• SUBJECT: Community Safety Watch 
  

  Dear Tunkhannock Township Resident,

  Tunkhannock Township has seen a growth in population and traffic. This letter is to request your assistance in keeping our Township a safe community in which to work, live, and raise a family. You can do your part by simply being watchful. If you see something that doesn't seem right, it probably isn't!! 

  Your Township Police are asking you to be watchful in your community and to continue to report any suspicious activity. Your Police Department responded to 98 suspicious activity calls and 103 traffic complaints last year. In many cases these citizen reports prevented a serious event from occurring.,

  If you have any questions, comments or suggestions for your Police Department you may telephone the station at 836-5255, email at tunktwppolice@yahoo.net or in the case of an emergency dial 911. Officers are available to discuss your community safety issues.

  Bernie Griff, Chief of Police

  Ernie Relch, Police Commissioner

  MISSION STATEMENT To provide a police organization to Tunkhannock Township which will enhance community safety, business and quality of life To serve and protect the residents and business leaders of Tunkhannock township  by enforcing, in a fair and just manner, all federal, state and local laws To serve crime and accident victims in Tunkhannock Township by providing aid, assistance and direction in obtaining counseling, restitution and justice To serve and protect the residents and business leaders of Tunkhannock Township through positive community involvement and interaction To reduce injury, death and property damage on highways within Tunkhannock Township by enforcement of traffic laws and visible police patrols To maintain the peace and dignity of Tunkhannock Township by investigating crime  and enforcing criminal laws To provide state certified medically trained police officers capable of providing emergency care to persons and rendering assistance to area volunteer services To provide this service to Tunkhannock Township residents and business leaders  at a reasonable cost with regard to officers' safety and quality of service

Small Town Community Policing

Police Spearhead Park Project

Riverside Park is now home to a brand new, full-sized outdoor basketball court with three hoops, courtesy of the Tunkhannock Borough Police 
and local business donors. 

Sandy Howard, Chairman of the Riverside Park Commission, 
said the whole project was Borough Sgt. David Ide's idea.

"There literally weren't anymore basketball courts in town.", Ide said.  

The schools in town removed all of their outdoor courts about a year ago.

The Borough police used the proceeds from their circus, held every 
other year, to raise money for a publics works project, and found 
businesses to pitch-in on materials and labor.  The total value of 
the courts came in at $2,500.  

Wyoming Sand and Stone, Tunkhannock, donated the asphalt, and laid the courts.  Jerry Ross, Welding and Supply, Tunkhannock, donated his time 
and materials, and  helped to paint the poles.   The poles were donated by a Wilkes Barre company, Bloomsburg Metal.  Tunkhannock Borough workers also contributed labor to clean up the site on  the west side 
of the park, where a Borough building used to stand.

The police wanted to put in a basketball court, largely to give local kids a positive association with the department.  "Most of our contact with people 
is when we're issuing a traffic ticket.". said Ide.  "It's good to get to 
know the kids -  when you do something nice, it goes a long way."

The courts are a great fit with the Park, which focuses on outdoor recreation, said Howard, who coaches track for Tunkhannock Area Middle School.  The project also gives the Park Commission a segue into the western part of the Park which, until recently, seemed a bit remote, leading volunteers to focus their efforts on the entrance, instead.  Next on the horizon for the Park, is coming up with a monthly maintenance program,
 for keeping up with things like removing litter, mowing the grass, 
and watering flowers.  
"There are a lot of people in town who would do that stuff, 
if they knew about it. ",  said Howard.

Compiled from an article written by Shannon Stevens, of the New Age Examiner.

As a community, we thank the following participants 
in the basketball court project at Riverside Park:

• Jerry Savoroski and Sheri Breese, Wyoming Sand and Stone
  

• John Carey and Joe Culver, Tunkhannock Borough employees
  

• Jerry Ross, Ross Welding and Supply
  

• Charles St. Clair and Sandra Howard, Riverside Park Commission
  

• Sgt. David Ide and Ptl. Joshua Miller, of the Borough Police Dept.
  

• Mayor Norm Ball, Tunkhannock Borough
  
  

Help Prevent Teen Suicides

LOS ANGELES, CALIF.

aw enforcement is traditionally viewed as insensitive to adolescent "angst," yet is frequently first on the scene when a teenager threatens or commits suicide. As part of its expanding Community Outreach Services, Teen Line, a teen-to-teen hotline in Los Angeles, has developed a model training program of teen suicide prevention/intervention with the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD). The goal is to improve police handling of teen suicide victims and their families, and to sensitize police officers to the needs of suicidal adolescents. In addition to serving as instructors at the LAPD Juvenile Procedures School, Teen Line's Teen Suicide Prevention Team has developed customized, specialized training to meet the specific needs of varied law enforcement settings, ranging from Police Explorers to DARE officers to SWAT team members.
    Teen suicide in the United States has quadrupled since 1950. Every 90 minutes one teenager commits suicide and every 78 seconds another makes an attempt. A national study by the Center for Disease Control reveals that in one year:

• 3.6 million youths nationwide considered suicide,
• 2.1 million youths devised a plan, and
• 1 million youths made a suicide attempt.

    These youths come from every socioeconomic, cultural and ethnic background. Adolescents considered particularly high risk for suicide include those who are gay and lesbian; HIV positive; chemically-dependent; and runaways/throwaways, particularly those who have been physically or sexually abused.
 
 

By Elaine Leader, Ph.D.

For more information, contact Elaine Leader, Ph.D., Executive Director,
Teen Line, 8730 Alden Drive, E 245, Los Angeles, CA 90048.
Phone: 310.855.3401 Fax: 310.358.0813

Community and Cultural Diversity

No community in our culture can avoid addressing the immigration experience. Our nation was built by immigrants or the ancestors of immigrants. In our large metropolitan areas, it is not unusual to have dozens of different cultural, ethnic, racial and religious strains. This diversity has given us strength, but at times it seems to divide us. The whole question of diversity is a critical issue in almost every institution of our society. Hate, bias and misunderstanding often rear their ugly heads and unspeakable crimes are sometimes perpetrated for no reason other than because someone is "different."

We are in a slow process of healing the wounds of the past, of looking at our historical relationships with and attitudes toward many minorities, including American Indians, and of attempting to prevent bias in the future. That process can be aided in large measure by creating within our communities a sense of common purpose, as well as forums for frankly looking at those things that make us different.

In my writings on diversity, I address the issue of police bias and discrimination and the need for special training. In this important task, the police practitioner can again become a catalyst for helping all segments of his or her particular community work toward the goals of improving quality of life and creating a sense of common purpose. When people come together for a common purpose differences soon erode, understanding one another becomes easier, and lifestyles and cultural backgrounds no longer seem threatening.

It has often been said that "necessity is the mother of invention." In many of our towns and neighborhoods, "necessity" translates to "need." Where the need exists to confront the issues of crime, neighborhood deterioration and discrimination, citizens are more inclined to come together in common purpose and police must provide leadership at the street level.

Opening new horizons, giving hope where hopelessness once prevailed, giving dignity to one another, and creating opportunities for jobs are also keys to better interpersonal relationships.

By John R. Gentile

For more information, contact John R. Gentile,
P.O. Box 140459, Staten Island, NY 10314. P.O. Box 140459, Staten Island, NY 10314.