Markus Kedrowitsch, a German police officer, paid a visit to the department on April 25, 2003. Markus, accompanied by his wife, Varina, used the opportunity to visit with his first cousin, Officer Rene Kedrowitsch, a member of the Athens Borough Police Department. Thereafter, Ofc. Rene Kedrowitsch gave Ofc. Markus Kedrowitsch a tour of the department. Markus also took the occasion to formally present the department with an official plaque and shoulder patch from his employer, the Harburg Waterways Police Department, Harburg, Germany. Rene accepted the placque and shoulder patch from his cousin on behalf of ABPD. Also on behalf of the department, Rene presented Markus with an ABPD cap and shoulder patch. The exchange ceremony took place in the borough hall and was witnessed by Chief Brian Champaign, Borough Manager Beverly Bleiler and other borough officials, employees and citizens. The 33 year old Markus is an "obermeister," or sergeant, with Harburg Waterways P.D. Markus also plans to participate in the department's ride-along program in the near future to help him gain a perspective of American policing practices. As such, he will ride on patrol with Rene as an official guest of the department. Markus and his wife will then resume their 3-week visit to the United States.

L-R: Varina Kedrowitsch, Ptl. Rene Kedrowitsch and Markus Kedrowitsch

Sgt. Chris Hutchinson graduated from Penn State University's "Police Executive Development (POLEX) Course" on March 14, 2003. This intensive, 2-week program is designed to enhance the leadership and management skills of law enforcement professionals who hold the rank of, or are functioning at, the level of lieutenant or above. Among the course's key concepts and topics were management styles, decision making, team building, leadership, performance appraisal, organizational assessment, and liability issues. The course was held at the Northeast Counter-Drug Training Center (NCTC), Ft. Indiantown Gap, Pa. and was attended by approximately twenty-five law enforcement management professionals from agencies throughout the Northeastern United States.

Officer Tim Cahill graduated from the NCTC's "Meth Lab Training Course" on March 14, 2003. The 1-week course was designed for law enforcement officers involved in investigating clandestine methamphetamine labs. The course taught law enforcement officers the basic physical and chemical hazards of wastes produced during meth production. The course included training in such areas as planning successful raids, identifying booby traps, collecting and preserving evidence, and handling chain-of-custody to ensure sample integrity.

The Athens Borough Police Department is pleased to announce that it was awarded a Lost Child Alert Technology Resource, or "LOCATER" grant from the National Center for Missing & Expolited Children (NCMEC) on 11-22-02. When a child is reported missing, time is one of law enforcement's greatest enemies. Every hour a child is missing, the likelihood of a safe recovery decreases. In order to ensure a high level of preparedness for child abduction cases, Chief Brian Champaign applied for the LOCATER grant on August 22, 2002.

There are many challenges facing law enforcement personnel in missing child cases. One of the greatest is collecting and disseminating the child's physical descriptive information quickly. With this goal in mind, LOCATER was created to provide the computer hardware and software needed to rapidly distribute critical missing child data on a local, statewide or national basis. Although the Athens Borough Police Department has not experienced a case involving child abduction, the department wanted to ensure that it was prepared to the fullest extent possible to handle such an incident in the unfortunate event one were ever to occur.

Through receipt of state of the art computer equipment and software - valued at approximately $5,000 - the the department now has the ability to utlize all the resources available to it to ensure that if ever a child in Athens Borough should go missing the department stands prepared to do all it can possibly do to ensure a safe and speedy recovery of that child. The department was the first local police agency in Bradford County and one of the first in the region to be awarded the grant. Athens Borough police will also share its LOCATER system with other area police agencies. Such is being undertaken so as to make the entire area as safe as possible for our children, especially as we approach the busy and sometimes hectic holiday season.

Sgt. Chris Hutchinson graduated from Penn State University's Police Supervisor In-Service Training (POSIT) course on November 1, 2002. The weeklong course was hosted by the Philadelphia Police Department and was conducted at Philadelphia's police academy. Police supervisors from the Philadelphia Police Department and other Pennsylvania law enforcement agencies, including Sgt. Hutchinson from Athens Borough, attended the class. Taught by instructors from Penn State's Justice and Safety Institute, the course is designed for first line police supervisors and seeks to furnish those supervisors with the tools necessary to perform confidently in the demanding world of modern law enforcement. Among the topics discussed were the role of the first line supervisor, leadership, performance standards and legal issues. Sgt. Hutchinson, an 11-year veteran of the department, was promoted from patrol officer to sergeant on June, 18th, 2002.

Mrs. Mary Jane Young, accompanied by her friend, Mrs. Kathy Streeter, formally presented Officer Beth Race with a dozen red roses on November 1, 2002. Mrs. Young gave the roses to Officer Race in appreciation for police assistance given by Officer Race during an ambulance call on October 25, 2002. Officer Race provided initial first aid assistance to Mrs. Young's six year old son, Daniel, during the call which took place at the Young residence in Athens. Thank you, Mrs. Young! And thank you, Officer Race!

Patrol Officer Bethany Race, a 10-month veteran of the Athens Borough Police Dept., recently completed the "Police Officer Safety and Survival Education for the Female Officer" training school on May 24, 2002. Held from May 20-24, 2002, the weeklong school was given at the Pennsylvania State Police Academy, Hershey.

As such, Ptl. Race was a member of the first class to graduate from this inaugural training school. A total of eight female law enforcement officers from around the state of Pennsylvania completed training at the special school, the first of its type to be held strictly for female law enforcement patrol officers. Five of the participating female law enforcement officers were Pennsylvania State Police troopers from state police barracks located in Harrisburg, Washington, Montoursville, Stoning, and Highspire, while the remaining three female law enforcement officers were municipal police officers from municipal police departments located in Baldwin (Pittsburgh area), East Hempfield (Lancaster area) and Athens Borough (Ptl. Race).

This physically and mentally demanding school was designed to educate and train female patrol officers seriously interested in learning the latest police methods and tactis with regard to surviving highly dangerous incidents that officers might encounter as a result of their patrol duties. Participants received 32 hours of intense training in the following subject area: ground fighting and self defense; close quarter combat; speed, tactical, traverse and abnormal position shooting techniques; live action combat; post critical incident survival; and officer mindset and mental preparation for assuming patrol duty.

Each of the participating law enforcement officers fired 550 rounds of handgun and shotgun ammunition throughout the training session. Among other things, the officers were locked in vehicle trunks and taught how to free themselves in various police-as-hostage scenarios. They were also doused in the face with pepper spray and thereafter required to accurately shoot their service weapons. The officers also received extensive training in how to gain control in incidents involving fights with suspects that take place on the ground or in close quarter situations.

Patrol Officer James C. Wilber, the Athens Borough Police Department's School Resource Officer (SRO), recently completed the "Senior High Drug Abuse Resistance Education (D.A.R.E.) Instructor" training school given at the state Masonic Lodge in Elizabethtown, Pennsylvania. Held from May 20 through May 23, 2002, the 4-day school taught D.A.R.E. officers from around the country the senior high level D.A.R.E. curriculum and methods of instruction. The costs associated with Ofc. Wilber's training were paid for by the U.S. Department of Justice, the Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency and the state Masonic Lodge.

Ofc. Wilber previously attended D.A.R.E. Instructor training schools for the K-4th grAde curriculum (1992), for the 5-6th grade curriculum (1992), and for the junior high school curriculum (1996). With the completion of this latest D.A.R.E. instructor training, Ofc. Wilber is now officially certified to instruct D.A.R.E. classes to students from kindergarten through the 12th grade level. As D.A.R.E. instructors, law enforcement officers instruct students in their jurisdictions on how to resist the lure of drugs and alcohol; they also teach anti-violence themes as well.

As the department's SRO, Ofc. Wilber is based out of the Athens Area High School where he provides protective, police, instructional and other community-oriented services to the students, staff and employees of the high school, Main Elementary School and Main Annex. Ofc. Wilber's SRO position is being funded for three years by a $125,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Justice. The fourth and final year of the program is being co-funded by the Athens Area School District (75% of the costs) and the Borough of Athens (25% of the costs). The SRO program is nearing completion of its first year of service to the Athens Area School District. At the present time, the Athens Area School District is the only district in the northern tier of Pennsylvania and in the Valley to have an SRO program in effect.