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About Polk County itemizer observer. (Dallas, Or) 1992-current | View Entire Issue (Jan. 13, 2016)
Polk County News Polk County Itemizer-Observer • January 13, 2016 5A Sheriff: Patrol FC council to discuss utility reserve fee Public hearing scheduled on Thursday to take comments on proposal hours up to 20 Itemizer-Observer staf report Continued from 1A “We must be diligent and thorough so that we can provide the best law en- forcement services possi- ble,” Garton said. Agencies have one year to certify new recruits, meaning they can participate in field training before or after at- tending the police academy. Garton said he likes to schedule training such that deputies have no or mini- mal time in between. The challenge there is having enough training of- ficers to work with new hires. That is another factor in the gradual rebuild. “Training, the philoso- phy behind it, is if you get six months of training in a row, you are better in the end,” he said. Last week, Friday’s patrol shift consisted of three training officers, three re- cruits and one solo deputy. The briefing before the team took to the road con- sisted of a review of a diffi- cult call the night before, a heads up on a potentially complicated warrant arrest, and a short training session led by one of the depart- m e n t’s re c r u i t s, Mi k e Stevenson. Before being hired full- time, Stevenson had been a reserve deputy with the de- partment. Coincidently, the topic of Stevenson’s presentation was legal guidelines around “police officer holds” or tak- ing someone into custody who is suffering from mental illness that may lead them to be a danger to themselves or others. Deputies faced a situ- ation that could have fallen into that category the night before. Discussion of that and similar calls often inter- rupted Stevenson’s session. Sgt. Kevin Haynes said hashing out difficult situa- tions is a good exercise for recruits. But he couldn’t help teasing Stevenson about allowing frequent distractions. “A good instructor is able to field those questions and move on,” he said through a smile. He left the deputies, ex- Wyden to host Dallas town hall at Nesmith DALL AS — Sen. Ron Wyden will hold a town hall at 10 a.m. on Saturday at the Nesmith Readiness Center, 12830 Westview Drive, Dal- las. The event is part of four town halls the senator will hold this weekend. Wyden holds annual town halls in each of Oregon’s 36 counties each year. After this weekend’s events, Wyden will have held 763 town halls since he was elected. To reach Wyden: www. wyden.senate.gov. perienced and new, with advice that could apply to any challenging situation facing officers in the field: “Taking control of some- thing and making it safe is never an issue.” Thomas Hutchinson, 26, was on his third day on the job Friday. He had been a reserve in the program in the past and recently com- pleted his service with the U.S. Army. He and his training officer responded to the dangerous call the night before. Even with that eye-opening expe- rience, Hutchinson seemed happy about chance to be a Polk County deputy. “It was good to see that whole aspect,” he said of the call. “It was like a re- fresher. “I’ve always enjoyed it. I’ve been here since I was 17, and it seems like a good fit.” With several recruits in field training and headed to the police academy later this year, the office is on track to restore full patrol hours and the Polk County In t e ra g e n c y Na rc o t i c s Team by June or July. On the jail side, the coun- ty needed to hire 10 jail deputies to fill vacant posi- tions and those restored by the levy. So far, six of those posts have been filled. “The hiring and training have been going really well, and we have positive mo- mentum, which is placing us ahead of what we origi- nally planned prior to the levy,” Garton said. FALLS CITY — The Falls City City Council will hold a public hearing on a pro- posed capital improvement fee increase at its meeting Thursday night. The public hearing will give citizens a chance to comment on the proposal. The meeting will take place at the Falls City Community Center, 320 N. Main St., at 7 p.m. At its December meeting, the council voted to have a resolution prepared to raise the monthly fee from $7 to $10. The increase would raise $14,400 annually and would be used for upgrading • An update on the city’s code enforcement program and municipal court, both of which have been inactive since the former code en- forcement officer left the city in 2014. • A discussion about pos- sibly using video surveil- lance to deter littering and other illegal activity in city parks and the cemetery. For more information or to see the meeting agenda, g o t o : w w w. f a l l s c i t y oregon.gov. Work: PCL places 45 in community Continued from 1A “There are people we’ve been able to find employ- ment for who, a year ago, their parents and providers would have said, ‘no, it’s dangerous; no one will em- ploy them,’” Brown said. “But if you find the right match, really, employment is possible.” PCL, which has been an advocate for people with in- tellectual and developmen- tal disabilities, put its new job program, Job Launch, into action in October 2015, said Gwen Whelton, public relations for PCL. “ We reorganized our employment department,” she said. “We work with people who want to work, evaluate their talents, gifts and what might hold them back.” The old assumption that someone with disabilities would live forever on Social Security in a group home is 24 hour Service no longer the case, Brown said. “A kid in high school (was) not being asked, ‘What are you going to do after high school?’” Brown said. Since the Employment First initia- tive, school counselors will start asking people with dis- abilities the same questions as those without. “The script is changing,” she said. The trick is finding em- ployers who need the skills of the individuals, Brown said. “It’s not an act of charity,” Brown said. “The goal is to find something they’d have to pay someone else to do anyway.” Sometimes, it feels like a typical internship, where the individual may interview someone about his or her business, or job shadow that person, Brown said. When it works, it works for both the person and the business. “We have a guy working in a mechanic shop,” Brown said. “He’s always wanted to be a mechanic.” While his disabilities may p re ve n t h i m f ro m t h e hands-on work of fixing cars, plenty needs to be done around the shop. Brown said this individual frees up time for the full- time mechanics to focus on their work. “ He’s w o r k e d p a r t s , cleaned parts, recycled parts, organized tools,” Brown said. Having a real job that pays a real wage is part of the human experience, Brown said. “It plugs them into the world,” she said. “They have friends; they’re relied upon. They have the same human experience that you and I h a ve. T h e y h a ve w o rk friends. They become part of our society.” Right now, PCL is focused on finding employment for its clients, but hopes to open the gates to anyone in the community with intellectual and developmental disabili- ties. For more information or to learn how to hire individ- uals with disabilities: Gwen Whelton, 503-838-2403, ext. 342. Pick up & Drop Off Our Lowest Prices 1 DAY ONLY! 50% OFF NOW OPEN William’s Aikido Studio Come and join Sensei William Staben to grow and learn the way of the Sword, the Staff and the Long Bow. 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