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 Members of the Wapakoneta Middle School Student Council pose for photo outside the classroom earlier this year. To date, the group has raised nearly $2,300 in which they have donated to various local and area organizations throughout the 2009-2010 school year. Photo provided By KRISTA HAYES
Staff Writer
With the end of the school year nearing, Wapakoneta Middle School Student Council members are hoping to end their term on a positive note.
During the school year, the school government raised nearly $2,300 for various local and area organizations.
“Each year, we try and raise as much money as we can for various clubs and organizations that we vote on and decide to help support at the beginning of the school year,” Wapakoneta Middle School Student Council President Neal Maxson said.
Elected a Student Council representative of his homeroom, Maxson, a seventh-grade student, said this is his second year serving on the council. This year as president, his main responsibility is to set forth an agenda and preside over the group’s monthly meetings which are held the first and third Thursday of each month.
“I joined the Student Council because I was looking for a new activity to do and thought it’d be challenging experience,” Maxson said. “Politics have always been one of the things to stick out in my head and when I grow up, I want to be a lawyer.
“Overall, as president I think I have done a pretty good job,” he said. “Being president is a lot harder than what I thought it would be since I have to make the agendas, run the meetings, and keep the advisers in the loop. I have the whole weight of the council on my shoulders, and at times it can get frustrating, but I would recommend it to all the kids coming to the middle school next year because it’s a fun activity to be involved in.”
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Wednesday, 03 June 2009 |
By KAREN CAMPBELL
Assistant Managing Editor
The Wapakoneta Police Department is currently without a K-9, but the transition has been hardest on a lieutenant who lost his partner.
Adam, the department’s K-9 since 2004, was relieved of his duties in March after developing breathing issues during the winter. X-rays taken by a veterinarian showed he may have pneumonia, but treatments did not help.
City administrators and police officials decided to retire him because of his age. Adam is 9 years old.
His handler, Lt. Russ Hunlock, took Adam to The Ohio State University for further medical tests after the K-9’s retirement, but veterinarians seem baffled by his condition.
“The tests basically resolved nothing,” Hunlock said. “Due to his age, further tests may not yield anything either.”
So instead of being on the job, sniffing out drugs and suspects, Adam is at Hunlock’s residence taking it easy.
Wtih the retirement of Adam, Hunlock, who has served as the K-9 handler for the Wapakoneta Police Department for 17 years, also decided it was time to pass the duty onto someone else.
He said after he was promoted to midnight shift lieutenant more than a year ago that additional responsibilities required more time, leaving less than desired time he would like to spend working with Adam.
Hunlock, who was still a probationary officer when he first started handling the department’s K-9, said he was excited about the opportunity, especially as such a young cop.
No K-9 has been approved to take Adam’s place and no officer chosen as the next handler. Hunlock said they are waiting to make a few decisions before that happens, but he would like to see a new team in place by the end of the summer.
Until then, the department has been calling in K-9s from either the Auglaize County Sheriff’s Office or Cridersville Police Department as needed for searches.
“K-9s are a major tool in law enforcement,” Hunlock said citing their keen sense of smell. “They are definitely beneficial.”
K-9s are used to help locate suspects, missing children and adults and detect narcotics.
Each dog tends to have a specialty and Adam’s was finding suspects, although he was capable of all of it, Hunlock said.
One of his bigggest finds was of drugs and cash while assisting troopers with the Ohio State Highway Patrol in October. He also solved a playground equipment vandalism case at New Beginnings Early Childhood Development Center by tracking the suspect back to his front door. In another case, he located a reckless driver at Colonial Estates.
“He was definitely capable of anything he was trained to do,” Hunlock said.
The Wapakoneta Police Department has the longest history in the county of having a K-9, dating back 30 years ago to when poluce officer Paul Regula handled Flint.
“For a long time we were one of a handful of agencies in the area with a K-9 and the only one in Auglaize County,” Hunlock said.
Hunlock, who has worked with three dogs — Astro, Brix and Adam — during his time at the department, said they typically serve about five years. He’s had them range from four to eight years.
He said the next dog the department would be looking for would be sociable and approachable, a good match for a first-time handler. A friendly dog is important because of the demonstrations and other positive interactions the dog has with people.
“His main purpose is to function as a police dog, but those other things are important parts of what we do, too,” Hunlock said.
Cost varies, but is largely dependent on the age and experience of the dog. Dogs that are older with more experience will cost more, he said.
The department typically gets its dogs from Von der haus Gill, operated by former Wapakoneta K-9 officer Lt. Al Gill, located outside of Wapakoneta.
Wapakoneta Police Chief Dave Webb said they are looking into continuing the historic program with the department, but the first step would be to find the next K-9 officer.
“Russ has done a very good job as the K-9 officer,” Webb said. “He would be involved in training a new officer.
“K-9s are a big assest to departments, serving as public relations at schools and presentations, being a presence during incidents and fight calls, helping to track breaking and entering suspects or someone hiding in a field, and locating drugs during traffic stops,” he said.
Webb said they have to start from scratch, finding not only the dog, but the officer to handle him, too, and he realizes it will take time to get the program started again.
“It’s been a good career. I’ve enjoyed handling a dog,” Hunlock said. “After almost 18 years in law enforcement it’s been difficult not having a partner. It’s something I’ll gradually get accustomed to, but it’s different.”
With at least seven more years before he would retire, Hunlock said he is going to have to get used to it.
“The biggest thing is with a dog, I always had someone with me,” Hunlock said. “Even though it was a four-legged someone, there was always someone watching my every move. It gave you an extra sense of protection, which helps when you’re on your own sometimes and backup is not as close as you might want them to be.
“You can’t ask for a better partner,” he said. “They don’t complain. They like going to work and don’t talk back.”
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Last Updated ( Thursday, 04 June 2009 )
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