Organizations donate to Waynesburg police
WAYNESBURG – Two local organizations recently presented Waynesburg Borough police with generous donations that will assist officers in their commitment to serving and protecting the community.
Officers from Waynesburg Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 4793 recently presented Waynesburg Borough Police with a donation of a new bullet-proof vest and two live animal cage traps.
The vest will be worn by police Chief Rob Toth, who said borough police officers are mandated to wear the vests and the vests have a shelf life of five years or so.
The cage traps will also benefit police officers when they receive reports about wild animals that need to be captured and safely released.
Toth said he was at the VFW recently to assist with an investigation when he was asked what the VFW could do help the police force, and he suggested a new vest because his vest was “overdue by a year.” Not long after, the VFW called him and told him the organization would be donating the new vest and the traps.
VFW officers said the traps were purchased from Waynesburg Agway, and the donated items are made in the United States.
“We always strive to help out our community, and we’re proud to buy these traps from a local business and present them to our police officers,” said Dave Logan, VFW Post Commander.
Toth said he, the police department and the borough are grateful for the donation.
“We truly appreciate it,” he said. “This organization is filled with many men and women who have given so much for our country, and they proudly give back to their community.”
The donated items were paid for through money raised at various Waynesburg VFW fundraisers.
Toth said the donations will help with the police department’s budget, which is slated to be dramatically reduced in 2015. The cost of the donated items is estimated at $800.
The donated items were presented to Toth at the VFW on Dec. 16. Joining Toth for the presentation was Waynesburg Mayor Duncan Berryman. The items were presented by Logan; Martin Wilson, Post Jr. Commander and Seams Squirrel-MOC; and Renee Jones of the VFW Ladies Auxiliary.
The police department also recently received a donation of $1,500 from Waynesburg Moose Lodge No. 461’s Moose Legion Committee and the Women of the Moose for the police department’s K-9 unit.
Patrolman Asa Winters and his police dog Izzy, a four-year-old German Shepherd, was presented with the donation at the Waynesburg Moose lodge on Nov. 25 by Bill Baxendall, Moose Legionnaire; Robert Simpson, Governor; and Beverly Kelley, Senior Regent of the Women of the Moose.
The donation will be placed into the police department’s K-9 unit account and will be used to pay for training and unit operating costs.
Winters has been handling and caring for Izzy since March of 2013, and Izzy has officially been a member of the Waynesburg Borough police force since last December when she was approved by Waynesburg Borough Council.
Last October, she and Winters were certified in obedience, tracking and article, area and building search by the North American Police Work Dog Association. They have also undergone a lot of training for narcotics detection and aggression control.
Last fall, Winters and police Chief Toth started a fund for the K-9 unit. The goal is to keep the fund going so the department will always have a canine on the force.
Winters said he and the police department are very appreciative of the recent donation.
“They are a great organization and we are tremendously grateful for their generosity,” he said. “This donation will really benefit the K-9 unit. I can’t thank them enough.”
Governor Bob Simpson said the Waynesburg Moose lodge is proud to assist the local police department.
“We’re happy to donate to them and help them fight crime on our streets,” he said. “The money for the donation was raised ‘in-house’ as part of the Moose’s ongoing commitment to community service.”
Simpson said the Moose lodge has donated to the police department’s K-9 unit in the past and also contributed towards the purchase of a bullet-proof vest for the department this past spring.