busconews.com

by Mark Hodges

It is a great pleasure to share that we have about a dozen employees of the Sheriff’s Department who participate in many of the walks and/or races held in our area.  Last Saturday, five of us ran in the 5K/10K races sponsored by the Kosciusko County YMCA.  Tasha Farris was the brave one among us and ran the 10K.  Mike Engle, Tony Helfrich, Jeremy Brice and I ran the 5K.  There are several other employees here that are working out at the YMCA or at Any Time Fitness for weight loss and overall fitness.  Congratulations to everyone for devoting time to your health.

The Whitley County Drug Task Force is diligently following up on tips on methamphetamine labs and other drug activity.  Four meth labs have been discovered in the last ten days.  We are very fortunate to have two deputies that are qualified to identify, dismantle and clean up a meth lab.  Most departments our size have no one and must rely on the Indiana State Police for assistance.  The Task Force is asking for help from the public by reporting suspicious activity to the tip line at 260-248-3155. You can leave an anonymous tip but investigators ask that you leave as much information and details as possible.  You can also email a tip to HYPERLINK "mailto: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it " This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or call the department at 260-244-6410 and select option 4.

The Safe Assured Child ID Kit program will be operating at several locations this summer.  The program electronically records your child walking and talking.  It also records his or her fingerprints and documents certain personal information.  This information is then burned to a compact disk that is kept by the parents.  Look for the program during Old Settlers Days and during the 4-H Fair.

Once again this summer, the Sheriff’s Department will be at the 4-H Fair in the Commercial Building.  We will have lots of give-away items for adults and kids.  Be sure to stop by our booth for a road map, gun locks, coloring books and Junior Deputy stickers.

Grant money has been awarded to this department for several different projects.  First, I would like to thank Whitley County Chapter of Drug Free Indiana for funds to purchase a radar unit that will be frequently used for drug interdiction patrols on US 30.  Grant money was also obtained for some sliding shelves in our evidence room.  The shelves are on a track allowing the individual units to be pushed together which allows extra space in the room. Also, the shelves move apart to allow a walking space between them.  This improvement has more than doubled our storage area and greatly improves organization of the evidence.  The third grant is actually two grants that have been a long time in the making.  More than a year ago, Commissioner Tom Rethlake and I began working on a project called Guaranteed Energy Savings Project.  Several mechanical engineering companies walked through the entire building analyzing the current heating and cooling system as well as the fluorescent lighting.  After months of meetings, presentations and analysis, grants have been awarded for new energy efficient fluorescent lighting and a new heating and cooling system.  Thanks to Lori Shipman, Grant Coordinator, for her hard work that has brought nearly $300,000 worth of improvements to the entire Sheriff’s Department building.

As you plan your summer vacations or weekend getaways, I encourage everyone to buckle up and obey the speed limits.  Never hesitate to call 911 to report an impaired driver or any other emergency that you might encounter on the highways.