(Fwd) Re: school safety

["Mike Curley" <curley@CYPHER.TURBONET.COM>]

Visionaries:
Forwarded below is the reply I received from Chief Weaver about the "bomb dog" 
I mentioned in a prior post.  I thought many of you would be interested in the 
additional information.

Mike Curley


 From:          Dan Weaver <dano@uidaho.edu>
Subject:       Re: school safety

Mike:
Thanks for your interest in the bomb dog project. Last year, after the
incident at Moscow High School and another one on the University of Idaho
campus, I was very uncomfortable in our ability to adequately respond to
explosive threats and or incidents. I knew the cost of a bomb dog would be
prohibitive if we were to try to fund such a proposal ourselves. I had our
administrative staff prepare a proposal to include the six entities you
mentioned below. This would not only spread the cost to several agencies but
also assist them in managing explosive threats also. Most dog programs are
extremely expensive in officer compensation which includes extra vehicle
expense, housing, food, vet, overtime, etc. We were fortunate in obtaining
the voluntary assistance of a Washington State University Professor who
specializes in animal behavior to be our handler and trainer. She is also
going to house the dog. She has agreed to wear a pager at all times so
response time should be fairly quick. 

At this time we have funding from the University of Idaho, the City of
Moscow and the Moscow School District. The Pullman Police Department will
add this proposal to their budget, which starts in January 2000, so their
funding is not assured until their budget is finalized. Washington State
University is on board and we are still working with the Pullman School
District. Entities in Washington may have funding challenges if initiative
695 passes. I am not sure how that will affect our proposal.

Our plan is to start training a dog in January 2000 if all funding proceeds
as planned. This should get our dog operational by February or March. 

I am very appreciative to all entities involved because this is an example
of the region being able to share resources for a common good that we might
not be able to afford otherwise. It is also a wise use of scarce tax dollars
and will hopefully assist us in providing additional safety for our children
and other users of public buildings. 

I hope this answers most of your questions, however I would be happy to
clarify anything additional that may come up.

Dan Weaver
Chief of Police
Moscow Police Dept.