Staff writer
Marion’s police department would like to add a new recruit and they are hoping the city’s residents are willing to raise money to help train it. The department sees a need for a drug dog, at a cost of $12,000.
Of that amount, $9,500 is needed for purchase and training of the dog from a K-9 facility in Omaha. That price includes hotel, lodging and two weeks of training for the handler. An additional $2,500 is for training aids, kennels for the patrol car and handler’s residence, and items such as leash, harness, collar, and bowls.
No other police dog is available in the county at this time. A sheriff’s office has a dog, but its handler is on full-time military duty and is set to return between November and January, sheriff Rob Craft said.
The only obstacle to obtaining a new police dog is the funding.
“As soon as we get the money raised we will move forward with it,” police chief Clinton Jeffrey said.
Jeffrey said while the dog will be available to check lockers at schools, he also plans to take the dog to Marion schools from time to time.
“We’ll take it up there on some days and let the kids see him,” Jeffrey said.
Jeffrey said the dog will be helpful in breaking down barriers between officers and citizens, searching buildings for dangerous suspects, tracking lost and missing people or suspects, and locating evidence or narcotics.
The dog would be available for both city and county residents including school districts and Tabor College.
Jeffrey said donations of any size will be helpful and donors who provide contact information will be recognized on a plaque displayed in the police department lobby.
Checks can be made payable to Marion Police Department with “Police K-9 Fund” on the memo line and mailed to the police department at 112 N. 5th St, Marion, KS 66861, or brought to the police department.
Jeffrey can be reached by email at c.jeffrey@marionks.net or by phone at (620) 381-0525. Officer Aaron Slater can be reached by email at a.slater@marionks.net, or by phone at (620) 381-0636.