide. "It's
good to get to
know the kids - when you do something nice, it goes a long
way."
The courts are a
great fit with the Park, which focuses on outdoor recreation, said Howard,
who coaches track for Tunkhannock Area Middle School. The project
also gives the Park Commission a segue into the western part of the Park
which, until recently, seemed a bit remote, leading volunteers to focus
their efforts on the entrance, instead. Next on the horizon for the
Park, is coming up with a monthly maintenance program,
for keeping up with things like removing litter, mowing the
grass,
and watering flowers.
"There are a lot of people in town who would do that stuff,
if they knew about it. ", said Howard.
Compiled from
an article written by Shannon Stevens, of the New Age Examiner.
As a community, we thank the following
participants
in the basketball court project at Riverside Park:
Jerry Savoroski and
Sheri Breese, Wyoming Sand and Stone
John Carey and Joe
Culver, Tunkhannock Borough employees
Jerry Ross, Ross Welding
and Supply
Charles St. Clair and
Sandra Howard, Riverside Park Commission
Sgt. David Ide and Ptl.
Joshua Miller, of the Borough Police Dept.
Mayor Norm Ball,
Tunkhannock Borough
D.A.R.E
A program I incorporated after becoming chief of
police was the DARE program. This was a much-needed program in our community and the
department has been able to maintain DARE without any cost to the taxpayers. The program
is maintained financially by the money donated to our "drug fund" by convicted
drug dealers and users.
Another idea was to try to establish a DARE program
for home-schooled students. This became a reality in September 1998 after receiving
approval from DARE American and the state of Tennessee DARE coordinator. This was
established because students who don't attend public schools are left completely out of
drug educational programs. I could see the growing trend of home-schooling children, not
only in this area but nationwide. This is currently a pilot program, but it has already
proven to be a very successful one. Again we've had nothing but positive comments about
this program.
For a small police department to maintain all of
these programs takes concentration and a good working rapport with your officers and the
public. All of our programs are continuing to be an asset to this community and
department. We have been able to change the minds of many citizens toward law enforcement
and establish a positive image by working together.
Since the beginning of my police career in 1975, I
have witnessed many changes in the way police departments enforce the laws and how they
conduct themselves when dealing with the public. With the advent of community policing,
dramatic changes have occurred, which will mean
better law enforcement and a safer
community.
By Chief Robert Mann
For more information, contact Chief Robert
Mann, White House Police Department, P.O. Box 69, White House, TN 37188. Phone: (615)
672-4903 or (615) 672-4919.
Fax: (615) 672-4915. E-mail: whpd@bellsouth.net.
Five-year-old Jessica and her younger brother Carlos curled
into fetal positions in their Little Havana home while their parents argued violently for
hours. Officer Angel Calzadilla responded to the incident and was saddened when he saw the
frightened children huddled together. Calzadilla rushed to his patrol car and retrieved
two teddy bears from his trunk. They were just two of the many cuddly animals that his
family and friends had donated for just such an occasion. What Calzadilla thought was just
one of the many routine calls he responded to that hot afternoon actually planted the seed
for an innovative project that helped to heal the wounds of many Miami children.
"I remember giving the bears to the kids and seeing
their faces brighten up," said Calzadilla. "It worked like magic." The
parents stopped arguing instantly, and the children's crying ceased. "They realized
that they had lost sight of their priorities," he said referring to the parents.
"I saw the positive effect the bears had on the kids; they suddenly had a new item to
explore, the bears became their instant companions." Other officers reporting to the
south district substation began asking Calzadilla for bears that they too could distribute
in similar circumstances.
Almost four years later, Calzadilla, a member of the public
information office, had almost lost hope for the teddy bear project until the day he was
approached by Y-100, a local radio station. The station joined forces with a men's wear
company to kick off the "Teddy Bear Patrol Campaign" and donated a total of
$20,000. The department bought nearly 5,000 bears with the money and received many more
through donations that poured in after radio personalities promoted the campaign. To date,
over 20,000 bears have been collected in South Florida for police officers to distribute.
The "Love Your Neighbor" campaign volunteered to adorn the department's bears
with a special ribbon that includes a domestic violence hot line number.
For more information about the Teddy Bear
Patrol program, contact Lt. William Schwartz, Commander, Public Information Office, Miami
Police Department, 400 N.W. 2nd Ave., Room 220, Miami, FL 33128. Phone: (305) 579-6420.
Fax: (305) 579-6191.
Help Prevent Teen Suicides
LOS ANGELES, CALIF.
L
aw enforcement is traditionally viewed as insensitive to adolescent
"angst," yet is frequently first on the scene when a teenager threatens or
commits suicide. As part of its expanding Community Outreach Services, Teen Line, a
teen-to-teen hotline in Los Angeles, has developed a model training program of teen
suicide prevention/intervention with the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD). The goal is
to improve police handling of teen suicide victims and their families, and to sensitize
police officers to the needs of suicidal adolescents. In addition to serving as
instructors at the LAPD Juvenile Procedures School, Teen Line's Teen Suicide Prevention
Team has developed customized, specialized training to meet the specific needs of varied
law enforcement settings, ranging from Police Explorers to DARE officers to SWAT team
members.
Teen suicide in the United States has quadrupled since 1950. Every 90
minutes one teenager commits suicide and every 78 seconds another makes an attempt. A
national study by the Center for Disease Control reveals that in one year:
3.6 million youths nationwide considered suicide,
2.1 million youths devised a plan, and
1 million youths made a suicide attempt.
These youths come from every socioeconomic, cultural and ethnic
background. Adolescents considered particularly high risk for suicide include those who
are gay and lesbian; HIV positive; chemically-dependent; and runaways/throwaways,
particularly those who have been physically or sexually abused.
For more information, contact Elaine Leader, Ph.D., Executive
Director,
Teen Line, 8730 Alden Drive, E 245, Los Angeles, CA 90048.
Phone: 310.855.3401 Fax: 310.358.0813
Community and Cultural Diversity
No community in our culture can avoid addressing the immigration experience. Our
nation was built by immigrants or the ancestors of immigrants. In our large metropolitan
areas, it is not unusual to have dozens of different cultural, ethnic, racial and
religious strains. This diversity has given us strength, but at times it seems to divide
us. The whole question of diversity is a critical issue in almost every institution of our
society. Hate, bias and misunderstanding often rear their ugly heads and unspeakable
crimes are sometimes perpetrated for no reason other than because someone is
"different."
We are in a slow process of healing the wounds of the past, of looking at our historical
relationships with and attitudes toward many minorities, including American Indians, and
of attempting to prevent bias in the future. That process can be aided in large measure by
creating within our communities a sense of common purpose, as well as forums for frankly
looking at those things that make us different.
In my writings on diversity, I address the issue of police bias and discrimination and the
need for special training. In this important task, the police practitioner can again
become a catalyst for helping all segments of his or her particular community work toward
the goals of improving quality of life and creating a sense of common purpose. When people
come together for a common purpose differences soon erode, understanding one another
becomes easier, and lifestyles and cultural backgrounds no longer seem threatening.
It has often been said that "necessity is the mother of invention." In many of
our towns and neighborhoods, "necessity" translates to "need." Where
the need exists to confront the issues of crime, neighborhood deterioration and
discrimination, citizens are more inclined to come together in common purpose and police
must provide leadership at the street level.
Opening new horizons, giving hope where hopelessness once prevailed, giving dignity to one
another, and creating opportunities for jobs are also keys to better interpersonal
relationships.
