As the cold weather continues our activity remains constant. Have unlocked several cars including one that was running and still in gear. I couldn’t understand why every time I unlocked the door in locked again until I looked inside and saw that the car was in drive. Just lucky that it did not drive away by on its own. Also we have captured several K-9’s including a large lab mix pup. We have not found a home for this dog and if no one claims it in the near future I will have to destroy him. I really hate to do that as he seems like a good animal but we have kept him to long. We had one accident during the week but had numerous cars slide off the road and get stuck on Wednesday. We finally had to close Fowler Street as it became impassable during the evening which included getting a Police Car stuck for a short period. I would like to thank Riley Brockman for helping us get cars out and transporting barricades.

     During the week Officer Crider investigated a Forgery which had occurred at the Casey’s Store late last year. Officer Ward and Deputy Ehlers conducted a check on Spring Street looking for a former resident who was wanted on a probation and parole warrant. The subject was located and booked at the Benton County Jail. We are also investigating a possession of Marijuana case which was brought to our attention by the Cole Camp High School. One juvenile has been referred to the Juvenile Court for disposition. On Friday Officer Ward responded to a Mutual Aid call on Boyd Dump Rd. A Highway Patrol Trooper was handling a disturbance call and could not be reached on the radio. Upon arrival all was well as the Troopers radio was not broadcasting properly in that area.

     This month we are still planning to conduct training for Citizen Responders and I would greatly appreciate any volunteers that would be interested in helping to contact me. We also have a Storm Spotters Class on February 22^nd. We have several spaces open and encourage as much participation as possible. Again you can contact me to sign up a 668-2321.

Carlisle S. Walker - Chief of Police

As I write about the previous week and review the reports and activity sheets I believe that we have entered the winter doldrums. The combination of cold weather and slick streets has brought activity to a low. Hopefully the weather will begin to improve even though I do not look forward to an increase in activity. During the week I attended several meetings and discussed the Citizen Response Teams and Storm Spotter Training that is coming this month. We still have room in both of those sessions for attendees. Further we had Municipal Court this week. It was the largest docket since I have been here. This is a convenience to our citizens that I hope we can continue. Other cities are looking at how we do court and I anticipate that they will begin using our format. We also moved some offices at City Hall and I remind everyone that City Hall hours have changed  from 9:00 Am to 4:00 PM. Tuesday through Friday.

We are meeting with the Fair Board this week to discuss how the new ordinances will impact special events and parades. The ordinances now require permits to block the streets or have a parade and anyone with an interest in these type activities should contact me for this information. A special thanks to Judy Haushahn for rescuing the Lab we had at the pound. I had some inquiries over the weekend but no one would claim him.  He was "Dead dog walking" when Judy called and stated she had found a taker. We have been very lucky in finding homes for our strays but this one certainly came down to the wire.

I have been asked to conduct training for school administrators from our area on security issues this Friday. I think everyone knows that I think our school is one of our most valuable resources. And that it deserves a high level of Law Enforcement attention. I was very pleased to be included in this training program as it will allow me to share some of my thoughts and experience in this area as well as learn from others. Finally, we are getting ready for a Taste of Cole Camp on the 19th. I have tickets for the event and will deliver. It will be at the Legion Hall beginning at 5:00 PM. This is the kickoff event for the year and I am looking forward to all the festivals, and special events during the year. Those activities make our town vibrant and alive. They bring a spark that adds to the pleasure of living and working here. On that note I was disappointed the other day when I saw one of our local businesses was closing. It was a dark and cold winter day and depressing to see the future empty storefront. A couple of days later as I drove around town it came to me that even though one business was leaving several new ones were in the works. A new Casey's store, new restaurants, a coffee shop, art gallery and others are all in various stages of completion. It gave me a sense of the season as we view the last bits of winter and welcome the new growth of the beginning of spring.

Carlisle S. Walker - Chief of Police

The sun is shinning and weather warm. My report will be short so we can all enjoy the nice weather. Officer Ward had a productive week. His traffic enforcement netted a warrant for bad checks, a short pursuit with a D.U.I. arrest and traffic tickets for careless driving. Officer Crider has begun working on an investigation that had languished from last year and hopes to have it completed in short order. It is an asset to have someone with Officer Criders experience to fall back on when difficult cases need to be worked.

On my end I assisted the Sheriffs Office with a child welfare complaint, attended several meetings including City Council and Chamber of Commerce, taught a class on school security for school administrators, completed some of the work for our final report on the Radio Grant from SEMA, and on my day off transported our Labrador Pup nicknamed Canfield to dog rescue. We also unlocked several cars and one house as well as responding to complaints on dogs at large and to assist on ambulance calls and with funeral escorts.

Both of our planned training sessions for this month which included Storm Spotters and C.E.R.T. training will be cancelled as we did not have enough interest. There will be additional classes held at Warsaw in the future as they will cover the entire county there should be more participants. In this same area we will begin testing the warning sirens the first Wednesday of every month at 12 Noon unless there is severe weather in the area.

Finally, as the snow melts our streets are covered with salt and sand. Until we get some rains to wash them stopping distances will be longer. I urge everyone to drive carefully and allow more space between vehicles to accommodate these longer stops.

Carlisle S. Walker - Chief of Police

City Council finished paper work on the Water Tower Project Tuesday. Ground breaking should begin shortly. We finished the final report on the police radios and sent it off. I was pleased to see it finished. Officer Ward worked on all aspects of the grant and it was good to see him take the project from beginning to end. Officer Crider is continuing to work on his investigations and we will be seeking warrants toward the end of the week.

Friday was a busy day for us. I was directing traffic on the water main break at Main and Elm when a car refused to stop for my signal. The driver proceeded past me then drove between the traffic cones and was almost struck by a dump truck that was backing up in the work zone. When I finally made contact with the driver he advised that he did not see me standing in the street and ignored the barricades and cones because he had business in the location that we were blocking. What bothered me the most was that I was standing in the street in full uniform with a reflective traffic vest on and the driver passed within a couple of feet of me. How he failed to see me or the signal to stop I'll never know. The next day I received some correspondence that talked about the increase in Police Fatalities while directing traffic and making stops. It now seems that there are more police officers killed each year by drivers than by persons with guns. It doesn't take long directing traffic to understand how dangerous an assignment it can be.

 Further on Friday Officer Ward stopped a vehicle to give a courtesy warning that they had a headlight out. Upon approaching the car the driver became threatening and abusive towards the officer. He refused to comply with the officer's requests and ended up being arrested and booked at the Benton County Jail.  I began the process to issue a new liquor license to the business at 123 N. Maple they hope to be open by the 1st of April. As I understand it will be a restaurant and bar and I am looking forward to its opening.  Finally, District Basketball has begun a Cole Camp High School. We have officers assigned each night to the games and hope everyone enjoys the competition and practices good sportsmanship. Probably there is nothing more embarrassing than being removed from a game in front of your friends and family just because you became disruptive to a game you weren't even playing in.

Carlisle S. Walker - Chief of Police