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Wakefield Police Introduce New K-9 Program
(reprinted from the Wakefield Daily Item, September 19,2007)
Two local service clubs and the Chamber of Commerce are teaming up to support the Police Department’s new K-9 program.
The Wakefield Rotary Club, Wakefield Lions Club and the Wakefield Chamber of Commerce have announced a campaign to purchase, train and support the Police Department’s new K-9 program.
This new initiative will fund the purchase of a police dog and all the necessary training, equipment and maintenance costing approximately $15,000.
This new K-9 element will provide the police department with a critical tool to combat drug use and abuse. “We’ve seen a significant increase in drug arrests in Wakefield,” noted Wakefield Police Chief Rick Smith. “The dog will be trained in searching out illegal narcotics and will be available to schools as needed”.
Additionally, the dog will be trained in search and tracking.
“Many nights we get calls from frantic family members who tell us their loved one has wondered off, suffering from Alzheimer’s. This dog will play a vital role in cutting down the time it takes to find these people,” said Smith.
With the purchase of a K-9 unit, the Wakefield Police Department will no longer be subject to waiting for a dog from outside agencies during time periods. Chief Smith explained, “Previously, when we needed a dog to find a missing child or help with a narcotics case, we’ve had to wait for one to be available from neighboring communities. By having our own dog we can simply respond quicker to a variety of situations.”
This new unit will be accompanied by a proactive education program provided to the local schools.
Wakefield Rotary President Dick Reidy noted, “We agree with the Police Department that education is the best prevention. Funds raised by these organizations will also be used for providing education to parents and within our schools.”
This venture will be the first time which these three separate organizations have come together in support of a common project. Wakefield Lions Club President Wally Moccia noted, “We’re thrilled to work together. All of us want to make Wakefield a safer place to live and work. By combining our efforts, we hope to be able to make this project happen by the end of October.”
To make a donation to the Wakefield Rotary Club K-9 Campaign,
Please make checks payable to:
The Wakefield Rotary
Post Office Box 431
Wakefield, MA 01880
Or call Police Chief Rick Smith at 781-245-6323
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About Rotary
Rotary is an organization of business and professional leaders united worldwide who provide humanitarian service, encourage high ethical standards in all vocations, and help build goodwill and peace in the world. There are 1.2 million Rotarians in 160 countries worldwide. The first Rotary Club was founded in Chicago, Illinois in 1905 by an attorney named Paul Harris and several of his colleagues. The name “Rotary” was derived from the early practice or rotating meetings among each of the members’ offices. The Rotary motto is “Service above self”. Locally, the Wakefield Rotary Club meets every Tuesday at the Lord Wakefield Hotel to plan community projects, hear guest speakers, enjoy friendship and build professional relationships. Meetings begin promptly at 12:15 pm and end no later than 1:30
pm. For more information about the Wakefield Rotary Club and Rotary International, visit www.wakefieldrotaryclub.com or www.rotary.org.
About the Lions Club
Lions is an international network of 1.3 million men and women in 200 countries and geographic areas who work together to answer the needs that challenge communities around the world. Known for working to end preventable blindness, Lions participate in a vast variety of projects important to their communities. These projects range from cleaning up local parks to providing supplies to victims of natural disasters. Beginning in 1917, the association of Lions clubs has provided millions of people with the opportunity to give something back to their communities. For more information about the Lions Club, visit www.lionsclub.org.
About the Chamber of Commerce
Now in its 67th year on continuous service as a non-profit organization, the Chamber works hard to support the town of Wakefield as a good place in which to live and do business. During the course of a year, the Chamber answers literally thousands of questions about the town, its businesses, organizations and institutions. These questions often include requests for referrals for local businesses. A primary mandate of the Chamber is to support its members in their business environment. Toward that end, the Chamber is responsive to issues on the local, state and national level that affect the business environment in which its members work. Members are encouraged to use the Chamber as a source of reference to meet their needs. Its regularly scheduled meetings and events offer an excellent opportunity to meet with
other members of the business community and with civic leaders. For more information about the Wakefield Chamber of Commerce, visit www.wakefieldma.org.
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