Mobile
radar unit a collaborative effort
City police, Colville High, Kiwanis Club work to get law enforcement tool on road
by CHRIS COWBROUGH S-E
News Editor
Stateman Examiner
A handful of students in Colville High School metal shop teacher Emil Rosenberg's class are putting the finishing touches on a sturdy trailer that will house a radar monitor unit purchased recently by the city of Colville.
The project is a collaborative effort between the city, Colville Police Department, Colville Kiwanis Club and the Colville School District/Colville High School.
"This is truly a pro-active community effort," marveled Colville Police Chief Damond Meshishnek, who was in the CHS shop last week to view the nearly finished trailer that will help the city's patrol units enforce traffic speed laws around town.
Working the streets in the spring
'This is one of the biggest projects the community has ever undertaken in terms of partnering for public safety," Meshishnek added.
Meshishnek said he hopes the city's new mobile radar unit will be on the streets sometime this spring.
A 1980's-vintage Chevrolet Blazer has been purchased by the city at nominal cost from the surplus motor pool at Fort Lewis to pull the radar trailer, the chief said.
The project was Meshishnek's brainchild. He knew the city couldn't continue its practice of occasionally borrowing the Spokane Police Department's mobile radar unit. Costly and ineffective. Meshishnek's budget didn't have the $10,000 necessary to purchase a radar unit and trailer set-up.
"This type of unit has been very effective in traffic enforcement in countless other communities," the chief pointed out. "We just couldn't afford one using the usual means." So a community partnership was born.
Last summer, Meshishnek approached one of Colville's most active civic organizations to see if they might be interested in helping the city find a way to add a mobile radar unit to its traffic enforcement arsenal.
"Kiwanis members and I talked about community-oriented policing and partnerships," Meshishnek explained. "We recognized a need for a speed reader board to promote education in our community."
'Criminal Justice' funding identified
The high school and its vocational education program were "very receptive" about taking on the project to construct a trailer for the radar monitor, Meshishnek said.
Funds were identified by the police department to purchase the radar unit (approximately $5,000). Criminal justice funding was tapped from the state of Washington and the city had its radar unit, sans trailer.
With Kiwanis underwriting costs attributed to the construction of the trailer, the project was underway.
Tyler Sphuler headed up the student constrution crew, which has been able to modify an original trailer design built by Norb Bauman.
The trailer unit is both sturdy and well-built. There is also some old CHS historical perspective attached to the unit. Students have incorporated metal from the old Hofstetter Field bleachers into the design.
"It's
very heavy," acknowledged Rosenberg, whose students have counter-balanced the unit
with concrete.
"Nobody's going to cart it off," quipped Meshishnek, City police, Colville High,
Kiwanis Club work to get law enforcement tool on road BY CHRIS COWBROUGH S-E News Editor
If you're a local motorist with a need for speed, you might want to know that your
excessive "Pedal To The Medal" forays around Colville streets could be seriously
impeded this spring.
The project is a collaborative effort between the city, Colville Police Department, Colville Kiwanis Club and the Colville School District/Colville High School.
"This is truly a pro-active community effort," marveled Colville Police Chief Damond Meshishnek, who was in the CHS shop last week to view the nearly finished trailer that will help the city's patrol units enforce traffic speed laws around town.
Working the streets in the spring
'This is one of the biggest projects the community has ever undertaken in terms of partnering for public safety," Meshishnek added.
Meshishnek said he hopes the city's new mobile radar unit will be on the streets sometime this spring.
A 1980's-vintage Chevrolet Blazer has been purchased by the city at nominal cost from the surplus motor pool at Fort Lewis to pull the radar trailer, the chief said.
The project was Meshishnek's brainchild. He knew the city couldn't continue its practice of occasionally borrowing the Spokane Police Department's mobile radar unit. Costly and ineffective. Meshishnek's budget didn't have the $10,000 necessary to purchase a radar unit and trailer set-up.
"This type of unit has been very effective in traffic enforcement in countless other communities," the chief pointed out. "We just couldn't afford one using the usual means." So a community partnership was born.
Last summer, Meshishnek approached one of Colville's most active civic organizations to see if they might be interested in helping the city find a way to add a mobile radar unit to its traffic enforcement arsenal.
"Kiwanis members and I talked about community-oriented policing and partnerships," Meshishnek explained. "We recognized a need for a speed reader board to promote education in our community."
'Criminal Justice' funding identified
The high school and its vocational education program were "very receptive" about taking on the project to construct a trailer for the radar monitor, Meshishnek said.
Funds were identified by the police department to purchase the radar unit (approximately $5,000). Criminal justice funding was tapped from the state of Washington and the city had its radar unit, sans trailer.
With Kiwanis underwriting costs attributed to the construction of the trailer, the project was underway.
Tyler Sphuler headed up the student constrution crew, which has been able to modify an original trailer design built by Norb Bauman.
The trailer unit is both sturdy and well-built. There is also some old CHS historical perspective attached to the unit. Students have incorporated metal from the old Hofstetter Field bleachers into the design.
"It's very heavy," acknowledged Rosenberg, whose students have counter-balanced the unit with concrete.
"Nobody's going to cart it off," quipped Meshishnek, who said the trailer unit will be safely stored when it isn't helping enforce the city's traffic laws.
BY CHRIS COWBROUGH S-E News Editor