Finally some warm weather. The snow has almost completely melted and it is a nice change to be able to work in shirt sleeves again. The District Basketball Tournament went smoothly even if your team did not win. The games ere exciting and crowds well behaved. This week the Lions Club has their annual tournament at Cole Camp School and it is a great event for the younger basketball players.

 This week I am going to St. Paul's' School to talk to Kindergarteners about gun safety. This is a difficult subject for the little ones as guns are very interesting objects. They see them all the time on Television and many have them in their homes. They see them as adult possessions that are very mysterious and they have a natural curiosity about things they don't understand. Like most other tools guns can be handled safely and children should understand in what environment a gun can be used. If they are taught not to touch or use a firearm without an adult helping them they can overcome their curiosity and treat the weapon in the same manner they treat other tools. When my children were growing up we obviously had guns in the house all the time. They were taught that these weapons were always loaded and presented a danger. They were not toys and could not be played with anymore than a power saw or a knife. I cannot recall ever having a problem with my kids even handling a gun in our house. Once the excitement of seeing something that was taboo was gone so was their interest. Further, weapons that were not used for work were always locked with gun locks or in lock boxes. I always thought this was best as it avoids any possibility of an accident. I used this example to remind that I still have a lot of Child Safe gun locks and they are available free of charge at the Police Department.

 Many of you know that there are some changes taking place at City Hall. Connie Hill the City Clerk has resigned and Ron will be retiring again at the end of the month. There will obviously be some disruptions until we can fill these vacancies and get things back to normal. I Hope everyone will be patient during this transition.  On the last note it has been a very quiet week in Cole Camp no major crime and generally uneventful. I continue to threaten the officers that if crime doesn't pickup we will have to start laying off until the situation improves. Honestly, I think that often we see in other places the heavy crime load of the police and forget that the real test of a Police Department is the lack or reduction of crime and the providing of service to its citizens.

 A post script is that my friend Tom Kincanon from the Lincoln Police Department has retired. By the time you read this he will be snow bound somewhere in central Iowa. Tom was a big help to me when I took the job in Cole Camp and has always been a valued friend. I am sure that Lincoln will find a replacement for Tom but I am always sad to see those who have given there adult lives to the protection of others leave. But as I read in the Retirement book on my first days on the job I was told the pension was provided to those who had "grown old in the service."  See ya Tom. 

Carlisle S. Walker - Chief of Police

Another busy week in Cole Camp. Just Kidding, as usual it was pretty slow. Officer Ward made two disturbance calls on Elm St. and made one arrest for disturbing the peace. I had one call to the retirement village on a disturbance and one with the ambulance. Both were handled without incident. We had the Lions Club Basketball Tournament all week and it was well attended and no problems were reported.

Officer Ward tested the Warning Sirens Wednesday and they worked properly. We will sound them again on the 13th as part of the National Weather Service Spring Tornado Drill.  Also beginning Wednesday Councilman Locke has obtained the Sedalia street sweeper, and they will begin cleaning the city streets of all the gravel and dust left from the winter. This will certainly make driving safer and give the town a fresh look for spring.  The water project is off and running. The well is being drilled and new pipe being set.

Progress will certainly cause some disruption to traffic flow and occasionally water service. Hopefully it will go quickly and all of the project should be completed by this time next year.  I will be out of town this weekend attending the St. Patrick's Day Festivities in the Kansas City Area. We have been invited to the parades in Lawrence and Atchison Kansas. We have stopped going to the parade in Kansas City as it has gotten to big and there are just too many problems. As a reminder the new City Ordinances require that anyone wishing to have a parade or special event on city property, including streets and sidewalks needs to obtain a permit. The forms will be available at city hall shortly and the permit must be granted between 90 and 21 days preceding the event. Our upcoming Irish Celtic Festival will be the first permit and I am testing the process on myself.

With no other news to report I am off to St. Paul's Lutheran School again to talk about Stranger Danger. This is always a difficult talk for me as I always wish that we never had to warn children that some people are out to harm them and there is no way for them to tell the good from the bad. Living in a place where these events seldom occur is good but it makes it harder to explain to the little ones who want to trust everyone

Carlisle S. Walker - Chief of Police

As the warmer weather gets here our activity begins to pickup. More people are out and about and we get a little busier. On Tuesday afternoon Officer's Crider and Ward received information on a rolling disturbance traveling down "U" highway. They were able to intercept one of the vehicles at Junge Street and diffused the situation.

Wednesday Deputy Canfield and I went to a residence on Short Street, where we investigated a child custody complaint which was a continuation of the call on Tuesday. This call was also handled by the officers.

Friday night someone entered a car on Hickory Street and stole a CD player. Residents in the area observed some suspicious activity that evening and hopefully they will be able to help us identify the suspect. On Tuesday we were contacted by a lady who reported that persons who were known to her had stolen her identity and used it to obtain electric service at a residence on Main Street. Officer Crider will be investigating this case and should have resolution shortly.  On the 14th we had meetings with SEMA representatives concerning the costs associated with the heavy snow falls. Benton County has been designated to receive funds and we are applying for re-imbursement of some of our expenses. Also we received payment from SEMA for our new radios and that money was greatly appreciated.

 I was contacted by a resident who had found a loose dog. He has taken this female German shepherd home but cannot keep it. The dog, now named Gretchen, is about one year old and is very well behaved and very smart. If anyone would take Gretchen home it would be greatly appreciated. I would also like to remind all dog owners that March is the Month for their dog license renewal. The city will be scheduling time for their vaccinations and we need to know how many animals to expect. Dogs whose license has expired will be subject to being picked up and their owners fined.  Also I would like to advise the definition for Vicious Dog under the new City Ordinance. Any Dog that is classified as vicious will have to be restrained in a very specific manner or not allowed. Vicious Dogs are described as any of the following
 

1. Any dog, That without provocation has bitten any person not a trespasser
   causing serious physical injury to that person
2. Any unrestrained dog that without provocation has attempted to bite any
   person not a trespasser which would cause serious physical injury to that
   person
3. Any unrestrained dog that has placed any person not a trespasser in
   apprehension of immediate serious physical injury.
4. Any dog that has killed another dog, cat or other domestic animal without
   provocation.

We intend to take this new law seriously and will enforce the vicious dog sections with very little tolerance.  Finally, The R.E. Harris Memorial Golf Tournament takes place April 21st. at Whiteman Air Force Base. R.E. started this event to raise money for the Base Community Council. They support the Airmen and their families in many ways and this is the major fund raiser for the year. Teams are being formed and the cost is low. If you would like to participate as a player or volunteer please contact me. It is a fun event with lots of prizes, good times and for a good cause.

Carlisle S. Walker - Chief of Police

Busy, Busy, Busy, Just kidding, but we continue to see activity increase. Officer Crider finished the embezzlement case he was working on and submitted it to the prosecutor. She was filing for warrants as of last Friday. Also two warrants for Burglary, which had previously occurred in Cole Camp, were issued for Mr. Shane Ruth. He is a former local resident who is currently in the Pettis County jail.

Battle Row has heated up again with a Bar Disturbance on Saturday night that resulted in two arrests and a group in a disturbance at 106 N. Maple on Sunday. Officer Crider handled that call about 3:00 Am. He advised that residents had turned their stereo speakers out the windows and were drinking and skate boarding in the street. He was able to convince them to go on to bed since several reported that they had to be at work in a couple of hours.

Officer Ward responded to a call on Short Street where a driver was trying to move their car from a parking space and struck a tree. The operator's friends had called the police as they had been unable to stop her from trying to drive further. Officer Ward was more convincing and able to resolve the problem. We also handled a Keep the Peace on Spring St. during the week and investigated a Harassing Phone Calls situation when we notified the father of his minor son's phone behavior.

During the week we handled the usual dog complaints and just to make things interesting had to heard cows off the baseball diamonds. Gretchen the German shepherd I wrote about last week has been adopted. A young man who had lost his children's puppy which had been a Christmas Gift took her. I have already seen them around town and both look very happy.

I want to remind everyone that next Tuesday April 3rd is Election Day. The City has on the ballot a measure to approve the ordinance to change the licensing of liquor establishments and liquor by the drink regulations to mirror Missouri Statutes. This will allow the city to charge for liquor licenses at the rate approved by the State and will provide additional revenues. The ordinance has previously been passed but there was some confusion about the wording. By voting yes you will allow the city to gain revenues, maintain our laws in accordance with state law without having to vote for each change, and hopefully help to bring new business to Cole Camp.

And last but not least. Saturday March 31St at 11:00 Am the Fourth Annual Cole Camp Irish Celtic Festival begins with the traditional parade. We will meet in front of the Donegal Peddler and march to the J.C.'s Garden where the festival takes place. We will hold the event rain or shine and hope that the weather is in our favor. I urge everyone to attend. It is a lot of fun and best of all free.

Carlisle S. Walker - Chief of Police