WILLIAMS

PIONEERREVIEW

June 22, 2016WeDneSDAYA INSIDE STORY | Check out our SPORTS & Outdoors Section - Pg. 10

Serving the communities of: Arbuckle • Colusa • Grimes • Maxwell • Meridian • Princeton • Williams colusacountynews.netVOL 9 • ISSUE 25 • SEQ 264

It has been more than 15 years since the Colusa Police Department has had a canine officer on the force, but that is set

to change sometime around October.

The Colusa Police Depart-ment recently established the Colusa Police Officer’s Canine Association, a non-profit or-ganization that is tasked with raising the funds to support of a new canine program at the

department. “Our goal is to deploy an-

other K-9 to serve the citi-zens and law enforcement in Colusa and the surrounding community,” said Chief Josh Fitch. “They are a very valu-able resource not only for their obvious abilities in protection and drug detection, but also as a deterrent for would be criminals. The mere presence of a well-marked K-9 unit is a strong crime deterrent.”

Spearheading the reestab-lishment of a canine program has been officer Chad LeBlanc, who will also serve as the han-dler for the police dog. It will be trained both for detection and apprehension, and will live full-time with him.

“I have always wanted to do it -- this has been a career goal of mine,” LeBlanc said. “The driving force has been us not having one for so long, and the service it could provide to the community.”

So far, the community response has been positive. Colusa Rotary has pledged its continued support of the program, offering to donate $1,000 as long as there is a dog in service.

“We feel that it’s just part of police work nowadays, with all the drug and things, and it’s a benefit to have it as a presence,” said Colusa Rotary President Randy Salveson. “It’s a tool, and it’s a tool we should have – we’re a big enough town to support it. It’s a pretty safe town we live in, and I’d like to see it stay that way.”

“The K-9 will be a great addition to our department and our community, helping to get drugs off of the streets, and protecting our officers and community members,” Fitch said.

Beyond the K-9’s role in stopping and deterring crime, the Colusa Police Department sees the dog as a mechanism for community outreach, par-ticularly in the schools.

“I believe the K-9 will also be excellent for community outreach. Giving presentations in the schools and to the com-munity will help us to more effectively interact with the public and further our rela-tionship within the communi-ty,” Fitch said.

The community’s in-volvement is an important component in the program,

Fitch said. While department received a $10,000 grant from the Sean M. Walsh K9 Memorial Foundation, the Colusa Police Officer’s Canine Association is going to need additional funds to cover the cost of equipment, officer and canine training, and other ongoing costs such as veteri-nary services and food. Those costs will largely be covered by donations and will require the community’s support to be successful.

“The association runs 100 percent on donations. Any-thing over the amount needed will continue to be put into the program and will go on for the life of the dog,” LeBlanc said. “The donations have been coming in, but more are needed.”

LeBlanc commented that donation forms have been sent out to a number of individuals and businesses already, and can be obtained upon request. “I’m easily accessible for ques-tions and comments,” He said.

LeBlanc and the Colusa Po-lice Officer’s Canine Associa-tion can be contacted at (530) 458-7777.

Colusa Police seeking help to re-establish K-9 program

Closed for 8 years, Maxwell’s pool reopens SATURDAYBRIAN PEARSON

brian@colusacountynews.net

After being closed for more than eight years, the Maxwell Public Pool is set to reopen on Saturday, thanks to the work of the Maxwell Parks and Recreation District and a number of Maxwell community members.

Between money set aside by the Parks and Recreation District, fund-raisers, and community donations, more than $25,000 was raised for the purpose of reopening the pool.

“Between our fundraisers and do-nations, I think the community put in somewhere in the neighborhood of $15,000, just this last year,” said Randy Wilkins, Maxwell Parks and Recre-

ation president. Wilkins added that the Charter family and Alsco-Geyer, in particular, deserved a special thank you.

As for Saturday’s grand reopening, Wilkins said that the Parks and Recre-ation board members are expecting it to be a well-attended event.

“I think that we’ll be at capacity for the opening. This is a chance for our sponsors to see their work pay off. The community has been great. The response has been great, from kids all the way up to parents who used to use the pool when they were younger,” said Wilkins.

As a part of the pool’s grand reopen-ing festivities, there will be a Chamber of Commerce ribbon cutting ceremony

at 12:30 PM, and a free hotdog lunch for those in attendance. The commu-nity will also have the opportunity to swim for free from 12:30 PM to 5:30 PM.

Later that night, Parks and Recre-ation will also be hosting a free movie night at the Maxwell Little League field. They will be showing the kids movie “Zootopia,” which starts at 8:30 PM.

Last week, the Parks and Recreation board voted to approve nearly $4,000 in expenditures to put the finishing touches on the pool, as well as the hours of operation and entrance fees.

After this weekend, the pool will be open on Monday through Friday from 10 AM to 12 PM for adult swim, 12:30

PM to 5:30 PM for general swim, and 6 PM to 7:30 PM for family swim. On Saturday, only general swim will be offered, from 12:30 PM to 5:30 PM. The cost of daily admission is $1 for children and $1.50 for adults, but a season pass can be purchased for $35 per individual or $130 per family.

The pool will be closed to the general public on Sundays, but will be available for rental. The rate for renting the pool is $80 for the two-hour minimum, and $50 for every hour thereafter.

“The community is excited. I think we have eight parties booked already,” said Wilkins. “The response is just tremendous. We love it.”

BRIAN PEARSONbrian@colusacountynews.net

Three graduate county community schoolLLOYD GREEN JR.

lloyd@colusacountynews.net

Three the first to graduate from the newly dedicated, S. William Abel Com-munity School, on Wednesday, June 8, 2016.

The S. William Abel Community School is under the direction of the Colusa County Office of Education for at-risk juveniles and was founded to provide expelled, and probationary placed students in a local education environment to assist them in their education.

“We want the students to remain on track with their education goals so we communicate with their schools to provide the same level of curriculum so that they will easily transition back into their school after placement,” said Colusa County Superintendent of Schools, Michael West.

Alfonso Aguilera, Lance Campbell, and Alejandro Ordaz marked the first students to complete their education with praise. Alfonso Aguilera earned title of Valedictorian of his class, and he thanked the staff for their support.

“It was an interesting year, it was our first year back as a community school,” said CCOE Educatior, Russell Garden-er, “When I took job as teacher, I didn’t know what kind of kids we would have, and although we had a number

of kids come through the program, the three here today were rock solid of the program.”

Joined by CCOE Educator, Leigh Andreatta, she echoed Gardners com-

ments, and together the teachers listed the best qualities of the students.

“The paths that brought these kids to the community school are different, but the goal was still the same - and

that was to graduate and to get a diplo-ma, and move ahead with their adult lives,” said Andreatta.

Want to see MORE?

Purchase a Subscription to obtain full access to

this issue and prior issues